Bonus Features – February 4, 2024 – 67% of healthcare pros say the top use case for AI is improving the digital front door, 78% of healthcare shift workers have trouble covering living expenses, plus 25 more stories

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

• HHS released a set of Cybersecurity Performance Goals. There are 10 Essential Goals that set “a floor of safeguards,” such as multifactor authentication and data encryption, and 10 Enhanced Goals for maturing capabilities, such as network segmentation and configuration management.
• Hospitals ended 2023 on better financial footing than 2022, according to the latest Syntellis analysis. Operating margins were up 2.4% year over year, while outpatient revenue increased nearly 10%. Total expenses increased 3%, with labor costs rising just 0.7%.
• Medical device usability represents the top health IT hazard of 2024, according to the latest annual report from ECRI. Other hazards of note: Insufficient governance of AI, ransomware, and the misuse of patient data by web analytics software.
• The Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation and Pediatric Pandemic Network are holding a pitch competition for the development of Medical Countermeasures (MC) with up to $100,000 in federal grants to be awarded.

Studies

• More than 1 in 4 (26%) of healthcare shift workers have at least one other job, according to a survey from scheduling software maker Deputy. All told, 78% of healthcare shift workers have trouble covering living expenses or saving money.
• Increased utilization of physical therapy for Medicare patients with knee and hip pain reduces healthcare costs by up to $4,000 annually, according to the latest research from Luna.
• A survey from Avanade found 67% of healthcare professionals believe the top use case for AI is improving the digital front door.

Partnerships

• Real-world evidence vendor Atropos Health is now integrated with Google Cloud’s Healthcare Data Engine. In addition, care coordination vendor WellSky is using Google Cloud to power its Vertex AI platform.
• Population health management vendor ZeOmega is partnering with Datycs, an AI and NLP vendor, to convert unstructured data in faxes into standardized information.
• Ensemble Health Partners is one of two partners in Epic’s new Rev Cycle Partners program, joined by Impact Advisors.
• Avaamo integrated its generative AI tool with MyChart and is now available in the Epic Showroom.
• Virtual opioid use disorder treatment program Bicycle Health is partnering with Talkspace.
• The New England Journal of Medicine‘s new AI journal is now available on Wolters Kluwer’s Ovid medical research platform.

Product and Company News

• MindMics received a patent for cardiovascular monitoring technology that integrates sensors into noise-canceling earbuds.
• The presence of Care Everywhere documents reduces the risk of a code blue event in the ED by as much as 63%, according to the latest from Epic Research.

Sales

• Pennsylvania-based FQHC Hyndman Area Health Center selected Sunoh.ai and eClinicalWorks AI capabilities.
• Self-insured employer health plan XO Health selected Innovaccer‘s data platform, population health management, and customer relationship management tools.
• Pediatrix Medical Group deployed Sonio for prenatal care reporting and image management. It’s the company’s first customer in the U.S.
• Texas-based JPS Health Network deployed ZeroEyes for gun detection and intelligent situational awareness.

People

• Workforce management vendor Hallmark Health Care Solutions appointed Bruce Cerullo as Chief Executive Officer.
• Pharmacy benefits manager RxBenefits appointed Dr. Mark Campbell as Chief Pharmacy Officer.
• Virtual and community care provider Pair Team appointed Dr. Nate Favini as Chief Medical Officer.
• Imaging software maker Intelerad made three executive leadership appointments.
• The American Telemedicine Association named Amazon’s Sarah-Lloyd Stevenson the new chair of the ATA Policy Council and added seven other members to the Policy Council.
• Clinical trial accelerator Lindus Health named Dr. Robert S. Langer to its Advisory Board; Langer co-founded Moderna.
• Senior digital health company DUOS formed its inaugural Advisory Board.
• DirectTrust is seeking nominations for three-year terms on its Board of Directors; nominations are due March 18.

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.