by Steve Haar | Jun 15, 2022 | Hospice
SHARE Hospice facilities & organizations have faced significant challenges over the past few years, as seen throughout healthcare. Adopting new procedures and technology to address the issues of the pandemic, changing federal guidelines, and a host of other issues need to be managed. Chief among the concerns is the lack of qualified hospice professionals and knowledgeable healthcare providers. The challenge of education, training, and the burden it puts on hospice resources is being addressed in a number of ways. Hospice…
by Steve Haar | May 20, 2022 | caregivers
SHARE As our population ages, we see more families faced with the same challenges of taking care of senior parents, aunts, uncles, and even siblings. This journey can feel lonely, frustrating, and discouraging. While there are many organizations created to help, between the seer weight of emotions and the bureaucratic struggles inherent in any system designed to help many people, it can feel as if no amount of help is enough. We read through many articles each week on the…
by Steve Haar | Apr 21, 2022 | Hospice
SHARE With the CMS increase in the base pay rate for in-patient hospice care, providers are expanding facilities and seeing growth in admissions. As they do, they are also being cautious to manage compliance with regulations and costs. The Hospice News article highlights some Hospice organizations’ expansion efforts and how they are managing the growth. Hospices Expand Inpatient Care, But Tread Carefully Hospices Expand Inpatient Care, But Tread Carefully “In addition to across-the-board expenses like wages and salaries, medications and…
by Steve Haar | Oct 29, 2021 | technology
SHARE“Digital transformation marks a rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people, and processes in pursuit of new business models and new revenue streams, driven by changes in customer expectations around products and services.” — CIO Digital Transformation, The Right Mindset One challenge in digital transformation (DT) is the tendency to think of technology as a tool to help do what is currently done, but faster or more efficiently. On the surface, this seems reasonable. But, it limits the scope…
by Steve Haar | Sep 17, 2021 | news
SHAREThe COVID pandemic continues to impact the globe nearly 2 years on. As we move forward there are daily issues to be managed. But, there are also longer-term issues to be addressed. Two of the issues that we tackle are preparedness for future outbreaks and ethical questions around the distribution of the vaccine. Our future readiness for a Pandemic Where are we relative to where we need to be in order to better address future pandemics? Setting aside the politics,…
by Steve Haar | Sep 3, 2021 | Uncategorized
SHARELike you, and everyone, we see and read stories about COVID every day. While there are many stories about the spread of the virus, the impact of the pandemic is seen in virtually every facet of life. We’ve collected a portion of the COVID-related stories we’ve read below. COVID and Technological Advancement Over the past year and a half, technology, as it relates to healthcare, has advanced in ways that we experience each day as well as in ways that…
by Steve Haar | Aug 20, 2021 | healthcare workers
SHAREFor obvious reasons, there has been a spotlight on healthcare workers. From the overwhelming stress of the pandemic to the ongoing march of regulatory and technological changes, those who serve the healthcare needs of the country have faced the pendulum-like swings of public opinion and political focus over the past year as never before. Here are some of the stories we’ve seen recently. Playing Politics with Healthcare workers Playing politics with healthcare, and healthcare workers, simply should not happen… but…
by Steve Haar | Aug 13, 2021 | Machine Learning
SHAREMachine Learning and AI have been the center of much hype over the past few years. This hype is not entirely unwarranted. But, we have also seen how these new technologies can be misused or used blindly, having a negative impact on the very people they are intended to help. This week, we see some good and some not-so-good news about ML & AI. Governance plays a key role in the equitable implementation of new technologies At HIMSS21, Kevin Ross…
by Steve Haar | Aug 6, 2021 | technology
SHAREHealthcare has seen a great deal of technological advancement in a range of areas from diagnostics, treatment, and communication. Some of these are things from which patients will benefit but never see. Other tech will be front and center in the patient experience. Here are just a few of the articles we’ve seen recently. “Feeling” prosthetics… A team at Florida Atlantic University combines stretchable tactile sensors, liquid metal, and AI to place over 3,000 sensors on a fingertip of an…
by Steve Haar | Jul 29, 2021 | Palliative Care
SHAREArticles from our posts @SMART_MD on Twitter. Focus: Palliative Care As we share articles of interest on our social media accounts, we continue to learn quite a bit about what is happening in Palliative Care. Here are three that stuck out recently. A nurse who laid the foundation for 40 years of palliative care in Australia https://bit.ly/3hW5LhC Providing palliative care is difficult. From educating patients and families, to gaining recognition, to lack of resources, providers of palliative care face a…
