Welcome to the weekly edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features. This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.
News
- The Drug Enforcement Administration will hold listening sessions Sept. 12 and 13 to discuss allowing a “special registration” to allow physicians to remotely prescribe certain controlled substances without the need for an in-person visit first.
- RockHealth.org announced its 2023 cohort of Innovation Fellows, with founders focused in areas such as mental health, end-of-life care, pediatric telehealth, and trauma care.
- The American Telemedicine Association rebranded its annual conference as ATA Nexus; next year’s event is May 5-7 in Phoenix.
Studies
- More than half (53%) of adults prefer an in-person only care model, according to a recent Morning Consult survey. That said, 35% prefer a hybrid model of in-person and virtual care. Additionally, more than 70% of patients as well as healthcare workers view in-person care as more efficient and effective.
- Meanwhile, 64% of adults would trust a diagnosis made by AI over a diagnosis by a doctor, according to a survey from Innerbody. Yet, nearly 54% of those surveyed also said the accuracy of diagnosis was their top concern about the use of AI in healthcare (followed closely by data privacy, a top concern for half of respondents).
- While 75% of healthcare executives believe generative AI has reached a turning point in its ability to reshape the industry, only 6% of healthcare organizations have a generative AI strategy in place, according to a Bain survey.
- 73% of prescribers and half of pharmacists are concerned about the lack of primary care physicians in their area, according to survey data from Surescripts. Also, 1/4 of prescribers say they are at least somewhat likely to leave the profession in the next year due to burnout.
- Physician-owned PCP offices have lost the equivalent of three full-time staff members since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest MGMA report. At the same time, hospital-owned practices have seen their revenue return to pre-pandemic levels.
Partnerships
- Epic users can now run the EHR on Microsoft Azure Large Instances. Additionally, Microsoft announced that New York City’s Mount Sinai Health System has the largest production instance of Epic running on Azure in the world.
- HPC International partnered with Klein Buendel to create Pinpoint, a sickle cell pain management application.
- DrFirst is enabling e-prescribing for MEDITECH EHR Expanse users in Canada as part of the vendor’s push to connect Expanse to the Canada Health Infoway.
- CitiusTech and Radical Imaging are partnering to support projects built on the Open Health Imaging Foundation Development platform, which was founded in 2015 to create an open-source web-based medical imaging platform.
Product and Company News
- AssureCare introduced OptimAIzer, which is designed to enhance operational efficiencies in population health management.
- Practice management vendor Practice Better launched Practice Better Payments, a fully integrated payment system.
- Practice automation software maker Tebra launched The Intake, a content hub with business resources for independent practices.
- AI-assisted analysis of MRI imaging showed a correlation between lifestyle factors such as physical activity and smoking history and brain volume, according to research from Prenuvo.
- Digital surgical platform Proximie will launch a six-week virtual training course in thoracic robotic-assisted surgery in October at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Sales
- The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services chose HHS Technology Group and Noridian Healthcare Solutions to build its Medicaid provider management system.
- New York City-based Best Medical Care PC selected eClinicalWorks Cloud. In addition, Virginia Eye Institute transitioned to eClinicalWorks and healow.
Accreditations
- NCQA expanded its Data Aggregator Validation program to include FHIR output files.
- Inovalon achieved NCQA HEDIS measure certification for the 23rd consecutive year.
People
- Staffing and patient flow vendor LeanTaaS announced Ana Sirbu as Chief Financial Officer.
- State designated HIE healtheConnect Alaska named Dr. Kendra Sticka as Executive Director.
- Movano Health announced its Medical Advisory Board; the company makes medical-grade wearables for women’s health.
If you have news that you’d like us to consider for a future edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features, please submit them on this page. Please include any relevant links and let us know if news is under embargo. Note that submissions received after the close of business on Thursday may not be included in Bonus Features until the following week.