A Blueprint for Success: The Vital Role of Collaborative Partnerships in Healthcare Technology

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In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, technological advancements have become instrumental in improving patient engagement and ultimately leading to better health outcomes.

As technology continues to revolutionize the healthcare industry, the importance of collaborative partnerships has never been more evident. These partnerships allow healthcare providers, technology companies, and patients to combine their expertise and resources to develop and implement innovative solutions. By working together, these stakeholders can address challenges such as data interoperability, privacy concerns, and limited access to care.

Furthermore, collaborative partnerships foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Through shared knowledge and experiences, stakeholders can collectively identify best practices and strategies for implementing and scaling healthcare technologies.  I also feel that it is worth noting this is not a new concept but rather tried and true as history often proves time and again, Rosabeth Moss Kanter summarized it well when she said “Business alliances are living systems, evolving progressively in their possibilities” which was published back in the July-August 1994 edition of Harvard Business Review; Joint Ventures, Collaborative Advantage: The Art of Alliances (hbr.org).

As with any endeavor, collaborative partnerships in healthcare technology face their fair share of challenges and barriers.

Building trust and fostering a shared vision is essential in aligning these diverse interests. By actively engaging in open and honest discussions, partners can find common ground and develop a collective understanding of the desired outcomes.

The rapidly evolving nature of technology presents a challenge in and of itself. Innovation and advancements occur seemingly overnight and require partners to be adaptable and flexible. By embracing a mindset of continuous learning and staying up to date with industry trends, collaborative partnerships can navigate the ever-changing landscape of healthcare technology successfully.

 

Collaboration Drives Innovation and Better Outcomes

Cross-vendor collaboration within the healthcare IT space is nothing new, however, more recently within the past few years there has been an increase in innovative solutions that are driving better outcomes and improving access to care like never before.  Collaborative partnerships offer numerous benefits for the betterment of healthcare overall as it not only provides us with the ability to gain invaluable insights and understanding of the industry’s needs and pain points. But also allows us to develop solutions that are tailored to meet these specific challenges, resulting in more impactful and effective technologies.

For example, Google Cloud and MEDITECH; this collaboration enabled MEDITECH the ability to migrate more than 2,000 on-premise VMs over to Google Cloud.  As a result MEDITECH is able to access more data stores, now and in the future,  and can enable their customers flexibility to scale quicker, faster and at a more affordable rate, then before (MEDITECH: Designing innovative software solutions in the cloud to improve patient care).  Ultimately, MEDITECHs healthcare customers can focus more on delivering quality care, that is easily accessible in a secure and compliant environment.

Another example of a successful collaboration is Nuance Communications and NVIDIA.  This, state-of-the-art, partnership may not have spearheaded Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the healthcare IT space, but it would suffice to say it was the impetus that drove the AI influx moving forward.  This collaboration increases data delivery times from years to months, to days from weeks and hours to minutes, which provides improved patient care and better outcomes at more affordable costs (Nuance Communications and NVIDIA Bring Medical-Imaging AI Models Directly Into Clinical Settings).

“The implementation of AI to analyze big data, especially in the area of imaging, and to develop new algorithms for medical treatment is at the heart of many emerging strategic partnerships” (Driving Innovation in Health Care Through Strategic Partnerships HBR Analytic Services).

As Nuance, Google, MEDITECH and NVIDIA prove, innovation and collaboration often arise from strong partnerships. By learning from these examples, we can gain valuable insights and further understand the vital role that collaborative partnerships play in building a thriving healthcare technology ecosystem.

While collaborative partnerships in healthcare technology have the potential to revolutionize the industry, not all partnerships are successful. To ensure a fruitful collaboration, there are key elements that both healthcare technology companies and their partners must consider.  Below I have highlighted five areas that are key to the success of any partnership.

 

5 Key elements for successful collaborative partnerships

 

1.) Trust & Mutual Respect — It is important both parties demonstrate trust in each other’s capabilities and expertise. This involves being open to feedback and ideas, as well as valuing the contributions of all stakeholders. Trust builds a solid foundation for collaboration, allowing for greater innovation and shared success.

 

2.) Shared Vision & Goals — Alignment is crucial. It is important all parties have a clear understanding of the problem they are trying to solve and how the partnership will help achieve it. When everyone is working towards a common purpose, it fosters collaboration, creativity, and drives the project forward.  Clearly defining the shared goals and expectations of all partners is essential for a successful collaboration. This includes outlining specific outcomes, milestones, and timelines. By setting these parameters from the beginning, partners can align their efforts and ensure everyone is working towards a common purpose.

 

3.) Open Communication — Effective communication is the cornerstone of a successful collaborative partnership. Regular and open dialogue among all stakeholders can help address misunderstandings, resolve conflicts, and promote a sense of trust. Utilizing various communication tools and platforms can facilitate seamless information sharing and collaboration. This includes establishing an agreed upon cadence of communication channels.  It is important to set goals and expectations up-front as this will ensure all parties are on the same page. Effective communication ensures that everyone involved understands the project scope, timeline, and desired outcomes.

 

4.) Flexibility & Adaptability — Technology in general is rapidly evolving and healthcare technology is no different if not more complex as it adds the nuances of legislative mandates and shifting patient needs and expectations into the mix. Partners must be willing to adapt and adjust their strategies as new insights or challenges arise. By remaining flexible, partners can respond effectively to changes in the industry and ensure the success of their collaborative efforts. Regularly evaluating and adjusting strategies and approaches can help partners stay ahead in a dynamic industry.

 

5.) Celebrate & Educate — Celebrate success but also learn from failures.  Recognizing and celebrating successes, both big and small, is important in maintaining motivation and morale within the partnership. Equally important is learning from failures and using them as insights to improve future endeavors. By adopting a growth mindset and leveraging both successes and failures, partners can continuously improve and evolve.

 

While there may be challenges and barriers to overcome, the potential benefits of collaborative partnerships in healthcare technology are undeniable. By proactively addressing these challenges and leveraging effective strategies, partners can overcome obstacles and achieve remarkable results.

 

About the Author:

Kristin Shores is a results-driven Strategic Partner Executive with a proven track record of cultivating and nurturing high-value partnerships that drive business growth and innovation. With over a decade of experience in the field, Kristin’s expertise lies at the intersection of relationship-building, strategic planning, and business development. As a strategic thinker, Kristin leverages her comprehensive knowledge of market trends and emerging technologies to craft innovative partnership strategies that position her organizations at the forefront of their respective industries. Her ability to adapt to evolving market landscapes and pivot with agility has been instrumental in delivering sustainable growth.  Connect with Kristin on LinkedIn. 

 

Contact Kristin to learn more about Interlace Health’s Partnership Program: kshores@interlacehealth.com

 

 

5 Strategies for Building Lasting Client Customer Relationships

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In today’s dynamic business landscape, creating lasting customer relationships is more important than ever. In my role as the Chief Experience Officer at Interlace Health, I have the privilege of leading our efforts that ultimately strive to place people over paperwork. From my two decades of experience in the healthcare IT industry, I’ve learned that building long-term customer retention is a combination of mutual trust, passion, dedication, and a commitment to excellence.  

Listed below are 5 essential steps that, I believe, have enabled us at Interlace Health to build long-term client relationships over the past 32 years that have contributed to our 97.4% customer retention rate. 

 

Step 1: No Matter What, Put People First  

At Interlace Health, our mission is clear: we put people over paperwork. We provide healthcare organizations with forms automation solutions that simplify processes, enable electronic signature capture, and create workflows that save time and reduce costs. But the key to our success is listening to our customers. We understand that while we offer electronic solutions, many organizations still rely on paper-based processes. It’s about meeting our customers where they are and addressing their unique needs today.  

We work hard to be a true partner to our customers. We strive to understand their priorities so we can build strong, long-lasting relationships and help them achieve sustained success. This starts by providing a hands-on partnership and support during every step of their journey with us. Our customers can rely on us when things are working well, but more so when things aren’t going as expected. For example, during the COVID pandemic, we ensured that all Interlace Health operations continued unaffected, fully staffed in services and support teams, with the ability to continue implementing critical projects and to provide enhanced customer support for those customers who were up and running. For some customers, we became their IT department when their internal staff couldn’t effectively support their Interlace Health solutions. We had customers relying on us to help set up COVID testing units in different areas throughout the hospital. In addition to technical support, our implementation team, who has always operated with robust remote capabilities, were ready and enabled to continue working on critical project implementations at a time when customers needed automated digital workflows the most.  

  

Step 2: Build a Dedicated & Caring Support Team 

Behind every technological solution lies a specialized support team. I believe in the power of personalized and attentive support to customers. We’ve built our product support team from the ground up, focusing on what makes our customers stay with us—highly engaged customer support. These individuals are the backbone of our success, working tirelessly to maintain a consistent level of service quality and support standards to ensure our customers have what they need to thrive. 

In times of crisis, such as the COVID pandemic, our support team was ready to provide enhanced support services to our customers who needed assistance beyond regular technical support. When a customer needed to set up workstations and printers along with the creation of their intake forms under a tent in their parking lot for COVID testing, our support team quickly adapted to the customer’s needs and was instrumental in successfully managing the situation.    

 

Step 3: Embrace Feedback: Both the Good & the Bad 

Creating a culture of continuous improvement is vital. We’ve established a Customer Success Council of our most engaged and knowledgeable customers who advise us on our products, solutions, share best practices, and provide candid feedback. We also conduct surveys during and after implementation and hold quarterly check-in meetings to ensure we are adapting to our customers’ evolving needs. Their feedback and insights help us make informed decisions to improve our products and services which guide our path forward.   

Since the start of the council, our council members have served as a sounding board for proposed strategies, initiatives, or new product/service ideas. They bring fresh perspectives and creative ideas to the table, validating our plans and providing constructive criticism or suggestions for improvement. Our Customer Success Council has not only helped improve our current products and solutions, but has also helped shape Interlace Health’s new platform, Informed Consent Nova.  

 

Step 4: A Constant Focus on Innovation  

Innovation is at the heart of our approach. We’ve established a Managed Services Program that offers fully outsourced services to enhance efficiencies and assist customers with their workload. This has become a critical resource for many of our customers recently amid healthcare resources and budget constraints. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we faced unprecedented challenges, but we were prepared to respond.  

 Our focus, then and now, is to enhance customers’ delivery of patient care while increasing operational efficiencies among their valuable healthcare staff. It’s our mission to offer digital healthcare solutions and provide lasting support to customers while building strong relationships. 

  

Step 5: Remember: Customer Support Doesn’t Stop After Implementation 

Customer relationships don’t end after implementation; they deepen. We provide continuous support, working hard to validate that customers are getting value from their Interlace Health solutions and proactively address their needs and concerns. Even after our customers are comfortable with our solutions, we remain committed to their success. It’s about going the extra mile and being there when they need us most.  

Customer needs, preferences, and circumstances can change over time or instantaneously – as it did with COVID. We did everything we could for our customers during COVID times to allow them to continue delivering patient care while we focused on their operational needs and effectively supported their Interlace Health solutions.  

Building long-term customer retention is not just about offering products or services; it’s about building meaningful and lasting connections. At Interlace Health, we’ve embraced these five essential steps—putting people first, building a dedicated support team, embracing feedback, offering innovative solutions, and committing to continuous support. With a relentless focus on customer satisfaction, we’ve achieved a 97.4% customer retention rate and look forward to continuing long-term partnerships with our customers.  

 

 

About the Author:

Maggie Peña is the chief experience officer at Interlace Health (the next generation of FormFast), a 30-year-old privately held healthcare IT firm that helps healthcare organizations put people over paperwork with forms automation solutions that enable electronic signature capture and create workflows that save time and cut costs. She brings 22 years of experience in IT to her role and leads one-third of Interlace Health’s employees.

With a fierce focus on customer satisfaction and retention, Maggie created and built Interlace Health’s customer support team and its customer implementation strategy, she built out the company’s fully Spanish-speaking team for project implementation and ongoing customer support, and she has managed the company’s managed services program to create efficiencies for customers. She believes in a proactive approach to customer service, and it shows, with happy and successful customers. Interlace Health provides workflow solutions to 1500+ healthcare organizations and under Maggie’s leadership, Interlace Health currently has a 97.4% customer retention rate. Maggie serves as co-leader for the HIMSS Clinician Burden Reduction Task Force and was recently named to Becker’s 2023 Women in Health IT to Know list.

 

 

 

Embracing a Collaborative Mindset: Revolutionizing Healthcare Technology Through Partnerships

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Let’s face it, healthcare technology can be a real headache. From navigating complex electronic health records (EHR), to trying to engage patients in their own care, it can feel like an uphill battle.    

Healthcare technology has come a long way, from clunky systems to the cutting-edge digital solutions we have today. But how did we get here?   I think to answer that question accurately, it is important to first understand why and how we got to the place we are at today. I believe it boils down to a multitude of things: regulatory requirements, interoperability mandates, and the need for innovation, just to name a few. But overall, it was and still is just a simple need.  A need to be better, a need to improve.  So, how did we get here? I believe the answer to that is tied to strategic partnerships and the rise of third-party vendor integrations. 

Certainly, regulations have helped ensure that disparate systems communicate and share information, but it is oftentimes the sub-components of these systems that are sometimes seen as an afterthought that I am most interested in.  Third-party vendors often have solutions that fill a specific need, a specific use case that is a component of the patient journey or care continuum.  Alone they are just a piece of the puzzle, but together with other technologies, they can create more efficient and cost-effective solutions. 

MEDITECH, a leading EHR vendor, announced its Alliance program earlier this year with a goal to create a better ecosystem of solution vendors to support their health system clients. Interlace Health was named an Innovation Partner, providing the ability for a deeper integration between our eSignature solutions and the Meditech Expanse EHR. As a result, nurses, doctors, and patients will get a seamless workflow when completing registration, consenting, and discharge documentation. 

But customers are looking for all their vendors’ products to work well together – not simply work with the EHR. At the MEDITECH Live 2023 event, a Midwestern CIO shared this request: “I need all of you guys (3rd party vendors) to work well together so my patients and doctors have a hassle-free experience”. Along those lines, we are working with key members of the MEDITECH ecosystem, including Forward Advantage, to make sure that our solutions are not only compatible with each other but that the workflows are optimized. 

 Bottom line, the Healthcare Technology industry needs partnerships to help ensure improvement and innovation continue.  Partnerships with, and among, third-party vendors provide the extra boost of support and expertise that can make all the difference.   There is not one size fits all.  This is no truer now than it will be in the future; gaps in functionality exist and will probably continue to exist.  Which is why partnerships are so important.  To create a full-scale solution, one that fits the needs of each unique organization, it is crucial that technology vendors have partnerships that enable them to work together in a united front.  

With these partnerships, healthcare organizations can access cutting-edge technology, gain valuable insights, and tap into specialized knowledge and experience. 

  

 

About the Author:

Kristin Shores is a results-driven Strategic Partner Executive with a proven track record of cultivating and nurturing high-value partnerships that drive business growth and innovation. With over a decade of experience in the field, Kristin’s expertise lies at the intersection of relationship-building, strategic planning, and business development. As a strategic thinker, Kristin leverages her comprehensive knowledge of market trends and emerging technologies to craft innovative partnership strategies that position her organizations at the forefront of their respective industries. Her ability to adapt to evolving market landscapes and pivot with agility has been instrumental in delivering sustainable growth.”

 

 

 

How Automating Discharge Acknowledgement Forms Can Benefit U.S. Hospitals 

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Over 34 million discharges occur from US hospitals each year (Statista). Each of those discharges requires a discharge acknowledgement form that a patient or their representative sign when they leave a hospital. These forms serve various purposes, such as informing patients of their rights, responsibilities, and follow-up care instructions, as well as obtaining consent for the release of medical records and billing information. Discharge acknowledgement forms are also important for hospitals, as they can help prevent disputes, lawsuits, and audits, as well as improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. 

However, creating and managing discharge acknowledgement forms can be a tedious and time-consuming task for hospital staff. Nurses often have to manually fill out the forms with patient information, print them, obtain signatures, scan them, and store them securely. This process can be prone to errors, delays, and inefficiencies, which can negatively affect the quality of care and the revenue cycle of the hospital. 

This spring I had the chance to visit one of our customers, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and got to see how they are using our software to simplify and streamline this process: automating discharge acknowledgement forms. By providing their nurses iPads loaded with our software, they have eliminated a series of menial tasks for that valuable staff. In addition to saving staff time and eliminating the costs associated with paper, the solution provides additional benefits: 

  • Enhancing accuracy and compliance: Automating discharge acknowledgement forms can eliminate human errors and inconsistencies that may occur when filling out or processing the forms. This can ensure that the forms are accurate, complete, and compliant with the relevant laws and regulations. It can also make it easier to track and audit the forms in case of any disputes or inquiries. 
  • Improving patient experience and engagement: Automating discharge acknowledgement forms can provide patients with a more convenient and user-friendly way of signing the forms. They can use tablets provided by the hospital to sign the forms electronically without having to deal with paper copies, clipboards and pens. They can also receive copies of the forms via email or text message for their records. This can improve patient satisfaction and loyalty, as well as encourage them to follow their discharge instructions and care plans. 

Nicklaus Children’s is not alone, as many of our over 1,100 hospital locations have deployed or are in the process of automating discharge acknowledgement forms. This workflow is just one of the many ways Interlace Health is helping our healthcare customers put #peopleoverpaperwork. 

 

About the Author:

Art Nicholas, Chief Commercial Officer at Interlace Health, has over 20 years of experience in launching and expanding technologies in the healthcare field. He was a pioneer in getting speech recognition used by both doctors and nurses in inpatient and outpatient settings. In every role, his teams have successfully implemented automated workflows which benefit patients, providers and the healthcare ecosystem. A strong believer in the healthcare IT community, he has been an active member of CHIME, HIMSS, and MUSE, sitting on a number of their committees. He is committed to improving the quality of patient care and lowering the cost of care delivery through well-designed and well-supported technology workflow solutions.

 

Learn how Nicklaus Children’s redeployed 4,914 hours of nurse time!

Read Success Story

 

 

Using Technology to Navigate the Nursing Shortage

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Guest Blog – Author: Mike Knebel, CEO at Forward Advantage

 

During this year’s National Nurses Week, Interlace Health, the next generation of FormFast, posted on a topic we’re all keenly aware of right now – the nationwide nursing shortage. The demand for nurses is at an all-time high while the supply is at an unprecedented low. Why is this?  Job burnout is at the core with many nurses feeling overworked and underappreciated. This has led to large numbers retiring, transitioning to new roles in healthcare, or taking up new professions. Healthcare organizations feel the pressure, too, with the end of the Public Health Emergency funds and the need to accomplish more with less resources.

Interlace Health’s post provides examples of how technology and automation can reduce nursing workload, and they asked Forward Advantage to participate in the conversation. I’ve devoted the majority of my career to healthcare IT, and my wife is a day surgery nurse at a children’s hospital, so this is a topic near and dear to my heart. “People over paperwork” is Interlace Health’s motto and it’s one our company stands by too. In response, we’re shining the spotlight on biometric patient identification and single sign-on for clinical mobile devices. From the moment a patient steps into the hospital, to any point of care, these solutions put time back into a nurse’s day so that it can be spent where it belongs – with the patient.

 

Advanced Biometrics for Patient Identification

Duplicate records, identity theft, and changing regulations can make quick and accurate identification of patients a real headache for many organizations and their nurses. Biometric patient identification promotes safe, quick, and accurate patient care by eliminating the need for manual lookups, while also decreasing duplicate records and the potential for identity fraud. The technology uses advanced palm-vein pattern scanning to identify patients at any point of care directly from the registration screen. Not only is biometric patient identification more efficient with less potential for error, but it also allows for expedited care in emergency scenarios where a patient might not be able to identify themselves. This is a true example of people over paperwork.

 

Single Sign-On for Clinical Mobile Devices

Single sign-on (SSO) is broadly deployed in today’s hospitals and healthcare organizations because of its time-saving potential. The technology uses either fingerprint readers or proximity badges to quickly sign clinical staff in and out of workstations with the touch of a fingerprint or tap of a badge. By eliminating the need to remember multiple, complex passwords, SSO reduces provider frustration to expedite care. It also enhances security as staff are more likely to log out of workstations and less likely to write passwords down.  If your nurses currently log on and off shared workstations using proximity badges, consider extending this convenience to your clinical mobile devices. SSO can be integrated with leading mobile devices like Honeywell, Zebra, and others so these devices are easily unlocked and locked with a simple badge tap. This eliminates the tedious entry of usernames and passwords at each device, which encourages user adoption and improves productivity for more in-person patient care.

For a real-life example of SSO for mobile device access, read this customer success story featuring Interlace Health and Forward Advantage customer King’s Daughters Medical Center. The hospital uses MEDITECH Expanse POC with Zebra clinical mobile devices to essentially consolidate the EMR and scanner into one, hand-held device. “It’s patient-facing, so I can walk into a room and scan the patient, scan the med, administer the med, and document it all on one device,” shares Joe Farr, RN and clinical applications coordinator at King’s Daughters.

 

The Takeaway

Forward Advantage provides a wide range of solutions that improve efficiency, access to clinical information, and the patient’s overall experience. As an authorized reseller and implementer for Imprivata, we offer Imprivata PatientSecure and Imprivata Mobile Device Access. Eliminating duplicate patient records, along with too many passwords and log-on prompts, are two attainable ways that hospitals and healthcare organizations can alleviate the strain on today’s nurses and allow more time for in-patient care. We hope to keep the conversation going with more vendors contributing their ideas on how healthcare can do more with less – without sacrificing quality or security. Click here to read MEDITECH’s recent white paper on the evolution and implications of healthcare workforce challenges.

If you are interested in learning more about Forward Advantage’s identity and security solutions please visit forwardadvantage.com or email them at info@forwardadvantage.com.

 

 

About the Author: Mike Knebel, CEO at Forward Advantage

 

Mike Knebel is Chief Executive Officer for Forward Advantage. With over 30 years in healthcare, he has experience in organizations including payors, MSOs, IDNs, consulting, and as a vendor. He’s passionate about improving the delivery of care through better communication, information exchange, data security and building strong customer relationships and business partnerships.

 

 

 

The Future of Healthcare: Leveraging Technology and Embracing Hospital-at-Home

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As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, the need for paradigm-shifting solutions becomes increasingly necessary. Leveraging technology and embracing new care delivery models, such as acute in-home care, are key factors in addressing the challenges faced by healthcare organizations.

Last month, I had the opportunity to join my colleague, Dessiree Paoli, as we hosted a webinar: Health IT in 2023 — Mid-Year Market Insights, to share insights and discussions from several of this year’s major healthcare conferences, such as ViVE and HIMSS. The webinar shed light on the potential of technology-driven transformation and the growing importance of emerging hospital-at-home care models. In this blog, I took the opportunity to further explore these timely topics that have the power to untap the potential of technology-driven transformation and the growing importance of emerging hospital-at-home care models. 

 

Digital Transformation and Redefining Hospital Processes: 

Digital technologies should not be seen as mere replacements for outdated processes but as tools to redefine and improve the care continuum. The focus should be on leveraging the novel capabilities of emerging technologies to redefine new processes. The future of care delivery is expected to move away from traditional hospital settings, opening possibilities to bring care to where patients are rather than into the walls of the hospital. 

Transformation leaders emphasized that Change management is essential when implementing digital transformation in healthcare. Involving healthcare providers in the evaluation and sale of digital solutions, standardizing processes, and leveraging the existing electronic health records (EHR) infrastructure can enhance the adoption and impact of digital technologies. If a digital technology doesn’t improve access to care or the patient experience, then the hospital is unlikely to see a true return on their digital investment. 

 

The Rise of Hospital-at-Home: 

Hospital-at-Home (HaH) is a new level of care that challenges traditional definitions and names associated with home health and home care. The majority of healthcare actions already occur in the home, and HaH aims to provide hospital-level care in a patient’s own residence. This shift in care delivery has the potential to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, improve nurse-to-patient ratios, and create new streams of revenue. CMS has already seen over 200 hospitals successfully apply for the Acute Hospital Care a Home (AHCaH) waiver, while commercial payers are quickly seeing the benefit of negotiating HaH contracts with their network of providers. 

HaH offers a range of benefits, including improved access to care, better provider experience, and cost-effective care delivery. However, implementing HaH programs come with its own set of challenges. Logistics, such as ensuring devices stay charged throughout the day, and standardizing processes while maintaining personal connections with patients, are critical hurdles to overcome. Even simple things like getting paperwork signed by patients take on a new level of complexity when the patient is no longer bound to the hospital. Hospitals exploring HaH programs also must figure out if their current partners support in-home care, what new technologies will need to be adopted, and how to staff these programs. 

At its core, HaH programs are simply shifting where care is being delivered. In practice, the process of delivering that care becomes more complex for hospitals. The two clearest examples are remote patient monitoring (RPM) and clinician staffing. Hospitals must have robust RPM capabilities to monitor patients and take vitals in order to rapidly respond to changes in a patient’s condition. Since the hospital room is the patient’s home, this means the RPM tools must have reliable internet connectivity. Panelists at HIMSS and ViVE mentioned a range of methods from subsidizing home internet for patients to installing cellular wi-fi enable RPM cradles in patient’s homes to ensure the patient is connected to the health system. Staffing is also a challenge as the hospital will need to deploy nurses into the field, having physicians on hand to coordinate care and meet remotely with patients, and have the flexibility to ensure 24/7 remote monitoring with patients. Currently, individual hospital leaders are all developing their own ways to manage these processes, though we may expect some standardization to occur over time. There are also lessons to be learned from the home health market, though several HaH leaders did mention that MedSurg nurses seem to be thriving in these programs. 

 

AI in Healthcare: Promises and Ethical Considerations: 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) hold great potential in healthcare, though it may sometimes feel impossible to separate the true value from the hype. The best bit of wisdom shared during the many AI-focused sessions across HIMSS and ViVE was to look at any AI-powered product and ask how it augments or automates a given job or task? Further, ask how does AI free up people for more high-value work? Leaders should not be asking how AI tools can replace FTEs, but rather how AI tools can enable people to do more fulfilling work and, ultimately, better patient care. However, ethical considerations, biases in data inputs, and the lack of unified principles pose challenges.  

Healthcare leaders must carefully evaluate AI applications, ensure transparency, and address equity issues. Healthcare AI experts were careful to note that there are a number of players in the AI space who aren’t interested in being responsible, happily selling based entirely on hype. The stunning pace of evolution in AI creates a challenge for IT and other healthcare leaders to stay on top of the practical applications of these tools. 

 

The Second Half of 2023: 

We are nearly halfway through what feels like the first real year since the initial public health emergency was declared in 2020. This year began with an entrepreneurial spirit to transform Pandemic-era learnings into innovative ways to make healthcare better for people. But there is also so much more ground to cover through the rest of the year. 

Hospital-at-home is just getting started, but the energy and money pouring into this space suggests a very bright future. In the second half of the year, we will likely see a lot more noise around how commercial payers are going to engage with this new care pathway. With the ACHaH waiver extended through 2024, there is both a lot of time to figure things out and some real concerns that CMS won’t fully support these fledgling programs. We should also expect more start-ups to emerge offering platform solutions to help manage HaH programs. While innovations will surely emerge, hospitals may benefit from working with current technology partners to see how their IT solutions may be extended to support HaH, rather than going out and adding to the tech stack. 

And then there is AI. It is difficult to predict where AI will be in 6 months. Many of the most sophisticated generative AI models built specifically for healthcare are well under wraps or are very young. Google’s Med-Palm 2 promises some massive leaps forward but is still only being used by a very small, select group of testers. Through the course of 2023, we will likely see the market settle somewhat as vendors offering reliable, process-improving AI-powered products emerge as early winners, with imaging, clinical documentation, and elements of the revenue cycle delivering augmentation and automation solutions with a tangible ROI. 

Finally, I have to spend a moment talking about TEFCA. 2022 into early 2023 was dominated by EHRs and big HIEs pledging to participate in TEFCA. My expectation was that health systems would start engaging with the common agreement sometime in 2024. So, reading multiple announcements of major health systems committing to the program at the halfway point of the year is encouraging. Most of the systems currently announcing their participation are large, big-name systems, but a recent survey from the AHA found that 51% of hospitals plan to participate, with another 23% considering participation. I am concerned that independent hospitals are far more likely to not be familiar with TEFCA. With interoperability and data sharing being critical to the future of care delivery and improving the patient experience, hospitals that aren’t participating could find themselves at a disadvantage, looking in from the outside. And, while the door to join TEFCA is not slamming shut, non-participating hospitals may see themselves become less competitive. 

The post-Pandemic world has all of us in the healthcare industry living in interesting times. The necessity to reinvent care delivery and drastically overhaul processes to boost efficiency in the face of increasing staffing challenges require leaders to be innovators and managers of change. Even more, leaders must balance excitement with pragmatism as AI-powered technologies steal headlines and fill inboxes with fascinating ideas, and more than a little snake oil. Yet we still contend with the grit in the gears of healthcare, irritating patients, clinicians, and administrative staff; and real opportunities exist to remove the grit, grease the wheels, and make healthcare a better place. 

 

 

 

About the Author:

 

Christopher Link, Interlace Health’s Research and Insights Manager, has 13 years of market research and analysis work within the healthcare market. For the last 7 years, Christopher has focused on addressing market and strategic challenges for payer, provider, and healthcare IT vendor leaders. He believes that sound insights and intelligence are essential for effective decision-making and long-term success. Christopher currently resides in the Washington D.C. area with his wife and their dog.

Watch: On-Demand Webinar – Health IT in 2023: Mid-Year Market Insights

Watch Webinar

 

 

Interlace Health Executives Named to Becker’s Hospital Review 2023 Women in Health IT to Know List

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The healthcare industry is becoming more diverse as a whole, and women are increasingly represented in the health IT field. Women are helping to streamline the burdensome behind-the-scenes work of patient care and leading their organizations into a new age of digital transformation.

Each year, Becker’s Healthcare accepts nominations for the list and features those furthering innovation in their field. The list honors women in health IT for their dedication to optimizing healthcare through technology.

Allison Reichenbach, president, and Maggie Peña, chief experience officer, were named to the 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review Women in Health IT to Know list.  The Becker’s announcement and full list can be read here.

 

Allison Reichenbach is the president of Interlace Health. She has served in various roles at Interlace Health including director of special projects, vice president of administration, and most recently, chief operating officer. Allison leads all organizational activity including sales, marketing, engineering, client services, and administration with a focus on creating an organizational structure that best supports Interlace Health’s team to accomplish their goals and to meet the goals of the company’s 1500+ customers.

For the past 11 years, Allison has built a strong foundation at Interlace Health by focusing on company culture, organizational development, and ensuring that the right employees are in the right positions. Under her leadership, Interlace Health has doubled its number of female executives, contributed greatly to charitable organizations and the company currently has a customer retention rate of 97.4%.

 

Maggie Peña is the chief experience officer at Interlace Health. She brings 22 years of experience in IT to her role and is responsible for the overall leadership, management, and strategic direction of the client services team. She leads one-third of Interlace Health’s employees. Maggie leads Interlace Health’s customer support team, its customer implementation strategy, and the company’s managed services program.

Maggie joined Interlace Health in 2011. Under her leadership, she created and built Interlace Health’s customer support team, its customer implementation strategy, and its customer success management program. She has also been instrumental in the company’s expansion to the Puerto Rico market within the past six years. She believes in a proactive approach to customer service, which is evident through the success of Interlace Customers.

 

“Women are increasingly taking on leadership roles in health IT, bringing well-rounded and diverse perspectives to the field. The women celebrated on this year’s list are helping to improve healthcare using IT. Their work is instrumental to the elevation of the patient journey, the standardization of processes, the implementation of novel telehealth initiatives and more,” shared Becker’s Healthcare in a press release.  

Join us in congratulating Allison & Maggie, and all of the women on Becker’s 2023 list!

 

 

Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2023 Interlace Health Customer Summit

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This exclusive customer event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn how to make the most of your Interlace Health investment, learn from industry experts, network with peers, and gain valuable insights into our roadmap. The Customer Summit is created by our customers for our customers.  To ensure value and substance, our Customer Success Council and customer insights drive content for the Customer Summit creating a truly customer-centric event. 

 

While there are so many valuable reasons to attend the Interlace Health Customer Summit, below we narrowed it down to our top 5 reasons to attend!

  1. TURN KNOWLEDGE INTO RESULTS – HEAR FROM THE EXPERTS, BE THE EXPERT. Learn from industry experts and ascertain AHIMA CEUs during sessions such as ‘Project Management – A Strategic Approach.” Improve your form regulation knowledge with a Joint Commission Educator. Keep your skills sharp as it pertains to cyber security. You can expect to leave the summit with actionable insights you can immediately apply to help your organization become more successful.  
  2. IN-PERSON PRODUCT TRAINING & FIRST-HAND INSIGHT. Work smarter, not harder. This unique opportunity provides elbow time with Interlace Health experts and experienced customers to identify more efficient usage and best practices of Interlace Health products and solutions. Lessons learned result in tips and tools to impact change and increase productivity within your health system creating a significant ROI. 
  3. RECEIVE AN INTERLACE HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CREDIT. Each organization in attendance receives a $2,500 Interlace Health professional services credit! This credit can be applied for assorted services including form design, software upgrades, or system optimization! With this benefit alone, the Customer Summit pays more than for itself!  *Full details on our event site 
  4. FIND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INDUSTRY EDUCATION, AND NETWORKING – ALL IN ONE PLACE. Discussing your current projects, struggles, and sharing insights provides a fresh perspective, inspiring new strategies to tackle an existing challenge or identify a new area of opportunity! Historically, customers cite deepening their professional network as a significant benefit providing additional resources to solve challenges they face in their day-to-day work. 
  5. ENJOY ALL THAT AUSTIN HAS TO OFFER! With live music, outdoor adventures, historic landmarks, and fabulous restaurants, the Lone Star State capital is an amazing city. Additionally, we coordinated special evening events and entertainment to ensure your trip is unforgettable all while making meaningful industry contacts. 

Are you a leader in your organization? Join other leaders for an executive roundtable before the opening dinner on Sunday from 2-4pm. This special event creates the opportunity for executives to join other hospital leaders for intimate strategy discussions.  

Interlace Health’s goal is to create seamless and convenient experiences, and this extends to our Customer Group Summit. Our team has every detail covered so you can focus on making the most of your time at the conference. Lodging, wi-fi, Customer Summit evening activities, meals, beverages, and snacks are all included in your registration.  

 

For full details and to register – visit our event page.  

We hope to see y’all in Austin, Texas this August! 

REGISTER NOW

 

 

Gain AHIMA CEU’s & Uncover Top Tips to Elevate Forms Management

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We enjoyed the opportunity to participate in Extract’s HealthyData Virtual Academy Winter ’23 event on March 7, 2023. The event theme was The Difference is in the Data and offered two AHIMA CEUs and hosts presentation sessions on Finding Support for an HIM or Revenue Cycle Project and Elevating Forms Management: How to Streamline Process & Enhance Compliance.

The session: “Elevating Forms Management: How to Streamline Process & Enhance Compliance,” was led by our own Director of Product Marketing, Dessiree Paoli, and Rochester Regional Health’s HIM Content Specialist, Diana Adam-Podgornik, RHIT. Diana oversees RRH’s Forms Committee and EPIC onboarding team. She works directly with new acquisition leaders to ensure smooth transitions. She is an expert on healthcare forms control, inventory management, and record shortage and destruction.

The conversation took a deep dive into the current state of patient forms along with what concrete steps healthcare staff and organizations can take to improve forms management. The session shared insight into optimal organizational structure, governance, eSignatures, and form structure, standardization, and specifications. With a focus on keys to success in establishing your healthcare organization’s forms committee, attendees learned steps they needed to get done and how to uniform processes. In short, it’s a presentation HIM professionals just can’t miss!

 

Visit the link below to watch the recording and earn your AHIMA CEU Credit (Elevating Forms Management Session starts near minute 50!) 

 

 

Caring for Nurses: Addressing Today’s Top Challenges with Technology

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During National Nurses Week we’d like to honor the hard work, compassion, and dedication of nursing professionals and show appreciation for their invaluable contributions to our industry. But this year, we cannot overlook the difficulties those in the industry are up against. Across the country, high burnout, low availability, and raising costs related to retention and recruiting nursing staff are making headlines. These challenges of course are related. High burnout leads to retirement, career changes, or moving to a less stressful healthcare environment.

In each of these cases, that leaves fewer nurses to fill the roles available. Nurses in a number of healthcare organizations have reached a point of frustration with staffing levels that have led to strikes in a number of states, including the largest of 2022: 15,000 nurses in Minnesota, and 7000 in NYC. “There were 385 strikes in 2022, up 42% from 270 in 2021, according to the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The US Labor Department, which tracks only major strikes by 1,000 or more workers, recorded 20 strikes in the first 11 months of 2022, up 33% from the same period in 2021.” Those nurses who are working have seen pay rise considerably over the past year. As of March, the average yearly base pay for hospital nurses had reached $86,674, up 9% from $79,172 in June 2021, according to Premier Inc., a healthcare consulting, contracting and data-analytics company, which analyzed salaries of about 116,000 nurses.

Unfortunately, the demand for nurses is increasing while the supply of nurses is decreasing – with no near-term solution in sight. In addition, with financial pressures increasing with the end of the Public Health Emergency, it’s clear health systems will need to accomplish “more with less” while avoiding pushing nursing unions to call strikes. Adding to the rising costs and a shrinking supply of nurses to staff hospitals, the amount of time being spent with patients is well below 50%. Less than one-third of registered nurses’ work time was spent with patients. They allocated the most time to the dimensions of ‘communication and care coordination’ and ‘care planning’, whereas ‘optimizing the quality and safety of care’, ‘integrating and supervising staff’, and ‘client education’ were allocated the least time.

Turning to Technology to Tackle Nursing Workloads

Although it’s a complex problem, if we can begin to address these issues now, we can guarantee a better future for nurses, patients, and providers alike. But, how can health systems accomplish this balancing act? For a number of organizations, effective deployment of technology is the best option to accomplish these goals. Below are three examples of how technology has made a positive impact on nursing staff:

1.) AI Robot Makes Strides with Nursing Staff Support

Tacoma, WA- based Multicare Health deployed Moxi – an AI enhanced Robot – earlier this year. In its first week, Moxi saved nurses and clinical staff 320,000 steps and saved 364 person-hours…all in one week! I personally have also seen Moxi in operation at Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It was impressive to watch several unattended deliveries take place to different patient rooms while I was visiting a relative.

2.) Simplify EHR Documentation Processes

Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth launched a project to give nurses technology that provides tools to capture patient data and said it saved nurses 64,800 hours by simplifying documentation processes within its Epic EHR. The project optimized the system’s nursing documentation by reducing 18 minutes of time spent in flowsheets per nurse shift, reducing the amount of time and number of actions needed to complete documentation and cutting the required nursing documentation for the average patient by more than half.

3.) Automate Informed Consent Workflow & Signature Capture

Miami, Florida-based Nicklaus Children’s Hospital replaced labor intensive paper-based consents for patients with an automated workflow provided by Interlace Health which includes EHR integration and electronic signature capabilities. Leveraging iPad tablets and Interlace Health software, Nicklaus estimated they saved 4914 hours of nursing time. How are these hours saved at this regional pediatric hospital? The surgery department is the primary option for patients in the region, so they have a high volume of surgeries. They are required to collect informed consent the day of the surgery or procedure and so the nurses are responsible for printing the necessary forms and putting them into the chart. They are later scanned, filed, and shredded. This amounts to thousands of pieces of paper and over four-thousand hours of nurse time.

With the implementation of eSignature for Informed Consents the entire process is condensed. During pre-op, the nurse launches the consent forms on either a computer or tablet, and all the patient and provider information related to the procedure is automatically populated. The physician comes in and reviews the consent with the patient guardian and both sign right then using the touch screen. The time and date are applied electronically, and the form is locked from any future edits and instantly archived to the EHR. Copies can later be emailed to the patient. During timeout, the physician confirms consent was collected and they begin the procedure.

There is no paper trail related to the consenting of these patients. Those nearly 5000 hours of nurse time are repurposed for patient care. All three of these examples, highlight how technology reduces the amount of time nurses spend on tasks not consistent with operating at top of licensure. Thousands of hours in each of these systems, have been redirected towards patient engagement and care. Additionally, with nursing costs ranging from $29.11 in South Dakota to $59.62 in California, the financial return on investment of these technologies can be quite high.

 

What do these three projects have in common? Close collaboration among Nursing Leadership such as CNOs and CNIOs, the CIO’s office and vendor partners were critical to their success. Tackling time-intensive administrative tasks is not an option or nice to have, these solutions are “must haves”. While hours costs may be flattening, the overall labor supply for nursing is only getting worse.

 

The Time for Change is Now

A recent report from McKinsey predicts potentially dire nurse staffing issues in the next few years, as the nationwide nursing shortage could reach 450,000, or 20 percent, by as early as 2025. This same report noted that 90% of hospitals are unable to increase surgery volumes due to limited nursing staff, impacting the ability to grow revenues and offset cost pressures.

Last year, for the first time in 20 years, nursing school enrollment decreased, right at the time when it needs to be increasing by double digits. The current staffing challenge will only get worse without increasing productivity. Technology can be the key to help harmonize workflows, automate documentation processes, and simplify communication to create optimal work environments for nurses.

Interlace Health is dedicated to providing solutions that put people over paperwork (now and in the future) – with critical nurses and clinicians at the top of our list of staff whose workflows we aim to improve through automation.

 

 

About the Author:

Art Nicholas, Chief Commercial Officer at Interlace Health, has over 20 years of experience in launching and expanding technologies in the healthcare field. He was a pioneer in getting speech recognition used by both doctors and nurses in inpatient and outpatient settings. In every role, his teams have successfully implemented automated workflows which benefit patients, providers and the healthcare ecosystem. A strong believer in the healthcare IT community, he has been an active member of CHIME, HIMSS, and MUSE, sitting on a number of their committees. He is committed to improving the quality of patient care and lowering the cost of care delivery through well-designed and well-supported technology workflow solutions.

 

Learn how Nicklaus Children’s redeployed 4,914 hours of nurse time!

Read Success Story

 

 

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