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Working to deliver the care mental health patients deserve

In the second of two blogs, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health, takes a further look at crisis care innovations in action: The commitment to change, the numerous examples of innovation and transformation  and the willingness to share best practice across the country gives real hope that significant progress to mental health crisis care can, and is, being made. In this second blog, I wish to highlight more areas where these innovations are already unfolding, namely:  improving timely access to the right care, first time and suicide prevention; out of hospital home care, and acute hospital A&E liaison mental health teams.

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Cancer IQ, Inc

CancerIQ helps providers use genetic information to predict, pre-empt, and prevent disease - starting with cancer. By making is easier to identify patients at risk, offer a genetic evaluation at point of care, and design a tailored cancer prevention plan - we can help healthcare systems get ahead of this costly and emotionally devastating disease.

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Digital Healthcare

Wearable Technology is the New Healthcare!

Article | November 29, 2023

Do you know you can now wear technology? With the help of wearable technology, it's now easier to keep track of useful information in one go! This go-to technology has made people’s lives easier and smoother health-wise. In the last five years, more people have started using wearable technology to monitor health data and live healthier lifestyles. According to the Deloitte Global Survey, today, more than 80% of people are interested in using wearable technology. Statista also studied that the ear-worn wearable technology market will be worth more than 44.16 billion US dollars by 2023. These data show that customers are gravitating toward wearable technology due to its simplicity and convenience. The Tech is Getting Smarter Wearable technology has enabled the concept of self-checking, evaluation and monitoring of certain health conditions. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is transforming and improving the entire lifestyles of millions of people. So it's no surprise that the technology is spreading. Thanks to IoT and AI, which have pushed these technologies into individuals’ hands in the form of smartwatches, fitness bands, and other devices. In this case, app development has also been a critical success factor. Consumers of all age groups actively use wearable technology for multiple physical benefits, such as monitoring daily activities (running, walking), water intake, heartbeat, sleep cycles, blood pressure, oxygen level, and mobility levels. In fact, the tech helps them to stay motivated by maintaining and extending their good habits. Wearables can measure these characteristics through an effective data model that is instantly responsive. The readings can be saved, displayed, or forwarded to a doctor for medical study. This interface of wearable technology saves money and time traveling to clinics, hospitals, GPs, and other medical facilities. The next feature that only wearable technology provides is reminders and inspiring information! Due to the addition of automatic functionalities, users have invested considerably in wearables and sparked the usage at the current time. Furthermore, wearable technology is also seen in other medical devices such as ECG monitors, which is again a cutting-edge consumer electronic device that users can use to measure electrocardiograms at home. A Deloitte study found that due to the rising demand and supply together, nearly 200 million wearable gadgets will be marketed globally by 2023. Transforming Healthcare Towards Intelligence The pandemic accentuated the importance of wearable technology the most, particularly for health monitoring. As a result, the technology was available in every second home. Wearable innovation is exceptional with the advancements in sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithms. Sensor data provides insights regarding an individual's activity levels, cardiac pattern discrepancies, and other aspects. For example, many companies and manufacturers employ PPG, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectrophotometers to enable blood pressure monitoring features in smartwatches and portable medical devices. The combination of technology with intelligence is creating a whole new world of healthcare where individuals can track, record, and improve their health issues in a lesser timeframe. A Committed Future of Healthcare So, will technology for health improvement thrive? The answer is yes. Wearable technology delivers real-time health data and allows consumers to improve their health without incurring high costs. Consumers' willingness to share their data with healthcare professionals indicates a surge in future demand for wearable technology gadgets.

Read More
Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Getting cancer screening programmes back on track with AI and digitisation

Article | September 8, 2023

COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change, with the diagnostics industry taking centre stage and rising to the challenge of a global pandemic. One of the silver linings of this mammoth task has been the unprecedented time and focus dedicated to finding new technologies and solutions within the sector. The lessons learned from the pandemic now need to be taken forward to improve breast and cervical cancer detection, prevention and treatment across the UK over the coming years. In the more immediate term, the diagnostics industry, alongside public health leaders, faces a daunting backlog as screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer were put on pause for months. These two life-saving tests have been some of the most overlooked during the pandemic and getting back on track with screening is critical as we start to turn the corner. We believe innovation in diagnostics, particularly artificial intelligence guided imaging, is a key tool to tackle delays in breast and cervical cancer diagnosis. The scale of the backlog in missed appointments is vast. In the UK, an estimated 600,000 cervical screening appointments were missed in April and May 2020. And an estimated 986,000 women missed their mammograms, of which an estimated 10,700 could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer. It is clear that hundreds of thousands of women have been affected as COVID-19 resulted in the reprioritisation of healthcare systems and resource allocation. Both cervical and breast cancer screening are well suited for digital technologies and the application of AI, given both require highly trained medical professionals to identify rare, subtle changes visually –a process that can be tedious, time-consuming and error prone. Artificial intelligence and computer vision are technologies which could help to significantly improve this. What does AI mean in this context? Before examining the three specific areas where digitisation and AI can help, it is important to define what we mean by AI. It is the application of AI to medical imaging to help accelerate detection and diagnosis. Digitisation is the vital first step in implementing an AI-driven solution – high quality images demand advanced cloud storage solutions and high resolution. The better the quality of the input, the more effectively trained an AI system will be. The first area where AI-guided imaging can play a role is workflow prioritisation. AI, along with increased screening units and mammographers, has the potential to increase breast cancer screening capacity, by removing the need for review by two radiologists. When used as part of a screening programme, AI could effectively and efficiently highlight the areas that are of particular interest for the reader, in the case of breast screening, or cytotechnologist when considering cervical screening. Based on a comparison with the average time taken to read a breast screening image, with AI 13% less time is needed to read mammogram images, improving the efficiency with which images are reviewed. This time saving could mean that radiologists could read more cases a day and potentially clear the backlog more quickly. For digital cytology for cervical cancer screening, the system is able to evaluate tens of thousands of cells from a single patient in a matter of seconds and present the most relevant diagnostic material to a trained medical professional for the final diagnosis. The job of a cytotechnologist is to build a case based on the cells they see. Utilising these tools, we are finding that cytotechnologists and pathologists are significantly increasing their efficiency without sacrificing accuracy to help alleviate the backlog of cervical screening we are seeing in many countries. Prioritising the most vulnerable patients Another key opportunity is applying AI to risk stratification, as it could help to identify women who are particularly at risk and push them further up the queue for regular screening. Conversely, it would also allow the screening interval for those women at lower risk to be extended, creating a more efficient and targeted breast screening programme. For example, women with dense breast tissue have a greater risk factor than having two immediate family members who have suffered from breast cancer. What’s more, dense breasts make it more difficult to identify cancerous cells in standard mammograms. This means that in some cases cancers will be missed, and in others, women will be unnecessarily recalled for further investigation. A simple way to ensure that those most at risk of developing breast cancer are prioritised for screening and seen more regularly would be to analyse all women on the waiting list with AI-guided breast density software. This would allow clinicians to retrospectively identify those women most at risk and move them to the top of the waiting list for mammograms. In the short term, to help tackle the screening backlog, prior mammograms of women on the waiting list could be analysed using the breast density software, so that women at highest risk could be seen first. Finding new workforce models Being able to pool resources will allow resource to be matched to demand beyond borders. Globally, more than half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and the majority of these occur where there is a lack of guidance to conduct the screening programme. The digital transformation of cervical screening can connect populations that desperately need screening to resources where that expertise exists. For example, developing countries in Africa could collect samples from patients and image these locally, but rely on resources in the UK to support the interpretation of the images and diagnoses. Digital diagnostics brings the promise of a ‘taxi-hailing’ type model to cervical cancer screening – connecting groups with resources (drivers with cars) to those who are in need (passengers): this is an efficient way of connecting laboratory professionals to doctors and patients around the world. It’s going to take many months to get cancer screening programmes up and running at normal levels again, with continued social distancing measures and additional infection control impacting turnaround times. But diagnostic innovation is on a trajectory that we cannot ignore. It will be key to getting cancer screening programmes get back on track. AI is a fundamental piece of the innovation puzzle and we are proud to be at the forefront of AI solutions for our customers and partners.

Read More
Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Why Including Anesthesia Services in a Single-Bill Strategy Makes Sense

Article | September 7, 2023

As competition for patients intensifies, more hospitals and health systems are embracing a consolidated, single-bill approach for services rendered. Creating a single bill for the patient’s portion of inpatient or outpatient services can help eliminate confusion and reduce the ill will that frequently results when patients receive multiple invoices for a single care event. Yet incorporating anesthesia charges into a consolidated invoice is often problematic due to the unique nature of the anesthesia billing compliance. Anesthesia Billing Service Hurdles A few weeks ago, I met with the CEO of a 300-bed hospital. We discussed anesthesia billing, and he explained that his hospital traditionally outsourced this portion of its billing due to the more complex nature of anesthesia coding and the need to collect anesthesia minutes for billing. Unlike most inpatient services, anesthesia charges are not directly derived from CPT codes but instead utilize minutes and modifiers unique to the specialty. That means coders must use a CPT crosswalk to account for ASA codes, base and time units, emergency- and physical-status monitors, split anesthesia units reflecting CRNA involvement, and other specialty-specific nuances. Most coders and hospital billing staff are not trained in these complexities, and hiring and retaining capable staff in today’s competitive market can be difficult. Moreover, many billing platforms are simply not equipped to incorporate all the variables necessary to produce an accurate anesthesia bill. As a result, producing a consolidated patient bill that includes anesthesia is tricky. Yet leaving anesthesia off a single bill can undercut its value since, after facility and surgical charges, anesthesia often is one of the largest cost items patients incur. Fortunately, we at Change Healthcare know how to roll anesthesia charges into existing hospital billing systems to produce an accurate and timely single patient bill. Helping to Reduce Costs The benefits of consolidated billing extend beyond an improved patient experience. Producing just one bill reduces costs and repetition at both the front and back end of the revenue cycle management process. It can also ease staff burden when collecting on self-pay accounts, since there’s only one bill per patient. Finally, consolidated bills can help increase revenue by simplifying collections when patients present for follow-up care. Here’s an example: When the patient comes back for post-surgery physical therapy, a hospital employee at the registration desk can remind them that they still owe $150 for anesthesia and ask if they’d like to take care of that now. In my experience, patients usually hand over their credit card and settle their bill on the spot when asked at the time of care about a balance due. System-Agnostic Billing Across Hospital Platforms Change Healthcare has a long history of providing full-service, outsourced anesthesia-billing services to hospital and health-system clients. Unlike most other billing vendors, we’ve developed what we call a system-agnostic approach. That means we’ll provide billing services on our proprietary system or on the hospital’s existing billing platform, regardless of type, to generate accurate anesthesia-billing results. In practical terms, we’ll function as part of your billing team and use the same system your coders and billing staff rely on to generate anesthesia charges that can be included in a single patient bill. System-agnostic billing also allows us to provide clients with custom anesthesia reporting that wouldn’t otherwise be available with an outsourced billing solution. This helps clients gain far greater visibility and insight into anesthesia-billing charges. And by incorporating our anesthesia coding and billing capabilities into your existing billing system, you’ll be spreading the platform’s fixed costs across a greater number of departments. The bottom line? It’s not a heavy lift for us to virtually embed our trained anesthesia coders and billing professionals into your system. Our specialists will review your existing platform and provide, at no obligation, a return-on-investment analysis that can help you determine whether outsourcing anesthesia billing to capture claims on a single hospital bill makes sense for you. We expect the answer will be yes. Not only will you enjoy greater system efficiencies, but you’ll be in a position to produce a single bill that truly reflects the entire episode of care.

Read More
Future of Healthcare

What’s the Best Post-COVID-19 Anesthesia Business Model -Hospital-Based or ASCs?

Article | February 19, 2022

Anesthesia groups face major challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic: Financially strapped hospitals are increasingly unwilling or unable to pay anesthesia subsidies, and a shortage of qualified anesthesiologists and CRNAs is making recruitment extraordinarily competitive. The good news is that anesthesia opportunities are plentiful in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market. As more inpatient procedures migrate to ASCs, anesthesia practices can help meet demand by working with hospitals and ASCs. A dual-contracting approach can help increase revenue, reduce operational risk, enhance recruiting leverage, and present opportunities for equity investments in ASC ventures. Expanding ASC Case Mix Multiple factors are driving increased ASC volume.Consumers have long been attracted to the convenience andfast turnaround timesASCs offer, and as the pandemic began to take hold and patients worried about becoming infected in hospitals, theirpopularityincreased. But even before the pandemic hit, theuse of ASCs was growing,with the number of centers increasing 7.1% annually since 2016.1No doubt this was in part driven by Medicare restricting fewer surgeries to the inpatient only (IPO) setting. This year alone, Medicare is adding 11 orthopedic procedures to the ASC-approved list, including total knee arthroscopy (TKA) and total hip arthroscopy (THA).2Commercial payersare alsofuelingASC volume by promotingthis venue as a lower-cost option to members.Lastly, with more than 90% of ASCs at least partially owned by physicians,providers themselvesare driving moreprocedures to this setting. Hospitals Become ASC Buyers For years, hospitals viewed ASCs as direct competition and discouraged or even prohibited inpatient anesthesia practices from contracting with them. But that dynamic is changing as more hospitals become buyers or majority investors. According to a recent survey, the percentage of hospitals and health systems planning to increase their investments in ASCs rose from 44% in 2019 to 67% in 2020, with 75% of 200-plus-bed hospitals already owning more than one ASC.3Hospitals view these investments as a way to enhance physician relationships and increase surgical capacity. The Benefits of Practice Diversification For anesthesia practices that elect to contract with both hospitals and ASCs, a key benefit is improved profitability, since average ASC case reimbursements are higher than average hospital cases due to better payer mix and more efficient room turnover. Groups that work with multiple organizations also reduce their institutional or operational risk by limiting their exposure to potential financial problems associated with a single contracted entity. Practices likewise gain an edge when it comes to recruiting in today’s highly competitive anesthesiologist and CRNA market. One of the chief benefits of ASC involvement is being in a position to offer a better work-life balance by spreading call responsibilities across a larger physician call pool. The math is simple: If a hospital group has seven physicians, each must provide call coverage once a week. But if the group also contracts with five ASCs and brings on five additional doctors to staff the facilities, individual call responsibilities are reduced to once every 12 days. The importance of mitigating call duties to improve the work-life balance for both experienced clinicians and new hires can’t be overstated, particularly as hospitals work to streamline OR throughput by increasing the number of surgical procedures. Groups can also explore a range of creative compensation approaches, including essentially selling call opportunities to newly hired or recent graduate anesthesiologists as additional avenues to attract qualified clinicians while easing the burden on senior anesthesiologists. Equity Opportunities Among the most intriguing aspects of ASC involvement is the potential for becoming an equity stakeholder in the business. Surgeons traditionally have been the primary drivers in creating ASCs, but new opportunities exist for anesthesiology groups, particularly if their hospital is buying an existing ASC or developing a new ASC venture and looking to diversify the ownership group. The idea of anesthesia ownership isn’t as crazy as it might sound. Like surgeons, anesthesiologists are integral to the success of an ASC, and like surgeons, they get there early and stay late. It’s no secret that joint ownership can greatly improve relations between the practice and the hospital, since both are now working toward the same objectives. Groups can also make more money. I met with a surgical group not long ago with a 49% ownership stake in a hospital. That equity generated an additional $80,000 per year for each physician partner. How much you can make, of course, depends on your specialty, your level of ownership, and the volume of business. But you’ll never know until you try. Outside Expertise The pandemic has unleashed numerous changes throughout healthcare, and where the dust will eventually settle isn’t entirely clear. But what is certain is that for organizations to remain viable, they’ll need to be flexible and look hard at nontraditional business opportunities. Contracting with both hospitals and ASCs represents one such approach for anesthesia groups. If you’re interested in exploring this and other business possibilities but don’t know where to start, Change Healthcare can help. Our team of expert anesthesia practice-management consultants have an average of 18 years’ experience in the specialty. We can be engaged on a per-project basis or we can provide our consultant services as part of our turnkey anesthesia-billing solution. Our anesthesia revenue cycle management services can be deployed either on our own proprietary anesthesia-billing platform or on your hospital billing system. Either way, we’ll provide seamless, end-to-end service.

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Digital Healthcare

The Key Ingredient in Healthcare Compliance Success

Article | November 29, 2023

Do you know you can now wear technology? With the help of wearable technology, it's now easier to keep track of useful information in one go! This go-to technology has made people’s lives easier and smoother health-wise. In the last five years, more people have started using wearable technology to monitor health data and live healthier lifestyles. According to the Deloitte Global Survey, today, more than 80% of people are interested in using wearable technology. Statista also studied that the ear-worn wearable technology market will be worth more than 44.16 billion US dollars by 2023. These data show that customers are gravitating toward wearable technology due to its simplicity and convenience. The Tech is Getting Smarter Wearable technology has enabled the concept of self-checking, evaluation and monitoring of certain health conditions. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is transforming and improving the entire lifestyles of millions of people. So it's no surprise that the technology is spreading. Thanks to IoT and AI, which have pushed these technologies into individuals’ hands in the form of smartwatches, fitness bands, and other devices. In this case, app development has also been a critical success factor. Consumers of all age groups actively use wearable technology for multiple physical benefits, such as monitoring daily activities (running, walking), water intake, heartbeat, sleep cycles, blood pressure, oxygen level, and mobility levels. In fact, the tech helps them to stay motivated by maintaining and extending their good habits. Wearables can measure these characteristics through an effective data model that is instantly responsive. The readings can be saved, displayed, or forwarded to a doctor for medical study. This interface of wearable technology saves money and time traveling to clinics, hospitals, GPs, and other medical facilities. The next feature that only wearable technology provides is reminders and inspiring information! Due to the addition of automatic functionalities, users have invested considerably in wearables and sparked the usage at the current time. Furthermore, wearable technology is also seen in other medical devices such as ECG monitors, which is again a cutting-edge consumer electronic device that users can use to measure electrocardiograms at home. A Deloitte study found that due to the rising demand and supply together, nearly 200 million wearable gadgets will be marketed globally by 2023. Transforming Healthcare Towards Intelligence The pandemic accentuated the importance of wearable technology the most, particularly for health monitoring. As a result, the technology was available in every second home. Wearable innovation is exceptional with the advancements in sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithms. Sensor data provides insights regarding an individual's activity levels, cardiac pattern discrepancies, and other aspects. For example, many companies and manufacturers employ PPG, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectrophotometers to enable blood pressure monitoring features in smartwatches and portable medical devices. The combination of technology with intelligence is creating a whole new world of healthcare where individuals can track, record, and improve their health issues in a lesser timeframe. A Committed Future of Healthcare So, will technology for health improvement thrive? The answer is yes. Wearable technology delivers real-time health data and allows consumers to improve their health without incurring high costs. Consumers' willingness to share their data with healthcare professionals indicates a surge in future demand for wearable technology gadgets.

Read More
Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Unlocking Better Health Online: Exploring Power of EHR Telemedicine

Article | September 8, 2023

COVID-19 has been a catalyst for change, with the diagnostics industry taking centre stage and rising to the challenge of a global pandemic. One of the silver linings of this mammoth task has been the unprecedented time and focus dedicated to finding new technologies and solutions within the sector. The lessons learned from the pandemic now need to be taken forward to improve breast and cervical cancer detection, prevention and treatment across the UK over the coming years. In the more immediate term, the diagnostics industry, alongside public health leaders, faces a daunting backlog as screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer were put on pause for months. These two life-saving tests have been some of the most overlooked during the pandemic and getting back on track with screening is critical as we start to turn the corner. We believe innovation in diagnostics, particularly artificial intelligence guided imaging, is a key tool to tackle delays in breast and cervical cancer diagnosis. The scale of the backlog in missed appointments is vast. In the UK, an estimated 600,000 cervical screening appointments were missed in April and May 2020. And an estimated 986,000 women missed their mammograms, of which an estimated 10,700 could be living with undiagnosed breast cancer. It is clear that hundreds of thousands of women have been affected as COVID-19 resulted in the reprioritisation of healthcare systems and resource allocation. Both cervical and breast cancer screening are well suited for digital technologies and the application of AI, given both require highly trained medical professionals to identify rare, subtle changes visually –a process that can be tedious, time-consuming and error prone. Artificial intelligence and computer vision are technologies which could help to significantly improve this. What does AI mean in this context? Before examining the three specific areas where digitisation and AI can help, it is important to define what we mean by AI. It is the application of AI to medical imaging to help accelerate detection and diagnosis. Digitisation is the vital first step in implementing an AI-driven solution – high quality images demand advanced cloud storage solutions and high resolution. The better the quality of the input, the more effectively trained an AI system will be. The first area where AI-guided imaging can play a role is workflow prioritisation. AI, along with increased screening units and mammographers, has the potential to increase breast cancer screening capacity, by removing the need for review by two radiologists. When used as part of a screening programme, AI could effectively and efficiently highlight the areas that are of particular interest for the reader, in the case of breast screening, or cytotechnologist when considering cervical screening. Based on a comparison with the average time taken to read a breast screening image, with AI 13% less time is needed to read mammogram images, improving the efficiency with which images are reviewed. This time saving could mean that radiologists could read more cases a day and potentially clear the backlog more quickly. For digital cytology for cervical cancer screening, the system is able to evaluate tens of thousands of cells from a single patient in a matter of seconds and present the most relevant diagnostic material to a trained medical professional for the final diagnosis. The job of a cytotechnologist is to build a case based on the cells they see. Utilising these tools, we are finding that cytotechnologists and pathologists are significantly increasing their efficiency without sacrificing accuracy to help alleviate the backlog of cervical screening we are seeing in many countries. Prioritising the most vulnerable patients Another key opportunity is applying AI to risk stratification, as it could help to identify women who are particularly at risk and push them further up the queue for regular screening. Conversely, it would also allow the screening interval for those women at lower risk to be extended, creating a more efficient and targeted breast screening programme. For example, women with dense breast tissue have a greater risk factor than having two immediate family members who have suffered from breast cancer. What’s more, dense breasts make it more difficult to identify cancerous cells in standard mammograms. This means that in some cases cancers will be missed, and in others, women will be unnecessarily recalled for further investigation. A simple way to ensure that those most at risk of developing breast cancer are prioritised for screening and seen more regularly would be to analyse all women on the waiting list with AI-guided breast density software. This would allow clinicians to retrospectively identify those women most at risk and move them to the top of the waiting list for mammograms. In the short term, to help tackle the screening backlog, prior mammograms of women on the waiting list could be analysed using the breast density software, so that women at highest risk could be seen first. Finding new workforce models Being able to pool resources will allow resource to be matched to demand beyond borders. Globally, more than half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and the majority of these occur where there is a lack of guidance to conduct the screening programme. The digital transformation of cervical screening can connect populations that desperately need screening to resources where that expertise exists. For example, developing countries in Africa could collect samples from patients and image these locally, but rely on resources in the UK to support the interpretation of the images and diagnoses. Digital diagnostics brings the promise of a ‘taxi-hailing’ type model to cervical cancer screening – connecting groups with resources (drivers with cars) to those who are in need (passengers): this is an efficient way of connecting laboratory professionals to doctors and patients around the world. It’s going to take many months to get cancer screening programmes up and running at normal levels again, with continued social distancing measures and additional infection control impacting turnaround times. But diagnostic innovation is on a trajectory that we cannot ignore. It will be key to getting cancer screening programmes get back on track. AI is a fundamental piece of the innovation puzzle and we are proud to be at the forefront of AI solutions for our customers and partners.

Read More
Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Unlocking the Puzzle: Navigating EHR Interoperability Solutions

Article | September 7, 2023

As competition for patients intensifies, more hospitals and health systems are embracing a consolidated, single-bill approach for services rendered. Creating a single bill for the patient’s portion of inpatient or outpatient services can help eliminate confusion and reduce the ill will that frequently results when patients receive multiple invoices for a single care event. Yet incorporating anesthesia charges into a consolidated invoice is often problematic due to the unique nature of the anesthesia billing compliance. Anesthesia Billing Service Hurdles A few weeks ago, I met with the CEO of a 300-bed hospital. We discussed anesthesia billing, and he explained that his hospital traditionally outsourced this portion of its billing due to the more complex nature of anesthesia coding and the need to collect anesthesia minutes for billing. Unlike most inpatient services, anesthesia charges are not directly derived from CPT codes but instead utilize minutes and modifiers unique to the specialty. That means coders must use a CPT crosswalk to account for ASA codes, base and time units, emergency- and physical-status monitors, split anesthesia units reflecting CRNA involvement, and other specialty-specific nuances. Most coders and hospital billing staff are not trained in these complexities, and hiring and retaining capable staff in today’s competitive market can be difficult. Moreover, many billing platforms are simply not equipped to incorporate all the variables necessary to produce an accurate anesthesia bill. As a result, producing a consolidated patient bill that includes anesthesia is tricky. Yet leaving anesthesia off a single bill can undercut its value since, after facility and surgical charges, anesthesia often is one of the largest cost items patients incur. Fortunately, we at Change Healthcare know how to roll anesthesia charges into existing hospital billing systems to produce an accurate and timely single patient bill. Helping to Reduce Costs The benefits of consolidated billing extend beyond an improved patient experience. Producing just one bill reduces costs and repetition at both the front and back end of the revenue cycle management process. It can also ease staff burden when collecting on self-pay accounts, since there’s only one bill per patient. Finally, consolidated bills can help increase revenue by simplifying collections when patients present for follow-up care. Here’s an example: When the patient comes back for post-surgery physical therapy, a hospital employee at the registration desk can remind them that they still owe $150 for anesthesia and ask if they’d like to take care of that now. In my experience, patients usually hand over their credit card and settle their bill on the spot when asked at the time of care about a balance due. System-Agnostic Billing Across Hospital Platforms Change Healthcare has a long history of providing full-service, outsourced anesthesia-billing services to hospital and health-system clients. Unlike most other billing vendors, we’ve developed what we call a system-agnostic approach. That means we’ll provide billing services on our proprietary system or on the hospital’s existing billing platform, regardless of type, to generate accurate anesthesia-billing results. In practical terms, we’ll function as part of your billing team and use the same system your coders and billing staff rely on to generate anesthesia charges that can be included in a single patient bill. System-agnostic billing also allows us to provide clients with custom anesthesia reporting that wouldn’t otherwise be available with an outsourced billing solution. This helps clients gain far greater visibility and insight into anesthesia-billing charges. And by incorporating our anesthesia coding and billing capabilities into your existing billing system, you’ll be spreading the platform’s fixed costs across a greater number of departments. The bottom line? It’s not a heavy lift for us to virtually embed our trained anesthesia coders and billing professionals into your system. Our specialists will review your existing platform and provide, at no obligation, a return-on-investment analysis that can help you determine whether outsourcing anesthesia billing to capture claims on a single hospital bill makes sense for you. We expect the answer will be yes. Not only will you enjoy greater system efficiencies, but you’ll be in a position to produce a single bill that truly reflects the entire episode of care.

Read More
Future of Healthcare

What’s the Best Post-COVID-19 Anesthesia Business Model -Hospital-Based or ASCs?

Article | February 19, 2022

Anesthesia groups face major challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic: Financially strapped hospitals are increasingly unwilling or unable to pay anesthesia subsidies, and a shortage of qualified anesthesiologists and CRNAs is making recruitment extraordinarily competitive. The good news is that anesthesia opportunities are plentiful in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market. As more inpatient procedures migrate to ASCs, anesthesia practices can help meet demand by working with hospitals and ASCs. A dual-contracting approach can help increase revenue, reduce operational risk, enhance recruiting leverage, and present opportunities for equity investments in ASC ventures. Expanding ASC Case Mix Multiple factors are driving increased ASC volume.Consumers have long been attracted to the convenience andfast turnaround timesASCs offer, and as the pandemic began to take hold and patients worried about becoming infected in hospitals, theirpopularityincreased. But even before the pandemic hit, theuse of ASCs was growing,with the number of centers increasing 7.1% annually since 2016.1No doubt this was in part driven by Medicare restricting fewer surgeries to the inpatient only (IPO) setting. This year alone, Medicare is adding 11 orthopedic procedures to the ASC-approved list, including total knee arthroscopy (TKA) and total hip arthroscopy (THA).2Commercial payersare alsofuelingASC volume by promotingthis venue as a lower-cost option to members.Lastly, with more than 90% of ASCs at least partially owned by physicians,providers themselvesare driving moreprocedures to this setting. Hospitals Become ASC Buyers For years, hospitals viewed ASCs as direct competition and discouraged or even prohibited inpatient anesthesia practices from contracting with them. But that dynamic is changing as more hospitals become buyers or majority investors. According to a recent survey, the percentage of hospitals and health systems planning to increase their investments in ASCs rose from 44% in 2019 to 67% in 2020, with 75% of 200-plus-bed hospitals already owning more than one ASC.3Hospitals view these investments as a way to enhance physician relationships and increase surgical capacity. The Benefits of Practice Diversification For anesthesia practices that elect to contract with both hospitals and ASCs, a key benefit is improved profitability, since average ASC case reimbursements are higher than average hospital cases due to better payer mix and more efficient room turnover. Groups that work with multiple organizations also reduce their institutional or operational risk by limiting their exposure to potential financial problems associated with a single contracted entity. Practices likewise gain an edge when it comes to recruiting in today’s highly competitive anesthesiologist and CRNA market. One of the chief benefits of ASC involvement is being in a position to offer a better work-life balance by spreading call responsibilities across a larger physician call pool. The math is simple: If a hospital group has seven physicians, each must provide call coverage once a week. But if the group also contracts with five ASCs and brings on five additional doctors to staff the facilities, individual call responsibilities are reduced to once every 12 days. The importance of mitigating call duties to improve the work-life balance for both experienced clinicians and new hires can’t be overstated, particularly as hospitals work to streamline OR throughput by increasing the number of surgical procedures. Groups can also explore a range of creative compensation approaches, including essentially selling call opportunities to newly hired or recent graduate anesthesiologists as additional avenues to attract qualified clinicians while easing the burden on senior anesthesiologists. Equity Opportunities Among the most intriguing aspects of ASC involvement is the potential for becoming an equity stakeholder in the business. Surgeons traditionally have been the primary drivers in creating ASCs, but new opportunities exist for anesthesiology groups, particularly if their hospital is buying an existing ASC or developing a new ASC venture and looking to diversify the ownership group. The idea of anesthesia ownership isn’t as crazy as it might sound. Like surgeons, anesthesiologists are integral to the success of an ASC, and like surgeons, they get there early and stay late. It’s no secret that joint ownership can greatly improve relations between the practice and the hospital, since both are now working toward the same objectives. Groups can also make more money. I met with a surgical group not long ago with a 49% ownership stake in a hospital. That equity generated an additional $80,000 per year for each physician partner. How much you can make, of course, depends on your specialty, your level of ownership, and the volume of business. But you’ll never know until you try. Outside Expertise The pandemic has unleashed numerous changes throughout healthcare, and where the dust will eventually settle isn’t entirely clear. But what is certain is that for organizations to remain viable, they’ll need to be flexible and look hard at nontraditional business opportunities. Contracting with both hospitals and ASCs represents one such approach for anesthesia groups. If you’re interested in exploring this and other business possibilities but don’t know where to start, Change Healthcare can help. Our team of expert anesthesia practice-management consultants have an average of 18 years’ experience in the specialty. We can be engaged on a per-project basis or we can provide our consultant services as part of our turnkey anesthesia-billing solution. Our anesthesia revenue cycle management services can be deployed either on our own proprietary anesthesia-billing platform or on your hospital billing system. Either way, we’ll provide seamless, end-to-end service.

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Cancer IQ, Inc

CancerIQ helps providers use genetic information to predict, pre-empt, and prevent disease - starting with cancer. By making is easier to identify patients at risk, offer a genetic evaluation at point of care, and design a tailored cancer prevention plan - we can help healthcare systems get ahead of this costly and emotionally devastating disease.

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Future of Healthcare

BioIntelliSense Joins Polaris Dawn Mission to Advance Understanding of Human Health in Space

BIOINTELLISENSE | November 15, 2022

BioIntelliSense, Inc., a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company, today announced its partnership with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) to further understanding of human health in space. The BioButton® medical grade wearable device will be used for commercial spaceflight research programs and notably during the upcoming five-day Polaris Dawn mission. This historic mission will be flown by SpaceX and is scheduled to launch after March 2023. Medical and scientific research on human health in space promotes the advancement of translational technologies by adapting known technology for space applications, and by using space-based insights to improve healthcare at home. “BioIntelliSense has proudly gained industry recognition for its innovative and comprehensive portfolio of continuous multi-parameter monitoring solutions for application in the acute care environment, at home settings and now, in the next frontier of space, As a lifelong space exploration enthusiast, it is a tremendous honor to be working with TRISH on health research that can benefit astronauts and crews during commercial space flight and for the BioButton devices to be part of the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission.” -James Mault, MD, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense The BioButton multi-parameter device is designed to be worn on the upper left chest and will passively capture trending physiologic and movement data from the Polaris Dawn crew during its milestone mission. The future of healthcare is here. Today, the BioIntelliSense Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform and clinical intelligence solution is commercially available and rapidly adopted by acute and post-acute providers in the U.S. along with select international markets. TRISH is proud to partner with innovative healthcare technology leaders like BioIntelliSense as we further our understanding of human health in space, Our EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration and ANalog Definition) commercial spaceflight health research platform provides unique opportunities to rapidly test technologies in orbit, as well as collect new datapoints on the health impact of spaceflight for a wider, more diverse population,said James Hury, TRISH Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy Director. BioIntelliSense (Booth #5025) and TRISH (Space Health Pavilion #2636) will be showcasing the BioButton wearable device and clinical intelligence solution at the premier HLTH 2022 conference November 13 – 16 in Las Vegas, NV. ABOUT BIOINTELLISENSE BioIntelliSense is ushering in a new era of continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence for remote patient monitoring (RPM). Its medical-grade Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform seamlessly captures multi-parameter vital signs, physiological biometrics and symptomatic events through an effortless patient experience. The medical-grade BioButton® wearable device makes remote monitoring and early detection simple. Through the platform’s advanced analytics, clinicians have access to high-resolution patient trending and reporting to enable medical grade remote care from in-hospital to home. ABOUT TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE for SPACE HEALTH (TRISH) Led by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine, TRISH is a consortium that includes partners Caltech and MIT. NASA recently awarded the Institute a six-year extension to further its work by delivering disruptive solutions to mitigate biomedical risks for human exploration while advancing terrestrial health technologies.

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Digital Healthcare

MedX Health and Health Partners Announce Agreement to Launch MedX’s Teledermatology Screening Platform

MedX Health Corp | March 03, 2022

MedX Health Corp.("MedX" or the "Company"), a global leader in teledermatology, is pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) and the launch of a new commercialization pilot project with Health Partners (OH) Limited, a well-respected, privately-owned corporate health, treatment and primary care services company in the United Kingdom. Serving a broad client base comprising corporates, government agencies, insurers, health trusts, pension funds and individuals, Health Partners (“HP”) employs 700+ people with telehealth, mobile and on-site operations across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The pilot will span three to six months and involve an estimated 600 patients across two of HP’s sites. Upon the successful completion of the pilot, the MedX DermSecure® Screening Platform will be made available to Health Partners' two million-plus patients. The agreement is the latest initiative in MedX’s global commercialization strategy and follows pilots recently launched across the Europe and Middle East region. "Health Partners’ Clinical Team constantly strives to identify leading technological innovations that offer the highest level of support to our two million-plus patients. MedX's leading skin assessment technology allows dermatologists to not only make more accurate diagnoses of pigmented lesions and moles, but to do that remotely and quickly. We are very proud to be partnering with MedX Health to bring this innovative and life-changing service to our clients.” Health Partners Managing Director Andrew Noble In addition to expanding its DermSecure® Screening Platform network globally, MedX has focused on building a presence in multiple market verticals such as pharmacies, medical clinics, building hubs, medical scanning clinics, mobile and remote medical practices, as well as esthetics and skincare clinics. The partnership with Health Partners represents MedX’s expansion into a new vertical; occupational health and wellbeing services. MedX Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Naman Demaghlatrous, added, "MedX is pleased to have established a presence in the strategic occupational health vertical. Health Partners brings our technology to a population of more than two million workers across the United Kingdom, thus expanding our footprint in the EMEA region considerably. We continue to execute on our strategy to identify strategic partnerships in the region that will allow us to grow our business and save lives simultaneously.” Health Partners will pilot MedX’s high-definition image-capture technology, SIAscopy®, and its secure, cloud-based patient management system, DermSecure®, which transmits and stores patient data throughout the assessment process. MedX's SIAscopy® is the only technology available that captures five high-resolution images of suspicious moles, lesions and skin conditions, including four spectrophotometric images taken 2mm below the skin's surface. This technology provides detailed patient scans, which a certified dermatologist can virtually assess within 72 hours. "We are honoured to be working with Health Partners on this most important initiative. According to Health & Safety Executive-commissioned research, there are more than 3000 cases of skin cancer annually in the construction industryalone. We are delighted to be entering the occupational health services market with a leader in the industry," stated Mike Druhan, MedX President, Dermatology Services. About Health Partners (OH) Ltd. Health Partners, headquartered in Uckfield, East Sussex, United Kingdom, is a leading health and wellbeing company, providing a full range of corporate health, treatment and primary care services to corporates, government, insurers, health trusts, pension funds and families. We combine expert advice and clinical services with smart systems to deliver impact-driven health programmes, tailored to improve people’s wellbeing and performance. Health Partners is founded on patient privacy and holds a significant number of accreditations, certifications and memberships, including ISO27001, CQC, SEQOHS and ISO9001. Health Partners offers its services across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, reaching two million plus people in organisations across several industries. About MedX Health Corp. MedX, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy® on DermSecure® telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy® technology. SIAscopy® is also imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate®, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate® include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view suspicious moles and lesions up to 2mm beneath in a pain-free, non-invasive manner. Its patented software then creates real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformité Européenne for use in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Brazil and Turkey.

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Digital Healthcare

Cognizant Collaborates with Microsoft to Offer New Virtual Healthcare Solution for Remote Patient Monitoring and Improved Care

Cognizant | March 02, 2022

Cognizant today announced it is collaboratingwith Microsoft to delivera new digital health solution to enhance remote patient monitoring for improved medical care. Cognizant's new solution, leveraging components of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, is the first of several planned offerings that combine remote patient monitoring and virtual health, utilizing products like smart watches, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters to collect and communicate patient health data to providers. Built-in analytics allow providers to cross-reference historical health information to gain patient insights and potentially identify early warning signs of chronic conditions so preventative measures can be taken. Additionally, the solution's remote capabilities enable telehealth visits, which continue to be a valuable option to mitigate barriers of care for patients with accessibility constraints, as well as implement time-sensitive interventions and improve personalized care. With chronic diseases expected to account for 70% of global deaths by 2030, advancements in digital integration are quickly becoming recognized as an optimal approach to preventing, managing, and treating disease.* As an early Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare partner, Cognizant has designed a solution that leverages Microsoft Azure services including FHIR, API Services, and Teams integration to improve scalability and reliability. This digital healthcare endeavor is backed by Cognizant's dedicated Microsoft Business Group, bringing together Cognizant's digital modernization expertise with Microsoft's focus on building Industry Clouds to deliver a commercially available, comprehensive, healthcare solution. This new offering is the first in a series of digital healthcare solutions from Cognizant as the company accelerates its client offerings aimed at implementing advanced healthcare technology to increase patient engagement, enhance personalized care, provide remote patient monitoring, and facilitate improved patient outcomes. Future offerings will build upon existing solution capabilities to help clients expedite implementation. "The bridging of technology and healthcare is creating new opportunities to improve how providers monitor the health of their patients and engage with them for time-sensitive interventions. Utilizing data analytics, secure cloud technology and interoperability products, our collaboration with Microsoft offers a unique, scalable solution that aims to connect providers and patients, and enhances the quality, timeliness, and personalization of healthcare." Surya Gummadi, Head of Cognizant Healthcare "Cognizant's new virtual healthcare solution utilizes differentiated capabilities, built on the secure and compliant Microsoft Cloud, that make it easy for people to collect and share health data using their own devices, while ensuring that providers have the data and insights they need to diagnose and treat patients," saidTom McGuinness, Corporate Vice President, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft. "We look forward to combining our technologies and collective expertise to deliver additional solutions that offer high quality healthcare and enable patient well-being." About Cognizant Cognizantengineers modern businesses. We help our clients modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in our fast-changing world. Together, we're improving everyday life.

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Future of Healthcare

BioIntelliSense Joins Polaris Dawn Mission to Advance Understanding of Human Health in Space

BIOINTELLISENSE | November 15, 2022

BioIntelliSense, Inc., a continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence company, today announced its partnership with the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) to further understanding of human health in space. The BioButton® medical grade wearable device will be used for commercial spaceflight research programs and notably during the upcoming five-day Polaris Dawn mission. This historic mission will be flown by SpaceX and is scheduled to launch after March 2023. Medical and scientific research on human health in space promotes the advancement of translational technologies by adapting known technology for space applications, and by using space-based insights to improve healthcare at home. “BioIntelliSense has proudly gained industry recognition for its innovative and comprehensive portfolio of continuous multi-parameter monitoring solutions for application in the acute care environment, at home settings and now, in the next frontier of space, As a lifelong space exploration enthusiast, it is a tremendous honor to be working with TRISH on health research that can benefit astronauts and crews during commercial space flight and for the BioButton devices to be part of the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission.” -James Mault, MD, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense The BioButton multi-parameter device is designed to be worn on the upper left chest and will passively capture trending physiologic and movement data from the Polaris Dawn crew during its milestone mission. The future of healthcare is here. Today, the BioIntelliSense Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform and clinical intelligence solution is commercially available and rapidly adopted by acute and post-acute providers in the U.S. along with select international markets. TRISH is proud to partner with innovative healthcare technology leaders like BioIntelliSense as we further our understanding of human health in space, Our EXPAND (Enhancing eXploration and ANalog Definition) commercial spaceflight health research platform provides unique opportunities to rapidly test technologies in orbit, as well as collect new datapoints on the health impact of spaceflight for a wider, more diverse population,said James Hury, TRISH Chief Innovation Officer and Deputy Director. BioIntelliSense (Booth #5025) and TRISH (Space Health Pavilion #2636) will be showcasing the BioButton wearable device and clinical intelligence solution at the premier HLTH 2022 conference November 13 – 16 in Las Vegas, NV. ABOUT BIOINTELLISENSE BioIntelliSense is ushering in a new era of continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence for remote patient monitoring (RPM). Its medical-grade Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform seamlessly captures multi-parameter vital signs, physiological biometrics and symptomatic events through an effortless patient experience. The medical-grade BioButton® wearable device makes remote monitoring and early detection simple. Through the platform’s advanced analytics, clinicians have access to high-resolution patient trending and reporting to enable medical grade remote care from in-hospital to home. ABOUT TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE for SPACE HEALTH (TRISH) Led by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine, TRISH is a consortium that includes partners Caltech and MIT. NASA recently awarded the Institute a six-year extension to further its work by delivering disruptive solutions to mitigate biomedical risks for human exploration while advancing terrestrial health technologies.

Read More

Digital Healthcare

MedX Health and Health Partners Announce Agreement to Launch MedX’s Teledermatology Screening Platform

MedX Health Corp | March 03, 2022

MedX Health Corp.("MedX" or the "Company"), a global leader in teledermatology, is pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) and the launch of a new commercialization pilot project with Health Partners (OH) Limited, a well-respected, privately-owned corporate health, treatment and primary care services company in the United Kingdom. Serving a broad client base comprising corporates, government agencies, insurers, health trusts, pension funds and individuals, Health Partners (“HP”) employs 700+ people with telehealth, mobile and on-site operations across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The pilot will span three to six months and involve an estimated 600 patients across two of HP’s sites. Upon the successful completion of the pilot, the MedX DermSecure® Screening Platform will be made available to Health Partners' two million-plus patients. The agreement is the latest initiative in MedX’s global commercialization strategy and follows pilots recently launched across the Europe and Middle East region. "Health Partners’ Clinical Team constantly strives to identify leading technological innovations that offer the highest level of support to our two million-plus patients. MedX's leading skin assessment technology allows dermatologists to not only make more accurate diagnoses of pigmented lesions and moles, but to do that remotely and quickly. We are very proud to be partnering with MedX Health to bring this innovative and life-changing service to our clients.” Health Partners Managing Director Andrew Noble In addition to expanding its DermSecure® Screening Platform network globally, MedX has focused on building a presence in multiple market verticals such as pharmacies, medical clinics, building hubs, medical scanning clinics, mobile and remote medical practices, as well as esthetics and skincare clinics. The partnership with Health Partners represents MedX’s expansion into a new vertical; occupational health and wellbeing services. MedX Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Naman Demaghlatrous, added, "MedX is pleased to have established a presence in the strategic occupational health vertical. Health Partners brings our technology to a population of more than two million workers across the United Kingdom, thus expanding our footprint in the EMEA region considerably. We continue to execute on our strategy to identify strategic partnerships in the region that will allow us to grow our business and save lives simultaneously.” Health Partners will pilot MedX’s high-definition image-capture technology, SIAscopy®, and its secure, cloud-based patient management system, DermSecure®, which transmits and stores patient data throughout the assessment process. MedX's SIAscopy® is the only technology available that captures five high-resolution images of suspicious moles, lesions and skin conditions, including four spectrophotometric images taken 2mm below the skin's surface. This technology provides detailed patient scans, which a certified dermatologist can virtually assess within 72 hours. "We are honoured to be working with Health Partners on this most important initiative. According to Health & Safety Executive-commissioned research, there are more than 3000 cases of skin cancer annually in the construction industryalone. We are delighted to be entering the occupational health services market with a leader in the industry," stated Mike Druhan, MedX President, Dermatology Services. About Health Partners (OH) Ltd. Health Partners, headquartered in Uckfield, East Sussex, United Kingdom, is a leading health and wellbeing company, providing a full range of corporate health, treatment and primary care services to corporates, government, insurers, health trusts, pension funds and families. We combine expert advice and clinical services with smart systems to deliver impact-driven health programmes, tailored to improve people’s wellbeing and performance. Health Partners is founded on patient privacy and holds a significant number of accreditations, certifications and memberships, including ISO27001, CQC, SEQOHS and ISO9001. Health Partners offers its services across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, reaching two million plus people in organisations across several industries. About MedX Health Corp. MedX, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy® on DermSecure® telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy® technology. SIAscopy® is also imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate®, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate® include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view suspicious moles and lesions up to 2mm beneath in a pain-free, non-invasive manner. Its patented software then creates real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformité Européenne for use in Canada, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Brazil and Turkey.

Read More

Digital Healthcare

Cognizant Collaborates with Microsoft to Offer New Virtual Healthcare Solution for Remote Patient Monitoring and Improved Care

Cognizant | March 02, 2022

Cognizant today announced it is collaboratingwith Microsoft to delivera new digital health solution to enhance remote patient monitoring for improved medical care. Cognizant's new solution, leveraging components of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, is the first of several planned offerings that combine remote patient monitoring and virtual health, utilizing products like smart watches, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters to collect and communicate patient health data to providers. Built-in analytics allow providers to cross-reference historical health information to gain patient insights and potentially identify early warning signs of chronic conditions so preventative measures can be taken. Additionally, the solution's remote capabilities enable telehealth visits, which continue to be a valuable option to mitigate barriers of care for patients with accessibility constraints, as well as implement time-sensitive interventions and improve personalized care. With chronic diseases expected to account for 70% of global deaths by 2030, advancements in digital integration are quickly becoming recognized as an optimal approach to preventing, managing, and treating disease.* As an early Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare partner, Cognizant has designed a solution that leverages Microsoft Azure services including FHIR, API Services, and Teams integration to improve scalability and reliability. This digital healthcare endeavor is backed by Cognizant's dedicated Microsoft Business Group, bringing together Cognizant's digital modernization expertise with Microsoft's focus on building Industry Clouds to deliver a commercially available, comprehensive, healthcare solution. This new offering is the first in a series of digital healthcare solutions from Cognizant as the company accelerates its client offerings aimed at implementing advanced healthcare technology to increase patient engagement, enhance personalized care, provide remote patient monitoring, and facilitate improved patient outcomes. Future offerings will build upon existing solution capabilities to help clients expedite implementation. "The bridging of technology and healthcare is creating new opportunities to improve how providers monitor the health of their patients and engage with them for time-sensitive interventions. Utilizing data analytics, secure cloud technology and interoperability products, our collaboration with Microsoft offers a unique, scalable solution that aims to connect providers and patients, and enhances the quality, timeliness, and personalization of healthcare." Surya Gummadi, Head of Cognizant Healthcare "Cognizant's new virtual healthcare solution utilizes differentiated capabilities, built on the secure and compliant Microsoft Cloud, that make it easy for people to collect and share health data using their own devices, while ensuring that providers have the data and insights they need to diagnose and treat patients," saidTom McGuinness, Corporate Vice President, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft. "We look forward to combining our technologies and collective expertise to deliver additional solutions that offer high quality healthcare and enable patient well-being." About Cognizant Cognizantengineers modern businesses. We help our clients modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences so they can stay ahead in our fast-changing world. Together, we're improving everyday life.

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