If you thought moving to a new home was hard, wait until you hear about moving hospitals.

In recent months, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Arthur M. Blank Hospital and Wheat Ridge, Colorado-based Intermountain Health Lutheran Hospital moved all their equipment and patients from an old campus to a brand new one, to name just a couple of examples.

The key, Intermountain’s leader said, is having a good team and mapping out a strategy ahead of time.

“Taking action to start developing your plan is really the most important thing, and surrounding yourself with an amazing team and resources to help you achieve your goals,” Casey Bogenschutz, director of strategic initiatives and lead project coordinator for Intermountain’s move, said.

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Ransomware attacks are a major headache for the healthcare industry, targeting everywhere from hospitals to blood banks.

A new report from Microsoft now provides some numbers that highlight the cybersecurity challenges the industry faces.

The tech giant reported that “389 healthcare institutions were successfully hit by ransomware” between July 2023 and June 2024. These attacks caused network closures, put systems offline, delayed medical care, and rescheduled appointments, according to the report.

In its report, Microsoft found that the healthcare industry is the ninth-targeted industry, with 2% of all attacks focused on it.

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Blue Shield California is partnering with cloud-based software company Salesforce to automate prior authorization requests, intending to fast-track decisions from days to “near real time,” according to a press release.

Starting in 2025, the pair will test artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can scan a patient’s electronic health record, automatically pull health information that is relevant to a request, then put it into a form that can return a prior authorization decision within minutes, according to the October 21 release. The tech will have a limited rollout later in the year and officially be available in January 2026.

“Prior authorization was never meant to be a barrier or a burden. As a health plan, it’s our responsibility to ensure safe, evidence-based, high-value care for our members, and we know it can be an easier process for everyone,” Paul Markovich, CEO of Blue Shield California, said in the release.

A growing problem. Prior authorization has long been a source of stress for healthcare providers.

Physicians say the process takes an average of 12 hours a week, delays care, hurts patient outcomes, and ends in unjust denials, according to the American Medical Association’s annual 2023 prior authorization physician survey. It also found that 95% of respondents report prior authorization increases burnout.

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