Dan Rodrigues

Key trends and takeaways from HLTH 2024: 1. AI's Evolving Role: AI dominated discussions, with executives acknowledging its potential while also recognizing challenges in accuracy and clinician trust. There's a shift towards focusing on the practical applications of AI, with a call for partnerships to ensure reliable testing and implementation. 2. Infrastructure Focus: Beyond the glitzy AI tools, there's a growing emphasis on the "picks and shovels" needed for healthcare data accessibility, including infrastructure, compliance, and interoperability. Executives believe that improving data flow will facilitate the effective use of AI. 3. Middlemen Under Scrutiny: Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) faced criticism for their role in rising drug costs, with discussions highlighting misaligned incentives and the need for transparency in healthcare pricing. 4. Women's Health Spotlight: Women's health initiatives gained attention, particularly following government funding announcements and personal stories shared by advocates. However, investment in women's health remains minimal compared to overall healthcare funding. 5. Interest in Psychedelic Medicine: The potential of psychedelics for treating mental health conditions garnered significant interest, with discussions about funding and research moving forward, especially within the Veterans Affairs system. Executive Takeaways: Leaders from various sectors emphasized the importance of consumer-focused strategies, collaboration, and the need for responsible AI usage. There was a consensus on the critical role of addressing healthcare accessibility, improving patient experiences, and fostering innovations that genuinely enhance care delivery.

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Great insights from David Bell, Ph.D. on the challenges of #AI in #healthcare documentation. The complexity and nuance unique to each healthcare market and the fact healthcare typically has few rote tasks but a lot of paperwork, makes it critical that #AItools be developed by experts in the industry with deep understanding of the most appropriate problems for AI enhanced tools to solve.

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Here’s your recap of last week’s health IT news 🗞️ 👇 🤖 AI Clinician Assistant • Suki is partnering with Zoom to generate clinical notes as well as other integrated AI features.    • Net Health announced it would integrate AI ambient scribe Tali AI. • Aidoc is partnering with NVIDIA to create a guideline to accelerate AI adoption, the Blueprint for Resilient Integration and Deployment of Guided Excellence (BRIDGE). 📞 AI Contact Center • Authenticx released a new AI assistant that helps users uncover business insights from their data. • Infinitus Systems, Inc. closed a $51.5M Series C with participation from Memorial Hermann Health System and others.   🏥 AI Facility Management • Cognosos, Inc. acquired Cox Prosight. 🌡️ AI Remote Patient Monitoring and Triage • Biofourmis has merged with CopilotIQ. 📈 Data & Analytics • Avandra Imaging launched out of stealth; it plans to sell to biopharma, medical research, and AI companies. • Gradient Health acquired DataAppraisal. • HealthEx launched and announced $14M in Seed and Series A funding. 📋 Patient Administration • Notable released Flow Builder, which allows users to develop their own AI agents for operational workflows within EHRs and other systems. • MIla Health Inc released its flagship AI solution of the same name, and announced implementations at provider organizations including Aayu Clinic, MIMIT Health, and Best Practices Inpatient Care. 🔁 RCM • Oracle’s patient accounting solution has been integrated with FinThrive, which enables improved functionality, performance, and a unified login experience. • Blue Shield of California and Salesforce are partnering on a solution that promises to give patients prior auth responses within the course of their appointment. ⚙️ Clinical Operations • Dyania Health closed a $10M Series A, including participation from Cleveland Clinic Ventures. 📱 Patient Support & Communications • Psych Hub released a new solution designed to support patients seeking mental health support, directing them to both non-clinical and clinical resources, thereby assisting behavioral health providers to reach new patients. • Mayo Clinic has partnered with Lin Health to support patients after treatment for fibromyalgia.   🍎 VBC • WellSky acquired Bonafide Health, allowing it to provide a more integrated platform for providers to run their businesses. 🧠 Food For Thought • 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀? Andrew Hines, CTO at Canvas Medical, shared a breakdown (plus some hot takes) on all of the many entities currently vying for market share in the AI governance space https://lnkd.in/eMNpXw4t --- Want the latest healthcare tech news delivered to your inbox each week? Sign up here 📬 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2UJ3ckP

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🚀 Innovate for Impact, Not Hype Too many healthtech startups are dazzled by the latest technology trends. But real success comes from driving value-based outcomes. Here’s your roadmap: 🔍 Enhance Patient Outcomes 💰 Cut Down Healthcare Costs ⚙️ Boost Operational Efficiency Funding and contracts don’t come from flashy features—they come from proven results. Focus on what truly matters to your end users and stakeholders. 💡 Make value the core of your innovation strategy. #Healthtech #ValueBasedOutcomes #HealthcareInnovation #Efficiency #Innovation #Health

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How do we use technology and new business models to connect care teams across specialties in service of better patient outcomes at lower cost? Care convergence brings together different clinical disciplines, tech and new payment models to take on the costliest conditions in the system from #diabetes to #dimenia. For me, it offers a new way of … Thinking… Investing in … Paying for… Delivering … Care. What does #CareConvergence mean to you? https://lnkd.in/dhtSs-Qa

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There's a big difference between VC and patient expectations with AI. It sounds great to have AI care delivery, but data from Bain shows that patients still want a clinician in the loop for many clinical items, like providing medical advice. Consumers are even hesitant to have call centers farmed out to AI (despite plenty of venture dollars flowing there). We talk a lot about how care delivery can obtain efficiencies from using AI, but, paradoxically, not using AI (for certain elements of care delivery) may be a differentiator from a patient's perspective. For care delivery leaders, innovation isn’t just about deploying cutting-edge tools. It’s about understanding where AI adds value without compromising patient trust. Trust is paramount. #digitalhealth #healthtech #healthcare #AI

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Exciting news from Monica Chopra, Jeffrey De Flavio, MD, Samantha Adelberg, and the rest of the Auxa Health team as they officially announce their $5.2M Seed round. The team's deep industry expertise and drive for change have led them to solve critical infrastructural friction to providing quality healthcare and adoption of value-based care. Auxa's AI benefit navigation platform is simplifying the complexities of healthcare by streamlining all of the fragmented and siloed data and information to make it actionable in real-time for healthcare organizations. For the 70% of Americans who aren't getting access to the health and social care benefits they deserve, Auxa's solution will be pivotal in enabling equitable care. We're thrilled to partner with co-investors Zeal Capital Partners, AlleyCorp, Laconia, and Chaac Ventures on this journey and look to share many more milestones ahead. Cc K50 Ventures, Ryan Bloomer, Daniel Vásquez, Nick Talwar, Stefanie Ng https://lnkd.in/dPDY7-Db

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Scaling up a clinical team is incredibly hard—especially if you want to provide holistic care. Geographical constraints, overall healthcare shortages, and financial challenges make it nearly impossible. The evidence is clear: interprofessional care delivers better patient outcomes than leaving patients to navigate multiple sources of care on their own. At AidRx, we provide a solution that allows allied frontline clinicians to easily access expert, specialized pharmacists for their patients—without the hassle of finding them on their own. Results? - 50% of our partnered psychologists patients will now have access to treatment for depression and anxiety without having to wait for a doctor. - Improved amiodarone management for atrial fibrillation, significantly reducing stroke risk. - Enabled 3 part-time pharmacists to replace their income through collaborative clinical services. Are you a clinic owner looking for pharmacists to join your team and work alongside you? Follow AidRx for more updates on how we’re making this possible. #PharmacyInnovation #HealthcareSolutions #PharmacistCommunity #InterprofessionalCare #PharmacistCollaboration #ClinicalPharmacy #AidRx #PatientCare #HolisticHealthcare #PharmacyLife #RemotePharmacy

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🔍 Want a better way to capture and analyze patient interactions? Our HIPAA-Compliant video capture is revolutionizing how doctors and therapists conduct studies and clinical trials. 📊 Leverage video for your next IRB or study to rewatch or bullet point patient interactions effortlessly. Plus, our AI tool dives deep into patient/provider conversations to produce insightful results. Ready to enhance your practice? 🤖 👉 Learn More at performancevideoai.com #EmpatheticCare #DigitalHealth #HIPAACompliant #Rehabilitation #PhysicalTherapy #HealthTech #ClinicalTrials #HIPAAcompliance #MedicalMemory #PerformanceVideoAI #SalesCoaching #CommunicationSkills #AIIntegration #TrainingOptimization #VideoCoaching #TrainingWithTech #TrainerTips #ResidentProgram #VideoAI #ElevateSales #ImproveCommunication #StrategicInsights #UnlockSuccess #SalesCoaching #ProviderScores #ConversationalAnalysis #PerformanceVideoAI #CommunicationSkills #TrainingOptimization #VideoCoaching #TrainerTips #VideoAI #ElevateSales #ImproveCommunication #ConversationalAnalysis

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Here’s your recap of last week’s health IT news 🗞️ 👇 🤖 AI Products • Emergency Services, Inc. + Augmedix Go ED: The emergency medicine group adopted the new ED-specific AI ambient scribe solution.    • Color + OpenAI: The cancer care tech company partnered with the GenAI giant to build a AI clinical decision support copilot.    • AKASA Medical Coding: The AI RCM vendor known for its AI prior auth tool AKASA Authorization Advisor released a new GenAI medical coding solution.    • Humata Health: The AI prior auth for providers vendor closed a $25M funding round led by healthcare org-backed funds The Blue Venture Fund and LRVHealth.    • Wellsheet + Concord Hospital Health System: The AI-enabled Smart EHR UI solution announced a client-reported 16.3% reduction in length of stay and 40% decrease in time spent in the EHR via its partnership with Concord Health, as well as the release of its new LLM-generated handoff summary feature. 🍎 VBC • BSIM Healthcare Services + Innovaccer: The healthcare provider—embarking on its first VBC contract—adopted the pop health data platform for analytics. 🩼 Durable Medical Equipment • Parachute Health: The DME e-prescribing and ordering solution released an update that integrates prior authorization. ⚕️Clinical Staffing • Matchwell + Indiana Hospital Association: The clinical staffing service partnered with the hospital member org to create the first state-wide resource pool for temp staffing. 🧑‍💻 Virtual and At-Home Care • Deaconess Health System + KeyCare: The Indiana-based health system adopted the Epic-based virtual care provider for around-the-clock virtual urgent care.    • UC Davis Health + Current Health: The health system launched a new RPM program for high blood pressure in partnership with Best Buy Health’s care-at-home platform. 🧠 Food for Thought: We came across a couple of good resources this past week on the current state of healthcare data information exchange: • This article in Health Affairs from Deven McGraw and Tina Grande provides a comprehensive overview of some of the patient health data abuses we've seen come to light in recent months, as well as a number of policy recommendations to improve the health information exchange landscape for all participants. https://lnkd.in/e_GEQ-JJ  (h/t Alya Sulaiman)    • This episode of Health Gorilla's InteropTalk gives a helpful update on the current state of affairs, with a particular focus on the state of trust across the health data exchange community and how the definition of "Treatment" may evolve. https://lnkd.in/e96AJG-5 (h/t Brendan Keeler) --- Reminder: you can sign up for the Elion Briefing to get the latest healthcare tech news delivered to your inbox each week 📬 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2UJ3ckP

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Latest #PitchBook data for #HealthIT investment shows a preference for later stage investment across healthIT that pre-dates the VC downturn and current interest rate environment. Even though healthIT has been more resilient to current headwinds compared to health care services and PPM plays, perhaps it speaks to a need to scale solutions and points of saturation for new entrants. "...In the lower middle market, we are beginning to see more examples of a phenomenon we have anticipated for a while: PE firms and PE-backed companies acquiring VC-backed startups. Lower-middle-market PE firms perennially complain that VC- backed companies expect too-high multiples, and these firms would generally prefer to invest on a multiple of EBITDA rather than a multiple of revenue..." Speaks to a convergence that would allow PE-VC M&A on both ends of the startup spectrum. #HealthcareVC #healthcarePE

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Home monitoring technology can be a big help for seniors who want their clinicians to have a better understanding of their daily health. There are many benefits of remote patient monitoring—increased visibility for clinicians means they can spot potential risks before any issues occur and can plan better preventive healthcare options. However, this visibility is a double-edged sword. For many seniors, this causes some concerns surrounding privacy. In fact, "Almost 40% of respondents named privacy concerns as a top issue related to RPM," writes Adam Healy. I'm curious what you think about remote patient monitoring. Do you think it has more pros than cons? #RemotePatientMonitoring #HomeMonitoringTech #SeniorCare

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What’s next for health optimization? Come find out in Las Vegas, on December 11-12, 2024, at the Health Optimization Medicine and Practice Symposium. This isn’t just another conference—it’s a deep dive into the future of health, #AI, and building a better practice. Speakers like Dr. Ted Achacoso, Dr. Scott Sherr, Lucia Aronica will cover everything from leveraging AI to hands-on health optimization strategies with #epigenetics. These are the leaders shaping where this field is going. You’ll get a chance to experiment with the latest in health tech, but more importantly, you’ll have time to connect with other practitioners who are serious about growing their businesses and communities. Oh, and we’ve got a networking event at Meow Wolf, because the future of health deserves an unconventional setting. Come for the knowledge, stay for the connections, and leave with a clearer vision of where health optimization is headed. Details here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d3wwcVJW #healthoptimization

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Platforms are in, point solutions are out as the healthcare AI category leaders come into focus this year. In conversation with Shelby Livingston at Endpoints News, I shared: 1. Why AI-first companies have the greatest platform potential and heuristics for identifying these opportunities at the earliest stages, 2. How companies are differentiating through co-development and distribution partnerships with leading healthcare institutions, and 3. Strategies for navigating anemic budgets and constrained market sizes through business model innovation such as AI-enabled services and pay for performance models Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dJWqv_zC Bessemer Venture Partners Abridge #healthcare #lifesciences #AI #generativeAI

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🔍 Groundbreaking research reveals how healthcare's biggest players are actually implementing AI - insights from 63 C-suite leaders at top payers and providers. Define Ventures' comprehensive study, interviewing leaders from 10 of the top 20 providers and 5 of the top 10 payers, uncovers a pragmatic yet ambitious approach to AI adoption. Key findings: - 53% of leaders consider AI an immediate priority, with 73% increasing their financial commitments. - 76% are establishing programs involving AI pilots - For AI adoption, healthcare orgs are progressing with 3 distinct phases: Laying Groundwork, Test & Iterate, and All In. 2. ROI Focus: 54% believe AI's biggest near-term impact will be on patient and clinician experience. Leaders are prioritizing "soft ROI" early wins over hard financial metrics to build organizational confidence. 3. Use Case Priorities: - 83% of providers prioritize clinical documentation/ambient scribing - 68% of payers focus on member experience enhancement - Most organizations taking a "portfolio approach" mixing quick wins with strategic priorities 4. Build vs Buy Reality: 72% lean on external partners for applications, while 69% rely on external vendors for LLMs. However, 40% are investing in internal data infrastructure capabilities. The report's roadmap: Balance pragmatic implementation with strategic vision, focus on operational efficiency first, and build strong governance frameworks (73% have already established AI governance committees). 🔗 Read the survey: https://lnkd.in/g-kKRMhN #DigitalHealth #HealthTech #AIStrategy image: Define Ventures (above link)

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What is one of the country's leading safety net health systems focused on right now? Gabriel M. Cohen MD, CMIO for Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals shared his perspective with us in this week's 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰? 1️⃣ Patient engagement – leveraging omnichannel communication to efficiently close care gaps 2️⃣ Interoperability – putting usable data in front of our clinicians at the point of care to support care gap closure 3️⃣ Care coordination – building the tech infrastructure for our social workers, community health workers, and care managers 4️⃣ Care infrastructure for asylum-seeking and incarcerated patient populations – multiple initiatives, with a particular focus on providing housing for homeless populations 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆? Our partnership with Findhelp. Addressing health-related social needs is a critical priority for NYC H+H Our organization already has a high penetration of social needs screening, so our focus today is connecting patients with the right resources to address the identified disparities. Findhelp helps us with this by: • Ingesting the health-related social needs screening data • Identifying those patients who have a need • Locating the best local resource(s) for that patient • Connecting the patient to the resource(s) • Facilitating end-to-end communication, including informing the physician and care team whether the patient accessed the resource(s) Key to this initiative's success has been its tight integration with our current workflows in Epic, to the point that it should largely feel seamless for our clinicians. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜? As a safety net health system, NYC H+H’s priority is to ensure that the AI tools and models we employ can sufficiently manage potential bias. We’re currently prioritizing governance-related workstreams (e.g. governance councils, frameworks, and processes) that will drive a safety net health system playbook for appropriately evaluating and managing AI. The specific AI use cases we're currently prioritizing include: • Chart summarization • Inbasket management Other future areas of exploration: billing automation and radiology automation — For more insight from leading health IT execs, as well as Elion's latest research and can’t miss industry news, subscribe to our newsletter 📬 👉 https://bit.ly/49z6AUW

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Telemedicine is dead. Or is it? 📉🩺 We've seen the meteoric rise and fall of giants like Teladoc and other telemedicine companies. The pandemic era sparked unprecedented growth in virtual care, but what happened next? Declining stock prices, wavering investor confidence, and questions about the sustainability of this healthcare model. Don't equate a failed business model (Teladoc was cozy under the sheets with insurance companies and forget to take care of doctors) with a failure of telemedicine. So let's shift gears. 🚀 Telemedicine isn't just a trend—it's a powerful tool that should be synonymous with modern healthcare. 🌟 **The Benefits**: - **Accessibility**: Reach patients in remote areas with ease. - **Convenience**: Eliminate the need for travel and reduce wait times. - **Efficiency**: Streamline processes, from booking to billing. Imagine this: providing guidance to patients, offering second opinions, and educating the masses—all without the friction of traditional office visits. 🏥💡 Telemedicine is here to stay, evolving to meet the needs of our digital age. As we navigate its integration, we must focus on: - **Technology access**: Ensuring everyone can connect. - **Regulatory clarity**: Harmonizing laws across regions. - **Data security**: Keeping patient information safe. Let’s lead the charge in embracing telemedicine as a vital part of healthcare’s future. The fact remains we have an asymmetry between where doctors live and where patients have access to care. Until we train more doctors, make living and working in rural America more attractive, we are going to have to embrace alternative ways of providing care. Telemedicine is one of the solutions. Regardless of Teladoc's stock price. Together, we can create a more connected, efficient, and equitable system for all. 🌍💼 #Telemedicine #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #PatientCare #FutureOfHealthcare #telehealth #healthcare

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We're witnessing the next wave of leading companies being within healthcare services & being more "involved" than just writing good code. 🌊 I fundamentally believe it's equally important, understanding on the highest granularity, how healthcare is delivered at the core (in the clinics, hospitals & with doctors). A couple years ago there was a massive focus on digital health, this has shifted to healthcare services, experiencing exponential growth atm, due to the following. 📈 1. Operating within the very heterogenous market of healthcare (in particular primary care) requires to understand and interpret operational nuances (those closest to the problem/market will win) and solve for those very operational topics 🩸 2. Pain to innovate is highest amongst those delivering care, as there is no "continuing as before" (patients jump between services/providers based on availability, that's why digital health only takes off v slowly), doctors can't transition away but are "stuck" with their daily operational problems 😵‍💫 3. Willingness to pay is present, (see point 2.) and doctors can afford to pay for these services (shift from paying for "non-available" staff to software) and lastly it's the largest market (DACH €+550B primary care spend) with everyone being a user at one point, opening up multiple cross revenue streams 💸 4. No payor/insurance fights but a "simple" B2B customer (non of the DTx/reimbursement complexities) and a market with unparalleled retention rates (check CompuGroup revenues over the past 10 years, €1.2B in 2023) ⚔️ 5. Less regulation and increasing emphasis/relaxation on data usage (check Patient Data Protection Act or European Health Data Space) as well as enforced digitalisation throughout the upcoming years (every restaurant needs a modern POS, whilst doctors can still operate pen & paper...) ⚖️ Personally I am very bullish, that within the next 5 years, we'll see the N26/Revolut transformation happening in European healthcare - no flying cars - just better operations, services & experiences on top of existing core medical services. 💯 Thanks for the Eterno Health mention Thomas Hagemeijer - V cool overview! 🙌🏽

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Getting through the Noise:: What's the path forward for virtual care and smart hospitals? Live with with Bruce Brandes of care.ai at the American Telemedicine Association #Nexus2024   Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/g8eg53pv   In the era of Virtual Care and Smart Hospitals, considerations abound as leaders are exploring technology and cost justifications at scale-- How can we take an enterprise platform approach to virtual care? For buyers and leaders, exploring tech and cost justifications at scale, along with trust and cybersecurity, are essential for making the right bets.   In my discussion with Bruce Brandes live at ATA Nexus24 in Phoenix, he mentions how H. Stephen Lieber, former CEO of HIMSS, is helping to define smart hospitals and build an instrument to understand where it is today, where it's going, and where it aspires to be.   Currently, CHIME and 70 healthcare execs representing c-suites across the entire spectrum of healthcare are working together with representatives from American Organization for Nursing Leadership, Joint Commission, The Leapfrog Group, Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and more to amass multiple perspectives for smart hospital models including clinical, financial, operational, and policy implications.   After completing a survey instrument this Fall, results will be revealed at the CHIME Fall Forum. Ultimately, the goal is to filter out noise and confusion amidst all the enthusiasm; helping leaders move forward decisively with clarity with execution. #virtualnursing #virtualcare #CHime #ATA #digitalhealth

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