The Collective Voice of Health IT, A WEDI Podcast

In a season of "Raining Regulations" our attention turns to data exchange initiatives from the state level that sometimes occur in spite of or in absence of federal initiatives.  Matthew speaks with David Haugen, Administrative Simplification Program Director with Minnesota's Department of Health (https://www.health.state.mn.us/facilities/ehealth/auc/index.html) and Denny Brennan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (www.mahealthdata.org). The 3 discuss the significance of state data exchange operations, the importance of states learning from each other, the huge topic of prior authorization and how focusing on the patient can help "stabilize the stool" that is healthcare data interoperability. 

Matthew welcomes back Arrive Health CEO Kyle Kiser to the podcast to discuss the latest at Arrive Health, an industry leader in delivering real-time cost and coverage data to decision-making workflows. Kyle discusses how working with multiple stakeholders help drive quality, make the best, cost efficient decision and increase patient satisfaction and engagement. 

Michael sits down and chats with Tim Noonan, Deputy Director for Health Information Privacy, Data and Cybersecurity at HHS' Office for Civil Rights (OCR).  What are some common trends and deficiencies that OCR confronts in their investigations? Why the increase in cyber attacks on business associates and what resources and guidance (spoiler alert: there are plenty) does OCR have available to aid in keeping healthcare entities safe and secure?

Michael sits in for Matthew and welcomes Dave Bennett, CEO of pCare, a leading provider of patient engagement solutions for health systems across the country. The two discuss the changing tone and climate of patient experiences and how Dave and pCare has leveraged technology and innovation to develop a truly remarkable hospital room of the future. 

Matthew welcomes HL7 CEO Dr. Charles Jaffe and Deputy Standards Chief Implementation Officer Diego Kaminker. With FHIR seemingly on the lips of every health IT professional, Matthew asks the two about FHIR's history, its multiple accelerators and how the standard is looking to be the key to unlocking data exchange for healthcare throughout the world. 

Michael speaks with Ron Emerson, Global Healthcare Lead at Zoom. Recognized as a thought leader in Telehealth, Ron has more than 20 years' experience in the healthcare industry having worked on a number of Telemedicine programs in nearly 50 countries.  The two discuss Zoom being in the healthcare arena and the future of telehealth. 

This week, Michael welcomes Julie Rezek, CEO of Advata. Advata provides advanced data analytics software to improve decision-making and optimize administrative efficiencies in healthcare. The company's revenue cycle management solutions are powered by predictive analytics, actionable artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation.  What is the present and future of data analytics in healthcare and how can it remain responsible while also changing the way the industry manages inefficiencies and increases productivity

Data breaches from healthcare vendors, which are considered “business associates" under HHS’ Office of Civil Rights breach portal have grown over the past 5 years, including 116 reported business associate breaches since November 2022 which have affected over 17 million patients. Michael chats with Phil Englert, Director of Medical Device Security for the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) about the industry's concerns regarding security concerns with third party vendors and medical devices.  Learn more about H-ISAC at www.h-isac.org

Matthew speaks with Ed Hafner, Chair of WEDI's Board of Directors and AVP Payer Strategy-Medical Network with Change Healthcare, and Robert Tennant, Vice President, Federal Affairs with WEDI.  The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) Standards Subcommittee hearing took place Jan.18 & 19, examining the new and updated transaction standards and operating rules. Robert testified on behalf of WEDI, presenting the feedback the association received from its Member Position Advisory (MPA) session in late 2022. The first day focused on the X12 proposal to move to the 008020 version of the Dental, Institutional, and Professional Claim (837) and the 008020 version of Health Care Claim Payment/Advice (835). Day two included the CAQH CORE proposal to move to updated and new operating rules. Learn more about WEDI's MPA here- https://www.wedi.org/2023/01/20/wedi-testimony-ncvhs-x12-caqh-core-hearing/ Learn more about NCVHS' Hearings here- https://ncvhs.hhs.gov/meetings/standards-subcommittee-hearing/   

Matthew chats with Matt McBride, Co-Founder and CEO of Mend (Mend.com) a patient engagement and telehealth platform designed to help healthcare organizations scale their practice and care for more patients.  Matt discusses the change in telehealth usage over the past several years and how healthcare must continue to evolve and incorporate emerging technologies to offer patient a more seamless, efficient, equitable and satisfying experience.