Children's National launches text updates for surgical patients' families

The families of Children’s National Medical Center’s surgical patients are able to receive real-time updates on their loved ones’ conditions via texts  from surgical team members 

The Washington, D.C.-based healthcare system began piloting the MyCareText initiative in March and its success has prompted the organization to make it available for all patients having outpatient surgeries. The HIPPA-compliant service will also be made available in Spanish.

The service joins appointment reminders and health advice as one of the many ways that text messages can be used to improve health outcomes, said Rahul K. Shah, MD, Children’s National’s medical director of perioperative services, in a Sept. 5 statement.

Around the web

CMS finalized a significant policy change when it increased the Medicare payments hospitals receive for performing CCTA exams. What, exactly, does the update mean for cardiologists, billing specialists and other hospital employees?

Stryker, a global medtech company based out of Michigan, has kicked off 2025 with a bit of excitement. The company says Inari’s peripheral vascular portfolio is highly complementary to its own neurovascular portfolio.

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.