Rural Spotlight

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.

Click Here to Access Whitepaper

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.

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