Patient Engagement

Patient care is a holistic solution as getting prior authorization doesn't help the patient who can't afford the medication, says Brian Smith, chief pharmacy officer at Shields Health Solutions.

The approach will be used for medical services that are commonly subject to prior authorization, such as orthopedic surgeries and imaging services.

Mt. San Rafael CIO Michael Archuleta says that nearly half of healthcare organizations lack basic cyber awareness training for employees and calls for bolstering the "human firewall" through increasing staff's cyber literacy.

While AI-savvy patients are concerned about where their data is stored, the fact that 95% of them agree to using ambient AI to improve patient-doctor interaction signals their comfort level with AI tools, says Nabla's Dr. Matt Sakumoto.

Defining a problem for AI to solve, aligning that goal with enterprise strategy and building strong governance can help healthcare organizations succeed with AI, explains Jill Seys, HIMSS' senior director for North America analytics.

Greg O'Neill, ChristianaCare's director of patient education, says providers should use health literacy best practices to respond to patients' questions or risk them turning to other channels for answers.

When wearables detect disease risk factors, American College of Cardiology Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Ami Bhatt says vendors must help guide users into care pathways so they're not left navigating healthcare alone.

UnitedHealth Group says it plans to invest $1.6 billion in AI this year.

According to Colorado Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera, aspiring healthcare IT professionals should think of themselves as public servants and build technology that is useful and user-friendly for patients.

Interoperability improves care quality, but Dr. Hannah Galvin, Cambridge Health Alliance's chief health information officer, cautions that data overexposure can drive disengagement among historically stigmatized patient populations.