⚕️Integrating Healthcare App With Epic

Good Morning! Today is the birthday of Dr. William T. G. Morton, credited for performing the first painless tooth extraction with ether and laying down the foundation of what is now known as the field of Anesthesiology.

DEEP DIVE
7 Most Promising Areas For Gen AI in Healthcare

More than 70% of healthcare organizations either have already adopted or plan to implement generative AI.

Here are the areas that healthcare leaders believe will benefit most from Gen AI

1. Clinician/clinical productivity: 73%

2. Patient/member engagement and experience: 62%

3. Administrative efficiency and effectiveness: 60%

4. Quality of care/service delivery: 48%

5. IT/infrastructure: 42%

6. Research and education: 30%

7. Strategy and growth: 28%

Read the full research report here.

DEEP DIVE
Decoded: Integrating Healthcare App With Epic EHR

Epic is one of the leading EHR software in the healthcare industry.

• Epic's market share has increased from 31% in 2021 to 39.1% in 2023. Epic was the only EHR vendor to experience a net market share increase in 2023. 

• The vendor covered more than half of all acute care multispecialty beds and 39% of hospitals in the U.S

Integrating a healthcare app with Epic EHR raises one major question – how to tackle interoperability? Implementing standards such as FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource) and USCDI API can help with integrating healthcare apps with Epic EHR.

What is USCDI API?

USCDI (United States Core Data for Interoperability) as a set of standards for healthcare data to facilitate information exchange. USCDI elements are basic healthcare data points that modern APIs and healthcare systems are expected to support.

Epic USCDI API is a set of regulations for obtaining healthcare data in the USCDI standard from Epic EHR.

Here are the top considerations when integrating a healthcare app with Epic EHR

1. Type of data extracted from Epic

2. Security

3. Authentication

4. FHIR versioning

5. Testing

Read the in-depth guide to integrating healthcare app with Epic EHR with detailed steps involved here.

PULSE POINTS
Latest Breakthroughs This Week

Here’s the most important breakthroughs and advancements we spotted in the healthcare technology space this week.

• Minecraft in Hospitals: Seattle Children's has become the first pediatric hospital to recreate its facility in Minecraft. The hospital launched the Seattle Children's Minecraft Server, allowing patients to connect and play together in a safe, monitored environment, even if they are confined to their rooms.

• AI Assistant for Residents: Ascension Saint Thomas is introducing Suki, an AI-powered administrative assistant, to its second- and third-year internal medicine residents to ease documentation burdens. The system is also expanding Suki's use to over 700 clinicians, with plans to eventually make it available to all residents.

• Medical Devices: CMS has introduced the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) Pathway to expedite Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices. This voluntary program will cover up to five FDA-approved devices annually, aiming to finalize coverage within six months. It includes evidence review and development planning tailored to the Medicare population and helps determine the device's appropriate benefit category.

• Virtual Care: WellSpan Health, in partnership with Tendo, has launched 24/7 virtual care and all-inclusive pricing for over 600 employers in Pennsylvania and Maryland through its Well at Work program. The program offers customizable bundled services and virtual care with no copays or deductibles, providing convenient and affordable healthcare options with trusted local providers.

• Biomedical Application of Quantum Tech: Cleveland Clinic, in partnership with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is launching the Quantum-AI Biomedical Frontiers Fellowship Program to apply quantum technologies and AI in clinical research. The program will fund 12 researchers over three years, focusing on diagnostics, drug discovery, clinical trials, and personalized medicine.

• Neuralink: Neuralink, co-founded by Elon Musk, has successfully implanted a second brain-computer interface device into a human subject with a spinal cord injury. The implant is functioning well, with about 400 of its 1,042 electrodes actively transmitting brain signals. Details about the recipient and surgery were not disclosed.

• Policy: HHS has suspended certain HIPAA Privacy Rule penalties to give hospitals in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina more flexibility in responding to Tropical Storm Debby. This follows the declaration of public health emergencies as the storm is expected to bring heavy rain and flooding through August 9.

EXPERT SPOTLIGHT
Sebastian Frohm: Isolating Problems For AI to Solve

This week, HealthTech Zen got in touch with Sebastian Frohm, a technologist who has dedicated the last 15 years of his life to the art form of scalability.

Which emerging technologies do you believe will have the greatest impact on healthcare in the near future?

As computational power has evolved, the ability for AI to parse immense sets of data has exponentially grown as well. AIs can pour over data in seconds, minutes, or hours, in what would’ve take a human days, weeks, months, or years to do.

This advent of speed allows us to glean how AI is going to become the front-runner for how we approach medicine. Already, there are several companies working on goal-specific AI models that help predict cancers before they start; others are working on how to leverage a person’s DNA to create personalized treatments, while limiting side effects. 

Can you share an example of a major project or initiative in healthcare technology that inspired you?

The importance of AI has become abundantly obvious to anyone paying attention. While people believe AI will solve every problem ever, it's important to grow the expectation that AI will not solve every problem, until we know what the problems are. If you isolate a problem, focus the question, and train the AI properly, however, you will receive unbelievable results.

Continue reading here

DECODER
What is Data Lifecycle Management in Healthcare?

Data lifecycle management in healthcare is a policy-based method for controlling the data flow in a data system from the point of formation and initially stored to the point when it is no longer required and is erased.

Data Lifecycle Management in healthcare covers the collection, secure storage, and use of patient data, as well as its sharing, archiving, and eventual disposal. It ensures data is handled efficiently, securely, and in compliance with regulations throughout its entire lifecycle.

Read about the stages of data lifecycle management phases here.