Volume 12, Number 25 — August 9, 2023
Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
Wasn't it only a few years ago that only a handful of tech-oriented folks were using Zoom? If there was anything close to an upside to the Covid pandemic, it was Zoom sales exploding 326 percent in 2020, to $2.6 billion. Zoom Video Communications, Inc. profits were $21.7 million in 2019 and $671.5 million by the end of 2020. By 2022, gross revenue had hit $4.3 billion. An even surer sign it is now part of the culture is that its name has become a verb.
This matters if you use Zoom, and you do, no matter who you are. It matters also because a controversy that would have been unthinkable a year ago not only appeared this week but rose to fever pitch within a few days and then cooled off just as quickly. Unthinkable before this year because it involved the intersection between Zoom's explosion in popularity and the company's adoption of Artificial Intelligence.
And we were caught up in it!
Here is the story, which is explored more fully in this week's top news story by staff writer Heather Thompson. In March, Zoom quietly added a condition to its user agreement through which it gave itself permission to use anything you say or write during a Zoom meeting to "train" its in-house AI tool. Your thoughts, words, and chats, according to paragraphs 10.2 and 10.4, are no longer your own, but property of Zoom, including the right to sublicense it.
Someone actually read the new user agreement and publicized it, which led to widespread questioning of the company's motives. Our Heather Thompson posted a critical article on LinkedIn and a high-level Zoom executive responded to her. Days later, CEO Eric Yuan rescinded the new paragraphs and apologized if his company's intentions were misunderstood.
This is just one example of why we are keeping a close eye on AI for you. As it moves into healthcare, AI will bring advantages and dangers even more serious than what it might be bringing to a virtual meeting platform. We will do our best to sort one from the other. Scroll down and click on Heather's two fascinating AI stories in this week's issue.
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We checked in with Netsmart this week on the occasion of the Home Health, Home Care, and Hospice software company's recognition by "Black Book," an independent customer satisfaction evaluation organization. We had a chat with post-acute division director Dawn Iddings about the meaning of this award and how difficult it is to win.
We also continue to follow the gap between what Medicare Advantage plans are paid by HHS and CMS and what they pay to Home Health and Hospice. This week, I offer an opinion piece about the way CMS contract auditors come down hard on improper Home Health claims while they let slide the cheating — amounting to billions more — by insurance companies.
Have a great week. Keep making a difference!
How I Stopped Zoom From Owning Your Life
Our quest to learn how to prompt a conversational AI tool properly led us to a controversy surrounding a new permission Zoom quietly gave itself to use your content.
AI and Humans in Harmony: An Experiment in Generated Imagery
What happens when you ask AI to create an image representative of Artificial General Intelligence in a future where AGI is real?
Medicare Dollars Flow Freely to MA Plans
Overpayments to Home Health must be extrapolated and paid back. MA plans are held to a different standard.
Vendor Watch: Netsmart Wins Black Book Award Again
Post-Acute Care Providers Award Netsmart Top Overall Client-Rated Technology Platform for 9th Consecutive Year.
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During the 2nd Quarter of 2023, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 4976 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com As of this date, approximately 50,644,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
Last Week's Most-Read Stories:
BREAKING NEWS: Axxess Acquires Complia Health
Analysis: Complia Health's Circuitous Route to Axxess
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54th Annual Meeting: "Bring Care Home"Presented by: Texas Association for Home Care & Hospice
Dates: August 28-31
Venue: Grand Hyatt Riverwalk
City: San Antonio
FREE Webinar: "The Role of the Hospice Physician in Organizational Compliance"Presented by: FEMA
Date: September 6
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, EDT
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.
2023 NAHC Annual Meeting & Exposition *
"One Voice, Many Stories"
Date: October 15-17
Venue: Gaylord
Location: National Harbor, MDKeynote Speakers:
- Ben Nemtin, New York Times bestselling author of "What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?"
- Summer Napier, NAHC Director of Grassroots Advocacy
- Bill Dombi, NAHC President
Vision – Plan – Succeed: 2023 Leadership Conference
Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina
Dates: October 29-31
Venue: Renaissance Hotel
City: Ashville
Featured speakers:Bill Dombi, Melinda Gaboury, Tim Rogers, Nick Seabrook, Mark Sharp, Robert Markette, Mark Kulik, and more.
Call for Speaker Proposals
Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina (AHHC) Annual Convention and Expo
Dates: April 7-10, 2024
Venue: Raleigh Convention Center
Click this link to learn more and to submit your proposal: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6RRNNY3
The deadline to submit a proposal is November 15, 2023.
Conference Title: 2023 Annual Hybrid Hospice & Palliative Care Conference
Sponsoring Association: Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State
Date(s): November 13-14, 2023
Hotel or Conference Center, City, State: Albany Marriott Hotel, Albany, NY
URL: www.hpcanys.org
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Kimberly Ryan ?
Education & Membership
Hospice & Palliative Care Association of NYS (HPCANYS)
Advance Care Planning Center for Excellence
119 Washington Ave, Suite 302
Albany NY 12210
518.446.1483 x 224 |www.hpcanys.org
2023 Virtual Annual Conference
Virginia Association for Homecare and HospiceOpening Date: November 15
*The Rowan Report will see you there.
Your state or national association meeting or webinar not listed? Send the details to Conferences@RowanResources.com using this format:
Conference Title
Sponsoring Association
Date(s)
Hotel or Conference Center, City, State
URL
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