Data

Data / en Sat, 26 Apr 2025 02:38:12 -0500 Thu, 19 Dec 24 14:36:02 -0600 HHS Publishes TEFCA Provisions of Health Data, Technology and Interoperability Rule <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8">The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Dec. 16 published a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/05/2024-14975/health-data-technology-and-interoperability-patient-engagement-information-sharing-and-public-health">final rule</a> implementing provisions related to the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). The rule is intended to advance equity, innovation and interoperability by promoting the use and exchange of electronically captured health information as specified in certain provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009.The final rule adds a new part — part 172 — to title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations to implement certain provisions related to TEFCA. These provisions establish the qualifications necessary for an entity to receive and maintain designation as a Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) capable of trusted exchange according to TEFCA. The final rule covers procedures governing QHINs including onboarding, designation, suspension and termination. The provisions this final rule adopts are not substantively different from those first proposed in August as part of the much larger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/05/2024-14975/health-data-technology-and-interoperability-patient-engagement-information-sharing-and-public-health">Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability (HTI-2)</a> rule and will be effective Jan. 15, 2025. Additional provisions of the HTI-2 rule, including Prior Authorization Application Programming Interfaces, more information blocking exceptions, United States Core Data for Interoperability Version 4 standards, and public health interoperability requirements are currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget and could be published in the future.<h2>AHA TAKE</h2>In our comments on the proposed rule, AHA supported the TEFCA objective of creating a common national framework that provides a universal technical foundation for interoperability. We also supported ONC’s proposed requirements for organizations choosing to participate in TEFCA as a QHIN. Specifically, we supported the recommendation that any organization aspiring to become a QHIN must adhere to specific privacy and security guidelines, with additional stipulations for those providing Individual Access Services.However, we expressed concerns about what happens to the hospitals and health systems that rely on any QHIN that gets suspended or terminated from TEFCA. We appreciate that the ONC acknowledged our concerns in this area but are disappointed it declined to change the rule because the requested changes were deemed out of scope. We will continue to press this issue and encourage ONC to address it in future rulemaking.&nbsp;Moreover, we also expressed concerns about the existing governance structure of TEFCA which gives QHINs the primary responsibility for ensuring that its participants abide by TEFCA’s requirements. We conveyed that this governance structure runs the risk of quickly exceeding the capabilities of both QHINs and the Recognized Coordinating Entity — the organization responsible for TEFCA’s oversite — of effectively managing participation in TEFCA. Although ONC did not change the proposed rule, the agency acknowledged these concerns and noted it “will continue to monitor TEFCA” and “will consider additional measures should circumstances arise that show that QHINs require additional oversight.”<h2>WHAT YOU CAN DO</h2><ul><li>Share this advisory with your government relations, information systems and compliance teams to apprise them of this final rule.</li><li>Contact&nbsp;the AHA with any questions or concerns regarding these provisions.</li><li>Watch for notices of additional HTI-2 provisions published as final rules soon.</li></ul><h2>SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS</h2><ul type="disc"><li>Codifies (in new 45 CFR part 172) provisions related to TEFCA to provide greater process transparency and to further implement section 3001(c)(9) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as added by the Cures Act.</li><li>Establishes the processes for an entity to qualify and maintain designation as a QHIN capable of trusted exchange under the Common Agreement.</li><li>Establishes the procedures governing the onboarding, suspension, termination and administrative appeals to the ONC for QHINs.</li><li>Codifies requirements related to QHIN attestation for the adoption of TEFCA. This subpart implements section 3001(c)(9)(D) of the PHSA and includes the requirement for ONC to publish a list on their website of the health information networks that have adopted the Common Agreement and are capable of trusted exchange pursuant to the Common Agreement.</li><li>Reenforces that adoption of TEFCA is voluntary. Section 3001(c)(9)(D)(ii) requires HHS to establish, through notice and comment rulemaking, a process for HINs that voluntarily elect to adopt TEFCA to attest to such adoption.</li><li>Finalizes the TEFCA Manner Exception, which allows an actor to limit electronic health information sharing requests to TEFCA only without being considered information blocking with no revisions.</li></ul><h2>FURTHER QUESTIONS</h2>If you have further questions, please contact Stephen Hughes, AHA’s director of health information technology policy, at <a href="mailto:Stephen.hughes@aha.org">Stephen.hughes@aha.org</a>.</div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2024/12/hhs-publishes-tefca-provisions-of-health-data-technology-and-interoperability-rule.pdf"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/cover-hhs-publishes-tefca-provisions-of-health-data-technology-and-interoperability-rule.png" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="Regulatory Advisory Cover" width="679" height="878"></a></div></div></div> Thu, 19 Dec 2024 14:36:02 -0600 Data Preparing for the Future: How the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative is Transforming Care for America's Aging Population /advancing-health-podcast/2024-12-02-preparing-future-how-age-friendly-health-systems-initiative-transforming-care-americas 30 years from now, it's projected that nearly one quarter of America's population will be age 65 or older. To mitigate potential care gaps, the Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative was created to improve health care for older adults. In this conversation, Dave Eaker, geriatric program coordinator at Atrium Health, and Shannon Morton, assistant vice president of patient care services at Atrium Health Cabarrus, discuss the reasons the organization made the jump to join the Initiative, the infrastructure being developed across the system, and the difference it's made for the aging population.Learn more about the <a href="/center/age-friendly-health-systems" title="Age-Friendly Health Systems">Age-Friendly Health Systems</a> initiative.<hr><div></div> <details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> View Transcript &nbsp; </h2> </summary> 00:00:00:11 - 00:00:22:04 Tom Haederle Hospitals and health systems are continually advancing innovation and using technology to transform patient care and improve health outcomes. Examples include better methods of collecting and organizing mountains of data, as well as partnering with universities to advance research. Artificial intelligence plays an ever-growing role as well, a trend that many leaders in the field consider the only way forward 00:00:22:05 - 00:00:44:07 Tom Haederle in a time of diminishing resources. Will the wider use of innovative tech make care more impersonal and put a damper on the human connection between patients and their doctors? Experts say no. In fact, just the opposite. 00:00:44:10 - 00:01:07:12 Tom Haederle Welcome to Advancing Health, the podcast of the �� Association. I'm Tom Haederle with AHA communications. In this month's Leadership Dialogue series podcast hosted by Dr. Joanne Conroy, CEO and President of Dartmouth Health and the 2024 board chair of the �� Association, we learn how Banner Health has gone all in with its commitment to embracing technological innovation. 00:01:07:15 - 00:01:20:05 Tom Haederle Artificial intelligence and other technologies can relieve caregivers of many of the tedious aspects of their jobs, freeing up precious time to spend building relationships with their patients and greatly increasing patient satisfaction. 00:01:20:07 - 00:01:46:15 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Thank you for joining us today for another AHA Leadership Dialogue discussion. It's great to be with you. I'm Joanne Conroy, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health and the current chair of the �� Association Board of Trustees. I'm looking forward to our conversation today with my colleague Amy Perry, president and CEO of Banner Health. That's headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. 00:01:46:17 - 00:02:19:03 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Amy has a passion for innovation and research and has embraced Banner's mission of making health care easier so life can be better. Her career has been spent championing a people-first approach to health care. And as you'll hear, that approach extends to innovation and research that will make care better. Banner is a not for profit health system with 33 hospitals, including academic medical centers that provide access and health care services to over six states. 00:02:19:06 - 00:02:42:21 Joanne Conroy, M.D. And it is so well-suited to advancing innovation and research that improves the lives of patients, families and the communities that it serves. What is the role do you think that technology plays? Because I know Banner is investing big in technology to kind of help us move from aspiring to deliver greater value to actually doing it. 00:02:42:23 - 00:03:11:21 Amy Perry Yeah, I think it's the only way forward for us because we need to do things dramatically different. We don't see the reimbursement moving at the rate that it costs us to deliver the care that we need to. And at Banner, and I'm sure similar to other nonprofits, we deliver $760 million in free care and uncompensated services a year so, three quarters of $1 billion dollars, 00:03:11:23 - 00:03:38:17 Amy Perry how do you make up that kind of difference? And we're going to try to do it through technological innovation. So our board has agreed to put aside $1 billion dollars, that's a really big amount of money that we're planning to invest in technology. We're nine months into our strategy. And number one is, &nbsp;and it's no big surprise, it's really organizing our data. 00:03:38:20 - 00:04:05:01 Amy Perry And when you have a big health system like Banner that has really grown over the years, you find that there's a lot of data platforms that have been plugged in throughout the years. And so we need to create one data platform, and that's what we're working on right now. We are, you know, unifying our data fields pulling all of our -I mean, massive amounts of data. 00:04:05:03 - 00:04:36:16 Amy Perry We see 3.6 million unique lives every year. So you can imagine the data - that's more than 10 million encounters on an annual basis. So the amount of data that we need to manage is just extreme. So we need to do that. We need to have proper indexing. And with that platform, with that foundation, we believe we're going to be able to do all of the wonderful things that we hope we're going to be able to do with AI: 00:04:36:16 - 00:05:01:05 Amy Perry ambient listening, making it easier for our caregivers, letting our caregivers really work at the top of their license. So our technology plan is not only exciting. I think it's mandatory for our future sustainability, not just at Banner, but everywhere, because we're going to need to learn to work with less. 00:05:01:07 - 00:05:31:21 Joanne Conroy, M.D. When you think about data and using data to make the right clinical decisions, and then all the AI, generative AI, ambient listening, all the chat bots, things that you almost say replace vacancies with technology, how do you marry the two, and how would you describe that patient experience once you get that marriage of the data as well as the sexy generative AI? 00:05:31:24 - 00:05:37:26 Joanne Conroy, M.D. You know, having Hal in the room with you to guide you to care for your patients. 00:05:37:28 - 00:06:05:13 Amy Perry Yeah, it's a great, great point. First of all, I don't think we're really going to be replacing humans with technology any time soon. I think what we want to do is enhance the lives of the people that are providing the care, and allow them to work more efficiently so we can increase our access. You know, in Arizona, which is our largest market, it's one of the fastest growing cities in the US. 00:06:05:13 - 00:06:47:03 Amy Perry So just keeping up with the growth, what I'm hoping is that we can do more with the same number of people because we will, and not completely, but with less of a 1 to 1 addition, because we will be adding technology to make people's jobs more efficient. You know, I love ambient listening and having a one on one, eyeball to eyeball conversation that gets, you know, automatically absorbed into the chart, helps build and document and do all the tedious work that keeps our caregivers from being able to have that pure relationship with their patient, 00:06:47:05 - 00:07:21:22 Amy Perry that really gives them the joy that they came into medicine to have. And so I'm hoping that technology actually brings humans and our human interaction closer together, because it's doing the tedious work so our people can build the relationships that they care about. So, I just feel like all of this, including device integration, all of the fundamental things that we need to do to be able to improve eye contact, be able to improve the human experience. 00:07:21:22 - 00:07:26:09 Amy Perry And I think it's going to have a dramatic impact on patient satisfaction. 00:07:26:12 - 00:07:53:23 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Yeah. When we talk to our providers that are using the ambient technology, it is they're never going back, right? It's interesting. They initially say they it's a little bit more difficult because they're used to like filling out a framework. And now they're just having a conversation. So they have to kind of adjust their perspective a little bit. But they love it because it does 00:07:53:23 - 00:08:30:12 Joanne Conroy, M.D. just as you have said. It removes a lot of the tedious work. But there is tedious work that I think we're hoping that AI will do for us, you know, outside of the patient visit. And that is not only a back office billing where we've actually had AI in revenue cycle for years, but probably in writing code so all of our platforms will talk to each other, as well as actually getting patients to the right place, minimizing the number of calls that they have to make or people they have to talk to. 00:08:30:14 - 00:08:40:01 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Is there a downside to all the technology, though? Is there something that we should be concerned about and/or is Banner concerned about? 00:08:40:04 - 00:09:04:23 Amy Perry Absolutely. I think that the number one concern that we have is quality assurance. And so pretty much all of the AI that we've implemented, in fact, all of it has what we call humans in the loop. So we don't have any autonomous AI because we just are not confident with the data sources to make sure data in, data out. 00:09:04:25 - 00:09:33:20 Amy Perry So everything we do now does have, a quality assurance review, a human review, a make sure that we don't get too confident at this stage in the development that the technology is going to be right 100% at the time. So what we're really hoping is that it just elevates each of our abilities, whether it's in a business function or in a clinical function, but doesn't completely replace it. 00:09:33:22 - 00:10:11:06 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Talk a little bit about research. When I think about AI in research, I'm thinking it almost helps the patient kind of become a better patient, become more educated about the conditions they have, maybe access clinical trials if they're candidates for them and/or almost make every single interaction be kind of part of medical knowledge. But that's probably maybe overly simplistic as you look at really data and AI in research at Banner, what are your hopes for what that can do for you? 00:10:11:09 - 00:10:37:20 Amy Perry I think it'll have an incredible impact in a very good way. And you know, we have a very large relationship with the University of Arizona, three medical campuses and a lot of incredible researchers who need quality data to work through their ideas and to follow through in determining the potential for clinical trial candidates, things like that. 00:10:37:20 - 00:11:06:07 Amy Perry So our ability in the future, to be able to identify people who could benefit from a emerging technology and emerging drug and emerging treatment. I mean, I think we're going to be able to be so much more proactive because of the ability to have a computer scan all the data, find people that would be candidates for solutions that may not have existed when they were first diagnosed. 00:11:06:07 - 00:11:30:28 Amy Perry So I think that data, again, it all goes back to data, which is why that's the core of our technology plan and making sure that we're creating availability and access. Again, so much of this is access - to the trials that we currently have open, which is, you know, hundreds of trials through our relationships and through our amazing, principal investigators here. 00:11:30:28 - 00:11:54:09 Amy Perry And I'm sure you see the same thing, you know, working in an academic health system like you do. You know, just being able to match patients that could benefit from these emerging technologies. And that's just in and of itself, impossible without these kinds of data intervention bots, the kinds of things that are going to help us streamline that. 00:11:54:11 - 00:12:12:03 Amy Perry And then, of course, you know, the vaccine development, the kinds of things that were never even contemplated years ago are now facilitated with, you know, large processing, the ability to process just huge, large data models. So I could not be more excited. 00:12:12:05 - 00:12:37:11 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Yeah. You know, there are certain areas that just are hotbeds. I think our radiology, you know, they've been using AI for a long time. Maybe people are not aware of it, but almost a second set of eyes, on you know, every single image. And our pathologists, are you know, doing amazing things. And as our organization says, oh, we have to get our arms around artificial intelligence. 00:12:37:11 - 00:12:58:10 Joanne Conroy, M.D. And I feel like saying, hmm, it's out of the gate and halfway around the track already. And how do you actually support our researchers who are doing things &nbsp;at both of our institutions are amazing. I think the world that's facing us is going to be filled with technology and innovation, and we all just have to be a little bit nimble and open to change. 00:12:58:13 - 00:13:20:01 Joanne Conroy, M.D. But you are so well positioned to do that. So we want to thank you for sharing your valuable expertise and insights. You've had a remarkable career and have served in just an incredible array of payment systems that you're perfectly positioned to make a real impact at Banner in the six states that you serve. 00:13:20:05 - 00:13:22:25 Amy Perry I feel fortunate. So thank you. 00:13:22:29 - 00:13:36:14 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Well, thank you for doing everything you do, Amy. And until next time, thank everybody for tuning in. And I look forward to seeing you at next month's leadership dialogue. Have a great day. 00:13:36:17 - 00:13:43:24 Tom Haederle Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you 00:13:43:26 - 00:13:44:27 Tom Haederle get your podcasts. </details> </div>--&gt; Mon, 02 Dec 2024 17:18:08 -0600 Data Leadership Dialogue Series: The Future is Here — Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Health Care /advancing-health-podcast/2024-11-25-leadership-dialogue-series-future-here-artificial-intelligence-and-its-role-health-care Artificial intelligence (AI) in health care isn't an innovation for the distant future; it's already here. But how will it develop across all sectors of the health care field? In this Leadership Dialogue conversation, Amy Perry, president and CEO of Banner Health, discusses how AI and other technologies can relieve caregivers of tedious and time-consuming aspects of their jobs, and help organize critical data for caregivers, patients and research.This podcast has been edited for time, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlnpFa4yYPE" target="_blank" title="Leadership Dialogue Series: Advancing Health Care Innovation with Amy Perry">view the full conversation</a>.<hr><div><div></div></div><div class="raw-html-embed"> <details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> View Transcript &nbsp; </h2> </summary> 00:00:00:11 - 00:00:22:04 Tom Haederle Hospitals and health systems are continually advancing innovation and using technology to transform patient care and improve health outcomes. Examples include better methods of collecting and organizing mountains of data, as well as partnering with universities to advance research. Artificial intelligence plays an ever-growing role as well, a trend that many leaders in the field consider the only way forward 00:00:22:05 - 00:00:44:07 Tom Haederle in a time of diminishing resources. Will the wider use of innovative tech make care more impersonal and put a damper on the human connection between patients and their doctors? Experts say no. In fact, just the opposite. 00:00:44:10 - 00:01:07:12 Tom Haederle Welcome to Advancing Health, the podcast of the �� Association. I'm Tom Haederle with AHA communications. In this month's Leadership Dialogue series podcast hosted by Dr. Joanne Conroy, CEO and President of Dartmouth Health and the 2024 board chair of the �� Association, we learn how Banner Health has gone all in with its commitment to embracing technological innovation. 00:01:07:15 - 00:01:20:05 Tom Haederle Artificial intelligence and other technologies can relieve caregivers of many of the tedious aspects of their jobs, freeing up precious time to spend building relationships with their patients and greatly increasing patient satisfaction. 00:01:20:07 - 00:01:46:15 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Thank you for joining us today for another AHA Leadership Dialogue discussion. It's great to be with you. I'm Joanne Conroy, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health and the current chair of the �� Association Board of Trustees. I'm looking forward to our conversation today with my colleague Amy Perry, president and CEO of Banner Health. That's headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. 00:01:46:17 - 00:02:19:03 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Amy has a passion for innovation and research and has embraced Banner's mission of making health care easier so life can be better. Her career has been spent championing a people-first approach to health care. And as you'll hear, that approach extends to innovation and research that will make care better. Banner is a not for profit health system with 33 hospitals, including academic medical centers that provide access and health care services to over six states. 00:02:19:06 - 00:02:42:21 Joanne Conroy, M.D. And it is so well-suited to advancing innovation and research that improves the lives of patients, families and the communities that it serves. What is the role do you think that technology plays? Because I know Banner is investing big in technology to kind of help us move from aspiring to deliver greater value to actually doing it. 00:02:42:23 - 00:03:11:21 Amy Perry Yeah, I think it's the only way forward for us because we need to do things dramatically different. We don't see the reimbursement moving at the rate that it costs us to deliver the care that we need to. And at Banner, and I'm sure similar to other nonprofits, we deliver $760 million in free care and uncompensated services a year so, three quarters of $1 billion dollars, 00:03:11:23 - 00:03:38:17 Amy Perry how do you make up that kind of difference? And we're going to try to do it through technological innovation. So our board has agreed to put aside $1 billion dollars, that's a really big amount of money that we're planning to invest in technology. We're nine months into our strategy. And number one is, &nbsp;and it's no big surprise, it's really organizing our data. 00:03:38:20 - 00:04:05:01 Amy Perry And when you have a big health system like Banner that has really grown over the years, you find that there's a lot of data platforms that have been plugged in throughout the years. And so we need to create one data platform, and that's what we're working on right now. We are, you know, unifying our data fields pulling all of our -I mean, massive amounts of data. 00:04:05:03 - 00:04:36:16 Amy Perry We see 3.6 million unique lives every year. So you can imagine the data - that's more than 10 million encounters on an annual basis. So the amount of data that we need to manage is just extreme. So we need to do that. We need to have proper indexing. And with that platform, with that foundation, we believe we're going to be able to do all of the wonderful things that we hope we're going to be able to do with AI: 00:04:36:16 - 00:05:01:05 Amy Perry ambient listening, making it easier for our caregivers, letting our caregivers really work at the top of their license. So our technology plan is not only exciting. I think it's mandatory for our future sustainability, not just at Banner, but everywhere, because we're going to need to learn to work with less. 00:05:01:07 - 00:05:31:21 Joanne Conroy, M.D. When you think about data and using data to make the right clinical decisions, and then all the AI, generative AI, ambient listening, all the chat bots, things that you almost say replace vacancies with technology, how do you marry the two, and how would you describe that patient experience once you get that marriage of the data as well as the sexy generative AI? 00:05:31:24 - 00:05:37:26 Joanne Conroy, M.D. You know, having Hal in the room with you to guide you to care for your patients. 00:05:37:28 - 00:06:05:13 Amy Perry Yeah, it's a great, great point. First of all, I don't think we're really going to be replacing humans with technology any time soon. I think what we want to do is enhance the lives of the people that are providing the care, and allow them to work more efficiently so we can increase our access. You know, in Arizona, which is our largest market, it's one of the fastest growing cities in the US. 00:06:05:13 - 00:06:47:03 Amy Perry So just keeping up with the growth, what I'm hoping is that we can do more with the same number of people because we will, and not completely, but with less of a 1 to 1 addition, because we will be adding technology to make people's jobs more efficient. You know, I love ambient listening and having a one on one, eyeball to eyeball conversation that gets, you know, automatically absorbed into the chart, helps build and document and do all the tedious work that keeps our caregivers from being able to have that pure relationship with their patient, 00:06:47:05 - 00:07:21:22 Amy Perry that really gives them the joy that they came into medicine to have. And so I'm hoping that technology actually brings humans and our human interaction closer together, because it's doing the tedious work so our people can build the relationships that they care about. So, I just feel like all of this, including device integration, all of the fundamental things that we need to do to be able to improve eye contact, be able to improve the human experience. 00:07:21:22 - 00:07:26:09 Amy Perry And I think it's going to have a dramatic impact on patient satisfaction. 00:07:26:12 - 00:07:53:23 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Yeah. When we talk to our providers that are using the ambient technology, it is they're never going back, right? It's interesting. They initially say they it's a little bit more difficult because they're used to like filling out a framework. And now they're just having a conversation. So they have to kind of adjust their perspective a little bit. But they love it because it does 00:07:53:23 - 00:08:30:12 Joanne Conroy, M.D. just as you have said. It removes a lot of the tedious work. But there is tedious work that I think we're hoping that AI will do for us, you know, outside of the patient visit. And that is not only a back office billing where we've actually had AI in revenue cycle for years, but probably in writing code so all of our platforms will talk to each other, as well as actually getting patients to the right place, minimizing the number of calls that they have to make or people they have to talk to. 00:08:30:14 - 00:08:40:01 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Is there a downside to all the technology, though? Is there something that we should be concerned about and/or is Banner concerned about? 00:08:40:04 - 00:09:04:23 Amy Perry Absolutely. I think that the number one concern that we have is quality assurance. And so pretty much all of the AI that we've implemented, in fact, all of it has what we call humans in the loop. So we don't have any autonomous AI because we just are not confident with the data sources to make sure data in, data out. 00:09:04:25 - 00:09:33:20 Amy Perry So everything we do now does have, a quality assurance review, a human review, a make sure that we don't get too confident at this stage in the development that the technology is going to be right 100% at the time. So what we're really hoping is that it just elevates each of our abilities, whether it's in a business function or in a clinical function, but doesn't completely replace it. 00:09:33:22 - 00:10:11:06 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Talk a little bit about research. When I think about AI in research, I'm thinking it almost helps the patient kind of become a better patient, become more educated about the conditions they have, maybe access clinical trials if they're candidates for them and/or almost make every single interaction be kind of part of medical knowledge. But that's probably maybe overly simplistic as you look at really data and AI in research at Banner, what are your hopes for what that can do for you? 00:10:11:09 - 00:10:37:20 Amy Perry I think it'll have an incredible impact in a very good way. And you know, we have a very large relationship with the University of Arizona, three medical campuses and a lot of incredible researchers who need quality data to work through their ideas and to follow through in determining the potential for clinical trial candidates, things like that. 00:10:37:20 - 00:11:06:07 Amy Perry So our ability in the future, to be able to identify people who could benefit from a emerging technology and emerging drug and emerging treatment. I mean, I think we're going to be able to be so much more proactive because of the ability to have a computer scan all the data, find people that would be candidates for solutions that may not have existed when they were first diagnosed. 00:11:06:07 - 00:11:30:28 Amy Perry So I think that data, again, it all goes back to data, which is why that's the core of our technology plan and making sure that we're creating availability and access. Again, so much of this is access - to the trials that we currently have open, which is, you know, hundreds of trials through our relationships and through our amazing, principal investigators here. 00:11:30:28 - 00:11:54:09 Amy Perry And I'm sure you see the same thing, you know, working in an academic health system like you do. You know, just being able to match patients that could benefit from these emerging technologies. And that's just in and of itself, impossible without these kinds of data intervention bots, the kinds of things that are going to help us streamline that. 00:11:54:11 - 00:12:12:03 Amy Perry And then, of course, you know, the vaccine development, the kinds of things that were never even contemplated years ago are now facilitated with, you know, large processing, the ability to process just huge, large data models. So I could not be more excited. 00:12:12:05 - 00:12:37:11 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Yeah. You know, there are certain areas that just are hotbeds. I think our radiology, you know, they've been using AI for a long time. Maybe people are not aware of it, but almost a second set of eyes, on you know, every single image. And our pathologists, are you know, doing amazing things. And as our organization says, oh, we have to get our arms around artificial intelligence. 00:12:37:11 - 00:12:58:10 Joanne Conroy, M.D. And I feel like saying, hmm, it's out of the gate and halfway around the track already. And how do you actually support our researchers who are doing things &nbsp;at both of our institutions are amazing. I think the world that's facing us is going to be filled with technology and innovation, and we all just have to be a little bit nimble and open to change. 00:12:58:13 - 00:13:20:01 Joanne Conroy, M.D. But you are so well positioned to do that. So we want to thank you for sharing your valuable expertise and insights. You've had a remarkable career and have served in just an incredible array of payment systems that you're perfectly positioned to make a real impact at Banner in the six states that you serve. 00:13:20:05 - 00:13:22:25 Amy Perry I feel fortunate. So thank you. 00:13:22:29 - 00:13:36:14 Joanne Conroy, M.D. Well, thank you for doing everything you do, Amy. And until next time, thank everybody for tuning in. And I look forward to seeing you at next month's leadership dialogue. Have a great day. 00:13:36:17 - 00:13:43:24 Tom Haederle Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you 00:13:43:26 - 00:13:44:27 Tom Haederle get your podcasts. </details> </div> Mon, 25 Nov 2024 08:53:50 -0600 Data AHA makes recommendations supporting CMS’ proposed MAO data collection and audit protocol /news/headline/2024-11-12-aha-makes-recommendations-supporting-cms-proposed-mao-data-collection-and-audit-protocol The AHA Nov. 11 voiced strong <a href="/lettercomment/2024-11-11-aha-responds-cms-medicare-advantage-data-and-audit-proposed-protocol" target="_blank">support</a> for the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services’ proposed plan for data collection and reporting requirements for Medicare Advantage organizations. In addition, the AHA supports CMS’ proposed audit protocol, which would assess MAO compliance with MA utilization management program requirements codified in the calendar year 2024 MA final rule. &nbsp; The AHA provided detailed comments on the scope and mechanisms for required reporting and identified opportunities to increase public transparency of MAO performance. In addition, the AHA provided specific recommendations to strengthen requirements and reporting related to MAOs’ use of internal coverage criteria, compliance with the two-midnight benchmark and access to post-acute care — where hospitals and health systems report the greatest challenges and concerns with MA practices diverging from Medicare rules and requirements. AHA also identified other priority areas warranting increased oversight, including MAO requests for additional documentation, peer-to-peer requests, member appeals and business practices of third-party vendors. Tue, 12 Nov 2024 16:34:48 -0600 Data CMS Releases Interpretive Guidance on Hospital Respiratory Data Condition of Participation <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8">The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) yesterday released interpretive <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-25-05-hospitals-cahs.pdf">guidance</a> providing additional details for the hospital respiratory data condition of participation (CoP). The new CoP, which takes effect on Nov. 1, requires all Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) (other than inpatient psychiatric hospitals (IPFs), inpatient rehabilitation hospitals (IRFs), and distinct part unit psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals) to electronically submit certain COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) weekly. This includes data on confirmed infections of COVID-19, influenza and RSV among hospitalized patients, hospital bed census and capacity, and limited patient demographic information. IPFs, IRFs, psychiatric hospital distinct part units, and rehabilitation hospital distinct part units will report once — annually — beginning in January 2025.This guidance also outlines CMS’s multi-step notification and enforcement process and describes additional data elements to be reported during a public health emergency (PHE).<h2>KEY HIGHLIGHTS</h2><ul><li>Most Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and CAHs will begin submitting weekly data reports related to COVID-19, influenza and RSV for the week beginning on Nov. 3.</li><li>IRFs and IPFs (including distinct part unit IRFs and IPFs) will begin reporting once — annually — in January 2025.</li><li>Hospitals will report the data using the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), and CMS instructs hospitals to follow the reporting protocols provided by the CDC.</li><li>Hospitals will have two options for reporting data — “daily” reporting, in which hospitals submit reports containing daily data values for the previous week, or a “weekly” option, in which hospitals submit cumulative weekly totals of new admissions for COVID-19, influenza and RSV along with one-day-per-week snapshots of other data. Regardless of the option hospitals choose, the data must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PT every Tuesday.</li><li>Compliance will be assessed based on 28-day periods covering four reporting weeks. The CDC will provide CMS with reports detailing the timeliness and completeness of reports submitted each 28 days.</li><li>Hospitals and CAHs that do not comply with the requirements will receive a series of incomplete reporting notification letters. Continued non-compliance may result in termination of the provider’s participation in the Medicare program.</li></ul>Reporting Processes.&nbsp;Hospitals will have two options for submitting data into NHSN once per week, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the CoP. The reporting week is defined as Sunday through Saturday, with the first reporting week starting Sunday, Nov. 3, and ending Saturday, Nov. 10.<ul><li>Daily Reporting.&nbsp;Under this option, hospitals and CAHs must electronically submit daily values for all data fields weekly to the CDC through the NHSN system.</li><li>Weekly Reporting. Under this option, hospitals would report new admissions of patients with confirmed respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza and RSV, as cumulative weekly totals by age group, instead of submitting data for each weekday. Other data elements (e.g., staffed bed capacity and occupancy) should be reported as one-day-a-week snapshots. The NHSN protocol indicates that the snapshot day should be the Wednesday of the reporting week. For example, for the reporting week starting Sunday, Nov. 3, hospitals should report data from Wednesday, Nov. 6.</li></ul>The NHSN <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/psc/hospital-respiratory-reporting.html">website</a> includes a reporting <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/pdfs/pscmanual/HRD-Protocol-Final.pdf">protocol</a> and other information describing the reporting process and data elements in detail. For the weekly reporting option, the reporting protocol and website also describe which data elements should be reported as cumulative weekly totals or snapshots.Notification and Enforcement Process for Non-Compliance.&nbsp;CMS will assess compliance with the new CoP over 28-day periods covering four reporting weeks. Following the fourth submission for each 28 days, the CDC will provide CMS with a report detailing the timeliness and completeness of submissions made during each such period. Hospitals and CAHs that fail to submit complete and timely reports will receive an incomplete reporting notification letter from CMS. Continued non-compliance will be followed with additional notification letters and may lead to enforcement action against the hospital or CAH.For the first reporting period in November 2024, hospitals and CAHs that have not demonstrated compliance with the new requirements will receive an initial warning letter explaining the reporting requirements and process, along with CDC contact information for the hospital or CAH to request technical assistance. This letter will only be used for the first month of reporting under the new CoP.For hospitals and CAHs that have not met the reporting requirements in subsequent 28-day periods, CMS will issue a series of notification letters that may be followed by enforcement action against the provider.<ol><li>For the first 28-day period a hospital or CAH does not demonstrate compliance, CMS will issue an initial warning letter notifying providers that they will have the next 28-day period to demonstrate complete and timely reporting of the specified data elements.</li><li>Failure to demonstrate compliance during a second subsequent reporting period will result in a second warning letter issued by CMS.</li><li>Failure to demonstrate compliance during a third subsequent reporting period will result in a third warning letter issued by CMS.</li><li>Failure to demonstrate compliance during a fourth subsequent reporting period will result in a final warning letter issued by CMS. This final letter will also notify providers that failure to demonstrate compliance in the 30 days following the issuance of this letter may result in the termination of the provider’s Medicare agreement.</li></ol>Providers subject to termination of their Medicare agreement may appeal the determination in accordance with part 498 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations. Providers terminated for failure to report that submit a new application for initial certification to participate in the Medicare program will be subject to a 30-day reasonable assurance period. If a provider believes they have received a warning letter in error, the provider may submit evidence of complete reporting to the CDC within five business days of receipt of the letter.Additional Reporting During a PHE.&nbsp;In the event a national, state or local PHE is declared for an acute infectious illness, hospitals and CAHs will be required to electronically submit additional data elements to the CDC through the NHSN system. These elements include facility structure and infrastructure operational status, such as hospital or emergency department diversion status, staffing or supply shortages, and medical countermeasures and therapeutics, as applicable.<h2>FURTHER QUESTIONS</h2>The CDC’s reporting protocol, data collection forms and fact sheets, and other training materials and resources are available on the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/psc/hospital-respiratory-reporting.html">CDC hospital respiratory data website</a>. Hospitals may send questions to <a href="mailto:NHSN@cdc.gov">NHSN@cdc.gov</a> using the subject line “Hospital Respiratory Data.”If you have further questions, please contact Adrienne Thomas, AHA’s senior associate director for standards and care delivery, at <a href="mailto:athomas@aha.org">athomas@aha.org</a>, or Akin Demehin, AHA’s senior director of quality and patient safety policy at <a href="mailto:ademehin@aha.org">ademehin@aha.org</a>.</div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2024/10/cms-releases-interpretive-guidance-on-hospital-respiratory-data-condition-of-participation-bulletin-10-23-2024.pdf"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/cover-cms-releases-interpretive-guidance-on-hospital-respiratory-data-condition-of-participation-bulletin-10-23-2024.png" data-entity-uuid="c7b1fa90-a6a6-4ce0-b4fd-68bbe461c669" data-entity-type="file" alt="Image Special Bulletin: CMS Releases Interpretive Guidance on Hospital Respiratory Data Condition of Participation" width="640" height="834"></a></div></div></div> Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:14:04 -0500 Data REP-EQUITY Toolkit Checklist /node/694241 Checklist to help researchers move towards representative and equitable inclusion in clinical research. Tue, 09 Jul 2024 11:42:58 -0500 Data Applying Social Determinants of Health Indicator Data for Advancing Health Equity /node/694238 The purpose of this guide is to show local health department (LHD) epidemiologists, data analysts, and other professionals how to collect, analyze, and display a prioritized list of social determinant of health living condition (SDOH-LC) indicators and frame these data in the context of neighborhood mortality, morbidity, and social conditions. Tue, 09 Jul 2024 11:39:53 -0500 Data DOJ announces task force on health care monopolies and collusion /news/headline/2024-05-10-doj-announces-task-force-health-care-monopolies-and-collusion The Department of Justice May 9 <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/assistant-attorney-general-jonathan-kanter-announces-task-force-health-care-monopolies-and">announced</a> the formation of a task force focusing on competition concerns in health care. The unit, the Task Force on Health Care Monopolies and Collusion, will enforce strategy and policy guidance, in addition to investigations, and civil and criminal enforcement. The task force will consider widespread competition concerns shared by patients, health care professionals, businesses and entrepreneurs, including issues regarding payer-provider consolidation, serial acquisitions, labor and quality of care, medical billing, health care IT services, access to and misuse of health care data and more. The unit will consist of civil and criminal prosecutors, economists, health care industry experts, technologists, data scientists, investigators and policy advisors from the department.&nbsp; Fri, 10 May 2024 14:20:51 -0500 Data AHA blog counters myth that hospitals are not reporting enough data /news/headline/2024-04-17-aha-blog-counters-myth-hospitals-are-not-reporting-enough-data “Imagine if the government required health insurance and drug companies to account for every dollar they spent, audit those data, and publicly report those numbers,” writes AHA’s Bharath Krishnamurthy, director of health analytics and policy, and Aaron Wesolowski, vice president of research strategy and policy communications. “The pushback would be tremendous, yet that is the reality for hospitals and health systems operating in the U.S.” <a href="/news/blog/2024-04-17-unequal-transparency-how-hospitals-report-more-data-any-other-entity-health-care-sector" target="_blank">READ MORE</a> Wed, 17 Apr 2024 14:27:54 -0500 Data Providers won over 7 in 10 NSA payment disputes in first half of 2023, CMS data show /news/headline/2024-02-16-providers-won-over-7-10-nsa-payment-disputes-first-half-2023-cms-data-show The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services Feb. 15 released to the public as required by law certain <a href="https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises/policies-and-resources/Reports">data</a> submitted by disputing parties and certified independent dispute resolution entities to the No Surprises Act federal IDR portal for the first two quarters of reporting year 2023. The files include data on payment determination outcomes for out-of-network emergency and non-emergency items and services and air ambulance services, and data on qualifying payment amounts and offer amounts. Among specific findings, the data show that health care providers and facilities won 72% of the 24,305 payment disputes where a payment determination was made involving out-of-network emergency and non-emergency items and services in first-quarter 2023; and 79% of the 53,806 payment disputes where a payment determination was made involving these items and services in second-quarter 2023. In the first quarter of 2023, 129,121 disputes were initiated, 129,040 by providers and facilities, and 48,486 disputes were closed; in the second quarter, 145,311 disputes were initiated, 145,269 by providers or facilities, and 76,341 disputes were closed. Disputes were closed primarily due to a payment determination being made, though some were closed because the dispute was found ineligible or for other reasons.&nbsp; Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:52:01 -0600 Data