Monday Morning Update 9/9/24

Top News

A cybersecurity researcher finds an unsecured web database that contains the information of patients of the ironically named Confidant Health, an AI-powered mental health and addiction treatment provider.

The database contained 120,000 files and included lengthy psychiatry patient intake notes. It also included audio and video recordings of sessions. Information in the files suggests that some of it was collected by Confidant’s conversational chatbot called Alfie.

The company says that less than 1% of those files could be accessed openly.

Confidant says that it fixed the problem within an hour of being notified. It objects that the findings were publicized in a “sensational” way.

Reader Comments

From Enlighted Analyst: “Re: CVS Health. Has announced that it will sunsetting its HDMS business as of the end of 2025. HDMS provides data warehousing and analytic services to health plans and large employers and was acquired by CVS Health as part of its acquisition of Aetna.” Reported in a CVS announcement. Health Data and Management Solutions offers the Enlight data solutions and visualization platform. It describes its business as “build[ing] connected health views for employers, health plans, providers, and brokers. We transform unrefined data, often disparate and difficult-to-access, into integrated insights.”

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

You are (sadly) beating poll respondent averages if you spend six or more hours dealing with work-related messages after hours. I have to commend employers who have somehow convinced their workers that spending their free (literally) time doing company work is OK.

New poll to your right or here: How much impact has the information technology that is used by your providers and insurers had on your overall health and happiness?

Webinars

September 10 (Tuesday) noon ET. “Overcoming Hurdles in Specialty Med Access Under Medical Benefits.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Drew Hunsinger, VP of corporate business development, DrFirst; Tyler Wince, MEd, VP of product and technology specialty solutions, DrFirst. More specialty medications, which made up 80% of FDA’s new drug approvals last year, are falling under medical benefits, which challenges the patient care processes and efficiency of providers. Medication access experts will discuss how automation and unified medication management solutions can ensure better outcomes for patients and providers by addressing patient access hurdles and enhancing the ‘stickiness’ of EHRs. They will also provide insights into how regulatory changes such as interoperability and prior authorization mandates will affect healthcare stakeholders.

September 17 (Thursday) noon ET. “Level Up Your Stars – Innovative Approaches to Boosting Quality Performance.” Sponsor: Navina. Presenters: Dana McCalley, MBA, VP of value-based care, Navina; Michael S. Barr, MD, MBA, chief medical officer, PreferCare; Yair Lewis, MD, PhD, chief medical officer, Navina. The presenters will explore strategies to boost quality performance and close care gaps effectively. Topics include enhancing quality metrics, developing strategies for care gap closure, leveraging AI for enhanced performance, and optimizing workflows.

September 19 (Thursday) 1 ET. “Cuttng-Edge Conversations: A Fireside Chat With Top CMIOs.” Sponsor: DrFirst. Presenters: Drex DeFord, MSHI, MPA, This Week Health; Lacy Knight, MD, MSMI, Piedmont Health; Jake Lancaster, MD, MSHA, MS, Baptist Memorial Health Care; Colin Banas, MD, MSHA, chief medical officer DrFirst. This fireside chat will distill key points from 15 CMIO participants of the 229 Executive Summit. Topics include the impact of AI on clinical workflows, strategies for optimizing healthcare operations, addressing physician burnout and patient safety, and advances in population health management.

October 3 (Thursday) 1 ET. “Navigating AI-Powered Medical Interpretation: Insights for Health Leaders.” Sponsor: Globo. Presenter: Dipak Patel, CEO, Globo. AI is redefining how providers can communicate with patients who speak limited English. However, not all LLMs are created equal, and their potential and limitations need to be examined further. Globo has published its results from testing several LLMs. This webinar will address the promises and perils of AI-enabled medical interpretation in summarizing that research in four key domains: the process of AI interpretation, how to measure it, the state of AI tools today, and the areas where AI falls short with interpretation.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre to present or promote your own.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Oracle acquires the former Cerner demonstration center on the vacant campus at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway. Oracle exercised the purchase option for the 125,000 square foot building that Cerner moved into in early 2019 in a sales-leaseback contract with North Kansas City.

Announcements and Implementations

Palantir launches HealthStart, a program for startup developers that focuses on three layers: streamlining compliance approvals, a starter kit for builders, and ontology as a service.

Government and Politics

Texas sues the federal government for implementing a HIPAA medical privacy rule that prohibits state investigators from obtaining the medical records of women who cross state lines to obtain abortion services. The lawsuit questions HHS’s ability to determine the scope of federal privacy and says that such action unlawfully limits state investigative authority, which is guaranteed by HIPAA.  

Two independent reviews find that VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals in patient satisfaction (79% four or five stars versus 40%) and hospital quality ratings (58% four or five stars versus 40%).

Sponsor Updates

• NeuroFlow staff volunteer with Cradles to Crayons to help pack bookbags for local students.
• EClinicalWorks releases a new podcast, “Cutting Costs and Improving Care Seamlessly.”
• Netsmart recaps its 17th annual Connections2024 conference in Dallas, which showcased customer achievements and AI innovations of its CareFabric platform.
• Wolters Kluwer Health offers free, online access to evidence-based information about mpox in a dedicated mpox resource center.
• RLDatix will host a lunch and learn session featuring customers Bozeman Health and St. Francis Hospital at NAMSS 2024 September 30 in Denver.
• Laudio publishes a new report, “Frontline Leaders in Focus: Executive Strategies for Top Workforce Trends.”
• Medicomp Systems releases a new episode of its Tell Me Where IT Hurts Podcast featuring ASTP/ONC Deputy Director, Certification & Testing Division, Jeffery Smith.
• Med Tech Solutions expands its capabilities into the acute care market by enhancing its Epic, Oracle Health, and Meditech expertise.
• Inovalon, Arcadia, Wolters Kluwer, and MRO will sponsor Rise West 2024 September 11-13 in Colorado Springs.
• Nordic releases a new episode of its “Designing for Health: podcast, “Interview with Steve Muething, MD.”
• Pivot Point Consulting Physician Executive Partner Nick Patel, MD joins the HIMSS 2025 Americas Board of Advisors.
• Rhapsody Health publishes a new case study, “Qventus achieves 10X performance and reduces customer onboarding time by 50%.”
• Sectra releases a new podcast, “From co-development to go-live: Inside Penn Medicine and Sectra’s genomics journey.”
• SmartSense by Digi will exhibit at the Health Connect Partners Hospital Pharmacy Fall Conference September 30-October 2 in Columbus, OH.
• SnapCare will exhibit at the Colorado Healthcare 2024 Fall Convention September 10-12 in Loveland.
• Gartner names Verato a Sample Vendor in its latest Hype Cycle for Real-Time Health System Technologies report.

Blog Posts

• Empower pharmacists and streamline processes with advanced data visualization (Meditech)
• CPT vs. ICD-10 Codes: Mapping the ‘Why’ and ‘What’ of Rehab Therapy Patient Journeys (Net Health)
• 3 Health Checks to Know a Workday and ServiceNow Integration is Right for Your Organization (Optimum Healthcare IT)

Contacts

Mr. H, Lorre, Jenn, Dr. Jayne.
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