Healthcare News of Note: Women without insurance or with public insurance at the time of childbirth are more likely to report mistreatment, says CDC  

• At the time of delivery, 28% of women without health insurance, 26% of women with public insurance and 16% of women with private insurance indicated they experienced mistreatment during maternity care.
• Improving clinical documentation, structuring and analyzing patient data and optimizing workflows were cited as the top three AI-related priorities for healthcare executives for the next 12 months.
• Global digital health market revenue surpassed $262 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach around $939 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 13.1%.

Over the past few weeks, I have found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals.

1. More women without insurance and with public health insurance report mistreatment during maternity care than those with private insurance

Maternity care in the United States was put under the microscope in a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Vital Signs report* released Aug. 22. The report, which provides insight into mistreatment and discrimination detailed by a group of new mothers surveyed in April, also offers tips to ensure the provision of respectful, equitable maternity care in hospitals and health systems.

As a healthcare community, we need to do all we can to make sure we are delivering equitable and respectful care to women during pregnancy and delivery,” Debra Houry, MD, MPH, CDC chief medical officer, said in the report. “Health systems, hospitals, and providers can take steps to improve care and lower the risk of pregnancy-related complications and death for all women. These data show that we must do better to support moms.”

Forms of mistreatment explored

At the time of delivery, 28% of women without health insurance, 26% of women with public insurance and 16% of women with private insurance indicated they experienced ill-treatment during maternity care, states the report, with the following cited as the most common types of ill-treatment:

• Receiving no response to requests for help
• Being shouted at or scolded
• Not having their physical privacy protected
• Being threatened with withholding treatment or made to accept unwanted treatment

The report noted that Black, Hispanic and multiracial women were more likely to report mistreatment:

• Black – 30%
• Hispanic – 29%
• Multiracial – 27%
• White – 19%
• AIAN/NHPI** – 18%

Discrimination

Discrimination during maternity care was reported by 29% of the women surveyed, with age, weight and income cited as “the most common reasons for reported discrimination.”  The types of discrimination varied by race/ethnicity, according to the report.

What can health systems do?

Encouraging “a culture of respectful maternity care by hiring and keeping a diverse workforce and training all healthcare staff to recognize unconscious bias and stigma” is one of several ways health systems can help provide respectful, equitable maternity care and “reduce pregnancy-related deaths,” wrote the report authors.

*The report findings are based on data from the Porter Novelli “View Moms” survey, which was administered in April 2023 and examined “components of respectful care.”

**American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander

HFMA insight on DEI

• Read the hfm magazine cover story “Norton Healthcare and other health systems are making big moves to reduce health inequities,” published in February.
• Listen to the Voices in Healthcare Finance podcast episode “Using the systems thinking approach to tackle the complex issues of health equity and DEI.”

2. Most health system executives understand AI could help reshape the industry, but only 6% have a strategy in place

AI holds part of the answer for healthcare system executives dealing with rising costs, dwindling government support and labor shortages, according to an Aug. 7 Bain & Company article reporting on findings of a new survey.

Most executives see the opportunity to capitalize on AI, “especially with the recent rise of generative AI, which uses sophisticated large language models (LLMs) to create original text, images, and other content,” but very few health systems have a plan in place to move forward with it, according to the survey.

In fact, the survey showed that although 75% of health system executives said generative AI has reached a turning point in its ability to reshape the industry, only 6% have an established generative AI strategy.

Additional survey findings

The Bain & Company survey also revealed healthcare executives’ top AI-related priorities for the next 12 months:

• 39% – Improving clinical documentation (e.g., charge capture and reconciliation)
• 37% – Structuring and analyzing patient data
• 36% – Optimizing workflows
• 35% – Clinical decision support tools
• 31% – Predictive analytics and risk stratification

Insight from HFMA

1. Read “AI and the rise of human-machine collaboration in healthcare,” by David W. Johnson, CEO of 4Sight Health and HFMA Board member.
2. Read “AI and machine learning — an intelligent approach to healthcare fraud prevention,” by Guidehouse’s Ellen Zimiles, JD, and Rod Fontecilla, PhD.

3. Global digital health market growth projected to see ‘healthy’ CAGR of 13.1% between 2023 and 2032

Global digital health market revenue surpassed $262 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach around $939 billion by 2032, “growing at a healthy CAGR of 13.1% from 2023 to 2032,” according to a Sept. 5 news release by Precedence Research about a study by a sister firm.

“The digital health market is experiencing significant growth due to several factors, including the increasing adoption of mobile devices and internet connectivity, the need to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes, and the growing demand for personalized and convenient healthcare services,” states the release.

“The market is expected to continue to grow as advancements in technology, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics, enable the development of more sophisticated and effective digital health solutions,” the release continues. “However, there are challenges to overcome, such as data privacy concerns, interoperability issues, and regulatory oversight.”

Digital services is the highest contributor

According to the release, “The healthcare industry is increasingly embracing digital transformation, and the synergy between service and software is a key driver of this shift.

“Digital services such as telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and virtual consultations have gained significant momentum in recent years, particularly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The report adds, “As of 2022, services were the highest contributor to this market, with a 64.00% revenue share, and [they are] anticipated to exhibit a 61.15% market share by 2032.”

Hardware made up 19% of the market and software 17%.

HFMA bonus content 

• Read the September issue of hfm, including the article “Key questions for providers after more than 2 years of the price transparency rule,” by Panacea’s Fred Stodolak and Govind Goyal, the David Johnson column “Diagnostic determinism — How precision diagnostics will reinvent medicine,” and my feature “An HFMA podcast episode wins top overall award, and hfm magazine earns a gold for general excellence.”
• Listen to the Voices in Healthcare Finance podcast episode “The intersection of quality and finance, with Rick Gundling and Stephanie Mercado,” which features a discussion about how all entities within a healthcare organization can work for better quality.
• Read Healthcare 2030: Value-Based Care? — The second report in HFMA’s four-part Healthcare 2030 series for 2023, including exclusive insight from the findings of a survey of 105 healthcare executives.
• Read “Published data quantify how cost increases will continue to affect the healthcare industry next year,” by Nick Hut, senior editor.