The 10 most read stories of 2024
Healthcare IT News Published more than 1,150 news and feature stories in the past year – covering trends and events in artificial intelligence, cloud and edge computing, cybersecurity and privacy, electronic health records, interoperability, patient and provider experience, telehealth, and remote monitoring.
Here are the 10 stories our readers clicked on most.
House passes veterans health care package without Reset Act
Last week, the US Department of Veterans Affairs announced its plans to restart its electronic health record modernization project – in 2026. The previous month, Senator Elizabeth Dole’s 21st Century Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act was voted on on Capitol Hill, But without original section. of the bill that would have established several enforcement and reporting requirements to increase oversight of deployments.
“Patient fatigue” due to chronic disease – a silent issue that must be addressed
We hear a lot about the critical challenge of physician burnout. But patients face this too, and it is a challenge that needs attention. One telehealth physician executive said many people feel overwhelmed by the needs associated with managing their chronic conditions. But she explained that some use cases of artificial intelligence can help alleviate these burdens.
A new AI paradigm can detect rare cancers, but it needs digital support to spread
The AI tool developed by digital pathology company Paige, born out of a partnership with Microsoft Research, is described as one of the largest image-based AI models for cancer detection. The model, Virchow, can help detect small, complex and rare cancers and give pathologists detection and diagnostic insights that were not possible even recently. The company says that artificial intelligence can now detect cancers that it has not even been trained to detect.
AHA and H-ISAC warn hospitals about Black Basta after Ascension cyberattack
In May, the Center for Health Information Sharing and Analysis and the American Hospital Association warned providers that they also face risks from bad actors at the nation-state level in the wake of the massive and debilitating cyberattack on Ascension, St. Louis. They said that the Russian-backed ransomware group “Black Pasta” has set its sights on the healthcare sector and has intensified the severity of its attacks.
Joint cybersecurity advisory warns of attacks based in Iran
In September, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offered joint cooperation He warns About another cyber threat at the nation-state level, and this one from Iran. The group — which operates under evocative names such as Pioneer Kitten, Fox Kitten, UNC757, Parisite, RUBIDIUM and Lemon Sandstorm — works closely with ransomware affiliates to lock down victims’ networks and extract ransom payments, the agencies said.
Mental health provider dramatically reduces chart audit time with the help of artificial intelligence
Cerebral, a virtual mental healthcare provider, aims to democratize access to high-quality care for everyone, its associate director of behavioral operations told us in August. Visits take place via video chat, and members can message their care team directly and have medications delivered directly to their door. The company, whose platform provides accurate feedback on data that could be missed in a manual audit, has reduced the time spent on audits by 78%, she said.
The CMS explains HIPAA compliance rules when texting patient data
Text messaging of patient orders between members is permitted by health care teams in hospitals and critical access hospitals when done through a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform consistent with CMS rules of engagement, the agency announced in February, while urging providers to “implement Procedures/processes. Which routinely evaluates the security and integrity of the platforms used.
The Nuance AI Assistant is now fully integrated into Epic EHR
More than 150 hospitals and health systems were already using DAX Copilot in their Epic EHR workflow to draft clinical notes and record patient visits, the Microsoft voice AI subsidiary said when announcing general availability of the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience Copilot in January.
One technology CEO warns against slowing the adoption of artificial intelligence
For all the tremendous promise AI holds in healthcare, it also comes with a lot of downside risks, as we’ve mentioned over the past year. One IT executive urged a more cautious and intentional approach to AI deployments, and said healthcare leaders must demand ethical AI and ensure their RFPs include security requirements. This takes time, which may mean undoing some investments.
Chief AI Officer: This important new role for healthcare requires a rare set of skill sets
However, continued AI adoption is certain across all areas of healthcare, and more and more providers are taking a proactive and strategic approach to their large and small AI initiatives by delegating responsibility to a new, emerging role in the executive suite. An AI CEO—who oversees automation projects in both clinical and commercial environments, supports governance structures, and manages portfolios of different tools—requires deep and diverse expertise, as we show in this edition of our ongoing new series.