Healthcare thrives on trust—but earning and maintaining it is far from simple. In his closing session at CM Converge 2025, Aidin CEO Russ Graney painted a compelling picture of how technology, transparency, and shared accountability can make trust a natural part of care management.
Russ illustrated a fundamental truth: technology, when used correctly, doesn’t just follow the rules—it provides an example to follow in doing the right thing. Technology can also set the standard for how others act. The session left attendees with key insights on how healthcare organizations can use digital tools to encourage collaboration, minimize inefficiencies, and build a more reliable system for patients and providers alike.
1. Setting the stage: The driverless car lesson
Russ started his closing presentation by recounting an experience at a busy intersection where no drivers stopped to let him and a friend cross safely—until an autonomous, self-driving vehicle did. Once that one car came to a halt, others followed suit.
The takeaway? Systems designed for consistency and fairness can positively influence human behavior in powerful ways.
In healthcare, the same principle applies. When processes are built to reward responsiveness, consistency, and fairness, they set new expectations. The key is making the right thing the easy thing—so good behavior isn’t just encouraged but rendered the path of least resistance.
This approach is particularly critical in care transitions, where delays, miscommunication, or lack of accountability can derail a patient’s recovery. If every stakeholder—whether a provider, payer, or hospital—operates under clear expectations and sees transparency in the process, trust grows, and the system works more efficiently while enabling better outcomes.
2. Building trust through transparency and accountability
One of the biggest barriers to trust in healthcare is uncertainty. Patients don’t know when an authorization will be approved. Care managers aren’t sure which providers are the most responsive. Post-acute facilities battle with inconsistent expectations.
Russ emphasized that technology can remove the guesswork by ensuring that all stakeholders operate within clear expectations. Aidin achieves this with features like:
- Badges and reputation systems for post-acute providers, rewarding those who respond quickly and reliably.
- Response deadlines that keep patient transitions of care moving without unnecessary delays.
- Payer accountability measures, ensuring insurers stick to agreed-upon authorization turnaround times.
By structuring the system to reward trustworthiness and penalize delays, Aidin helps eliminate the friction that slows down patient care. This transparency is particularly impactful in length of stay (LOS) reductions, where hospitals can predict and manage transitions more effectively, reducing unnecessary inpatient days.
3. Creating guardrails for better decision-making
Healthcare is filled with competing priorities. Russ pointed out that sometimes, people don’t make poor decisions out of bad intent—they simply don’t see the bigger picture.
That’s why smart technology should be a guide—not just a tool. Aidin integrates real-time dashboards and alerts that help:
- Flag duplicate care plans before they happen.
- Prevent providers from double-reserving post-acute beds.
- Ensure that care managers see the most relevant, high-quality provider options first.
The result? Fewer mistakes, less wasted time, and better patient outcomes.
Additionally, these automated reminders help reduce administrative burden, helping care teams focus more on patient-centered planning rather than tracking authorizations, chasing approvals, or navigating fragmented communication.
Learn more about how better payer authorization practices can enhance care management teams.
4. Standardizing best practices across teams
Russ acknowledged that even the best-intentioned teams struggle with consistency. One care manager might follow best practices, while another takes shortcuts due to workload pressures. The solution doesn’t lie in more training but in better systems.
Aidin is focused on reinforcing efficiency and patient-focused changes and making it easier for teams to align around best practices. This includes:
- A post-acute referral management platform that enables care teams to track all of their care management workflows and follow up efficiently.
- Performance badges that highlight care manager responsiveness and effectiveness.
- Real-time communication tools and instant feedback loops to show when best practices are followed—or missed.
- Embedded automation that simplifies workflows and removes extra steps.
We also help teams ensure they follow standardized processes, using technology to support how work gets done consistently—across shifts, departments, and even different facilities. For example, Aidin includes default settings for referral response deadlines, which care managers can still adjust based on the patient’s specific needs. This flexibility supports consistency without removing clinical judgment and a focus on quality care.
By building good habits into the system itself, organizations don’t have to rely on individual memory or manual oversight—quality becomes part of the process.
5. Empowering people by removing operational friction
Russ closed with a reminder that technology should never replace human relationships—it should strengthen them. The more friction we remove from processes, the more time care teams have to focus on what really matters: the patient experience.
When designed correctly, digital tools should create a care environment where:
- Patient transitions of care flow more smoothly with fewer delays.
- Care teams can prioritize meaningful interactions and time with patients over administrative tasks.
- Post-acute providers and payers are aligned on shared goals and rewarded for care that’s timely and high quality.
By addressing inefficiencies head-on, these improvements help reduce readmission rates, improve patient satisfaction, and optimize resource allocation—all crucial metrics for success in modern healthcare environments.
How tech can support standardized transitions of care
One of the key highlights from Russ’s talk was how emerging innovations can continue to shape trust in healthcare. With the right safeguards in place, intelligent technology can help identify bottlenecks in patient transitions, predict length-of-stay outcomes, and optimize resource distribution.
However, as Russ emphasized, technology alone isn’t enough—it must be paired with human oversight to ensure that decision-making remains patient-centered and compassionate. Trust won’t be built by automation alone. It will be forged by the right combination of human expertise and reliable digital tools.
As CM Converge 2025 wrapped up, Russ left attendees with a challenge: What if the best thing for patients was also the easiest thing to do?
Through automation, accountability, and clear incentives, Aidin is working to make that vision a reality—one streamlined transition at a time.
Want to learn how Aidin puts trust at the heart of care management? Let’s talk.