Bonus Features – February 19, 2023 – 80% of orgs collect SDOH data but struggle to make use of it, 2 in 3 cybersecurity pros say their orgs underestimate threats, and more

Bonus Features – February 19, 2023 – 80% of orgs collect SDOH data but struggle to make use of it, 2 in 3 cybersecurity pros say their orgs underestimate threats, and more

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.
Surveys
A survey of 2,600 AHIMA members found that about 80% of healthcare organizations are collecting social determinants of health data. The bad news: Organizations face multiple challenges…

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Health equity hindered by SDOH coding roadblocks

Health equity hindered by SDOH coding roadblocks

A new American Health Information Management Association study aimed at finding a better understanding of the operational realities of how social determinants of health data is used in real-world healthcare scenarios, finding a lack of standardization, insufficient training and limited cross-sector use.WHY IT MATTERS
The study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, surveyed more than 2,600 AHIMA members and nonmembers from a pool of 41,000 potential respondents between August 24 and September 9, 2022.
Respondents included coding professionals; managers, directors and vice presidents of health information management; HIM team members and executives. 
SDOH data can offer additional insights to help enrich clinical decision-making…

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Indian healthcare chiefs doubt their cybersecurity capability: report

Indian healthcare chiefs doubt their cybersecurity capability: report

A new survey report in India has gauged the stances of healthcare leaders on their use of technology in an effort to yield operational efficiencies, enhance service delivery, and improve health outcomes. More than 50 respondents, who are mostly chief executives of multi-site hospitals based in metropolitan cities, were polled by Grant Thornton Bharat and the Association of Healthcare Providers (India) in the said report titled “Technology transformation for future-ready healthcare.”
FINDINGS
The survey revealed that around eight in 10 respondents are increasing their digital and technology budget in the next 12 months. One major area of investment is 5G technology, which is noted for…

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Few Managed Care Plans Have Current Contact Info for Medicaid Members as Redeterminations Loom

Few Managed Care Plans Have Current Contact Info for Medicaid Members as Redeterminations Loom

Just about one-third of managed care plans have verified or current contact information for between 76% and 100% of their Medicaid members, a recent survey found. 
The news comes as the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision is set to expire March 31 due to the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The requirement was part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and banned states from disenrolling people from Medicaid during the public health emergency (although the Consolidated Appropriations Act separated the requirement from the PHE, which will end in May). Starting April 1, states can resume disenrollments and Medicaid enrollees will have to undergo the…

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Rising Costs Are Keeping Healthcare CFOs Up a Night — Can Data Help?

Rising Costs Are Keeping Healthcare CFOs Up a Night — Can Data Help?

The increasing costs of labor and supplies are the top issues keeping healthcare CFOs up at night, according to a new report released by Syntellis, a provider of performance management software. To effectively address these concerns, healthcare providers must ensure they have access to data-driven analytics software that can help them make important decisions — such as how to effectively manage their existing workforce and where to shift care delivery models — the report said.
Syntellis surveyed more than 200 U.S. healthcare finance professionals who work at hospitals, health systems and integrated delivery networks. These professionals agreed that last year was a…

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Mining EHR data to understand documentation burnout

Mining EHR data to understand documentation burnout

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information found that hospitals’ access and analysis of documentation data in electronic health records has increased over the past five years, but gaps in access and use remain for some hospitals.WHY IT MATTERSData from EHRs can track the time clinicians spend documenting and carrying out certain tasks. To measure physician burden on a national scale, ONC analyzed four waves of a nationally representative survey of U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals.
Published in January, in the special health IT issue of the American Journal of Managed Care, Trends in Electronic Health Record Capabilities for Tracking…

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How Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare Reduces Clinician Burnout, Improves Patient Care

How Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare Reduces Clinician Burnout, Improves Patient Care

Burnout is taking its toll on healthcare. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy notes that half of healthcare workers report symptoms of burnout that range from insomnia to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A Bain survey found that 25 percent of clinicians are considering switching careers, with burnout the No. 1 factor in those feelings. One strategy for combatting burnout is wider adoption of technology, particularly for automating routine and time-consuming tasks such as documentation. Bringing automation to clinicians isn’t without challenges, however. It takes time to identify the right solutions, implement…

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