< + > Cybersecurity leaders still shaky about post-attack recovery, reports show

Government and industry cyber pros aren't always confident in their organizations' abilities to recover from cyberattacks, two recent surveys suggest. They say underfunded security budgets are causing vulnerabilities in the face of pervasive threats.

< + > Seema Verma on Where We Are At Merging Cerner into Oracle Health and What’s Next

While at the Oracle CloudWorld conference (See our previous Oracle Health coverage from the conference), I had a chance to sit down with Seema Verma, Executive Vice President and General Manager at Oracle Health.  In this wide ranging interview, we cover a broad range of topics starting with her journey from HHS Secretary to now one of the leaders of Oracle Health.  Plus, she shares the vision for Oracle Health going forward.

Given we’re a couple years into Oracle Health’s acquisition of Cerner, I wanted to check-in with Verma on the progress they’ve made merging Cerner into Oracle Health.  Plus, I ask her what long time Cerner users should know about what’s happening at Oracle Health and what they can expect going forward.  She talks more about their new EHR and that more details will be shared at the Oracle Health Summit later this month.

I also ask her about Oracle Health’s approach to AI and what AI project is her favorite.  Then, we wrap up with what she’s most excited about for the healthcare industry right now.

Check out our interview with Seema Verma from Oracle Health below to learn more about their work in healthcare.

Learn more about Oracle Health: https://www.oracle.com/health/

Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.

And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.

Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.

< + > Harnessing Ambient Listening Technology to Revolutionize Healthcare Documentation

The following is a guest article by Ben Scharfe, Executive Vice President, TouchWorks EHR at Altera Digital Health

Ambient listening technology is rapidly transforming the healthcare landscape. This innovative approach leverages artificial intelligence to record interactions between patients and providers, creating opportunities for more natural, focused, and patient-centric care. Traditionally, such recordings were manually transcribed, often offshore, resulting in delays and additional costs. Now, AI advancements enable instant, cost-effective transcription services, making ambient listening more accessible and appealing. This technology promises to alleviate physician burnout significantly by reducing the time spent on clinical documentation and allowing providers to concentrate more on patient care.

While ambient listening simplifies the documentation process, it introduces challenges with the integration of semi-structured data into electronic health records. EHR systems are designed to capture very structured data through binary fields, dropdown menus, and specific templates. The semi-structured or unstructured data produced by ambient listening technologies can complicate data integrity, charge capture, and ultimately, quality reporting and analysis. As healthcare organizations concluded their quality reporting for 2023 and introduced ambient listening experiments in 2024, some might not immediately have noticed the potential discrepancies in documentation affecting downstream quality outputs and analyses until later, posing significant challenges for quality analysis teams and administrators.

To mitigate these challenges, healthcare organizations should explore ambient listening experiments that also blend structured documentation practices to enhance efficiency without fully replacing traditional methods. This approach enables providers to maintain the integrity of clinical documentation while still benefiting from the efficiency of ambient listening. Additionally, clinical and administrative staff should be involved in refining the documentation process, ensuring that data captured via ambient listening can be effectively integrated into existing EHR systems.

Moreover, data analysis, reporting, and revenue cycle management teams should be equipped with advanced tools and technologies to adapt semi-structured data into the structured format required for comprehensive analysis and reporting. This adaptation is crucial for maintaining the accuracy and usefulness of healthcare data across all organizational levels. Approaching these tools with excitement and caution is critical, as they can be utilized to support staff while improving the patient experience, but accuracy must be maintained.

The adoption of ambient listening in healthcare should be approached as an opportunity for innovation and improvement. Organizations can iteratively adapt and optimize their processes by initiating small-scale pilot programs and carefully monitoring the impacts on charge capture, clinical documentation integrity, and quality reporting. The key to successful integration of this technology lies in continuous experimentation and a willingness to embrace new solutions that enhance patient care and provider efficiency. Day by day, organizations can slowly adopt this technology and measure its impact on not only documentation but culture as well. More support for staff has the potential to make great changes to the quality of life for staff and patients alike, ultimately driving a better patient experience.

With that in mind, it’s on us in the industry to balance our excitement with precision. Let us boldly move forward, integrating these technologies to transform healthcare delivery for better patient outcomes and more fulfilling provider experiences.

About Ben Scharfe

A seasoned leader in the healthcare technology sector, Ben Scharfe has dedicated more than 10 years to fostering growth and innovation at Harris and Altera Digital Health. His expertise spans financial leadership, client support, and executive management, contributing to Harris’ robust expansion, including the successful acquisition and integration of numerous entities. Currently leading TouchWorks EHR, Ben champions the adoption of AI and innovation with the purpose of enhancing patient-provider interactions and patient outcomes. Ben strives to be consistently grounded in humility and willingness to listen and learn, in deep alignment with Harris’ core values.

< + > Heritage Group Joins GTCR as Investor in Equiti

Dean M. Harrison Joins Equiti’s Board of Directors

Heritage Group, a healthcare-focused private equity firm, today announced a significant investment in Equiti Health (Equiti or the Company), a leading provider of tech-enabled, healthcare-focused language interpretation services. Heritage is partnering with GTCR and the Equiti management team to support the Company’s next phase of growth. In addition, Equiti is pleased to announce that experienced healthcare executive Dean M. Harrison has joined as an independent member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Harrison is the former President and CEO at Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, the primary teaching affiliate of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he led the health system for over 16 years.

Headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, Equiti, which recently rebranded from Cloudbreak Health, is a leading video-focused language interpretation service provider that helps patients with limited English proficiency communicate with caregivers in healthcare settings. The Company’s core offerings are Martti and Voyce, both of which are HIPAA-compliant Video Remote Interpretation solutions. Equiti serves clinicians and patients across all types of healthcare settings, including hospitals, urgent care centers, standalone clinics, and medical practices, and helps improve health equity across an underserved U.S. patient population.

Maureen Huber, CEO at Equiti said, “We have a tremendous amount of respect for Heritage Group and the deep healthcare provider and payor relationships they maintain. We are excited to welcome them to our investor base as we continue Equiti’s strong momentum in partnership with GTCR.”

“After closely tracking the healthcare interpretation market for multiple years, we are thrilled to partner with GTCR and Equiti, which has established itself as a category leader,” said Jesse Bland, Partner at Heritage Group. “The Company is uniquely positioned to serve as a differentiated partner to health systems in solving a critical challenge, and to bring a better care experience to patients who otherwise would go underserved.”

Mark Anderson and Geoffrey Tresley at GTCR added, “Since investing in the Company earlier this year, we have worked closely with Maureen and the management team to accelerate growth and strengthen Equiti’s leading market position in healthcare interpretation services. The investment from Heritage is a testament to the hard work of the team and the conviction we share in Equiti’s value proposition in this attractive end-market.”

Holland & Knight LLP and Gunderson Dettmer served as legal counsel to Heritage Group, Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to GTCR.

About Equiti

Equiti is a leading healthcare technology company dedicated to empowering the delivery of superior care and ensuring equitable access to healthcare for all. Through innovative integrated solutions and actionable insights, Equiti supports healthcare providers and underserved populations in achieving optimal health outcomes. The Company offers comprehensive language access and other solutions tailored to the diverse needs of underserved and limited English proficient populations. Equiti’s commitment to breaking down barriers and leveraging data-driven approaches is shaping the future of healthcare, making it more accessible, efficient, and equitable. Equiti is building a world where everyone, everywhere, can access the healthcare they deserve. For more information, visit equitihealth.com.

About Heritage Group

Heritage Group is a Nashville, Tennessee-based, healthcare-focused private equity firm with more than 35 years of experience financing and operating healthcare companies. Heritage has over $1 billion of assets under management and seeks to make majority and minority investments in high-growth healthcare services and healthcare technology businesses that address the challenges of the U.S. healthcare system. The firm’s limited partners include some of the leading healthcare organizations in the nation, including large provider systems, payers, and healthcare service providers, which collectively operate over 800 hospitals and insure more than 75 million lives. For more information, visit heritagegroupusa.com.

About GTCR

Founded in 1980, GTCR is a leading private equity firm that pioneered The Leaders Strategy – finding and partnering with management leaders in core domains to identify, acquire and build market-leading companies through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. GTCR is focused on investing in transformative growth in companies in the Business & Consumer Services, Financial Services & Technology, Healthcare and Technology, and Media & Telecommunications sectors. Since its inception, GTCR has invested more than $25 billion in over 280 companies, and the firm currently manages $40 billion in equity capital. GTCR is based in Chicago with offices in New York and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit gtcr.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Originally announced September 10th, 2024

< + > The future of AI is what healthcare organisations make it

APAC hospital IT heads evaluated their respective experiences, barriers, and outlook on AI deployment.

< + > Evolution of digital health on full display at HIMSS24 APAC

APAC digital health leaders have emphasised the importance of collaboration and innovation to accelerate digital transformation in healthcare.

< + > HHS finalizes 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategy

While there's been progress across government and industry, the agency said the new technology strategy emphasizes health equity, public health, AI and cybersecurity as it aims to better connect the health system with health data "for all health IT users."