Improving Clinical Operations With Technology

Ambient AI is no longer a future concept in healthcare, it’s already reshaping how care is delivered. AI-enabled clinical documentation is changing how physicians experience technology, making it feel supportive rather than burdensome. By reducing the administrative load of documentation, clinicians can spend more time practicing medicine instead of managing systems. At the same time, clinical documentation, which has long been a source of friction, burnout, and risk, has the potential to become a powerful source of real-time clinical insight. At Elevance Health, we’re focused on applying digital technologies, such as ambient and clinical insights - responsibly - not just to document care, but to enable earlier intervention, better coordination, and more effective cost management. Several principles guide our approach: 🚣 Move upstream: Embed payer intelligence, such as risk signals and care gaps, directly into clinical workflows rather than surfacing insights after the fact. 🕵 Focus on moments that matter: Earlier detection of risk allows action before acute events occur. 🩺 Keep humans in the loop: AI should support clinical decision-making, not replace clinical judgment. 🔃 Reduce friction, not add it: Seamless data flow means less manual work for providers and faster, more comprehensive care. By integrating real-time clinical documentation with actionable insights, ambient AI can help surface relevant information at the moment of care, supporting more comprehensive diagnosis, improved coordination, and more affordable outcomes without increasing burden or compliance risk. The opportunity ahead isn’t about adding more AI tools. It’s about turning data into action at the right time, in the right workflow, for the right member. I look forward to continued collaboration across payers, providers, and technology partners as we shape what responsible, AI-enabled healthcare should look like.

The urgent care network's CEO was direct: "𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 15% 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦." We recognized an opportunity to fundamentally rethink the organization's operating model through a technology-enabled transformation. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗗𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲  - Reimbursement compression from payers  - Increasing competition from retail healthcare providers  - Rising patient expectations for digital experiences The traditional approach would have been incremental: trim staff, reduce supply costs, chase marginal efficiencies to achieve an 𝟴-𝟭𝟬% 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 while degrading patient experience. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 We built a digital transformation strategy around three core capabilities: 𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We analyzed three years of visit data and created an AI-driven staffing model that predicted patient volume with 94% accuracy at hourly intervals. This allowed precise staffing aligned to actual demand rather than static scheduling. Impact: 18% reduction in labor costs while reducing average wait times by 12 minutes. 𝟮. 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 Rather than viewing telemedicine as a separate offering, we redesigned the entire care delivery model around a virtual-first architecture. Patients began with an AI-triaged digital intake, followed by a virtual provider assessment, and only then proceeded to in-person care if clinically necessary. Impact: 41% of cases were resolved without in-person visits, reducing facility costs while increasing patient satisfaction scores by 9 points. 𝟯. 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 We consolidated fragmented clinical and operational data into a unified platform, giving providers real-time decision support integrated into their workflow rather than requiring separate analysis. Impact: 17% reduction in unnecessary tests and procedures, 28% decrease in prescription costs through more precise medication management. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 The combined impact exceeded all expectations:  - 23% reduction in total care delivery costs  - Patient satisfaction improvement from 72nd to 89th percentile  - Clinical quality metrics improvement across 7 of 8 key measures  - Provider satisfaction scores increased by 14 points Rather than merely surviving market pressures, they established a new care delivery model that attracted acquisition interest at a multiple 2.4x higher than the industry average. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴.

What if AI could give clinicians back 8 hours a week? Administrative work consumes nearly a third of healthcare professionals' time. Documentation, Scheduling, Revenue cycle management, Tasks that pull clinicians away from what matters most: patient care. AI changes this equation dramatically. Imagine walking into your practice and finding your notes already drafted from patient conversations. Picture calendar conflicts resolving themselves automatically. Envision billing cycles completing with minimal human intervention. This shift does more than save time. It transforms healthcare delivery at its core. Clinicians reconnect with their original calling when freed from paperwork. Patient interactions become more meaningful. Treatment plans receive proper attention. Medical decisions improve with reduced cognitive load. Healthcare organizations benefit too. Resources flow to direct care instead of administrative overheads. Operational costs decrease while quality metrics rise. Staff retention improves as job satisfaction grows. The math becomes compelling. Eight reclaimed hours weekly translates to hundreds of additional patient interactions monthly. Those interactions build stronger therapeutic relationships and drive better health outcomes. Burnout rates fall when administrative burdens lift. Clinicians report renewed passion for medicine. Teams collaborate more effectively without documentation demands draining their mental bandwidth. AI handles the routine. Humans handle the human. The technology exists today. Forward-thinking healthcare organizations already implement these solutions. Early adopters report significant improvements in both clinician wellbeing and patient satisfaction scores. The question becomes less about if we should embrace AI for administrative tasks and more about how quickly we can responsibly implement these transformative tools. Your patients deserve your best. Your practice deserves efficiency. You deserve to practice medicine rather than manage paperwork. What would you do with those eight extra hours?

EHR modernization will not succeed on technology alone; the real accelerant is how AI equips the clinical functional community to target change management where it matters most and shorten the path from build to bedside adoption. For years, EHR programs have over-indexed on go-live dates and underinvested in change management, leading to failures driven by limited clinician engagement and weak workflow integration. Now, AI inside and around the EHR gives leaders the instrumentation to move from blanket training and broad communications to precision interventions tailored to specific roles, units, and users. AI-enabled analytics can mine workflow and user behavior data to reveal where adoption is lagging, where workarounds are emerging, and where risk is accumulating in real time. Instead of another generic tip sheet, clinical leaders can deploy focused coaching to one unit, redesign a problematic order set, or sequence training for a cohort whose overrides and errors signal cognitive overload. The clinical functional community—clinical informaticists, nurse and physician leaders, super users—must own this feedback loop and translate AI insights into credible, peer-led change. Health systems that intentionally empower this community with AI, data literacy, and governance will be the ones that turn EHR modernization into measurable gains in quality, access, and clinician well-being. Call to Action > Use AI to move EHR change management from generic training to precision, workflow-level interventions targeted by role, unit, and even individual users. > Let the clinical functional community—clinical informaticists, nurse and physician leaders, super users—own the AI-informed feedback loop and lead peer-to-peer change at the bedside. > Measure success not by go-live dates, but by reducing workarounds, lowering safety risks, and improving clinician experience as AI surfaces adoption gaps in real time. Huron partners with health systems to operationalize this vision—combining deep EHR implementation experience, AI-driven analytics, and a mature clinical functional community model to design, govern, and scale targeted change interventions that accelerate safe, sustainable adoption.

Streamlining Healthcare IT: A Comprehensive Approach to Reducing Operational Challenges To reduce day-to-day IT operational challenges in healthcare, organizations should implement a comprehensive strategy that begins with standardizing IT processes and workflows while documenting clear procedures. Adopting robust change management practices minimizes disruptions during updates, complemented by shifting to proactive maintenance rather than reactive troubleshooting. Investing in thorough staff training prevents user errors, while implementing prioritized ticketing systems ensures efficient issue resolution. System integration reduces data silos, and automation of routine tasks like backups and monitoring frees up IT resources. Strong cybersecurity measures with regular staff training protect against increasingly common healthcare cyberattacks, while comprehensive disaster recovery plans minimize downtime during emergencies. Cloud-based solutions can reduce infrastructure management burdens, and regular technical debt reduction addresses outdated systems. Establishing IT steering committees with clinical stakeholders ensures alignment with organizational needs, while implementing system monitoring tools identifies issues before they affect users. Clear role definitions within IT teams, effective vendor management processes, and adoption of ITSM frameworks like ITIL create consistency. Finally, establishing performance metrics and leveraging analytics tools provide insights into usage patterns and optimization opportunities, creating a more stable and efficient healthcare IT environment.

Our research center in Princeton has become a magnet for healthcare AI expertise. Every time I catch up with Dorin Comaniciu and the team there, conversations quickly move from what’s possible to what really matters in healthcare delivery. Take for instance, our work on what we call the Operational Twin, an advisory service. It starts with creating a virtual representation of a clinical department, reflecting how patients, staff, and equipment interact in everyday operations so that different scenarios can be explored more safely and at scale. By simulating billions of scenarios representing dynamic conditions, AI agents learn how operational decisions shape outcomes. They can begin to anticipate bottlenecks and understand the long-term impact of short-term choices. The goal is more efficient planning of patient schedules, staffing, and equipment use, aligning daily decisions with broader clinical and organizational priorities. This becomes even more relevant as clinical innovations accelerate workflows. Faster scanning technologies such as Deep Resolve can shorten patient timeslots and an Operational Twin can help organizations adapt by optimizing schedules and resources to fully realize gains in speed and throughput. At its core, this work is about creating clarity in complex systems so that action becomes more precise and more purposeful. We see a similar principle in clinical innovation. With photon counting CT, we can visualize the heart in extraordinary detail, including structures inside the left ventricle that were previously difficult to see clearly. That deeper insight is captured by a Foundation Model that could help physicians guide ablation therapies with greater precision and confidence, especially when combined with live ultrasound to support real-time decision making in the procedure room. In both cases, whether in clinical imaging or in operations, the ambition is the same: better insight leading to better decisions at the moments that matter most for patients. 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘴/𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥/𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘪𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.

Technology Is the Connector — and Pharmacy Leaders Are Using It to Expand Access Connected Care is no longer just a concept—it’s happening now, powered by technology and led by pharmacy teams. Becker's Healthcare recently highlighted how health systems across the U.S. are leveraging digital tools to bring care closer to patients. From virtual prescribing to automated prior authorizations, from centralized dispensing hubs to mobile infusion units—these innovations are breaking traditional barriers in access. Here’s how technology is driving impact: - Digital platforms like Intermountain’s On-Demand service allow patients to access contraception, naloxone, and more—without a physical visit. - Telepharmacy models are enabling medication therapy management in rural and underserved communities. - EHR integration is optimizing medication safety and coordination, especially for chronic diseases. - Mobile and same-day delivery solutions are transforming the last mile of care, bringing meds directly to doorsteps. - Data-driven workflows are embedding pharmacists into specialty care to fast-track therapy and reduce wait times. What we’re seeing is more than operational change—it’s the evolution of care delivery. When tech tools are built around patient needs and used by empowered clinical teams, we achieve what Connected Care truly stands for: continuity, personalization, and equity. It’s time we stop thinking of pharmacy as a silo—and start recognizing it as a digital front door to better health. Link to article: https://lnkd.in/e5ZDG_se #ConnectedCare #DigitalHealth #PharmacyTech #Telepharmacy #HealthEquity #HealthcareInnovation #BeckersHealthcare

My teenage son, an aviation enthusiast, recently asked: "Why do informaticists even exist if there’s already an IT department?" I responded with this metaphor: IT builds the planes, Clinical/Operational staff fly the planes, and informaticists are the aviation engineers who ensure the airlines and pilots can operate efficiently and safely in critical conditions. We bridge the gap between Implementation Science (the evidence-based “blueprints”) and Improvement Science (the adjustments to improve the flight time and avoid turbulence) through three critical intersections: 👉 Translational Engineering (Know ∩ Do): We don't just "install" software. We translate the complex static clinical guidelines into dynamic clinical/operational workflows enabled by technology. We ensure that the "right thing" is the "easier thing". Crucially, we campaign against technical debt, stripping away legacy clutter that threatens system stability. 👉 Cognitive Stewardship (Do ∩ Feel): We guard cognitive bandwidth. By shadowing the clinical and operational staff in real-time, we feel the weight of the work. We don't just add alerts; we prune them. We reduce the "noise" so the staff can give more focus to patient care. 👉 Contextual Intelligence (Feel ∩ Know): We maintain a healthy "paranoia" about unintended consequences. We shift the focus from WHAT we do to WHY we do it, campaigning tirelessly for the clinical and operational staff. We ensure pilots can "fly manual" when technology malfunctions and aid the forensic "Black Box" evaluation of crashes to identify system failures and prevent the next one. 🌟 To My Fellow and Future Informaticists: Keep working to ensure the technology serves the human intention ·     Don't just design; empathize. ·     Don't just build; translate. ·     Don't just report; empower. #HealthInformatics #ClinicalInformatics #CNIO #CMIO #HealthIT #LearningHealthSystem

It's time to change How we Improve Quality... In today's fast-evolving economic landscape, we find ourselves at a moment where doing “more with less” is no longer a buzzword, but a necessity across all industries and especially in healthcare. Today, many health systems dedicate 1-2% of their operating revenue to quality improvement & safety activities. When I was CEO of the IHI, I would regularly hear from quality leaders about impending cuts to their divisions. And yet, the CEOs of those same systems would tell me that they knew they couldn't compromise on quality & safety. So how to square the math? Today, sadly much of our quality investment is tied up in manual processes—data collection, spreadsheet wrangling, and retrospective reporting that rarely drives real-time action or measurable impact. It’s time for a shift. I believe quality professionals should not be buried in administrative tasks, but instead leading the really hard change management necessary to transform clinical care. By automating the manual abstraction and leaning into expert-led transformation, we can finally focus on what matters most: making care systems more optimal for patients and providers alike. Here’s how we envision that transformation: 🔄 Optimization: Let’s use our most valuable resource—people—more efficiently. When automation takes care of repetitive tasks, quality experts can focus on strategy, problem-solving, and driving cultural change. 🎯 Prioritization: Real-time data and AI-powered insights allow us to see what truly matters. Instead of spreading efforts thin, we can zero in on the improvements that will yield the greatest impact for patients and teams alike. 🔁 Complete + Continuous: Sampling is no longer enough. Modern systems enable comprehensive monitoring across entire populations—always on, always learning. That means no more waiting weeks or months to identify a problem that needed action yesterday. Finally, finally (!), the technologies we are introducing in healthcare are good enough to do the heavy lifting, liberating our quality teams to do the valuable change management work that only they can do best. #HealthcareTransformation #QualityImprovement #DigitalHealth #Automation #PatientSafety #HealthTech #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership

Ever wonder why we tend to solve problems the hard way? 🤔 The key is in how we connect the dots. A cancer hospital was facing a major challenge. Patients, often anxious, needed timely care without added delays. Doctors relied on quick access to medical images to make this possible. For most hospitals, loading images within three seconds is the standard. But cancer patients often have extensive imaging records, making this target a significant challenge. This created escalating pressure in an environment that's already stretched to its limits The hospital consulted several firms. They all suggested the same thing: a costly network upgrade that would disrupt daily operations and inconvenience patients even more. The proposed solution was out of the question, the hospital needed something affordable that wouldn’t disrupt patient care. A consulting firm graciously recommended me for the task. I saw the problem from a different angle. IT experts looked at the network. But as a Health Informatician, I focus on using data and technology to design health services that support optimal care delivery. Instead of waiting for doctors to request images, why not load them in advance? By preparing the images during the patient’s wait time, we created a seamless workflow without costly upgrades. The results were immediate and impactful. 😊 The hospital easily met the three-second target, and patients noticed the improvement with shorter wait times. The cost savings were substantial, all without any disruption to care. "Adam, you literally performed magic!” shared the hospital’s clinical operations lead. Sometimes, the simplest solutions make the biggest difference. The key was understanding how health services connect and using technology to support these connections. These days, as a digital health transformation coach, I continue to co-design sustainable, human-centered innovations that improve how information is used to advance health outcomes. Ever found a simple solution to a complex challenge? I’d love to hear your insights and share approaches that make an impact. #HealthcareInnovation #LeadershipLessons #DigitalTransformation