Healthcare IT Today Interviews John Lynn

Tombot’s AI-powered robotic puppy companion is more than just an emotional support animal, through an array of sensors it can also remotely monitor patients. The company is planning to have a beta version available soon with full production later in 2024.

There were many impressive technologies and digital solutions on display at #ViVE2024, but by far the more impressive (and cutest) was the one from a company called Tombot. They have an interactive, fully automated, emotional support animal that addresses the behavioral and psychological needs of patients with Dementia.

Healthcare IT Today got a preview of their robot from Tombot’s CEO, Tom Stevens, who called it an “immortal puppy”.

Learn more about Tombot at https://tombot.com/
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The OpenNotes Lab will bring transparency, collaboration, and innovation to the intersection of healthcare AI and patient-centered care. The Lab builds on the organization’s 15 years of advocacy and research.

The Lab will apply OpenNote’s expertise in research, advocacy, and innovation to an emerging area of healthcare – AI - to ensure it enhances patient care and is not a burden on clinicians.

Healthcare IT Today had the opportunity to sit down with Liz Salmi, Communications & Patient Initiatives Director at OpenNotes and Chethan Sarabu, MD, FAMIA, FAAP - Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine to learn more about OpenNotes and OpenNotes Lab.

Learn more about OpenNotes at https://www.opennotes.org/
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Health care payers, such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, traditionally have only billing data on their patients. That's why Mo Weitnauer, chief product officer at MRO, calls clinical data "the hottest commodity" in health care.

Piyush Khanna, Vice President Clinical Services at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, would like to store all their data in a single repository and use it for "bidirectional conversations" between the payer and providers. This can provider doctors with data at the point where the clinical decisions are being made—for instance, to perform dialysis at-home or in the clinic. Being able to bridge the data gap between payer and providers can provide tremendous benefit to patients, providers, and payers.

With the help of MRO, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield's repository covers 3,000 providers serving 1.2 members, and they think they can expand the number soon to 3.5 million. They have increased their STARS rating, and are seeking more operational efficiency by having data more quickly.

Learn more about MRO: https://mrocorp.com/
Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

Dan O’Connor, Vice President, Service Desk Delivery at HCTec, says that resolving a customer service call involves a lot more than fixing the problem that the customer bought. You have to leave the customer feeling that you cared about them. Conveying that sense of care might be more important than solving the problem.

Furthermore, every call is about patient care, even if it’s helping a staff person use their computer. That’s because they are all ultimately serving a patient.

In this video, O’Connor explores service desks with Audrius Polikaitis, Chief Information Officer at UI Health, which serves several campuses at the University of Illinois. Originally, UI Health assigned tasks to multiple departments—IT, facilities, etc.—but decided they needed a “single front door” for anyone needing help. They do ask callers to distinguish between regular service and the “clinical service desk,” which mostly helps people use the EPIC EHR.

Learn more about University of Illinois Health: https://hospital.uillinois.edu/
Learn more about HCTEC: https://hctec.com/
Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

VBA offers numerous portals to payers and their clients (which include doctors, patients, brokers, and more)—"one-stop shopping" for a large range of services. To ease the user experience with these services, the company has started using generative AI for training on their platform through a tool called VBA Assist.

President and CEO Mike Clayton cites their mission to "make the health care experience better for everyone" and explains some of their services: 24/7 self-service for patients, real-time chat, notifications for picking up meds or scheduling visits, risk modeling and more.

Learn more about VBA: https://vbasoftware.com/
Health IT Community: https://www.healthcareittoday.com/

[Sponsored] Healthcare organizations are increasingly reliant on mobile devices for daily operations. The proliferation of devices brings new challenges including loss, security risks, and a strain on IT resources. Managing those devices not only reduces risk, but also improves workflow efficiency says Dr. Daniel Siegel, CEO of NavvSystems, a company that offers a mobile device management platform.

Healthcare IT Today sat down with Dr. Daniel Siegel to discuss the challenges of managing mobile devices in healthcare.

Learn more about NavvSystems at https://www.navvtrack.com/
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