Digital Transformation

This evolution of healthcare involves using technology to improve diagnosis, treatments, monitor patients, enhance hospital operations and culture, and bolster consumer-focused care. This includes virtual reality tools, wearable devices, workflow software, health apps and other digital health tools.

patient image portal sharing covid-19

Vast majority of patients want to view test results via portals

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open aimed to explore how patients feel about receiving test results via patient portals as soon as they are available.

board room table trustee directors

Movers & Shakers: Sutter Health, Optum Health, Tegria make leadership changes

Welcome to Movers & Shakers, a roundup of some the latest executive movements in healthcare.

Banks skyscrapers

Big bank rolls out AI claims predictor for healthcare clients

One of the 10 largest banks in the country is marketing a new AI-based system aimed at flagging upcoming medical claims that are likely to court rejection by payers.

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Intermountain Health launches new biotech company

The aim of the biotech company is to “transform healthcare by providing comprehensive information on patient predisposition to disease, disease prevention and personalized intervention and treatments."

 

Quantum computer superconductivity

Quantum healthcare computing coiled for liftoff on US soil

The first quantum computer set up to support healthcare research in the United States has been delivered.

Venerable medical journal spawns AI-focused offspring

The 211-year-old New England Journal of Medicine has birthed an online-only monthly journal that will take on “some of the most pressing questions in medicine through the application of AI in the clinic.”

Cynthia Rudin, PhD. Photo courtesy of Duke University.

Prominent tech scholar: AI ‘feels like a runaway train that we’re chasing on foot’

Cynthia Rudin, PhD, is a highly regarded computer scientist who’s been eyeing the advance of artificial intelligence into society with equal parts enthusiasm and concern.  

QTrobot (left) and Misty. Photos by Hatice Gunes/University of Cambridge.

Toylike robot pleases counseling clients where humanoid counterpart struggles to connect

When human counselors are unavailable to provide work-based wellness coaching, robots can substitute—as long as the workers are comfortable with emerging technologies and the machines aren’t overly humanlike.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.