A Florida State University researcher has used advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to predict suicide attempts up to two years before they occur. The study, titled “Predicting Risk of Suicide Attempts over Time through Machine Learning," will be published in Clinical Psychological Science.

A multi-stakeholder conversation about the burden of prior authorization requirements offered a consensus that something has to change with these policies, but the parties could not offer a silver bullet on how the process can improve.

Reducing costs is one of the purported principal benefits of telehealth, but recent research questions just how much the remote services may save healthcare providers. A report in the March issue of Health Affairs explores the use of direct-to-consumer telehealth and related costs.

Thomas E. Starzl, MD, PhD, widely known as the “father of transplantation," has died at the age of 90 in his Pittsburg home. Starzl is credited with advancing the science of transplantations from risky ventures into feasible surgeries for some of the most at-need patients.  

Social media, meant to bring people together, is leaving its users feeling more isolated, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that time spent on social media increases perceived social isolation.

Using direct-to-consumer telehealth, where a patient was direct access to a physician on the phone or through videoconferencing, may be a tool to increase access to care. According to a study published in the March 2017 issue of Health Affairs, it also increases utilization and spending. 

Fitness trackers have turned walking into something of a competition, with friends comparing the number of steps in a day or a week. Now, a company is aiming to bring wearable technology into the bedroom to track something more of a team sport.

Telehealth may be able to connect patients to physicians at the most urgent times—on the way to the emergency department (ED). A study published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare explored the effectiveness of using telehealth in pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS) and the associated costs.