Patients
Todays patients are becoming consumers who expect a convenient, personalized and intuitive experience in all aspects of their lives, including interactions with healthcare providers. Read about the innovations that engage, inform and empower patients.
NQF, Aetna join forces to tackle social determinants

The National Quality Forum and the Aetna Foundation's initiative will identify best practices that address social determinants of health and reduce health disparities over the next nine months. »

Novartis donates data in effort to jump-start antibiotic development
Pew Charitable Trusts is adding data from drugmaker Novartis' now-defunct antibiotics research programs to its open source information-sharing platform in an effort to jump-start development of products to combat antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

Congress eyes intervention in U.S. organ sharing policy
The incoming Congress may bring lawmakers into the fraught but relatively under-the-radar debate over how the U.S. should distribute organs.

Health insurers look to digital tools to improve customer experience
Health insurers say investing in digital tools and other technologies can help them improve the customer experience by giving plan members a personalized, frictionless healthcare experience.

Project Japan providers are teaming with chatbots to assist patients
Chatbots are gaining traction in healthcare, helping connect patients to providers and payers on an efficient, cost-effective medium: mobile devices and computers.

New CMS star ratings ignore socio-economic factors
The CMS didn't risk-stratify hospitals by peer groups based on their dual-eligible population as it currently does in the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. That can earn hospitals low ratings for caring for poor and chronically ill patients.

N.H. Democrats blast Medicaid for changing work requirements
New Hampshire's new Democratic legislative leaders are criticizing the CMS for revising the state's proposed Medicaid work requirement program without the state asking for the changes.

CMS changes to hospital star ratings don't address concerns
The CMS will update star ratings for Hospital Compare in February after a 14-month delay to resolve issues with the model, but the agency did not address some of critics' biggest concerns.

Clinicians warn HIV prevention drug use can lead to risky behavior
Recent updates to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations call for clinicians to offer pre-exposure prophylaxis to those at higher risk of contracting HIV, but doctors warn it might make some patients at higher risk of catching other sexually transmitted diseases.

CMS launches new consumer tool to compare surgery prices
The CMS has launched a new tool to make it easier for consumers to know their out-of-pocket costs for surgery.
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