Change your perspective: From 10,000 feet in the air to feet on the ground
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Rick Francis, MD
2y ago
Imagine you’re an aerial firefighter approaching a hotspot. Catching your eye at 10,000 feet are dark patches amid a lush landscape. Below 3,000 feet, mottled red embers. Closer still, smoke makes you cough. Your brain kicks into high gear. Are people in danger? Are homes at risk? Your team quickly reviews general reports for wind and rain. But only with feet on the ground can you see critical details—like waterways and underbrush—that might also affect the fire’s path. That data informs your next urgent steps. To understand the health landscape for your employee or member populations, you nee ..read more
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Price transparency preparation for payers: lessons learned
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Bryan Briegel
2y ago
The first enforcement deadline for The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Transparency in Coverage Final Rule is quickly approaching. This price transparency rule requires health insurance issuers – health plans selling to individuals/small groups and employer groups – to disclose detailed pricing and cost-sharing information by specific deadlines.1 The first phase of this rule requires the creation of publicly available, machine-readable files for in-network provider negotiated rates and historical out-of-network allowed amounts. The machine-readable files must be updated mont ..read more
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3 ways technology can help employers manage COVID-19 and address the great resignation
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Barbara Hayes
2y ago
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including employee engagement. Employers are scrambling to address record-high levels of people quitting,1 fueling what is known as “the great resignation.” In fact, such rates have been highest for tech and healthcare industries.2 Many are seeking employee retention strategies to help improve the employee experience. Employees are expecting more from employers in the recovery phase of the pandemic. Here are three areas benefits leaders and COVID-19 task forces can use technology to address the changing needs of the workforce: 1. Provide COVID-19 p ..read more
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Decentralized clinical trials are driving speed and engagement
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Jennifer Duff
2y ago
There is a new normal in the life sciences industry and decentralized clinical trials are a major part of it. For better or worse, the COVID-19 pandemic forced life sciences organizations around the globe to adapt at an unprecedented scale. Biopharma companies and contract research organizations (CROs) adopted decentralized or digital clinical trials (DCTs) to reduce contact, improve the patient experience and keep studies on track during the pandemic. It’s already clear that the virtual approach of DCTs is benefiting life science organizations. The clinical trial dynamic has shifted. Now DCTs ..read more
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Changing Medicare scene has implications for real-world data
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Luke Boulanger
2y ago
Every initiative to improve healthcare requires high-quality data. Whether an organization is seeking improved outcomes, higher quality or lower costs, it should start with in-depth, reliable and representative data. This means that health data sources must be as dynamic as healthcare is. Organizations must analyze data that reflects their populations, which are constantly evolving. One example of this in the United States is the evolution of Medicare Advantage Plans. Medicare Advantage Plans, also known as Part C, are an alternative ..read more
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Improving the delivery of care through pharmacists
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Eileen Yoshida, RPh, BScPhm, MBA, FNAP
2y ago
The current challenges within the US healthcare system of access to care, cost and anticipated shortage of physicians is providing new important roles for pharmacists to embrace. As a pharmacist, I enthusiastically say, “Bring it on — we’re ready!” Let me explain why. Pharmacists are medication experts Pharmacists spend a minimum of 6 years in pharmacy school learning how drugs work so that they can identify and resolve drug-related problems. Post-graduation, more than 25% of pharmacists complete at least one year of residency and provide pharmacy services directly to patients. As of January 2 ..read more
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6 drug shortage predictions for 2022 and beyond
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Nate Peaty, PharmD
2y ago
While the COVID-19 pandemic caused several drug shortages and supply disruptions in the US, hospital drug shortages are nothing new.1 Other disruptions causing drug shortages include natural disasters, manufacturing problems, and a short supply of raw materials, to name a few. Regardless of the root cause, a shortage means clinicians sometimes use costlier and less-effective medications or therapies, and hospital pharmacists may spend hours seeking alternatives. In some instances, hospital pharmacies must compound and modify the products, which adds significant workload and risk. Hospitals are ..read more
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Our top 3 takeaways from APHSA ISM 2021
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Watson Health
2y ago
Last week, IBM® Watson Health® joined health and human services leaders in Cincinnati for the 2021 APHSA ISM Conference. Attendees heard our perspective on how COVID-19 has impacted the social services landscape, and about how one of our agency partners is using technology to respond to urgent community needs. For those unable to join us, we have compiled our takeaways below: 1. Digital transformation can deepen community engagement HHS agencies are using digital transformation to bring services and citizens closer together. They’re improving access to benefits and giving citizens options to ..read more
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IBM FHIR Server vs. HAPI-JPA: Which open source tool performs better?
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Robin Arnold
2y ago
Figuring out which FHIR standard technology to choose can be tricky for healthcare organizations. Open source projects have many advantages, but sometimes they can be hard to scale. You want to pick one that will grow along with your organization and support your long-term digital technology goals. This short guide will give you a comparison of two leading open source Java technologies for FHIR: IBM® FHIR Server and HAPI-JPA. If you’re a newcomer to FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) or HL7  (Health Level Seven International), you might want to do some more reading on the b ..read more
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4 ways healthcare payers can better manage oncology drug costs with data analytics
IBM Watson Health Perspectives
by Katherine Haverty, Pharmacology
2y ago
One of the largest drivers of spend in healthcare is specialty medication. In 2014, medical and prescription specialty drug treatment contributed USD 439 in annual allowed PMPY. In five short years, this ballooned to USD 1,025 in 2019 – a 133% increase.1 Many of the leading specialty drugs are oncology treatments, especially in the medical setting. Despite only contributing 9% of specialty drug patients in 2019, oncology treatments lent 26% of spend.1 There are several areas healthcare payers can analyze to better understand trends within their population and identify opportunities to encourag ..read more
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