June 9, 2025

Article: Workplace, Community Violence Costs Hospitals $18B annually: AHA

A report from the American Hospital Association (AHA) highlights hospital spending on workplace and community violence.

The report, “The Burden of Violence to U.S. Hospitals: A Comprehensive Assessment of Financial Costs and Other Impacts of Workplace and Community Violence,” was prepared for the AHA by Harborview Injury and prevention Research Center in Seattle, part of the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Three numbers that illustrate the burden of violence to hospitals:

• The AHA estimates the total annual financial cost of violence to hospitals in 2023 to be $18.27 billion.
• The $18.27 billion estimate i8ncludes pre-event costs ($3.62 billion) and included costs for:
  • training security and staffing,
  • policy and procedure development,
  • outreach to build public trust,
  • facility modifications to prevent and mitigate harm, and
  • technology investments to monitor events.
• The $18.27 billion estimate also includes post-event costs ($14.65 billion) and included costs for:
  • healthcare,
  • staffing,
  • replacement and repair of infrastructure and equipment,
  • legal costs, and
  • community and public relations costs.
    • The AHA said post-event healthcare expenses to treat violent injuries was the largest contributor to the total annual financial cost of violence to hospitals.

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June 9, 2025

Article: Redefining Utilization Management: The Role of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, and healthcare is no exception. In a high-level exploration during the recent webinar “Redefining Utilization Management: The Role of AI, MCG’s Senior Clinical Integration Analyst, Miriam Moerbe, MS, BSN, RN, provided a basic exploration on what AI is, how it relates to healthcare and utilization management (UM), and key considerations when deciding if it’s right for a hospital, health plan, or government organization.

Three types of AI to consider:

• Machine Learning
  • This is a type of AI that uses algorithms, rules, and data analysis to make data-driven recommendations.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • This is a computer’s ability to understand text and spoken words in the same way human beings can by extracting symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments from narrative text.
  • In broader terms, it is machine learning to understand text and the spoken word.
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
  • LLMs are fed enormous amounts of data to learn intricate patterns and nuances.
  • By using what it has learned from data, it can predict words and sentences based on probability.

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June 9, 2025

Article: The Health System Workforce of the Future: 5 Bold Predictions

Hospitals and health systems are undergoing a seismic shift in how they structure, support and scale their workforces.

Health leaders are turning to artificial intelligence and digital innovation to not only fill gaps but fundamentally reshape how care is delivered. Today’s healthcare workforce is leaner, more agile, and increasingly strategic.

As care continues its migration beyond hospital walls, the imperative is clear:

• Success hinges on a workforce that is technologically fluent and empowered to lead transformation across clinical, operational and consumer touchpoints.

Five predictions on the healthcare workforce:

• The Workforce will Shrink and Shift
• • Hospitals are incorporating AI into daily clinical and administrative operations to become more efficient and achieve better outcomes.
    • The workforce is also adapting to more care being delivered outside the hospital walls.
• AI Literacy will be Table Stakes
  • AI significantly transformed healthcare operations and workflows over the last few years and continues to advance at a rapid pace.
    • The adage “AI won’t replace physicians, but physicians with AI will replace those without” can be applied to any role within the organization.
• Consumerism will be King
  • Healthcare has been slower than other industries to embrace consumer-driven models, but hospitals are now rapidly evolving to compete for patients with easy and more convenient access to care.
    • Health systems are opening new satellite locations across communities and staying open on evenings and weekends to accommodate patients’ schedules.
    • They’re offering more virtual care options, embracing virtual nursing and allowing for self-scheduling.
• Higher Engagement and Satisfaction
  • AI, Automation, ambient listening and more have reduced or eliminated low-value administrative tasks for clinical and operational teams.
    • They’re able to focus on the high-value accountabilities and human-to-human interactions vital to healthcare delivery which require a high level of thinking and input.
• Silos will Become Nearly Obsolete
  • C-suite leaders have talked for years about breaking down siloes and integrating multidisciplinary teams for better outcomes. Now the technology actually exists to actually make that happen, and organizational structure has to keep up.

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June 2, 2025

Whitepaper: How Corewell Health, Sutter Health, and UChicago Medicine are Transforming Patient Care with AI

AI becomes more integrated into clinical workflows; leading health systems are evaluating its real-world impact on both clinicians and patients. Corewell Health, Sutter Health, and UChicago Medicine have partnered with Abridge to deploy generative AI that reduces cognitive load and documentation burden, freeing clinicians to focus more fully on patients.

Recent research on the Abridge AI platform’s use in clinical settings, including a study conducted by UChicago Medicine and Press Ganey, demonstrates significant improvements in patient experience across key metrics – such as clinician attentiveness, communication, and shared decision-making. These results underscore Abridge’s growing role in achieving the healthcare system’s quintuple aim:

• Improving population health,
• Enhancing care experience,
• Reducing costs,
• Advancing equity, and
• Combating clinician burnout.

Click Here to Access the Whitepaper

June 2, 2025

Whitepaper: What CNOs, CIOs Need to Ask Before Choosing a Scheduling System

One nurse is juggling back-to-back shifts. Another is sent home early. Meanwhile, care coordination falters and tensions rise. These ripple effects often trace back to a hidden disruptor: a scheduling system that can’t keep pace with the demands of modern clinical operations.

This guide – built for CIOs, CFOs, chief nursing officers and procurement leaders – helps healthcare teams cut through the noise and confidently assess workforce scheduling tools that align with their unique challenges.

Inside, you’ll find structured worksheets, essential vendor vetting questions and a breakdown of must-have features, from mobile scheduling an float pool optimization to be seamless system integration.

Use this guide to:

• Clarify your organization’s top scheduling priorities, including self-scheduling, shift swapping and OR/ER complexity,
• Evaluate vendors side-by-side with a focus on functionality, interoperability and long-term scalability, and
• Align stakeholders around RFP timelines, budget considerations and the metrics that matter.

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June 2, 2025

Article: How Mercy is Advancing AI Across the Enterprise

As health systems nationwide navigate the complexities of integrating AI into clinical and operational workflows, St. Louis-based Mercy is scaling both traditional and generative AI across its enterprise.

Byron Yount, PhD, chief data and artificial intelligence officer at Mercy, spoke with Becker’s about:

• the health system’s top priorities,
• how it ensures responsible use of these technologies, and
• how it’s preparing its workforce for an AI-enabled future in healthcare.

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June 2, 2025

Article: Physician Appointment Wait Times Climb: 4 Survey Findings

Anew AMN Healthcare survey published May 27 found it now takes an average of 31 days to schedule a physician appointment in 15 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas – up 19% from 2022 and 48% from 2004.

AMN Healthcare conducted the survey of 1,391 physician offices in January and February. It highlights ongoing challenges related to scheduling physician appointments.

The survey, which focused on six medical specialties, gathered data from offices across:

• The Atlanta,
• Boston,
• Dallas,
• Denver,
• Detroit,
• Houston,
• Los Angeles,
• Miami,
• Minneapolis,
• New York City,
• Philadelphia,
• Portland, Ore.,
• San Diego,
• Seattle, and
• Washington, D.C., areas.

Four Key Findings:

• It now takes an average of 31 days to schedule a physician appointment in the metropolitan areas’ surveys.
  • In 2022, the last year the survey was conducted, it took 26 days.
  • In 2004, the first year the survey was conducted, it took 21 days.
• Average wait times for physician appointments differ by specialty:
  • OB-GYN: 42 days – a 33% increase from 2022 and a 79% increase since 2004.
  • Gastroenterology: 40 days – this marks the first year gastroenterology is part of the survey.
  • Dermatology: 36.5 days – up 6% since 2022 and a 74% increase from 2004.
  • Cardiology: 33 days – a 23% increase from 2022 and a 74% increase from 2004.
  • Family medicine: 23.5 days – up 14% from 2022 and a 16% from 2009, the first year this specialty was added to the survey.
  • Orthopedic surgery: 12 days – down from both 2022 and 2004.
• Among metropolitan areas surveyed, Boston had the longest average physician appointment wait time at 65 days, and Atlanta had the shortest at 12 days.
• More than half of physician offices surveyed accept Medicaid (53%), compared with 82% that accept Medicare.

Click Here to View Full Report

May 22, 2025

Care Coordination Article: Hackensack’s Pediatric ED Cuts Early Walk-out Rate 82%

Hackensack University Medical Center’s pediatric emergency department has significantly reduced patient-wait times and its left-before-treatment-complete rate through a series of targeted patient-flow improvements.

In 2022, patient volumes hit a record high at the pediatric ED – part of Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. The waiting room was routinely full, and many lower-acuity children were not getting in front of a provider in a timely manner.

After navigating a sharp spike in pediatric visits during the 2022 virus season, ED leaders conducted a deep dive into their metrics. At the time, the average door-to-provider time was 50 minutes, and the average door-to-bed time was 52 minutes. Additionally, 4.5% of patients left the ED before completing treatment.

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