Literature Review

Study: AI adoption spends jump among enterprises as eliminating data privacy concerns remains a foremost opportunity for driving long-term growth and ROI BusinessWire, San Francisco, CA; by Kayla Spiess; 8/14/24  Searce, a modern technology consulting firm that empowers businesses to be future-ready, today released its State of AI 2024 report. Polling 300 C-suite and senior technology executives – including Chief AI Officers, Chief Data & Analytics Officers, Chief Transformation Officers, and Chief Digital Officers – from organizations across the US and UK with at least $500 million in revenue, the report examines some of the biggest trends, successes and challenges facing businesses in their decision-making, strategy and execution as they try to unlock AI growth. [Key takeaways:]

A D-AI-alogue: What the leading edge of AI in PR looks like PRovoke Media; by Paul Holmes; 8/12/24 We talked to several leading agencies about how they are using AI to transform their business and improve communication effectiveness. ... I invited representatives of six firms on the leading edge of AI usage to talk about how AI is already impacting corporate communications. ... [From Chris Perry:]  The greatest impact I’ve seen is less on what we can do more efficiently (like using GenAI to write press releases), and more on what we can do to better, like using GenAI to understand how information now travels, making sense of cultural chaos, crafting resonant stories, and identifying others than help translate and tell them. The ultimate value is being faster and better at what we do. Not replacing jobs or reducing costs. ...

WellSky CEO Bill Miller: Exercise caution, responsibility with AI in hospice Hospice News; by Jim Parker; 8/12/24 Many expect AI to revolutionize health care, speeding access to care, improving diagnosis and prognosis, enhancing efficiency and achieving other benefits. However, providers need to see through the hype and ask the hard questions. This is according to Bill Miller, CEO of the health care tech company WellSky. ... Hospice News sat down with Miller to discuss current perspectives on AI, its potential benefits and possible risks. [Miller:] "... we’re exercising responsibility and caution when we start thinking about AI jumping into the diagnosis game, or somehow replacing the caregiver. We think of it more of how you could enhance the caregiver, keep the human in the loop. If we can help caregivers arrive at better outcomes for their patients by using AI tools and assisting them, then we’ll do that."

10 Steps to Creating a Data-Driven CultureHarvard Business Review; by David Waller; 2/6/20Exploding quantities of data have the potential to fuel a new era of fact-based innovation in corporations, backing up new ideas with solid evidence. Buoyed by hopes of better satisfying customers, streamlining operations, and clarifying strategy, firms have for the past decade amassed data, invested in technologies, and paid handsomely for analytical talent. Yet for many companies a strong, data-driven culture remains elusive, and data are rarely the universal basis for decision making. Why is it so hard? ... So we’ve distilled 10 data commandments to help create and sustain a culture with data at its core.

No one is ready for digital immortality: Do you want to live forever as a chatbot? The Atlantic; by Kate Lindsay; 7/31/24 Every few years, Hany Farid and his wife have the grim but necessary conversation about their end-of-life plans. ... In addition to discussing burial requests and financial decisions, Farid has recently broached an eerier topic: If he dies first, would his wife want to digitally resurrect him as an AI clone? ...  Editor's Note: Click on the title's link to continue reading this fascinating and disturbing article about potential, new uses for AI. Calling all bereavement counselors--who are truly trained in contemporary grief theories, research, and clinical best practices--please learn about this trend and prepare to examine its use and misuse from your expertise, for now and through years ahead.

Following the CrowdStrike outage, healthcare stresses the importance of prevention HealthCare Brew; by Cassie McGrath; 7/25/24... [The recent CrowdStrike outage] affected millions across all sorts of industries, from healthcare to travel. ... However, amid the chaos, what has largely gone untold are stories of the companies that emerged unscathed. And within those unaffected companies lies a lesson for others, according to Andrew Molosky, president and CEO of Tampa-based Chapters Health System. ... “We’ve really focused on business continuity, redundancies, safety nets, and understanding of the difference between cybersecurity as a task and cybersecurity as a cultural commitment of your organization,” Molosky said. ... These investments, Molosky said, included protocols for documenting on paper, using a backup application that provides patient information when electronic medical records and other systems are offline, and allowances for bringing in personal devices to use if company devices go down. 

Baptist Health taps 3 vendors to build a population health system that works Healthcare IT News; by Bill Siwicki; 7/26/24With help from Oracle, Innovaccer and Salesforce, the South Florida provider is scoring big population health wins, including a 7% increase in coding gap closure rate and a 17% increase in annual wellness visit completion rates. Baptist Health South Florida operates a network of 11 hospitals covering four counties. It also includes numerous ambulatory facilities, urgent care centers and emergency departments to provide comprehensive healthcare services across the region. ... "One of our primary issues was the fragmented nature of patient data across multiple provider organizations and electronic health record systems," said Milady Cervera, vice president, population health and physician integrated networks, at Baptist Health South Florida. "This lack of interoperability made it difficult to gain a comprehensive view of our patients' health status, care history and ongoing needs. ..."

A 'TsunamAI' of change is coming to healthcareForbes; by Lee Shapiro; 7/24/24 In the last 50 years, there have been significant developments that have forever improved the delivery of healthcare. Consider imaging (MRI/CT scans), minimally invasive surgery, anti-viral therapies, precision medicine (e.g., CRISPR and gene editing) and near or complete eradication of diseases like polio and smallpox. As we look back 50 years from now, we will have experienced seismic changes from AI. When I've spoken with healthcare leaders, they've pointed to a progression of AI adoption that will occur in the following three categories, which you should consider for your organization: administrative, research and development, and care delivery.  

Mythbusting some misconceptions about operational improvement technology HIMSS; by Bill Siwicki; 7/10/24 Revenue cycle management is a great place for operational improvement technologies. These technologies can leverage process and task mining to give leaders a bird's-eye view of their teams' workflows. But according to 20-year healthcare veteran Todd Doze, CEO of Janus Health, a revenue cycle management technology company, there are three common myths associated with operational improvement technologies:

Health systems oppose new cybersecurity rules Becker's Health IT; by Giles Bruce; 7/8/24 Health systems and industry trade groups are objecting to new cybersecurity reporting requirements proposed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The recommended rule under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 would, among other things, require covered entities to report cyberattacks within 72 hours and ransom payments within 24 hours. The proposal, which is estimated to cost the industry $1.4 billion, would exempt small and critical access hospitals.

Why nurses are protesting AIHealthcare Brew; by Tom McKay; 6/26/24Continuous data collection and analysis is hardly a replacement for knowledge, nursing unions say, and sometimes gets in the way of care. The largest nursing union in the US, National Nurses United (NNU), is sounding the alarm about the use of AI in healthcare. In April, the union’s affiliate California Nurses Association (CNA) protested an AI conference helmed by managed care consortium Kaiser Permanente. Like workers in other sectors who are worried about AI encroachment, the nurses fear that the tech is contributing to the devaluation of their skills amid what they say is already a “chronic” understaffing crisis, nurses reported in an NNU survey of 2,300 registered nurses and members in early 2024. But the NNU, which represents approximately 225,000 nurses across the country, also claims healthcare operators are using AI hype as a pretext to rush half-baked and potentially harmful technologies into service, says Michelle Mahon, NNU’s assistant director of nursing practice.

7 of the top tech and IT jobs in demand for the future TechTarget; by David Weldon; 6/24/24 Businesses of the future will rely on workers with IT skills even more than they do today. Find out which jobs might be most in demand and what those roles entail. ... Organizations are having to create new tech roles and redefine existing ones to manage the integration of AI and data into core business functions. Meanwhile, cybersecurity continues to be a top concern, as do digital transformation and cloud computing. These challenges are increasing the demand for job roles that merge technical expertise with strategic business acumen. ... So, what will be some of the hottest IT jobs of the future? ... Roles are listed in alphabetical order. 

A paradigm shift for healthtech CEOs: Increasing patient satisfaction and retention Forbes; by Eric Giesecke; 6/24/24In our hyperconnected world, seamless communication is the norm. From the latest news to customer service chats, consumers expect streamlined interactions. However, the healthcare and healthtech industries have lagged in adopting consumer-friendly practices. ... A patient’s experience is extremely important for healthcare organizations to thrive. It’s important to remember that in the digital age, competitors are not just other healthcare companies. ... So how can we customize experiences better than ever before? One important step is taking the time to understand your organization's current technology. ...