🗞️ Nurses’ evolving role in AI innovation

Team Huddle

Have you ever though about why nurses are paid the way they are? I sure didn’t either until I found out its one of the reasons why we are underpaid for our contributions to healthcare. Here’s a short video summary courtesy of Stability Health and CNR (not sponsored):

How does this make you feel? Frustrated? Sad? Defeated because changing the status quo seems just too hard with everything else you deal with as a Nurse? Let us know.

News Nurses Need to Know

1. Associated Press: As AI nurses reshape hospital care, human nurses are pushing back

   • Details: Hospitals are increasingly using AI to handle administrative tasks like documentation, allowing nurses to focus more on patient care. While AI tools like ambient listening can save time, nurses interviewed are concerned about accuracy, privacy, and added oversight. Experts emphasize that AI should support—not replace—nurses, and proper training and regulation are essential.

   • Why it matters: More proof that AI being used for more monotonous nursing tasks are here and they’re not going anywhere. How capable is Hippocratic AI’s models? Per cofounder and CEO, Munjal Shah’s, on a16z’s Raising Health podcast, he shared a use case involving a urology practice following up by phone with 43K patients in the practice. The Urologist trained the bot with the parameters:

     • "I want you to do overactive bladder vigilance every month on these patients. If the assessment score is over ‘X’, I want you to educate them on known surgical interventions and if they’re interested, book them an appointment.”

     • Shah states, “He hit a button, and in 4 minutes, it called him and he was able to play the patient going through these assessments.”

     • Not only is the time to develop the call script significantly reduced, imagine the call center hours it would take to go through 43K patients. 🤯

   • Hippocratic AI’s CNO is Amy McCarthy.

2. Q&A with Jing Wang, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN

   • Details: Dr. Wang launched the first MSN in AI for Health Care at FSU, started a national Nursing and AI Innovation Consortium, and partnered with the Coalition for Health AI to educate nurses on responsible AI use.

   • Why it matters: Get official credentials as an AI applications nurse through FSU. Also, engage with other nurses interested in AI by participating in the consortium and coalition.

3. PHTI’s Adoption of AI in healthcare delivery systems: Early applications and impacts

   1. Details: Ambient Scribe is a 🔥 and crowded market. PHTI does a great job of explaining the need for this type of technology, companies at the head of the pack, and measuring the impact of ambient scribe implementation.

   2. Why it matters: While ambient scribed are initially targeting physician charting workflows, companies building for nurses have followed. Nurse-led company, Meru, by Dayna Dixon, PhD, RN, NPD-BC, CPHQ first comes to mind. This is a great read for a deep dive into the ambient scribe industry.

      

      Source: Exhibit 1 from PHTI’s AI Adoption report, page 4.

4. Foundation MedAesthetics (FMA) launches

   • Details: FMA is a new managed service organization (MSO) in the aesthetic industry, joining the ranks of companies like Moxie, Persimmon, and Portrait Care. They’re partnered with established brands including Southern Surgical Arts and Ageless Remedies and operates in TN, GA, and NC at this time.

   • Why it matters: Nurses looking to enter their medspa #softnursing era, listen up! 💅🏻 MSO’s allow non-physicians (like NPs!) to easily own/operate their own practice under a MD, launch and scale quickly, share resources, and help navigate legal complexities. However, they do take a portion of your profits, have high start up costs, and can have potential conflicts due to misaligned expectations between MDs and business owners. Read more pros and cons before considering a MSO as your medspa business partner.

5. Providence and Compassus finalize joint venture for home-based care services

   • Details: They are expanding in AK, TX, and WA. The partnership aims to improve access to in-home hospice, home health, and palliative care across these regions.

   • Why it matters: The growing demand for patient-centered care delivered in the home is real! Home health nurses looking for more opportunities, keep an eye on job postings from these companies. Innovation wise, ask yourself, what problems are prevalent in home care now and how do I fix it?

6. DispatchHealth and Medically Home to merge

   • Details: Merging results in increase access to hospital-level care delivered in patients' homes across the U.S. Combined, they aim to serve more than 20,000 patients monthly with in-home acute care services.

   • Why it matters: Its not just traditional home health anymore. High acuity care (Hospital-at-Home and SNF@Home fall under this umbrella) in the home is also a growing trend. No news whether CMS will extend HaH waivers past March 31 however the ROI and demand is undeniable. Great opportunity for nurses to specialize in this new niche or innovate in this space.

     

     The real ones will know what episode of spongebob this is. 🙂‍↕️

7. Potential Medicaid cuts could threaten not-for-profit hospital margins.

   • Details: Hospitals are feeling the pressure on profit margins in 2024 due to potential Medicaid reimbursement cuts and the end of pandemic-era support. Non-profit hospitals serving a high number of Medicaid patients are especially vulnerable, while for-profit systems with diversified revenue streams are better positioned.

   • Why it matters: Nurses working for non-profit hospital, get ready to see reduced staffing or delays in hiring, increasing workload and stress for nurses. You may experience tighter resource constraints, affecting patient care and nurse support services. Unfortunately, VA nurses are already being laid off.

8. Surgery Partners, Inc cashing in on orthopedics boom

   • Details: Orthopedics now makes up 35% of the company’s revenue, leading the company to aggressively expand its ortho surgery business by investing in new ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The company is capitalizing on rising demand for outpatient joint replacements and other orthopedic procedures. Their growth strategy includes partnering with physician groups and health systems to build and operate these facilities.

     

   • Why it matters: #softnursing era option 2 can involve becoming a PACU princess/prince 👑. For a nurse innovator take, consider the problems that come with post-op ortho recovery and build a solution for it.

Funding Announcements

💸 = Hiring potential. Follow these companies closely to see Nurse-qualified positions posted. Remember: Just because some positions don’t say “Nurse”, doesn’t mean you aren’t qualified!

• SafelyYou, an ambient AI fall prevention solution, raised $43M Series C.

• Inspiren, AI-powered senior living technology, raised $35M.

• Aging-in-place platform, Helper Bees, raised $35M Series.

• Delfina, AI powered maternal care platform, raised $17M series A.

• SemperVirens Venture Capital raises $177M to back early stage B2B companies transforming workforces in enterprise, healthcare, and finance sections (@nurses building creative staffing models 👀).

• Bread & Butter Ventures raised $40M to invest in digital health, food, and software.

Other Notable Reads and Podcasts

A 👏🏻 Nurse 👏🏻 did 👏🏻 THAT!

Kim Coston joined Duke’s Design & Technology Innovation’s inaugural cohort in Fall of 2024 where she participated in Duke’s AI Hackathon. Her team developed, Shelf Sense, a voice-activated supply locator that allows nurses to quickly locate medical supplies by asking for items. Read more about Kim’s journey.

Forward Nursing: Innovation Opportunities 🏃🏻‍♀️

Round-up of grants and career development opportunities i’ve come across that can help nurse innovators like YOU! (Not sponsored or affiliated with RN Forward.)

• Margretta Madden Style Credentialing Research Grant by American Nurses Foundation (Up to $300k)

  • Interest topics include: Nurse job satisfaction, employee engagement, workforce well-being, patient outcomes, and impact of transition to practice programs.

  • Application Due: April 10, 2025

• 2025 Nursing Innovations Fund by AARP and AACN Critical Care (Up to $20K per proposal)

  • Seeking: Solutions to strengthen the nursing workforce by creating and sustaining healthy work environments and improving recruitment and retention rates of registered nurses.

  • Application Due: April 4, 2025 (Friday) 10pm ET

• USA HealthTech & Innovation Fellowship by Bitelabs - Summer 2025 (Remote & Hybrid options)

  • 8-week part time fellowship designed for clinicians interested in building impactful healthcare products and securing healthtech roles.

    • TBH: You can learn this information on your own through networking, personal research, and self-building but it will take more time (in my case, >1 year and I still have so much more to learn!). Is it a “Fast Track” into the industry? No, but you get out what you put in. If you prefer structured courses to learn 1) healthcare from a industry perspective, 2) build something cool with guidance, and 3) demo a product to real stakeholders, this is a good way to do it.

    • TBH 2: Sign up for a hackathon if you want an even shorter crash course (limited by location).

  • Application Due: Rolling basis (once capacity is met)

  • Cost: $3,000 ($150 discount with code HEALTHTECH. Letters of support for 20% discount available to full-time undergrad students.)

And with that, March comes to a close. Catch you guys in April! 🧋 Nurse Niki