Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1092388
80 CIO / HEALTH IT Cedars-Sinai to equip 100 rooms with Alexa-powered platform By Megan Knowles A pilot program in more than 100 pa- tient rooms at Los Angeles-based Ce- dars-Sinai lets patients use an Al- exa-powered platform called Aiva to interact with nurses and control their entertainment. Aiva is the world's first patient-centered voice assistant platform for hospitals and allows patients to have hands-free interactions with their care team. For the pilot program, patient rooms are equipped with Amazon Echos, and patients can tell the device what they need. Patients can turn their TV off and on and change channels by giving verbal commands like, "Alexa, change the channel to ESPN." A patient who requires assistance getting out of bed may say, "Alexa, tell my nurse I need to get up to use the restroom." e patient's request is then routed to the mobile phone of the appropriate caregiver. For example, a pain medicine request would be routed to a registered nurse, while a bath- room request would be routed to a clinical partner. e Aiva platform will send the re- quest up the chain of command if it is not answered in a timely manner. "Whereas previously nurses were frequently asked to help with the in-room television, Alexa does that job for us, allowing nurses to focus on providing the highest level of patient care," said Golda Morales, assistant nurse manager of general surgery at Cedars-Sinai. e devices also include Alexa features that let patients feel more connected to the outside world, such as asking the device to play music and asking it about the weather and sports. "Smart rooms are all about improving sat- isfaction for both patients and nurses," said Sumeet Bhatia, founder and CEO of Aiva. "Cedars-Sinai and Aiva are giving patients more entertainment options, more control over their environment and closer commu- nication with their care team." n Bankrupt Arizona hospitals ordered to give former patients access to their EHRs By Mackenzie Garrity A fter leaving more than 300 patients without access to their medical re- cords, two closed Arizona hospitals were ordered by a judge to tempo- rarily reactivate their record systems and allow patient access, accord- ing to the Miami Herald. Florence (Ariz.) Hospital at Anthem and Gilbert (Ariz.) Hospital, both bankrupt, were in a dispute with creditors about maintaining the EHRs. New York invest- ment company Indigo-DLI Holdings was the hospitals' senior creditor, and Medhost oversaw the EHRs. Somerset Capital Group provided computer servers to host the EHRs. The disagreement between the organizations and Resolute Commercial Ser- vices, appointed to manage the hospitals' affairs, left the patients without access to their records. Resolute and Medhost proposed an agreement to reopen the EHRs for 90 days, partially financed by Indigo and Resolute. A Maricopa County judge OK'd the plan and ordered that $92,000 be taken from the hospitals' assets to pay for the reactivation of patient records, which will be accessible for 90 days, roughly between March and May. Indigo may appeal to stop the order. "This is a very important issue," Indigo attorney Kyle Hirsch told the judge, ac- cording to the Herald. "If the patients want their records, they should pay a rea- sonable fee. But imposing the entire expense on Indigo doesn't seem fair." n CVS to spend $325M on digital healthcare in 2019 By Mackenzie Garrity I n fiscal year 2019, drugstore pharmacy chain CVS Health will spend between $325 million and $350 million on technology to support its shift to offering more convenient healthcare options, according to Digital Commerce 360. While the company did not share specific plans for how the digital invest- ments will be made, CVS Executive Vice President and CFO Eva Boratto em- phasized improving the mobile experience. "The other area that we're continuing to invest in and expand our investment is digital and improving the digital and mobile experience for members and customers across all of our businesses, and we're making investments in our health cloud software platform," she said, according to a Seeking Alpha tran- script of the company's year-end earnings call. The mobile experience also includes expansions in CVS' telehealth offerings. "I would put the spending into two large buckets," Ms. Boratto said according to the transcript. "Supporting transformation — it includes investment in our clinical platform to more effectively engage members, our chronic care initia- tives and other initiatives aimed at improving outcomes and lowering costs." Along with the Aetna acquisition in 2018, CVS also launched healthcare e-com- merce and omnichannel solutions. CarePass is the drugstore pharmacy chain's most recent initiative that gives users 24/7 access to a pharmacist hotline. n