Inside Health Tech

What’s the one thing most of us do when looking for a good restaurant or a hotel? We revise their Star Ratings. In fact, Star Ratings have become one of the most valid indicators of quality. However, this applies not only to the hospitality industry; it is also relatable to Medicare plans.

In today’s episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast, Rex Wallace, a Star Ratings Consultant, joins our host, Mark Scott, to discuss the importance of star quality ratings in Medicare. Rex explains how Star Ratings work and why people equate it with HEDIS — clinical quality. 

Rex and Mark also discuss the measures Medicare plans should implement to attract more members. They also touch upon the pandemic and its impact on Star Ratings. If you want to hear what else they talked about, tune in to the latest episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast.

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Delivering high-quality patient care certainly comes first for all healthcare providers out there. But technology often provides a way to improve both the healthcare system and give patients what they need. To dive deeper into ways HCPs can harvest tech to achieve better results, we've invited Kelley Scott to our show to hear a nurse practitioner's perspective.

Kelley has been a Nurse Practitioner for over 20 years. She's currently working in Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and is thriving in her role. As an HCC coding and documentation expert, Kelley knows the ins and outs of health tech and is eager to share how technology benefits the quality of care she provides. 

In this episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast, our host Bryan and Kelley talk about the recurrent challenges in healthcare and how technology can address them for a more optimal workflow. If you want to hear more about how tech is driving change in healthcare, tune into our episode to find out.

In today's episode of Inside Health Tech, Alan Sun, the VP of Product at Apixio, joins our host Mark Scott to discuss common assumptions people have regarding healthcare. But, as Alan admits, he also had some misconceptions prior to entering the field. 

Alan also shares other lessons he learned during the past 20 years since he joined the industry. One of the most valuable lessons refers to product development and how this is a particularly challenging area due to fears from patients. So, understanding how you are building the product is the key to success.

Our guest also talks about the significance of user research, emphasizing that healthcare is becoming more personal. And that's another aspect proving the importance of data within the healthcare industry.  

We don't give operations enough credit when it comes to health tech or tech in general. So we thought it was about time we changed that. Even though operations means different things in different organizations, one thing's for sure: it's a critical part of the business. In this episode of the Inside Health Tech, you'll get to hear from our Chief Operating Officer at Apixio - Meg Holland. 

Meg has been running operations at Apixio for nearly five years now. Prior to this role, she spent four years at HealthLoop as the SVP, Operations, and COO. She was also at Epocrates for nine years, as Vice President of Business Operations. With 20 years of experience in health care services, technology, and policy, it's safe to say Meg knows the ins and outs of the health tech industry. 

According to Meg, operations is, in many ways, the key to success in healthcare technology. It's the glue that keeps the company together. So what does the term mean in the health tech industry? What are the greatest accomplishments Apixio has had throughout the years? And how has COVID-19 affected the tech teams? Tune in to the latest episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast to find out.

Are we really satisfied with American healthcare and health insurance reimbursement? If we take a closer look at Medicare or Medicaid, we can see many restrictions and regulations one must respect. Should providers do something to make the payment models better? Are they willing to take more financial risks and incentives to make things better for members and physicians?

Jen Pereur, the VP of Solutions at Apixio, talks about the differences between value-based care and fee-for-service payments in healthcare. She suggests that organizations and providers take the financial risk to enable more alternative payment methods and embrace a performance-based payment model, which still progresses at a snail's pace.
In this episode of Inside Health Tech, Jen Pereur and Mark Scott discuss the role of technology in the healthcare space and the importance of using data accurately to allow physicians to do their job much more efficiently.

According to our guest, John Schneider, connectivities and technology are in every realm of our lives. Machine learning, AI, smartphones had become popular when the first iPhone was released. And all of a sudden, they are all present in the healthcare industry. But can technology be seamlessly integrated into healthcare?

John Schneider, a Chief Technology Officer at Apixio, talks about the most common challenges of using technology in healthcare. He focuses on data acquisition, structured and unstructured data, and why they represent a massive healthcare problem. Additionally, John mentions the concept of EMR, HIPAA, and all the contradictions these regulations and laws are based on.

In the latest episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast, John Schneider and Mark Scott are trying to predict health tech platforms' future based on their current situation. Are people going to visit the doctor when their shoulder hurts or when their telemetry says so?

Tech development allows different companies and service providers to access the different kinds of data in order to deliver an excellent customer experience and facilitate the workflow. What about the data availability in the health tech industry? What are the most common challenges EHR providers face when trying to gather the essential patients' information?

Terry Ward, a Senior Vice President of Payer Solutions at Apixio, talks about the challenges of accessing essential data in the healthcare industry, mainly clinical records and chart information. He also mentions the concept of interoperability and its benefits to the data acquisition process.

In this episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast, Terry Ward and Mark Scott discuss the changes in healthcare brought by COVID, especially in terms of technology and data. They will also mention longitudinal records, which provide more comprehensive insights into a patient's condition and lifestyle and other critical aspects regarding the topic.

In the new episode of the Inside Health Tech podcast, our host, Mark Scott, welcomes Bryan Lee, a healthcare industry veteran and Vice President of Solutions at Apixio. Bryan has been in the healthcare space since the late '80s. What brought him to the industry was his interest in the structure of the regulatory environment, the idea of applying creative processes to risk adjustment. 

Bryan and Mark discuss the CMS's decision to extend the deadlines for medicare advantage plans for final submission and its impact on payers and providers. Bryan explains the importance of artificial intelligence within the healthcare industry, but he also wonders how quickly technology can keep up with changes in medicine.

The central part of the conversation was dedicated to the challenges providers and payers are facing. Interlocutors chat about structured versus unstructured data, and Bryan concludes: ''When we enter the world of unstructured data, we begin to enrich the view of member's profile.''