What is a “smart” hospital, and what states have the most of them? Furthermore, what makes them smart?
Well, it is difficult to define exactly what a smart hospital is. A cynic might say the term is little more than a new slogan dreamed up by an enterprising marketing executive trying to figure out how to sell hospitals more information systems and gadgets. After all, people are more likely to fork over the cash if everyone else is doing it.
Some have defined the categories of technology that make up a smart hospital.
Although no one as of yet is evaluating hospitals based on how many doctors are being replaced by AI – no one wants to endure a doctor’s strike or work slowdown as jobs are threatened – but instead, AI use is focused on reading images or monitoring the dozens of signals that may be coming from a patient wired up with Internet-of-Things (IOTs) sensing devices. And there may be many patients who simply need someone to talk to, an AI programmed to care and remember things.
Robotics are being leveraged not only for surgery, but for handling certain things such as pulling pills from the stock and working in the laboratory. Many are looking at use of robots to help move patients around or perform other tasks in the hospital, such as serving meals, talking with patients, and perhaps keeping them clean.
The taking, storing, moving around, accessing, and analyzing of what can be seen inside the patient, including the use of virtual reality to help guide surgery and other invasive procedures, is becoming more widespread.
This refers to using computers to record and process more and more details of each transaction that occurs with the patient (and with everyone else also), including insurance providers, the government, and the deadening hands of its regulatory authorities. This also has grown to include suppliers, including pharmaceutical companies, and partner healthcare providers, even with families.
Then there is telemedicine, the technologically obvious application of information technology that somehow remained something that few insurance providers would pay for until after the COVID-19 disaster – and now the temporary has become widely accepted.
These categories are not evenly distributed in smart hospitals. For example, being a leader in electronic functionalities is twice as common of an indicator of a smart hospital as is AI. Digital imaging is in second place. Robotics and telemedicine are a little less common.
AI stands out at Mayo Clinic Rochester, the Cleveland Clinic, Mount Sinai in New York, the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, and Houston Methodist.
And where are the smart hospitals of the world?
It seems that the United States is the leader, with almost five times as many smart hospitals than Germany, in second place, along with the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, and Spain. Singapore has seven smart hospitals, which per capita may be the most in the world.
There is a bright future for the smart hospital. Of course, vendors will profit handsomely, selling their gadgets and complex systems development and integration services, but it is the patients who might benefit most.
While the coverage of telehealth is definitely a good thing, it has caused needless confusion. I would like to address a little of that today.
Risk adjustment has entered a new era. We are no longer operating in a documentation optimization environment; we are operating in an enforcement and recalibration
Please log in to your account to comment on this article.
Sepsis sequencing continues to challenge even experienced coding and CDI professionals, with evolving guidelines, documentation gaps, and payer scrutiny driving denials and data inconsistencies. In this webcast, Payal Sinha, MBA, RHIA, CCDS, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, CCDS-O, CRC, CRCR, provides clear guideline-based strategies to accurately code sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock, assign POA indicators, clarify the relationship between infection and organ dysfunction, and align documentation across teams. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen audit defensibility, improve first-pass accuracy, support appeal success, reduce denials, and ensure accurate quality reporting, empowering organizations to achieve consistent, compliant sepsis coding outcomes.
Expert presenters Kathy Pride, RHIT, CPC, CCS-P, CPMA, and Brandi Russell, RHIA, CCS, COC, CPMA, break down complex fracture care coding rules, walk through correct modifier application (-25, -57, 54, 55), and clarify sequencing for initial and subsequent encounters. Attendees will gain the practical knowledge needed to submit clean claims, ensure compliance, and stay one step ahead of payer audits in 2026.
Accurately determining the principal diagnosis is critical for compliant billing, appropriate reimbursement, and valid quality reporting — yet it remains one of the most subjective and error-prone areas in inpatient coding. In this expert-led session, Cheryl Ericson, RN, MS, CCDS, CDIP, demystifies the complexities of principal diagnosis assignment, bridging the gap between coding rules and clinical reality. Learn how to strengthen your organization’s coding accuracy, reduce denials, and ensure your documentation supports true medical necessity.
Denials continue to delay reimbursement, increase administrative burden, and threaten financial stability across healthcare organizations. This essential webcast tackles the root causes—rising payer scrutiny, fragmented workflows, inconsistent documentation, and underused analytics—and offers proven, data-driven strategies to prevent and overturn denials. Attendees will gain practical tools to strengthen documentation and coding accuracy, engage clinicians effectively, and leverage predictive analytics and AI to identify risks before they impact revenue. Through real-world case examples and actionable guidance, this session empowers coding, CDI, and revenue cycle professionals to shift from reactive appeals to proactive denial prevention and revenue protection.
In this timely session, Stacey Shillito, CDIP, CPMA, CCS, CCS-P, CPEDC, COPC, breaks down the complexities of Medical Decision Making (MDM) documentation so providers can confidently capture the true complexity of their care. Attendees will learn practical, efficient strategies to ensure documentation aligns with current E/M guidelines, supports accurate coding, and reduces audit risk, all without adding to charting time.
Join Ronald Hirsch, MD, FACP, CHCQM for The PEPPER Returns – Risk and Opportunity at Your Fingertips, a practical webcast that demystifies the PEPPER and shows you how to turn complex claims data into actionable insights. Dr. Hirsch will explain how to interpret key measures, identify compliance risks, uncover missed revenue opportunities, and understand new updates in the PEPPER, all to help your organization stay ahead of audits and use this powerful data proactively.
Stay ahead of the 2026-2027 audit surge with “Top 10 Audit Targets for 2026-2027 for Hospitals & Physicians: Protect Your Revenue,” a high-impact webcast led by Michael Calahan, PA, MBA. This concise session gives hospitals and physicians clear insight into the most likely federal audit targets, such as E/M services, split/shared and critical care, observation and admissions, device credits, and Two-Midnight Rule changes, and shows how to tighten documentation, coding, and internal processes to reduce denials, recoupments, and penalties. Attendees walk away with practical best practices to protect revenue, strengthen compliance, and better prepare their teams for inevitable audits.
As AI reshapes healthcare compliance, the risk of biased outputs and opaque decision-making grows. This webcast, led by Frank Cohen, delivers a practical Four-Pillar Governance Framework—Transparency, Accountability, Fairness, and Explainability—to help you govern AI-driven claim auditing with confidence. Learn how to identify and mitigate bias, implement robust human oversight, and document defensible AI review processes that regulators and auditors will accept. Discover concrete remedies, from rotation protocols to uncertainty scoring, and actionable steps to evaluate vendors before contracts are signed. In a regulatory landscape that moves faster than ever, gain the tools to stay compliant, defend your processes, and reduce liability while maintaining operational effectiveness.
Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 1 with code CYBER25
CYBER WEEK IS HERE! Don’t miss your chance to get 20% off now until Dec. 2 with code CYBER24
