REGULATORY

RFK Jr. orders HHS to end public comment process

HHS ends public comment process, the main avenue for members of the public to weigh in on pending health regulations and policy changes, per Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Friday morning, the HHS uploaded a policy statement that is set to be published in the Federal Register on March 3.

Public comments solicited by government agencies are reviewed prior to the finalization of rulemaking. They are an opportunity for those who may be impacted by a new regulation or policy—organizations and individuals alike—to warn of pitfalls, suggest changes, affirm support for proposed measures or lobby for the proposed rule to be pulled altogether.

Another question to consider is how this would interact with the Supreme Court’s decision in [2019’s] Azar v. Allina Health Services … that found that the Department must use notice-and-comment rulemaking in certain circumstances where the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) does not require such rulemaking.

“Public input is not an obstacle; it is an essential to protect against uninformed policies, regulatory missteps, and failures in infection prevention and outbreak response,” the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) said in a statement calling for the policy’s immediate reversal.

The new tool, presented at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2025 Global Health Conference, helps doctors and nurses quickly access patients’ clinical notes within health records and medical documents, including tables, charts, and diagrams. The visual Q&A capability enables Vertex AI Search to receive images such as tables, charts or diagrams directly as an input rather than taking the image and first converting it into text.

In healthcare, nearly 90% of healthcare data are in image form such as X-rays, scans or photos. Multimodal technology can process and integrate information from diverse sources such as images, videos and text.

On the vanguard of employing innovative technology to expedite strategic solutions, Excelas has used its privately developed, proprietary tools for over a decade. Able to swiftly organize thousands of case file pages and return accurate analyses performed by experienced medical legal analysts, Excelas’ proven process, within a developing closed AI environment, is trained by Excelas’ expert staff of 20 years, and aims to accelerate delivery of the high-value analyses our clients have come to trust.

Emerging AI tools enable rapid access to data, however, interpreting the data requires medical expertise and comprehension.

DEMENTIA CARE

Interdisciplinary approach to dementia care

In a recent presentation and article by GuideStar Eldercare CEO Steven Posar, MD, 58% of long-stay nursing home residents have a dementia-related diagnosis.  The current standard of care in the long-term setting focuses on psychiatric/psychological care.  He argues that residents should be assessed by an interdisciplinary team, starting with a neurology consult followed by psychiatric/psychological care.

In a recent study, adding a neurology focus to the dementia care team has reduced the need for antipsychotic medications by 70% and resulted in close to 100% compliance with CMS anticonvulsant utilization requirements, along with other improvements in care and quality of life.

QUICKLY DETERMINE THE LIABILITY OF A CASE: MEDICAL RECORD ANALYSIS

Excelas helps organizations respond accurately and quickly to claims and litigation brought against them

Partnering with attorneys, health care organizations, and insurance companies since 1995, Excelas provides medical legal analyses and tools for building winning defense strategies. When expertise, accuracy, reliability, and on-time delivery count, you can count on Excelas.

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