BlogAI adoption
In my map of 44 healthcare problems, 30 need no patient data
I mapped the problems that cost six kinds of healthcare organizations the most money or carry the most risk: large health systems, community and rural hospitals, health centers, independent practices, post-acute and senior care, and the health-tech firms and associations that serve them. Each kind got seven or eight problems, 44 in all, and for each problem I checked one number, such as a cost or a rate, against the source I cite for it. Fig. 4 lists all 44, each with its number and source.
Two areas lead the list. Thirteen of the 44 problems are about money and payers, and ten are about rules, surveys and audits. Every one of the six kinds of organizations has at least one problem in each of those two areas.
Fig. 1
Of the 44 problems, 13 are about money and payers and 10 about rules, surveys and audits
Top problems of six kinds of US healthcare organizations, grouped by area. Kent Applied analysis, October 2026.
Show the numbers as a table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Money and payers | 13 problems |
| Rules, surveys and audits | 10 problems |
| Patients, referrals and customers | 8 problems |
| Paperwork and back office | 5 problems |
| Staffing | 5 problems |
| Daily operations | 3 problems |
The numbers behind the list
Every problem on the list comes with a hard number. Hospital drug expenses grew 13.6% in 2025, against 7.5% for total expenses, AHA reports. Chartis puts 41.2% of rural hospitals in the red. Physicians complete an average of 40 prior authorizations a week, which take 13 hours of physician and staff time. In the median skilled nursing facility, 46% of nursing staff turned over in a year.
41.2%
of US rural hospitals operate in the red
41.2% of US rural hospitals operate in the red, and the median rural hospital's operating margin is 2.0%, Chartis reported in its 2026 study of rural hospitals.
Source: 2026 Rural Health State of the State.
Most of the ten problems about rules, surveys and audits have a deadline or a penalty behind them. Hospital price files, website accessibility, community health needs assessments, health center site visits and nursing home surveys each come with one, and much of the work is matching documents to a checklist.
Healthcare uses AI at about the average US rate
In the Census Bureau's business survey for September 7 to 20, 2026, 24.8% of health care and social assistance businesses said they had used AI somewhere in their business. That is close to the 23.8% for all US businesses, and half the rate of information firms.
Fig. 2
Health care and social assistance firms use AI at about the US rate, half the top sector's
Share of US employer businesses that said they had used AI somewhere in their business between September 7 and 20, 2026: the four sectors with the highest use, health care and social assistance, all businesses, and the two sectors with the lowest use
Show the numbers as a table
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Information | 50.2% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 42.7% |
| Finance and insurance | 40.1% |
| Educational services | 39.9% |
| Health care and social assistance | 24.8% |
| All US businesses | 23.8% |
| Accommodation and food services | 10.1% |
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 9.5% |
How healthcare organizations buy AI matters as much as how many of them use it. In an HFMA survey of 233 health systems, nearly 80% said an existing vendor would have a significant advantage over a new one in an AI pilot.
For most of these problems, an AI tool needs no patient records
For each of the 44 problems I asked a narrow question: does any tool I'd advise for it have to read patient records? For 30, none does. Contracts, policies, staff records, public data, websites and summary reports are enough. A contract register that pulls claim filing deadlines and notice dates out of payer and vendor contracts never sees a patient's name. The same is true of a check of a hospital's public price file against its chargemaster (its internal list of charges), a site visit checklist matched to a health center's own documents, and a weekly brief built from summary reports.
Fig. 3
30 of 44 top healthcare problems need no patient data, in Kent Applied's analysis
Top problems of six kinds of US healthcare organizations, by whether an AI tool for them needs patient data. Kent Applied analysis, October 2026.
Show the numbers as a table
| Category | Needs no patient data | Needs patient data for part of the work | Needs patient data from the start | No AI tool advised | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health systems | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Community hospitals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Health centers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Practices | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Post-acute and senior care | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Health-tech and associations | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Ten more have a first step that needs no patient data and a later step that does. With denials, for example, a tool can track contract terms and appeal windows before anyone opens a denied claim. With referrals, it can count referrals by source before anyone reads a referral packet. Three need patient data from the start: prior authorization at practices, practice claim denials and the hospice cap. Even a plain list of admission and discharge dates is patient data, since HIPAA's Safe Harbor method counts every part of those dates except the year as an identifier.
For one problem, hiring medical assistants and hygienists at practices, I'd leave AI out. AI that ranks job applicants needs a yearly bias audit in New York City and falls under California's rules on automated decision systems. A practice's applicant tracking system already posts jobs and schedules interviews, so an AI tool would bring new legal requirements and add little that system can't already do.
Independent practices and post-acute and senior care organizations have all three of the problems that need patient data from the start, and they have the fewest problems that need none: four of seven at practices and four of eight in post-acute and senior care. Health systems and community hospitals each have six problems that need no patient data, and health centers and health-tech firms each have five.
All 44 problems
Here is every problem on the map. You can group the list by area, by kind of organization or by the patient data a tool would need, and you can show one kind of organization at a time. Tap a problem to see its number and where that number comes from, who feels it, and the tools that can help.
Fig. 4
All 44 problems, with the number behind each one
Search them, or tap any square for the problem's figure and source, who feels it, and the tools that address it. Kent Applied analysis, October 2026.
- Needs no patient data 30
- Needs patient data for part of the work 10
- Needs patient data from the start 3
- No AI tool advised 1
Tap a square for the problem's figure, source and tools. Tap a row or column name to show only that kind or area.
Group the list by
All 44 problems, grouped by area.
Money and payers 13
Rising costs for supplies and drugsHealth systemsMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, CFO, COO, supply chain
9.9%
Hospital spending on supplies rose 9.9% in 2025 and drug spending 13.6%, against 7.5% growth in total expenses.
Source: AHA, Costs of Caring 2026 (Strata Decision Technology benchmark data), 2025 data, published March 2026. US hospitals (Strata benchmark data).
How we'd help. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register reads your hospitals' vendor contracts and warns each contract's owner 90 days before the deadline to cancel, so nothing renews at a higher price by surprise. It also checks a monthly sample of invoices against the agreed prices.
You can start with your top 50 vendor contracts for $6,500, credited toward the register if you buy it within 90 days.
Denied claims and payer contract termsHealth systemsMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: CFO, revenue cycle, managed care
$57.23
Fighting a denied claim cost hospitals $57.23 per claim in 2023; nearly 15% of claims are denied at first, and about 70% of denials are eventually paid.
Source: Premier, Claims Adjudication Costs Providers $25.7 Billion, 2023 data, published February 2025. 280 hospitals in 23 states.
How we'd help. A missed appeal deadline turns a claim the payer would have paid into a write-off. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register puts every payer's deadlines to bill and to appeal in one searchable list, with the contract page cited.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Denial and Appeals DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAGroups denials by cause and drafts appeals.Ask about it in a written proposal: Denial and Appeals Desk
The register reads contracts, not claims, so it needs no patient data. You can start with your top 10 payer contracts for $9,500, credited toward the register within 90 days. Working the denied claims themselves means reading patient information, so the Denial and Appeals Desk starts only after a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Thin margins, or running at a lossCommunity hospitalsMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, CFO, board
41.2%
The median rural hospital runs a 2.0% operating margin, and 41.2% of rural hospitals operate in the red.
Source: Chartis, 2026 Rural Health State of the State, Medicare cost report data through Q3 2025. US rural hospitals.
How we'd help. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register warns you 90 days before each vendor contract renews, so none rolls over at a higher price unnoticed. It also spot-checks invoices against contract prices. The Weekly Leadership Brief shows each week which numbers slipped against budget.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Weekly Leadership Brieffrom $6,500 + $250 a monthOne page a week on which numbers changed and what needs a decision.
To start smaller, the Contract Register can begin with your top 50 vendor contracts for $6,500, and that fee counts toward the full register if you buy it within 90 days. A hospital's version of the brief costs from $9,500 to build, then $350 a month.
Grants, rural health funds and the community health needs assessmentCommunity hospitalsMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, foundation or community relations
$10 billion a year
A new federal rural health fund sends states $10 billion a year from 2026 to 2030, and its permitted uses include AI for clinical and administrative work.
Source: KFF, A Closer Look at the $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program, updated September 2026. States.
How we'd help. Each week the Funding and Needs Assessment Desk lists the grant and state rural health fund rounds you qualify for, so a hospital without a grant writer hears in time. It drafts application text and your community health needs assessment from your own figures.
The needs assessment, which nonprofit hospitals owe every three years, is priced on its own: $10,500 with the desk in place, $14,500 without it. For one funding round, help with that application costs $5,500. Each state runs its own rounds for its share of the $10 billion, with its own rules. Source: IRS, Community health needs assessment for charitable hospital organizations, Section 501(r)(3).
Medicare Advantage plans that pay less or deny claimsCommunity hospitalsMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: CFO, business office
90.6%
Medicare Advantage plans paid rural hospitals 90.6% of traditional Medicare rates on a cost basis.
Source: AHA, The Growing Impact of Medicare Advantage on Rural Hospitals Across America, 2023 data (Strata), published February 2025. US rural hospitals.
How we'd help. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register lists each plan's deadlines to bill and appeal, and warns you 90 days before renewal. A Custom AI Tool can compare each plan's payments with your fee schedule, code by code, to show where each pays least.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Custom AI Toolfrom $9,500 + $450 a monthA tool built around your own workflow, for work no other service on the menu covers.
- Denial and Appeals DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAGroups denials by cause and drafts appeals.Ask about it in a written proposal: Denial and Appeals Desk
You can start the Contract Register with your top 10 payer contracts for $9,500, and that fee counts toward the full register if you buy it within 90 days. The Denial and Appeals Desk would read claims, which contain patient information, so it starts only once a business associate agreement (BAA, the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) and our insurance are in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Thin margins and short cashHealth centersMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, CFO, board
Nearly half
Nearly half of community health centers operate with fewer than 90 days of cash on hand.
Source: NACHC, Community Health Center Policy Priorities (September 2026), citing a February 2026 NACHC analysis. Community health centers.
How we'd help. Each week the Funding and Needs Assessment Desk lists grants your center qualifies for and drafts application text from your own figures. The Weekly Leadership Brief tells leaders each week which finance numbers fell behind budget and why, so they can act right away.
On the menu
To start smaller, the desk can help with one funding round for $5,500, credited toward the desk if you buy it within 90 days. A health center's version of the brief costs from $9,500 to build, then $350 a month.
Patients losing Medicaid at renewal or under work requirementsHealth centersMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: CEO, CFO, eligibility staff
$595,000
Health centers surveyed in January 2024 had lost an average of $595,000 each in the Medicaid unwinding, when states rechecked every enrollee's eligibility after a pandemic-era rule that kept people enrolled ended, and their staff had spent an average of 1,600 hours helping patients.
Source: NACHC and GWU Geiger Gibson Program, The Impact of Medicaid Unwinding on Community Health Center Patients, Revenue, and Resources (also KFF on the unwinding), survey January 2024. 222 responding health centers (17% response rate).
How we'd help. The Medicaid Renewal Readiness Kit would give staff outreach messages in patients' languages and a checklist of who your state exempts from work requirements, to help patients keep coverage. A Custom AI Tool could answer staff questions on the new rules, citing the page.
On the menu
- Medicaid Renewal Readiness KitNot on the menu yetOutreach templates in your patients' languages, a state exemption checklist and a staff workflow for Medicaid renewals and the new work requirements.Ask about it in a written proposal: Medicaid Renewal Readiness Kit
- Custom AI Toolfrom $9,500 + $450 a monthA tool built around your own workflow, for work no other service on the menu covers.
States must generally start work requirements for adults covered by the Medicaid expansion by January 1, 2027. The kit uses no patient records: your staff pull the list of patients due to renew from your own EHR. Source: CMS fact sheet, Medicaid Community Engagement Requirement interim final rule.
Insurance payments that don't keep up with costsPracticesMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Owner, administrator
33%
Medicare physician pay fell 33% from 2001 to 2025 after adjusting for inflation.
Source: AMA, Medicare physician pay has plummeted since 2001, April 2025. Medicare physician fee schedule.
How we'd help. A Custom AI Tool can compare your fee schedule with what each payer paid, code by code, so you see where each payer pays least before its contract renews. The Weekly Leadership Brief shows what you collected each week, against budget and by payer.
On the menu
Medicare sets its own rates, so the comparison helps most with the plans whose contracts you negotiate. You can skip the $450 monthly fee and have your team run the tool once it's built.
Rising claim denialsPracticesMoney and payersNeeds patient data from the start
Who it affects: Billing manager, owner
60%
60% of medical group leaders said their claim denial rates rose in early 2024.
Source: MGMA Stat, Strategic improvements in your RCM to reduce claim denials, poll March 5, 2024. 235 medical group leaders.
How we'd help. Denials show up as a falling collection rate and more claims unpaid after 90 days. The Weekly Leadership Brief shows the owner both numbers every week, with the reason your billing team wrote down, so a rise doesn't go unnoticed for weeks.
On the menu
- Weekly Leadership Brieffrom $6,500 + $250 a monthOne page a week on which numbers changed and what needs a decision.
- Denial and Appeals DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAGroups denials by cause and drafts appeals.Ask about it in a written proposal: Denial and Appeals Desk
Working the denied claims themselves means reading patient information, so the Denial and Appeals Desk starts only after a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Medicare rate cuts and pay tied to quality scores (home health)Post-acute and senior careMoney and payersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, CFO, board
-1.3%
Medicare cut aggregate home health payments 1.3% ($220 million) for 2026.
Source: CMS, CY 2026 Home Health PPS final rule, Federal Register 2025-21767. Medicare home health agencies.
How we'd help. Medicare sets the rate cut, but your quality scores also move your pay. Each week the Weekly Leadership Brief shows those scores from your own quality reports, against your targets, so leaders catch a slipping score while there's still time to fix it.
Medicare moves each home health agency's pay by up to 5% either way, based on its quality scores from two years earlier (2023's scores set 2025's pay). A home health agency's brief costs from $9,500 to build, then $350 a month. Source: CMS, Expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model.
Medicare Advantage contracts and denialsPost-acute and senior careMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: CFO, business office, UR coordinator
22.7%
UnitedHealthcare's prior authorization denial rate for post-acute care rose from 10.9% in 2020 to 22.7% in 2022.
Source: US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Majority Staff Report on Medicare Advantage, October 2024 (2020 to 2022 data). Three largest Medicare Advantage insurers.
How we'd help. A missed appeal deadline turns a payable claim into a write-off. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register lists each Medicare Advantage contract's prior authorization and appeal terms, with the page cited, and warns you 90 days before each renewal so you can renegotiate.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Denial and Appeals DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAGroups denials by cause and drafts appeals.Ask about it in a written proposal: Denial and Appeals Desk
You can start with your top 10 payer contracts for $9,500, credited toward the register within 90 days. Working the denied claims themselves means reading patient information, so the Denial and Appeals Desk starts only after a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Proving results to health plans and employersHealth-tech and associationsMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: CEO, customer success, finance
38%
68% of employers and 55% of health plans use performance-based contracts for digital health, and 38% of purchasers with those contracts say they cannot independently verify the outcomes vendors report.
Source: Peterson Health Technology Institute, 2026 State of Digital Health Purchasing (also PHTI's report, page 22, PHTI's report page), survey July 2026, published September 2026. 321 purchasing decision makers at employers, health plans and health systems; the 38% is among the 182 with performance-based contracts.
How we'd help. The Outcomes and ROI Study compares the people in your program with similar people who weren't in it, puts the difference in visits, admissions and costs in dollars, and writes out the method so a health plan or employer can check it.
On the menu
- Outcomes and ROI Study$15k–30kWhether a program worked, measured against a matched comparison group.
- Client Results ReportNot on the menu yetA quarterly results brief for each client, with a methods page.Ask about it in a written proposal: Client Results Report
The study needs claims or visit records for the people in your program and for a comparison group. Until a BAA or data use agreement (the contracts HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) and our insurance are in place, it works from de-identified records or summaries. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Denied claims and payer deadlines across many clients (revenue cycle firms)Health-tech and associationsMoney and payersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: Revenue cycle operations, compliance
$57.23
Fighting a denied claim cost hospitals $57.23 per claim in 2023; nearly 15% of claims are denied at first, and about 70% of denials are eventually paid.
Source: Premier, Claims Adjudication Costs Providers $25.7 Billion, 2023 data, published February 2025. 280 hospitals in 23 states.
How we'd help. A missed deadline to bill or appeal can lose you a claim the payer would have paid. Medicare, for one, requires most claims within a year of the date of service. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register puts every payer's deadlines, for every client, in one searchable list, with the contract page cited.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Denial and Appeals DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAGroups denials by cause and drafts appeals.Ask about it in a written proposal: Denial and Appeals Desk
The register reads contracts, not claims, so it needs no patient data. You can start with the top 10 payer contracts across your clients for $9,500, credited toward the register within 90 days. Working the denied claims themselves means reading patient information, so the Denial and Appeals Desk starts only after a BAA (business associate agreement, the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Sources: 42 CFR 424.44 (eCFR); 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Rules, surveys and audits 10
Website accessibility and price transparency rulesHealth systemsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Web team, compliance, revenue integrity
May 11, 2027
HHS-funded organizations with 15 or more employees must meet WCAG 2.1 AA for web content and mobile apps from May 11, 2027; smaller ones from May 10, 2028.
Source: 45 CFR 84.84 (eCFR, as amended at 91 FR 25507), current rule (amended May 11, 2026). Recipients of HHS financial assistance.
How we'd help. The Price Transparency and Accessibility Monitor tests your hospitals' websites each week against the May 2027 federal accessibility rule and drafts a fix for each failure it finds. It also checks a sample of your posted prices against your chargemaster (your master price list).
A health system can start with a one-time audit of every website it runs for $7,500, credited toward the monitor within 90 days.
Keeping up with regulations, policies and accreditationHealth systemsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Compliance, accreditation, policy owners
$7.6 million
An average-sized community hospital (161 beds) spent nearly $7.6 million a year on the administrative work of complying with federal rules in the nine areas the study reviewed, and had the equivalent of 59 full-time staff on regulatory compliance. The study counted 341 federal requirements for hospitals and 288 more for post-acute care.
Source: AHA, Regulatory Overload, October 2017. Survey of 190 hospitals, plus interviews with 33 executives at four health systems.
How we'd help. In September 2025 the Joint Commission and the Coalition for Health AI published guidance on responsible AI use, and its recommendations begin with AI policies. The AI Governance Starter finds every AI tool in use and writes your AI policy. A Custom AI Tool can answer staff questions from your policy manual, citing the page.
On the menu
- AI Governance Starter$8,500An AI inventory, an AI use policy, risk tiers and a vendor checklist.
- Custom AI Toolfrom $9,500 + $450 a monthA tool built around your own workflow, for work no other service on the menu covers.
- Hospital Policy Library and Survey ReadinessNot on the menu yetCleans up the duplicate and conflicting policies left when policy libraries are merged.Ask about it in a written proposal: Hospital Policy Library and Survey Readiness
The $7.6 million comes from a 2017 study, so treat it as dated. If you already license an AI assistant that can search your documents, try it on your policy manual before paying for a custom tool. Source: AHA News, Joint Commission unveils first AI guidance in partnership with Coalition for Health AI.
Community health needs assessments due every three yearsHealth systemsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Community benefit, population health
$50,000
A nonprofit hospital organization owes a $50,000 excise tax for each of its hospitals that misses its community health needs assessment, and owes it again for each year that hospital stays out of compliance.
Source: 26 U.S.C. 4959 and 26 CFR 53.4959-1 (also statute text), statute since 2010. 501(c)(3) hospital organizations.
How we'd help. The Funding and Needs Assessment Desk drafts every required section of your community health needs assessment, links each figure to its source and sorts the community comments your team gathers into themes, so your board gets a complete draft to review and adopt.
The needs assessment is priced on its own, with no monthly fee: $14,500, or $10,500 if the desk's weekly funding watch is already in place.
Price transparency fines and a 2027 website accessibility deadlineCommunity hospitalsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Compliance, chargemaster owner, CFO
$11 a bed
CMS can fine a hospital with 31 to 550 beds up to $11 per bed per day for breaking the price transparency rules: up to $1,980 a day at 180 beds, about $723,000 a year. Smaller hospitals face up to $342 a day and larger ones up to $6,277. HHS adjusts these maximums for inflation every year.
Source: 45 CFR 180.90 and 45 CFR 102.3 (eCFR), 2025 maximums, adjusted for inflation. US hospitals.
How we'd help. Every week the Price Transparency and Accessibility Monitor checks a sample of your posted prices against your chargemaster and tests your website against HHS's rule on access for people with disabilities, due May 11, 2027. It drafts each fix for its owner.
CMS's free checker looks only at the file's format, so the monitor also compares the prices themselves. If you're not ready for weekly checks, a one-time audit of your price file and top web pages costs $3,500 and counts toward the monitor if you buy it within 90 days. Sources: CMS, Hospital Price Transparency resources page (also CMS validator FAQs, January 8, 2025); 45 CFR 84.84 (eCFR, as amended at 91 FR 25507).
Credentialing visiting and telehealth physiciansCommunity hospitalsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Medical staff office, CEO
Written agreement
A critical access hospital that relies on another hospital's credentialing for telemedicine physicians needs a written agreement, each physician's current privilege list and state license, and must send back performance information, including all adverse events and complaints.
Source: 42 CFR 485.616(c) (eCFR); 42 CFR 482.22(a)(3) has the same terms for other hospitals (also 42 CFR 482.22), current rule. Critical access hospitals using telemedicine.
How we'd help. A credentialing tracker, built as a Custom AI Tool, checks each visiting and telehealth physician's file for missing documents and expiration dates, including every state license they hold, so your medical staff office sees each gap before anything lapses.
Start with a one-time audit of your credentialing files: $1,500 for up to 8 clinicians or $3,500 for up to 25, credited toward the tracker within 90 days. It runs in your own Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or cloud account, so the files stay with you.
Compliance findings that put the grant at riskHealth centersRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, compliance, HR, board
3 of 5
Three of the five elements most often found noncompliant on HRSA site visits are credentialing and privileging items: procedures for reviewing privileges, the records themselves, and records for contracted and referral providers.
Source: Forvis Mazars, Navigating HRSA On-Site Visits (presentation to the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi), presented September 20, 2024; the slide doesn't state the period or the number of visits. HRSA operational site visits (as reported by an accounting firm).
How we'd help. Health Center Site Visit Readiness checks your credentialing and privileging records every month, for employed, contracted and referral clinicians. It also matches every other HRSA requirement to your documents, so your compliance lead sees each gap before a site visit.
With a visit coming soon, you can start with a one-time scan of every requirement against your current documents for $6,500, credited toward the checker within 90 days. If your primary care association runs mock site visits, use those first; the checker keeps your evidence current between visits.
Answering online reviews without revealing patient informationPracticesRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Owner, office manager
$23,000 and $30,000
A dental practice paid $23,000 and a psychiatric practice paid $30,000 to settle HIPAA cases over replies to online reviews that disclosed patient information.
Source: HHS Office for Civil Rights resolution agreements: New Vision Dental and Manasa Health Center (also Manasa Health Center agreement), 2022 and 2023. Two practices.
How we'd help. The Website, Reviews and Social Desk drafts a reply to each new review that thanks the reviewer and invites them to call, without confirming they were a patient. Nothing posts until you approve it. A one-time $1,500 check can review your past replies first.
Inspections, fines and star ratings (nursing homes)Post-acute and senior careRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Administrator, DON, regional clinical lead
44.3%
44.3% of US nursing homes were fined at least once in the last three years, and among those homes the median total in fines was $33,594.
Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, Nursing Home Provider Information and Penalties (September 2026 files) (also CMS Penalties dataset), penalties September 2023 to August 2026 (file modified September 30, 2026). 14,690 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes.
How we'd help. Using CMS's public inspection files, Nursing Home Survey Readiness compares your building's citations, fines and staffing with other homes in your state and ranks the federal requirements you're most likely to be cited on. Your director of nursing gets an audit checklist for each.
Not ready to buy? Ask for a free one-page snapshot of your building's citation and fine history against your state, built from the same public files.
Going over Medicare's hospice payment capPost-acute and senior careRules, surveys and auditsNeeds patient data from the start
Who it affects: Hospice CEO, CFO, compliance
28%
About 28% of hospices exceeded Medicare's aggregate cap in 2023, by about $410,000 on average.
Source: MedPAC, March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 10, 2023 data. Medicare hospices.
How we'd help. Medicare caps a hospice's average yearly payment per patient, and a hospice over the cap repays the difference. The Hospice Cap Monitor would project your payments against the cap each month, so your CFO sees an overage coming while there's time to act.
On the menu
- Hospice Cap MonitorReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAATracks patient days and payments against Medicare's hospice cap each month, so the CFO sees a projected overage while the census can still change.Ask about it in a written proposal: Hospice Cap Monitor
Tracking the cap needs each patient's days of care, so the monitor starts only after a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. If your billing system already projects the cap, you may not need it. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Long proposed federal rules to read and comment on (societies)Health-tech and associationsRules, surveys and auditsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Government affairs, policy staff
716 pages
The CY 2027 Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule ran 716 Federal Register pages and drew 44,346 public comments.
Source: Federal Register API, document 2026-14327, published July 16, 2026. One proposed rule.
How we'd help. In AI Staff Training, policy staff practice on a real proposed rule, using AI to find the sections that affect members and checking each against the text. A Custom AI Tool can be built to read each new rule and draft a comment letter.
On the menu
The training works with whichever AI tools your organization has or is choosing. Proposed rules are public, so a tool that reads them can run on our servers, and a named person on your staff approves every finding and draft before it's used.
Patients, referrals and customers 8
Residents leaving town for careCommunity hospitalsPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, marketing, clinic managers
32%
32% of rural Medicare beneficiaries with a hospital stay went at least once to a more distant hospital for inpatient care their local hospital also offered, which a CMS study counts as an avoidable bypass.
Source: CMS Office of Minority Health, Examining Rural Hospital Bypass for Inpatient Services, CY 2018 data, published December 2020. Rural Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with inpatient stays.
How we'd help. A Data Visualization and Dashboards project can map where your area's Medicare patients go for hospital stays, ZIP code by ZIP code, so you see which towns mostly use other hospitals. The Market Share and Outmigration Watcher, not yet offered, would update it each year when CMS posts its new file.
On the menu
- Data Visualization and Dashboards$15k–40kDashboards people use, interactive data stories and report graphics.
- Market Share and Outmigration WatcherNot on the menu yetUpdates the ZIP code map each year when CMS posts its new file, and shows each quarter which referring physicians went quiet.Ask about it in a written proposal: Market Share and Outmigration Watcher
Both would be built on CMS's public Hospital Service Area file, which counts each hospital's Medicare inpatient stays by the patient's ZIP code. The file shows where patients went but not why, so use the map to pick which towns to look into first. Source: CMS, Hospital Service Area dataset (data.cms.gov catalog entry).
Falling short of the patient target in the HRSA grantHealth centersPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, operations
1.25% to 5%
A health center that projects fewer than 95% of the patients HRSA targets for its service area has its grant request cut by 1.25% to 5%, and below 75% of that target it is not eligible for funding.
Source: HRSA, FY 2026 Service Area Competition notice of funding opportunity (HRSA-26-004), Table 1. Service Area Competition applicants.
How we'd help. The Weekly Leadership Brief tells your board whether the center is on pace for its HRSA patient target while there's time to act. The Website, Reviews and Social Desk checks every site's hours and Google listing each week, so new patients can find you.
On the menu
For a health center, the brief costs from $9,500 to build, then $350 a month. The desk for 2 to 15 sites costs $9,500, then $350 a month, or you can start with a one-time check of your website and every location's listings for $3,500.
Getting found and keeping the schedule fullPracticesPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Owner, front desk
About a quarter
About a quarter of dentists said they were not busy enough in the second quarter of 2026.
Source: ADA Health Policy Institute, The State of the US Dental Economy, Q2 2026. 552 dentists in private practice.
How we'd help. The Website, Reviews and Social Desk checks weekly that patients see the same hours, insurance and clinicians on your site and on Google, and drafts review replies and posts. The Weekly Leadership Brief shows next week's open slots and which referral sources slowed.
On the menu
If all you need is accurate listings, a listings tool, which keeps your details current on Google and other directories, may be enough. The desk adds review replies that never confirm the reviewer was a patient, plus drafted posts and fixes for your website.
Filling units and bedsPost-acute and senior carePatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Executive director, sales, marketing
$74,400
The national median cost of assisted living was $6,200 a month, or $74,400 a year, in 2025.
Source: CareScout, Cost of Care Survey 2025. About 16,000 surveys of US long-term care providers.
How we'd help. At the median assisted living price, each move-in is worth about $74,400 a year. The Website, Reviews and Social Desk checks weekly that your website and Google listing show families the same hours, phone and services, and drafts each review reply for approval.
On the menu
A Custom AI Tool could draft a same-day reply to each move-in inquiry, from wording you've approved, for your team to check and send. An inquiry may mention a parent's health, so your compliance officer decides first whether that build needs a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records). Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Referrals that never become admissionsPost-acute and senior carePatients, referrals and customersNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: Intake, admissions, liaisons
59%
Among hospitalized Medicare patients referred to home health, the share who received it fell from 66% in 2016 to 59% in 2022.
Source: Commonwealth Fund, Fewer Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries Are Receiving Recommended Home Health Care, 2024 (2016 to 2022 data). Hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries.
How we'd help. Each week the Weekly Leadership Brief shows how many referrals came from each hospital or other source and how many became admissions, so leaders see which sources are slipping. When a number drops, it quotes the reason your intake team wrote down.
On the menu
- Weekly Leadership Brieffrom $6,500 + $250 a monthOne page a week on which numbers changed and what needs a decision.
- Home Health Referral Intake DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAPulls each faxed referral packet into your intake form, flags missing documents and tracks time to answer, for your intake nurse to decide.Ask about it in a written proposal: Home Health Referral Intake Desk
For a home health agency or another post-acute or senior care operator, the brief costs from $9,500 to build, then $350 a month. It uses only weekly counts by source, because HIPAA treats even a patient's admission date as identifying information. Source: 45 CFR 164.514(b)(2)(i)(C) (eCFR, as of October 7, 2026).
Selling to health systems that favor vendors they already useHealth-tech and associationsPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CEO, sales, security lead
Nearly 80%
Nearly 80% of health systems say an existing vendor would have the advantage over a new one for an AI pilot.
Source: HFMA, Health system adoption of AI outpaces internal governance and strategy, August 2025 (Q2 2025 survey). 233 health systems.
How we'd help. The AI Governance Starter writes your AI policy and lists every AI tool your company uses, ready for a health system's security review. A Custom AI Tool can send your sales team a weekly note when a target system changes leaders, budgets or vendors.
On the menu
Having these documents ready before a health system's security review asks for them can save you a round of back-and-forth. The Starter doesn't replace a security certification such as SOC 2. The weekly note reads only public sources, so it can run on our servers.
Members who don't renew (associations)Health-tech and associationsPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Membership director, executive director
82%
In MGI's 2026 benchmarking report, the median association membership renewal rate was 82%, and 38% of associations reported membership growth, down from 45% in the previous year's report.
Source: Marketing General Inc., 2026 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, as summarized on Tony Rossell's Membership Marketing Blog. Associations responding to MGI's 2026 benchmarking survey.
How we'd help. Predictive Models builds a score for each member's chance of not renewing, from your own records, tested on past renewals before anyone relies on it. Your membership team gets a ranked list, so calls go first to members most likely to lapse.
On the menu
It needs one to two years of member records, including who renewed and who didn't. The first week confirms those records can support a model before the rest of the work goes ahead; if they can't, nothing beyond the signing payment is due.
Losing website visitors to Google's AI summariesHealth-tech and associationsPatients, referrals and customersNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Communications, growth lead
8% vs. 15%
Google users clicked a regular search result on 8% of visits that showed an AI summary, against 15% of visits without one.
Source: Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears, March 2025 data, published July 2025. 900 US adults, 68,879 searches.
How we'd help. Fewer people click through from Google, so each visitor who arrives counts for more. Each week the Website, Reviews and Social Desk finds pages that should link to each other, such as a most-read article that never links to your membership or sign-up page.
The desk doesn't show how you appear in AI answers. To try the desk first, a one-time check of your website and listings costs $1,500, credited toward the desk within 90 days.
Paperwork and back office 5
Staff hours on the UDS report and the needs assessmentHealth centersPaperwork and back officeNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: Quality or data lead, grants manager
184.2 hours
HRSA estimates the annual UDS report takes 184.2 staff hours per health center.
Source: HRSA, UDS information collection notice, Federal Register 2026-12046, 2026 reporting year. UDS respondents.
How we'd help. The Funding and Needs Assessment Desk drafts your HRSA needs assessment, with every figure linked to its source, and reads no patient data. Later, Data Warehouse and Reporting can fill your UDS tables from the EHR all year, so at the February 15 deadline your staff only check them.
On the menu
UDS reporting reads patient records, so it starts once a business associate agreement (BAA, the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) and our insurance are in place. The needs assessment alone costs $14,500, with no monthly fee. Sources: HRSA, 2026 Uniform Data System Manual; 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Credentialing paperwork and insurance directory listingsPracticesPaperwork and back officeNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Office manager, each clinician
More than 80%
In a Senate secret-shopper study of Medicare Advantage directories, more than 80% of listed mental health providers were unreachable, not in network or not taking new patients.
Source: US Senate Committee on Finance, Medicare Advantage Plan Directories Haunted by Ghost Networks, May 2023. 120 calls to 12 Medicare Advantage plans in 6 states.
How we'd help. A one-time credentialing file audit (listed under Custom AI Tool) checks each clinician's file for missing documents and expiration dates, including every state license. A tracker can then keep checking those dates, so nothing lapses unnoticed. Your staff still submit applications and call payers.
Each plan keeps its own directory, so your part is keeping what you report to plans current, starting with each clinician's free CAQH profile, the shared credentialing record many payers use. CAQH asks for re-attestation every 120 days. The audit costs $1,500 for up to 8 clinicians or $3,500 for up to 25, credited toward the tracker within 90 days. Source: DataSpring (CAQH), provider FAQ (also CAQH clinician page, CAQH dental FAQ).
Prior authorization and the back-office inboxPracticesPaperwork and back officeNeeds patient data from the start
Who it affects: Front desk, billing, clinicians
40 a week
Physicians complete an average of 40 prior authorizations a week, taking 13 hours of physician and staff time.
Source: AMA, 2025 prior authorization physician survey (press release), survey December 2025, released May 2026. 1,000 practicing physicians.
How we'd help. If you're weighing AI tools for prior authorization, the AI Vendor Evaluation tests each one on the same cases from your practice, with patient details removed, adds up its three-year cost and tells you which to buy, if any.
On the menu
- AI Vendor Evaluation$7,500–9,500Each vendor on your shortlist tested on cases from your own organization, with its three-year cost and how it would handle your data in writing.
- Practice Back-Office InboxReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAASorts the practice inbox and fax queue, drafts each reply and routes each item to the right person, with one-tap approval.Ask about it in a written proposal: Practice Back-Office Inbox
If a simple alert service for payer policy changes covers what you need, try one before paying for a larger tool. From January 1, 2027, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and federal marketplace plans must let software look up the services they cover and the paperwork each prior authorization needs. Ask any prior authorization tool you consider whether it will use those lookups. Source: CMS fact sheet, Interoperability and Prior Authorization final rule (CMS-0057-F).
Medicare claims that fail documentation reviewPost-acute and senior carePaperwork and back officeNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: MDS coordinator, coders, CFO
$4.3 billion
CMS projects $4.3 billion of improper payments for skilled nursing services in its 2025 report, an 11.8% rate, led by insufficient documentation.
Source: CMS, 2025 Medicare Fee-for-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data, 2025 report period. Medicare fee-for-service SNF claims.
How we'd help. If you're weighing software that checks each claim's documentation before you bill Medicare, the AI Vendor Evaluation tests each one on the same cases from your organization, with patient details removed, and tells you which to buy, if any.
On the menu
- AI Vendor Evaluation$7,500–9,500Each vendor on your shortlist tested on cases from your own organization, with its three-year cost and how it would handle your data in writing.
- Custom AI Toolfrom $9,500 + $450 a monthA tool built around your own workflow, for work no other service on the menu covers.
Before buying anything new, ask your EHR or coding vendor whether it already sells a pre-bill documentation check; the evaluation helps when you're comparing several. A Custom AI Tool that checks your own charts would read patient records, so it starts only after a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Hours spent checking credentials by hand (staffing firms)Health-tech and associationsPaperwork and back officeNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Credentialing coordinators, recruiters
77%
77% of healthcare staffing recruiters spend at least an hour a day on manual credentialing; 37% spend three hours or more.
Source: Bullhorn, GRID 2026 Industry Trends Report: Healthcare spotlight (a staffing software vendor's survey) (also Bullhorn's release on the survey dates), survey November to December 2025. Nearly 200 healthcare staffing leaders and recruiters in North America.
How we'd help. A credentialing tracker, built as a Custom AI Tool, checks each clinician's file for missing documents and expiration dates, including every state license they hold. Your coordinator confirms each gap it finds, instead of recruiters checking every file by hand.
To try it first, an audit of up to 25 clinician files costs $3,500, one time, credited toward the tracker if you buy it within 90 days. The tracker runs in your own Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or cloud account, so the files stay with you. The 77% comes from a survey by a company that sells staffing software, so treat it with some caution.
Staffing 5
The cost of agency staff, overtime and rising wagesHealth systemsStaffingNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: COO, CNO, CFO
5.6%
Hospital workforce costs rose 5.6% in 2025 as hospitals raised wages to recruit and keep staff.
Source: AHA, Costs of Caring 2026 (Strata Decision Technology benchmark data), 2025 data, published March 2026. US hospitals (Strata benchmark data; AHA notes its labor figure includes purchased services).
How we'd help. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register checks staffing agency invoices against approved timecards, and a monthly sample against your contracted prices. The Capacity and Staffing Forecast predicts how many patients each unit will have, so busy days are staffed in advance rather than covered with last-minute overtime.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Capacity and Staffing Forecastfrom $14,500Forecasts how many patients each unit will have from your own hourly counts, tested before anyone relies on it.
- Contract Labor and Retention DeskNot on the menu yetAgency and overtime spend by unit, agency invoices checked against rates and timecards, and which units lose new hires in their first 90 days.Ask about it in a written proposal: Contract Labor and Retention Desk
You can start with three months of staffing agency invoices checked against approved timecards, for $7,500, credited toward the register within 90 days. The forecast begins with a $14,500 test on two years of your own history, and the daily forecast is built only if it beats the way you plan staffing today.
Agency nurses and overtimeCommunity hospitalsStaffingNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: CNO, nurse managers, CFO
$66,081
A travel nurse costs the average hospital $66,081 a year more than a staff RN.
Source: NSI Nursing Solutions, 2026 National Health Care Retention and RN Staffing Report, calendar 2025 data. 527 hospitals in 40 states (NSI is a recruitment firm).
How we'd help. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register checks agency invoices against approved timecards, and a monthly sample against your contracted prices, so you catch overbilling. The Capacity and Staffing Forecast predicts each unit's patient count, so you can schedule ahead and lean less on overtime and agency nurses.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Capacity and Staffing Forecastfrom $14,500Forecasts how many patients each unit will have from your own hourly counts, tested before anyone relies on it.
- Contract Labor and Retention DeskNot on the menu yetAgency and overtime spend by unit, agency invoices checked against rates and timecards, and which units lose new hires in their first 90 days.Ask about it in a written proposal: Contract Labor and Retention Desk
A good first step is three months of agency invoices checked against approved timecards, for $7,500, which counts toward the Contract Register if you buy it within 90 days. The forecast needs two years of hourly patient counts by unit, and it is tested on that history before anyone relies on it. The $66,081 comes from a recruitment firm's report, so treat it with some caution.
Medical assistant and front-desk turnoverHealth centersStaffingNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Clinic managers, HR
24%
Of the health center jobs in NACHC's 2025 staffing survey, medical assistants had the highest turnover, at 24% a year.
Source: NACHC, Investing in the Primary Care Front Line (2025 staffing survey). Community health centers, national estimates.
How we'd help. The Contract Labor and Retention Desk would show, from your HR records, which sites lose new medical assistants and front-desk staff in their first 90 days, so managers know where to act first.
On the menu
- Contract Labor and Retention DeskNot on the menu yetAgency and overtime spend by unit, agency invoices checked against rates and timecards, and which units lose new hires in their first 90 days.Ask about it in a written proposal: Contract Labor and Retention Desk
Hiring medical assistants and hygienistsPracticesStaffingNo AI tool advised
Who it affects: Office manager, owner
56%
56% of medical practices said hiring medical assistants got harder in the past year.
Source: MGMA Stat, Medical assistants: tackling practices' worst hiring problem, poll May 19, 2026. 297 medical practice leaders.
How we'd help. Nothing on the menu helps a practice hire, and we don't build tools that screen job applicants.
New York City bars employers from using automated tools to screen applicants unless the tool has had a bias audit in the past year, and California's rules on such tools took effect October 1, 2025. Job boards and hiring software already post jobs and schedule interviews, so a new tool from us would add little. Sources: NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Automated Employment Decision Tools; California Civil Rights Council, rulemaking actions page.
Staff turnover and agency staffing costsPost-acute and senior careStaffingNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Administrator, DON, HR, schedulers
46%
In the median skilled nursing facility, 46% of nursing staff turned over in the 12 months to 2024.
Source: MedPAC, March 2026 Report to the Congress, Chapter 7, 2024 data. Medicare skilled nursing facilities.
How we'd help. By 2022, almost half of nursing homes used agency nursing staff, up from 23% in 2018, a study in Health Affairs found. The Payer and Vendor Contract Register checks agency invoices against approved timecards, and a monthly sample against your contracted prices, so you catch overbilling. It also warns you 90 days before each agency contract's notice date, in time to renegotiate.
On the menu
- Payer and Vendor Contract Registerfrom $14,500 + $350–850 a monthPulls the deadlines and price terms from your payer and vendor contracts, with the page cited, and warns the person responsible for each contract 90 days before each date.
- Contract Labor and Retention DeskNot on the menu yetAgency and overtime spend by unit, agency invoices checked against rates and timecards, and which units lose new hires in their first 90 days.Ask about it in a written proposal: Contract Labor and Retention Desk
You can start with three months of agency invoices checked against approved timecards, for $7,500, credited toward the register if you buy it within 90 days. Nothing on the menu today lowers turnover itself. Source: Bowblis et al., Nursing Homes Increasingly Rely On Staffing Agencies For Direct Care Nursing, Health Affairs.
Daily operations 3
Clinical trials that take months to open (academic centers)Health systemsDaily operationsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Clinical research office
171 business days
At one NCI cancer center, the median study took 171 business days to activate; NCI's working group sets an aspirational 90-day target for the whole start-up process.
Source: University of Kansas Cancer Center study, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2025. 315 studies at one NCI cancer center.
How we'd help. A Custom AI Tool would draft each new study's coverage analysis (which costs insurance pays and which the sponsor pays) and its site budget from the study protocol, so your research staff check and approve a draft instead of starting from a blank page.
We would test the tool on past studies, comparing its drafts with the ones your staff wrote, before anyone relies on it. It works on the documents your own office prepares, so it won't shorten time spent waiting on sponsors or review boards.
Discharge delays that keep beds fullHealth systemsDaily operationsNeeds patient data for part of the work
Who it affects: COO, CNO, case management
Nearly 24%
Hospital stays for patients discharged to post-acute care grew nearly 24% longer from 2019 to 2022.
Source: AHA Issue Brief, Patients and Providers Faced with Increasing Delays in Timely Discharges (Strata data), December 2022 (2019 to 2022 data). US hospitals (Strata data cited by AHA).
How we'd help. The Throughput Diagnostic finds the one step that holds up your discharges, using timestamps your electronic health record already keeps. In three weeks you learn what each day of delay costs and get a plan for the first change to make.
On the menu
- Throughput Diagnostic$14,500Finds the one step causing your discharge delays, ED boarding or OR backlog, and puts a dollar cost on each day of delay.
- Discharge Delay and Post-Acute Placement DeskReads patient data, so it starts only after a signed BAAPatients waiting on a post-acute bed, the referrals each one needs and which facilities answered, in one daily list for case management.Ask about it in a written proposal: Discharge Delay and Post-Acute Placement Desk
If the hold-up is finding a nursing home or rehab bed, the plan says so and focuses on what your team controls, such as how early that search starts. The timestamps have names and record numbers removed but are still patient-level data, so the work starts once a data use agreement or a BAA (the contract HIPAA requires before an outside firm handles patient records) is signed and our insurance is in place. Source: 45 CFR 164.502(e) (eCFR).
Serving patients in languages other than EnglishHealth centersDaily operationsNeeds no patient data
Who it affects: Patient services, compliance
27%
27% of health center patients (8.8 million people) are best served in a language other than English.
Source: KFF, Community Health Center Patients, Financing, and Services, published October 5, 2026, with 2025 data. HRSA-funded health center patients.
How we'd help. A Custom AI Tool could draft translations of your forms, notices and flyers for a qualified translator to check and approve, so more of what patients read is in their own language.
Federal rules require a qualified human translator to review machine translation of anything that affects a patient's rights or access to care. The tool would work on written materials that name no patient; interpreters still handle visits and phone calls. Source: 45 CFR 92.201(c)(3) (eCFR).
Each figure was checked at its source in October 2026. Free to reuse with credit to Kent Applied.
Where to start
Start with the problem on your own list that costs the most and needs the least patient data. Fig. 4 tags the tools that read patient records from the start, and I don't start work on any of them until a business associate agreement is signed. When a later step would use patient-level data, such as UDS reporting or a discharge-delay study, the note on that problem says so and names the agreement it needs. The research page goes through the same problems one kind of organization at a time and explains how I chose them.
Sources
- Kent Applied, Where AI tools fit in healthcare, by kind of organization.
- AHA, Costs of Caring 2026.
- Chartis, 2026 Rural Health State of the State.
- AMA, 2025 prior authorization physician survey.
- MedPAC, March 2026 report, Chapter 7.
- US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey, sector estimates.
- US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey, national estimates.
- HFMA, Health system adoption of AI outpaces internal governance and strategy.
- 45 CFR 164.514.
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, automated employment decision tools.
Corrected October 14, 2026. The summary now says the problems were chosen because they cost the most money or carry the most risk. The paragraph on problems about rules, surveys and audits now says most of them, not all, have a deadline or a penalty behind them, and the note on patient data now says which tools Fig. 4 tags. In Fig. 4, several figures now match their sources more closely, notes that state a rule now link to it, and two vendor prices whose source could not be linked were removed. Three problems also moved from needing no patient data to needing it for part of the work, because a later step for each reads patient records: automating the UDS report at health centers, checking charts before a Medicare claim in post-acute and senior care, and a results study on claims or visit records for health-tech firms. So 30 of the 44 problems need no patient data, not 33, and the title now says so.
Related service
Related articles
- Building AI so each project makes the next one cheaperSeptember 22, 2026, 4-minute read
- Where healthcare AI pays off in 2026 budgetsAugust 26, 2026, 6-minute read
More on AI adoption: 16 charts and 16 sourced facts.
Insights by email
Does this look like your organization?
Book a 20-minute call with Tyler to talk through your version of this problem and what fixing it would cost.
Prefer to skip the call? Get a written proposal