From Faxes to Flow: How Operational AI Is Transforming Patient Access in Healthcare

Patient Access Reimagined

Leaders from Ozarks Healthcare describe how their rural system is improving patient access through MEDITECH portal tools, including a new self-scheduling feature that quickly increased appointment volume and convenience for patients. They also highlight “virtual rounding,” where a remote specialist conducts visits via video while patients remain in the clinic, expanding access to care without requiring onsite presence. Overall, the conversation emphasizes using technology to streamline workflows, empower patients, and extend services despite rural constraints, with future plans for broader scheduling options and on-demand virtual care. -- Links for this episode: Ozarks Healthcare | Healthcare in West Plains, Missouri [https://www.ozarkshealthcare.com/] Priscilla A Frase, MD | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/priscilla-a-frase-md-58061191/] Brenda Cotter | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-cotter-658b8467/] Patient Empowerment | MEDITECH [https://ehr.meditech.com/ehr-solutions/patient-empowerment]

From Faxes to Flow: How Operational AI Is Transforming Patient Access in Healthcare

Aditya Bansod discusses operational AI in healthcare – technology that automates the processes between a patient seeking care and receiving it. Rather than just generating insights, this approach streamlines workflows like scheduling, communication, and intake, integrating directly with systems like MEDITECH to reduce administrative burden and improve access, especially for resource-constrained hospitals. A key example is fax automation: AI can read, classify, and route large volumes of incoming documents, eliminating manual work and delays. This allows staff to shift to patient-facing roles and supports broader improvements like automated calls, scheduling, and no-show recovery – ultimately making care more efficient and accessible. -- Links for this episode: Luma | Operational AI for Healthcare [https://www.lumahealth.io/] Aditya Bansod | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityabansod/]

Successful MEDITECH MaaS Implementations: Lessons from Critical Access Hospitals

Leaders from two hospitals shared their experiences implementing MEDITECH as a Service (MaaS), highlighting why they chose it to streamline systems and support limited IT teams. Both emphasized strong governance with cross-functional committees, plus blended training approaches (online, in-person, and at-the-elbow) to prepare staff for a completely new system. At go-live, they reduced patient volumes and relied on internal teams and super users for support, avoiding external consultants. Key lessons included improving timing of training and increasing provider support, while ongoing optimization is managed through structured governance processes that prioritize requests based on impact and feasibility. -- Links for this episode: MaaS Summit - 2026 Inspire Conference [https://www.museweb.org/inspire-conference-2026/education/summits/maas] Huggins Hospital [https://www.hugginshospital.org/] Bingham Memorial Hospital | Critical Access Hospital in Blackfoot, Idaho [https://binghammemorial.org/] MEDITECH as a Service (MaaS) | MEDITECH [https://ehr.meditech.com/ehr-solutions/meditech-as-a-service-maas]

Orchestrating Care: How AI Is Transforming the MEDITECH Experience

Hear from Joe Corone, MEDITECH’s AI Product Manager, about the company’s strategy for integrating AI into its Expanse EHR. MEDITECH’s approach builds on prior investments in cloud infrastructure, mobile tools, and interoperability, aiming to embed AI directly into workflows. The goal is to reduce clinician burden, improve patient engagement, and support organizational sustainability – shifting from simply documenting care to “orchestrating care.” Learn about several AI tools in development, including a MyHealth assistant chatbot for patient self-service, ambient listening for physicians and nurses to automate documentation, and “Ask Expanse,” an in-chart assistant that summarizes data and generates clinical content. Additional pilots include AI agents for analyzing claim denials and drafting appeals. Joe emphasizes a future of more “agentic” AI that proactively gathers and presents information, helping care teams work more efficiently while staying in control. -- Links for this episode: Expanse Artificial Intelligence | MEDITECH [https://ehr.meditech.com/ehr-solutions/expanse-artificial-intelligence] https://www.linkedin.com/in/joecordone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joecordone/] EHR Mobility | MEDITECH [https://ehr.meditech.com/ehr-solutions/ehr-mobility]

People-First Change Management

This podcast features Willis Knighton Health’s team discussing how their large, integrated healthcare system implemented a structured, people-first change management process. The need arose during their MEDITECH Expanse rollout, when even small changes created unintended system-wide impacts – revealing gaps in coordination across departments and technologies. In response, they introduced a formal governance model with a Change Advisory Board (CAB), standardized request workflows, defined change windows, and strong leadership backing to ensure all changes are reviewed, communicated, and aligned across clinical and technical teams. The new approach improved communication, reduced unexpected disruptions, and strengthened collaboration across IT and clinical staff. By centralizing change tracking and requiring cross-team input, they gained better visibility into system impacts and could proactively plan downtime or updates. The team emphasizes that success depends on continuous communication, clear criteria for emergency changes, and an iterative mindset – refining the process over time to balance efficiency with patient safety and operational stability. -- Links for this episode: Blog post on change management by Maylin - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mailan-nguyen-ph-d-c-mpa-a85a051a8_people-first-change-management-activity-7386832252049088513-P7_8?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADCPH8UBd_ixxa8bDF7CuBHcaLaC6sXEDIY [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mailan-nguyen-ph-d-c-mpa-a85a051a8_people-first-change-management-activity-7386832252049088513-P7_8?rcm=ACoAADCPH8UBd_ixxa8bDF7CuBHcaLaC6sXEDIY&utm_medium=member_desktop&utm_source=share] Willis Knighton Health - Top Hospitals and Doctors in Shreveport - Bossier City and the Ark-La-Tex [https://www.wkhs.com/] Methodology - Kotter International Inc [https://www.kotterinc.com/methodology/?gad_campaignid=20449249629&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADzf2QvKX2oGglnb4xy91AjuGIzAK&gclid=Cj0KCQjw37nNBhDkARIsAEBGI8MTf6tXjW3ZuYWQkuxtscxOvhMvzPI7abXY5fOpGQxZtgRR-oo5oaMaAjbvEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds]