Volume 12, Number 25 — August  30, 2023

Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,

Two quick announcements before we get into this week's news. If this reaches you early enough Wednesday morning, be advised that there is a Home Health and Hospice Open Door Forum today at 2:00 EDT. Register here. Be quick, pre-registration is required. 

Also, next Wednesday, September 6, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 2 National Preparedness Division will present a webinar titled "Preparedness for Older Adult Service Providers." Collaborating with the Administration for Community Living, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Office of Policy, Planning, and Innovation, and the Schoharie County, NY, Area Agency on Aging, the webinar is designed to equip organizations with strategies to ensure seamless service continuity during an emergency. Register here.

Now, let's get on to this week's news.

Product Review: A New Level of Caregiver Scheduling

We took a look at a new software product and spoke with its founding CEO. You are familiar with caregiver load balancing, where CNAs and aides fill in for open assignments and call-offs. This system facilitates load balancing among two or more, sometimes several more, Home Care agencies in a market area, regardless of where each caregiver works. Scroll down to read our product review in new staff writer Kristin Rowan's debut article, "Caregiver Coordination App Goes Beyond Scheduling." 

CMS is preparing its next round of rate cuts for Certified Home Health agencies. It is a deep enough cut, and based on a flawed inflation calculation formula, that it could put a large number of HHAs out of business next year. NAHC is leading the charge to move bill through the House and Senate to force CMS to recalculate the 2024 rate cut, but they need everyone's help. Scroll down and click on "Bipartisan Bills Could Prevent Massive Home Health Business Failures" to learn the bill numbers in each chamber and the link to NAHC's guide for contacting your representatives.

What to Do When AI Hallucinates

In Heather Thompson's report on her latest research into the quickly growing use of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare, she learns about how frequently tools such as ChatGPT and other conversational AIs make errors. The polite term the industry has assigned to these inaccuracies is "AI hallucinations." She offers examples of how to detect hallucinations and avoid the harm they can do.

Heather also reports on the announced partnership between Microsoft and Epic to explore the use of AI in healthcare. This will be one to watch.

New Patient-Facing Technologies

Lastly, guest author Elise Mortensen takes us on a tour of tech companies she has found with products for senior care that may be worthy additions to your toolbox of patient care systems. Scroll down and click on "Patient-Facing Age Tech Companies to Watch." Ms. Mortensen is the Head of Growth at HTD Health.

Worth the Trip

Two national association annual meetings are coming up, of course, but there are a couple of others to tell you about. HCAOA is scheduled for October 23-24 in Chicago, right after the NAHC annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland on October 15-18. Scroll down to our "Upcoming Events" section to see your invitations to association meetings in Texas and North Carolina.

Have a great week. Keep making a difference!

Bipartisan Bills Could Prevent Massive Home Health Business Failures
Every Home Health stakeholder should add their voice to the effort to ask Congress to correct CMS's erroneous calculations.

Product Review: Caregiver Coordination App Goes Beyond Scheduling
We interviewed the founder of a new caregiver coordination solution and took a test drive. Read our full product review here.

When AI Hallucinates: Ferreting Out Falsifications From Facts
When an AI generates misinformation, it is called a "hallucination." When it hallucinates on healthcare topics, there can be severe consequences. In this week's experiment, Heather Thompson gets one AI to discuss its own limitations.

Breaking News: Epic and Microsoft's Collaboration on Generative AI in Healthcare
Partnership said to help address workforce burnout and workforce shortages.

Patient-Facing Age Tech Companies to Watch
Gerontologists often advise people to start years early to prepare for the final third of life. Enter Age Tech. Guest author Elise Mortensen explores some of the factors contributing to the surging age tech market and describe a handful of companies formed to help prepare for, and thrive through, senior years.