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

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.

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

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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Article: How Mercy is Advancing AI Across the Enterprise

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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Article: Physician Appointment Wait Times Climb: 4 Survey Findings

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.

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ERS Article: Rural Populations are Shifting Older

May 29, 2025

ERS Article: Rural Populations are Shifting Older

The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports on recent data showing that the number of rural people of working age (between 15 and 64 years old) has fallen in recent years, dropping to 28 million in 2023 from more than 30 million in 2010. At the same time, the number of rural residents aged 65 years and over grew from 7.4 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2023.

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Missouri DHSS Issues Emergency Waiver to Assist Missourians Impacted by Severe Weather

May 22, 2025

Missouri DHSS Issues Emergency Waiver to Assist Missourians Impacted by Severe Weather

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has issued an emergency waiver to assist Missourians in need of critical prescription medications following the devastating tornadoes and sever weather that struck Missouri on May 16.

The action comes after Governor Mike Kehoe issued Executive Order 25-24 authorizing DHSS to temporarily waive or suspend any statutory or administrative rule under its purview to allow medical professionals to better assist those affected by storms.

The provisions of §195.010-195.100 and their attendant regulations and 195.060, RSMo, are partially waived to allow pharmacists to fill controlled substance prescriptions for patients in disaster-impacted areas without the presentation of a written prescription and if the pharmacist determines within his or her professional judgment that an extended supply is needed to avoid interruptions to patient care.

This will ensure that individuals whose prescriptions or prescription records were lost or destroyed, or whose original prescribing physician is unavailable, can continue to receive needed medications even if the pharmacy has not previously dispensed or refilled the prescription.

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

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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Whitepaper: Health Systems’ Onsite Medical Supplies Distribution Playbook to Operate More Efficiently

May 22, 2025

Whitepaper: Health Systems’ Onsite Medical Supplies Distribution Playbook to Operate More Efficiently

Grappling with ineffective operations, lack of capable logistics staff and “firefighting” day-to-day supplies issues?

Learn how leading health systems overcome these challenges by partnering with external operations experts. Discover strategies to streamline your supply chain, reduce costs and deliver consistent, high-quality care.

Gain the tools to:

  • Build a business case for third-party supply chain partners,
  • Overcome workforce shortages with scalable, expert resources, and
  • Ensure seamless supply chain transitions that protect patient care.

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Case Study: Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) Advances Value-Based Care with New In-House Specialty Pharmacy

May 19, 2025

Case Study: Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) Advances Value-Based Care with New In-House Specialty Pharmacy

As Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) began its value-based care journey, leadership realized that improving access to specialty medication presented a major opportunity to support their patients.

Dr. Gary Zimmer, MD, FACEP, Chief Medical Office for MVHS shared, “We started asking ourselves how do we get medications to patients who need them?”

The answer was clear. MVHS decided to partner with CPS Solutions, LLC to open an in-house specialty pharmacy

With CPS, MVHS patients now have direct access to a dedicated specialty pharmacy team who helps them secure timely, affordable access to the treatments they need.

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Article: Physician Burnout Dips, but Pressures Remain

May 16, 2025

Article: Physician Burnout Dips, but Pressures Remain

During the COVID-19 pandemic, physician burnout and job dissatisfaction rates reached historic highs. In the years since, burnout rates have come down – though not nearly enough to ease concerns about the nation’s physician shortage and patient access to high-quality care.

Every three years since 2011, researchers at Stanford (Calif.) Medicine have surveyed practicing physicians to track changes in burnout and well-being among the workforce. The latest edition, published April 9 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, is based on responses from more than 7,600 physicians surveyed between late 2023 and early 2024.

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