We are entering a new year, and with it, the realities around how patients access and finance their dental care continue to evolve.
A growing number of adults in America surveyed see dental care as a vital tool to protect their oral and overall health, yet costs may be hindering patients’ ability or desire to pursue these services. As patients plan for their dental care in the year ahead, this presents a significant challenge. Providers play a vital role in customizing financial resources and offerings to meet patients' needs while also helping to communicate and simplify financial processes — an essential aspect of the healthcare journey.
Ambulatory surgery centers continue to face supply chain challenges due to product and staffing shortages, financial and space constraints, and variability in demand. Enhancing supply chain efficiency is essential to reduce costs and ensure the provision of timely, high-quality care. Key strategies such as leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), value analysis, just-in-time purchasing, and engaging the right partners are vital steps to addressing the unique supply chain needs of ASCs.
Where is the robust and comprehensive healthcare system that Americans are paying for?
Despite spending $4.5 trillion per year on healthcare (almost $14,000 per person annually), patients simply aren’t getting any better. They’re getting worse, much worse.
With many procedures and patient care needs continuing to shift out of the hospital, group purchasing organizations (GPOs) remain an essential component in managing costs and maintaining a steady supply chain. However, there are several things ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) should consider to ensure they are making the most out of their GPO partnership.
As market factors continue to upend health system operations and employment models, many hospitals and academic medical centers are learning that the business of anesthesia is complicated. Driven largely by pressures associated with national clinical staffing shortages, some healthcare institutions that historically outsourced their clinical anesthesia department have moved to an employed or in-sourced team model, while others are considering this transition.
Healthcare leaders enter 2025 facing a host of pressing imperatives. They need to promote sustainable financial health, address patient affordability and financial experience, strengthen cybersecurity, unleash the benefits of technology innovation, and drive real progress on transforming healthcare’s entire delivery model.
Every detail matters. In healthcare, small actions can lead to big outcomes—and sometimes, those outcomes save lives. An often-overlooked threat in outpatient care is Venous Thromboembolism (VTE), which includes Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE).
Clinical diagnostics have always been at the intersection of medicine and technology. With rapid technological innovation and shifting global healthcare market dynamics, I anticipate several trends in 2025 will shape the laboratory medicine industry.
Healthcare learning is entering a transformative era, driven by cutting-edge technologies and innovative platforms that are reshaping education and training. At the same time, the healthcare sector is also evolving rapidly, with the demands of a diverse workforce, advancements in technology, and an ever-present focus on improving patient outcomes.
One in five U.S. adults experience a mental illness, yet more than half do not receive treatment. Improved models of care can increase access to high-quality care and the speed at which patients receive it.
ASCs remain a fast-growing segment of the U.S. healthcare market driven in part by value-based care, regulatory changes, shifting demographics, and patient preferences. Ongoing staffing challenges, however, continue to threaten ASC growth and profitability, placing greater focus on the need to bolster recruitment and retention efforts.
As the lead counsel for the healthcare provider plaintiffs in the Blue Cross Blue Shield antitrust litigation, we’ve been hearing from hospitals, healthcare facilities, and medical professionals who want to know whether to participate in the recent settlement. The landmark settlement includes $2.8 billion in monetary relief and substantial changes to the BlueCard program and the Blues’ operations, increasing efficiency and accountability.
A Physician-Led Approach for Integrating NPs and PAs into High-Quality Care
There is a recognized physician shortage across the United States – a situation that has only been exacerbated by post-pandemic attrition, broad economic challenges, Medicare reimbursement issues, and more. Even if there were enough physicians, their geographic distribution would likely not match patient demand.
These days, everything appears doom and gloom. I’m tired of reading negative headlines, and I bet you are too. But in behavioral health, it’s hard to ignore:
Managing provider data is a significant challenge for many payers, due to frequent changes and inaccuracies in directory listings.
Recently, generative AI and automation technologies have been identified as promising solutions. Research has shown these tools can meaningfully reduce payers' administrative and medical costs, while increasing revenue.
The dental industry is rapidly transforming as dental practices look to integrate the latest cutting-edge technologies to increase efficiency and create an experience that’s more inviting and accessible to patients.
It has taken decades to overcome the many scientific and technical barriers that stopped us from being able to provide routine prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) to a broad population of babies, whether born before or during RSV season, at term or preterm, healthy or with existing medical conditions.
The volume and variety of procedures performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is on the rise.
Among Medicare-certified, single-specialty ASCs, endoscopy is the most common focus, and more than one-third (37%)1 of certified multi-specialty ASCs have an endoscopy service line. Patient volumes for endoscopy are only expected to grow, especially since the U.S.
The world of medicine has changed dramatically over the past few decades. We've witnessed a shift from handwritten notes to electronic health record (EHR) systems, and from personal conversations to data-driven interactions. While these advancements have undoubtedly improved certain aspects of healthcare—like reducing medical errors and streamlining processes—they've also introduced new challenges.
AI is being applied in ever more exciting ways. With AI capabilities now embedded within video intercoms, network speakers and video surveillance cameras, the possible use cases are endless. We're now able to "teach" our intelligent network devices to understand what they are viewing, enabling them to analyze scenes and provide relevant data in real time.