Low English language literacy was associated with a lower likelihood of signing up for an electronic patient portal among cancer patients who had begun taking an oral anticancer drug. Age and insurance status were not found to be factors in initial portal usage, and once vulnerable populations signed up to use the portal, meaningful use was comparable and proxy messaging was greater compared with English-speaking patients.

The Center for Generational Kinetics conducted a survey for health technology firm WellSky exploring health care workers' attitudes toward technology. Many see technology as essential for improving efficiency and reducing administrative burdens, but others worry about job displacement, data accuracy and the adequacy of training as technology continues to be integrated into health care.

Cigna has introduced a copay-only health plan called Clearity that includes an AI "assistant" that gives personalized answers to subscribers' questions about coverage and claims. Subscribers can also use a natural language processing tool to search for health care providers and services and estimate their out-of-pocket costs.

Houston Methodist has outlined a three-year innovation strategy focusing on 10 key areas, including smart spaces, connected virtual care, remote monitoring, revenue cycle AI tools and agentic AI for data mining. The projects need time to develop because of all the change management and training involved, says Roberta Schwartz, the health system's executive vice president and chief innovation officer.

Interactive digital whiteboards that integrate with EHRs are giving patients and health care professionals at Reid Health real-time updates, discharge instructions, medication information and entertainment options, says Misti Foust-Cofield, vice president and chief nursing officer at Reid Health, which added about 250 digital whiteboards last year. Clinicians can pull up lab results to discuss with patients and speak or type notes for automatic integration into the EHR. Brigham and Women's Hospital surveyed patients with and without whiteboards in their rooms and found that those who had them felt more informed and better prepared. Geisinger Health has also been installing whiteboards.

Blue Cross of Idaho has asked the state insurance department to investigate a small hospital for allegedly abusing the No Surprises Act's independent dispute resolution process. The insurer says that the hospital has refused to join its network and has received an average of 75 dispute requests a month from the hospital, compared with an average of 14 from other Idaho hospitals.

The CMS rarely enforces rules ensuring network adequacy in Medicare Advantage, with just five insurers receiving violation letters from 2016 to 2022. The lack of enforcement has left subscribers without sufficient access to physicians and hospitals. Contract disputes and network disruptions are becoming more common, which exacerbates the issue. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission noted that the CMS has never imposed penalties for noncompliance.