Bill Siwicki

Interoperability is improving, but artificial intelligence is exposing the difference between merely exchanging data and actually making data usable, one consultant said.

Dr. Christopher R. Cogle, director of the Florida Health Policy Leadership Academy, says designing systems for the most complex and vulnerable populations has created advances for healthcare information technology.

"It's coming at them at a very fast pace," says Broward Health CIO Steven Travers, who advises healthcare organizations to ensure new tools fit both what an organization is trying to accomplish and the existing processes of frontline staff.

"Our work highlights how combining clinical expertise with real-time data systems and automated digital tools can improve care for some of the sickest children in the hospital," says its clinical informatics specialist.

Inventory carrying costs alone have been reduced by more than $10 million, says a pharmacy IT exec, who touts the ROI of combined analytics technologies.

These virtual care providers can support hospitals through patient volume spikes and provide more flexibility for clinicians. One even supported a complex resuscitation in real time. A Missouri hospitalist lays out some of the many benefits.

What's more, staff used the analytics to slash inpatient length of stay from 5.99 days to 5.29 – a result "not driven by a single initiative, but by the cumulative effect of real-time visibility and coordinated action," says a performance improvement director.

"Health systems are investing greatly in innovative digital and AI technologies, but the gap between what technology can do and what clinicians actually use is where value is won or lost," says Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Jeremy Meller.

Nadin Knippschild, DNP, RN, says she must responsibly control advanced technologies while maintaining unwavering cybersecurity – especially as more data and services are migrated to the cloud.

LTC telehealth must be tailored to the needs of vulnerable populations, says one chief medical officer, who explains some of the challenges of scaling it across a diverse network and the keys to improving patient outcomes with virtual care.