As the buzz around ChatGPT and generative-AI continues, it’s important for health leaders to look past their excitement around these new tools and remain committed to ensuring patient trust is a top priority. Consider that six out of every ten patients are reportedly uncomfortable with providers relying solely on AI for specific healthcare needs, and while ChatGPT may appear to provide impressive responses, there’s still room for error and data misinformation, which can result in patient dissatisfaction and overall negative healthcare outcomes. 

To ensure patient information is utilized in a proper, secure manner, a cautious approach is needed when implementing generative-AI solutions. Though useful, these tools won’t solve all of healthcare’s problems. Instead, implementing a healthy mix of human touch and precautionary measures, like strengthened AI regulations around patient data, is a safer way to create significant improvements throughout the entire healthcare ecosystem. 

Acknowledging existing limitations within generative-AI tools like ChatGPT 

Currently, AI-models like ChatGPT primarily possess the ability to reference specific data they’re trained on; at the same time, they lack some of the cognition to understand meaning. One survey found that of the ChatGPT-generated responses used to develop medical content, 47% were fabricated, 46% were authentic with inaccuracies, and only 7% of responses proved completely authentic and accurate.

AI-models like ChatGPT also face a multitude of other complications when it comes to language and meaning, which must be addressed in order to avoid negative consequences. When these models are asked a question with complex and specific word choices, the response may lack both true reasoning power and accuracy, proving potentially detrimental to a patient’s health. Only 38% of U.S. adults feel utilizing AI like ChatGPT to diagnose diseases and recommend treatments would lead to better health outcomes, with 33% feeling the tool would result in worsened healthcare outcomes. For example, if someone is looking for answers about a rare condition that is not within the ChatGPT’s data training wheelhouse, its responses could result in a misdiagnosis, negatively impacting the patient’s health condition.

Adopting caution to improve overall patient outcomes 

Patient trust is paramount, and right now, that trust is lacking. Reportedly, 50% of patients are not fully sold on the medical advice provided to them through AI, but they are open to a combination of the tool with guided human input, striking a cautionary balance between utility and safety when it comes to handling a patient’s personal healthcare information. Providers can use their medical training and background, as well as their innate understanding of humans, to weed out inaccuracies provided by ChatGPT responses. The right combination of AI and human interaction can potentially improve a patient’s overall healthcare journey. 

Another way to improve a patient’s experience and outcome when working with these tools is by molding generative-AI models, like chatbots, to fit a specific health system’s need. This combination is a win-win for patients and providers, reducing administrative burden by improving simple tasks like appointment scheduling, pre-and post-visit intake forms, billing and statements, etc., and providing patients with a seamless way to access non-urgent healthcare questions in a timely manner. 

Current regulation landscape 

There are still gaps across the industry when it comes to regulating generative-AI, like ChatGPT, in healthcare, which can be detrimental to a patient and potentially risk breached data and public exposure of private, sensitive healthcare information, protected by HIPAA laws. There are existing ways of utilizing this tool in a HIPAA-compliant manner to properly secure patients’ personal data and provide an added barrier of security and peace of mind.

While there is still much to be learned about generative-AI models, these tools can be useful to healthcare workers if introduced and utilized properly. Through a careful combination of providers practicing caution when using these tools, including looking for any data errors or misinformation, we can begin to see an improvement in overall patient healthcare outcomes and satisfaction.  

About Matt Cohen
Matt Cohen, Director of AI at Loyal, is passionate about improving the healthcare experience through intelligent software. Before Matt joined Loyal, he spent several years performing research in areas that include machine learning, speech, signal and audio signal processing at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the University of Maryland, College Park. He worked as a software engineer and application support engineer at MathWorks, with a focus on machine learning, and was initially hired as a Software Engineer, Applied Machine Learning, at Loyal. As the Director of AI, Matt oversees the company’s machine learning strategy and the AI team, finding new ways to “…provide technology that guides individualized healthcare actions at scale, and creates efficiency within operations.”

What You Should Know: 

– A significant 87% of digital health investors stated that generative AI solutions have influenced their investment strategies, with nearly 1 out of 5 respondents indicating that it is significantly affecting their strategy,  according to the results of an online survey from GSR Ventures. 

– GSR Ventures, an early-stage digital health investment firm with over $3.5B in assets under management, conducted an online poll in September 2023 with over 40 participants from leading firms in the investment community. The survey covered topics such as deal volume, valuations, industry opportunities, and sectors of opportunity for startups.

Key Findings of the report include: 

– Investment Trends: About 62.5% of investors expect to make the same number or more tech investments for the rest of 2023 compared to 2022.

– Lower Valuation Expectations: Most investors anticipate lower valuations for seed stage, Series A, and Series B companies, with decreases of 20% or more compared to 2022. The majority expect this trend to continue for the remainder of 2023.

– Promising Sectors: According to 55% of investors, the oncology specialty holds the most promise for startups, followed by cardiovascular care (37.5%). However, ophthalmology is seen as offering the least opportunity by nearly one-third (31%) of investors.

– Challenges and Opportunities: The shortage and burnout crisis among healthcare providers are seen as the most significant problem-solving opportunity for startup companies by 50% of investors, followed by changing reimbursement models at 26.3%.

“We expected that generative AI innovations had impacted the digital health investment community and our poll results certainly confirmed it, with nearly 1 out of 5 respondents attesting that it is ‘significantly’ influencing their strategy,” said Justin Norden, MD, MBA, a partner at GSR Ventures and adjunct professor at Stanford Medicine where he teaches courses on the subject to medical students. “It will be exciting to witness over the remainder of 2023 into 2024 the many new generative AI healthcare startups that enter the market. Hopefully, investor enthusiasm drives greater adoption of such technologies across an industry that would massively benefit from greater automation and efficiency.”

To review the full survey results, click here.

What You Should Know:

– Abridge, a company leading the way in generative AI for healthcare raises $30M in Series B funding led by Spark Capital, along with several leading healthcare innovators, including Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, CVS Health Ventures, UC Investments, Lifepoint Health, SCAN Health Plan, and the American College of Cardiology.

– Abridge’s generative AI scribe automatically converts a patient-clinician conversation into a structured clinical note draft in real-time, leveraging their proprietary AI pipeline.

“I want to care for patients, not paperwork.”

The solution has been proven to save clinicians over two hours per day from administrative burdens that previously took time away from patients and detracted from clinician work-life balance. In recent implementations, over 91% of notes across over 40 specialties were drafted solely with their AI, requiring minimal input from the clinician. The solution has been uniquely designed with trust and auditability, providing the ability to quickly see source data from any AI-generated summary.

Expansion Plans

The company plans to use the latest round of funding to support large-scale health system rollouts and accelerate product advances that will create additional value for patients, clinicians, and health systems.

“The investment and support of these iconic institutions is a game-changer for Abridge, dramatically accelerating what we can do to solve a critical issue facing every health system,” said Dr. Shiv Rao, co-founder and CEO of Abridge. “We are grateful to have an extraordinary and rapidly expanding group of partners who share our ambition to preserve the empathy and humanity in healthcare by enabling clinicians to be more present with their patients.”

What You Should Know:

– Found, a medically-assisted weight loss program launches Found Assistant, a generative AI guide within the Found app that offers members the ability to ask questions and discover instant and relevant information on nutrition, movement, health habits, and more.

– Found Assistant is available 24/7 to provide personalized guidance throughout members’ journeys and further support them in reaching their weight and health goals. During its soft launch in September, nearly one-third of beta users had more than one conversation with Found Assistant.

Power Instant Personalized Weight Guidance with Launch of Found Assistant

Over 70% of adults aged 20 and above in the U.S. have excess weight or obesity and are typically provided with the same outdated medical advice by well-intentioned primary care providers: balanced diet, exercise, and willpower. Just 50% of people adhere to long-term medical treatment plans, including taking prescribed medication, following a balanced diet, and executing lifestyle changes. Difficulty creating and keeping new routines, especially when it relates to weight care, happens for various reasons: some find it challenging to maintain a balanced diet while on the go, while others may need further guidance to fit movement into their daily schedules.

To better address these issues, Found Assistant supports the most challenging moments of member weight care journeys. Eliminating the overwhelm and labor associated with scattershot internet search results, Found Assistant instantly provides relevant educational information and personalized fitness routines, new recipes, lifestyle tips, curated guidance, and more based on member prompts, health histories, and personal preferences. For a member staying in a hotel with limited gym equipment, Found Assistant support and guidance is easily accessible and malleable. For example, it can automatically provide workouts that adapt to the member’s environmental change and help prevent the member from veering off their fitness routine.

“Found Assistant generative AI technology adapts to addressing behavior change and the user’s personal needs faster than any obesity practitioner in a brick or mortar setting or any digital health setting,” said Alex Linares, Chief Product Officer of Found. “Weight care journeys are inherently challenging, requiring dedication to new routines and guidance to achieve intended health outcomes. Found Assistant delivers an instant, personalized member experience that integrates well with the rest of the member experience at Found.”

Within the Found app, members can leverage an open-type field to prompt the Found Assistant with specific questions or use preset buttons to populate prompts for recipes, workout routines, meal plans, and habit-building. Members can review past saved conversations within the app, and all conversations with Found Assistant are kept anonymous. Found Assistant will continue to advance and provide opportunities to reshape and refine the weight loss industry for the better.

What You Should Know:

• Gero, a biotechnology company focused on aging and chronic diseases, has closed $6M in a Series A extension round.
• This funding round positions Gero to continue internal drug development programs, grow its scientific team to boost platform technology development, and expand its US presence. The round was led by Melnichek Investments, a Cyprus-based VC firm that seeks to improve the quality of human lives by funding and supporting promising, potentially high-impact, machine-learning startups, with the participation of VitaDAO and Leonid Lozner.

Exploring New Horizons with Cutting-Edge Generative AI Tools

By applying cutting-edge generative AI tools to analyze real-world longitudinal human health data, Gero is dedicated to finding novel cures for age-related diseases. Its goal is to unravel the mysteries behind human aging and halt the aging process.

“The large health model that we have trained is instrumental in the discovery of therapies targeting aging and age-related diseases, both in-house and via collaborations with pharmaceutical companies,” said Peter Fedichev, Gero co-founder and CEO. “Thanks to this recent funding from Melnichek Investments, coupled with their expertise in modern AI through backing many successful companies, we are now well positioned to accelerate our progress.”

Earlier this year, Gero announced a research partnership with Pfizer and is in talks with other pharmaceutical companies interested in addressing age-related diseases as a growing market. Gero’s advanced health model distinguishes the effects of aging from those of diseases, potentially transforming genetics-driven drug discovery for common conditions. Melnichek Investments recognized the potential in Gero’s mission to gain insights into the causes of age-related diseases and create new treatments using AI technology. Age-related diseases are complex and require an understanding of vast data sets beyond human capacity. Gero’s work emphasizes the importance of this realization and the solutions it offers. Gero is a leader in the emerging field of medical research, suggesting that aging can be treated and controlled with modern technology, rather than being an unavoidable part of human existence.

What You Should Know:

• care.ai today announced at HLTH ‘23 it is building Google Cloud’s generative AI and data analytics tools into its Smart Care Facility Platform to improve healthcare facility management and patient care and move toward its vision for predictive smart care facilities.
• care.ai’s platform will help solve an acute and growing problem; there aren’t enough clinicians to deliver healthcare, and yet the amount of paperwork is growing.

Easing Administrative Burdens and Improving Healthcare Facility Management

Administrative costs in 2022 alone increased by $18 billion, a 30% increase in just one year, to reach $60 billion annually (CAQH). Additionally, within the next five years, the U.S. faces a projected shortage of more than 3.2 million front-line healthcare workers such as medical assistants, home health aides, and nursing assistants, according to a Mercer report.

By leveraging Google Cloud’s gen AI tools, including PaLM 2 on Vertex AI, and data analytics products BigQuery and Looker, care.ai’s Smart Care Facility Platform will reduce administrative burdens, help mitigate staffing shortages, and free up clinicians to spend more time with patients in 1.500 acute and post-acute facilities where care.ai’s platform is already deployed.

As the technology is further deployed and integrated, acute and post-acute facilities will become continuously learning, “self-aware” environments that leverage care.ai’s always-aware Ambient Intelligent Sensors to seamlessly provide clinical and operational teams with real-time ambient data, such as patient condition, room status, protocol and process adherence that keeps care teams better informed and empowered to meet patient needs. The Smart Care Facility Platform will also assist in creating discharge summaries, call summaries, recommend templates and other content for nurses, admissions, and discharge staff. Care.ai’s goal is to preemptively identify potential issues, enable real-time awareness, and improve predictive process adherence and resource allocation for more timely responses. This will enhance patient safety and experiences while autonomously optimising workflows and processes. 

“This collaboration brings us closer to our vision of predictive smart care facilities, as opposed to the current reactive care model, which relies on latent, manual, often inaccurate data entry,” said Chakri Toleti, CEO of care.ai. “This will enable the era of the smart hospital by making gen AI and ambient intelligence powerful assistive technologies, empowering clinicians, making healthcare safer, smarter and more efficient.”

care.ai is also leveraging Google Cloud’s Vertex AI Search, which combines deep information retrieval, state-of-the-art natural language processing, and the latest in large language processing to understand user intent and return the most relevant results for Smart Care Teams.

What You Should Know:

• Microsoft Corp. and Mercy are forging a long-term collaboration using generative AI and other digital technologies to give physicians, advance practice providers and nurses more time to care for patients and improve the patient experience.
• This work represents what’s next in healthcare for applying advanced digital technologies to the delivery of care to consumers.

Improving the Patient Experience Via Generative AI

“With the latest advances in generative AI, this moment marks a true phase change where emerging capabilities can help health care organizations address some of their most pressing challenges, create needed efficiency and transform care,” said Peter Lee, corporate vice president of research and incubations at Microsoft. “Mercy has a reputation for ongoing innovation and — through our years working together — has been a leader in the industry in creating an intelligent data platform on which to launch this kind of transformation. This is just the beginning, and it’s inspiring to see Mercy’s leadership adopting these tools to empower physicians, providers, nurses and all clinicians to improve patient care.”

Mercy plans to use Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to improve care in several immediate new ways:

1. Patients will have the information to better understand their lab results and engage in more informed discussions about their health with their provider through the help of generative AI-assisted communication. Patients will be empowered to get answers in simple, conversational language.
2. Mercy will apply generative AI when taking patient calls for actions like scheduling appointments. Beyond the initial call, the AI solution will provide recommendations for additional follow-up actions to make sure all the patient’s needs are met during a single interaction, limiting the need for follow-up calls.
3. A chatbot for Mercy co-workers will help quickly find important information about Mercy policies and procedures, and locate HR-related answers such as information on benefits or leave requirements. By helping nurses and co-workers find the information they need more quickly, they can spend more time on patient care.

The Microsoft Cloud, chosen as Mercy’s primary platform for continuous innovation, offers a reliable and comprehensive solution. It enhances efficiency, facilitates data connectivity and governance, enhances both patient and staff experience, extends reach to new communities, and establishes a foundation for ongoing innovation. Mercy leverages the secure centralization and organization of data in an AI-powered intelligent platform on Azure, enabling quicker adaptation to evolving clinician and patient expectations. For instance, Mercy can use secure data insights to reduce unnecessary hospital stays by providing care teams with smart dashboards and better visibility into factors affecting patient discharge. Moreover, Microsoft’s modern work solutions will boost Mercy’s staff productivity and communication, allowing them to dedicate more time to improving patient care and experiences.

What You Should Know:

– Augmedix, a provider of ambient medical documentation and data solutions, announced the early access release Augmedix Go, a clinician-controlled mobile app that uses generative AI to instantaneously create a fully automated draft medical note after each patient visit.

Augmedix Go harnesses proprietary natural language processing (NLP), large language models (LLMs), and structured data sets, key components of Augmedix’s tech stack. This powerful technology is utilized in a thoughtful manner to ensure comprehensive and highly accurate medical notes with appropriate guardrails that safeguard against errors.

Clinician-Controlled Mobile App for Acute & Ambulatory Settings

The new solution offers a variety of features to support busy healthcare clinicians throughout their clinic day, including summaries of key medical events, reminders of unfinished notes, and flexibility for post-visit dictation and text editing. The mobile app includes output control through a multimodal interface and can be utilized in both acute and ambulatory care settings. The new app can be deployed quickly across hospitals and health systems. Clinicians can get immediate access to review, edit and approve their medical notes, and can be integrated into any leading electronic health record (EHR) system.

“Augmedix was the first to bring to market the practice of ambient medical documentation to the nation’s leading health systems,” said Augmedix Founder, Director, and Chief Strategy Officer Ian Shakil. “Building upon the success of our full-service Augmedix Live and Augmedix Notes products, Augmedix Go is unique in that it reimagines the clinician experience at scale. This product serves as a prime example of the future of AI medical documentation.”

What You Should Know:

– COTA, a real-world oncology data and analytics company announced the launch of Vista, a large-scale automated EHR dataset to accelerate cancer research and the deployment of trusted generative AI in cancer care.

– Vista will provide biopharmaceutical companies with timely insights from real-world data sources to bring life-saving therapies to market faster. Vista uses automated data abstraction techniques, machine learning algorithms, and medical expert oversight to glean clinically relevant information from electronic medical records at scale.

How Vista Works

Unreliable data is the single largest barrier to unlocking generative AI as a breakthrough tool to transform cancer therapy for millions of patients. Vista sources data directly from the electronic medical record and COTA oncologists provide programmatic oversight of the data to ensure the information is clinically precise and relevant. This transparency is critical to power trustworthy AI tools. That information provides better insights into the holistic journey of cancer patient populations, with the goal of not only powering retrospective analyses but also enabling patient matching into clinical trials.

“Real-world data that tells a more complete story of a patient has accelerated our understanding of cancer and the development of lifesaving and life-extending therapies,” said Miruna Sasu, CEO of COTA. “Generative AI has even more potential to advance treatment options for millions of people if we can build trusted large language models for oncology. That means first curating and validating data at a fundamentally different pace and scale. That’s what we are doing with Vista.”

What You Should Know:

• Suki, the leader in voice artificial intelligence (AI) technology for healthcare, and MEDITECH, a leading electronic health record vendor, announced today a partnership to bring the power of Suki’s ambient listening and generative AI to MEDITECH users.
• Suki will integrate its flagship product, Suki Assistant, into MEDITECH Expanse, the industry’s first EHR designed for the native web. Suki Assistant combines ambient note generation along with dictation and commands in one seamless experience, giving users tremendous flexibility in their clinical workflows.

AI-Driven Models to Incorporate Ambient Listening and Note Generation for Smooth Consumer Experience in Clinical Settings

Suki is enhancing its renowned application suite, encompassing mobile, web, Windows, and Mac apps, with the addition of a new Chrome extension. This extension seamlessly integrates with MEDITECH Expanse, enabling users to effortlessly access information within the Suki platform and transmit completed notes directly to the Electronic Health Record (EHR).

Suki utilizes cutting-edge voice and AI technologies to assist healthcare professionals in streamlining clinical documentation and managing various administrative tasks. Recent research reveals that 63% of physicians are grappling with burnout, with a significant portion of this burden attributed to administrative responsibilities. Suki employs ambient technology to capture and analyze clinician-patient interactions, harnessing generative AI to automatically propose note content. These suggestions can be readily reviewed, accepted, rejected, or modified using voice commands.

“Generative AI is demonstrating tremendous potential to transform clinician workflows for reducing clinician burnout and for the betterment of patient care,” said Rebecca Lancaster, MEDITECH’s Director of Product Management. “We recognize the meaningful contributions Suki’s clinician-focused ambient listening technology is already delivering to the industry and are excited to partner with them to provide our customers with the latest innovations in Generative AI.” 

Suki helps clinicians reduce documentation time by 72%, based on a study conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians, giving them more bandwidth for patient care and personal interests, thus delivering positive ROI for healthcare systems. The U.S. spends nearly $4 trillion on healthcare annually, with physician burnout contributing an estimated $4.6 billion in yearly costs. With such economic pressure on health systems and documentation burden driving clinicians out of medicine, Suki helps organizations tackle these issues in a meaningful way. Suki is used by 125+ health systems and clinics across the country, supporting clinicians across 30+ specialties.

What You Should Know: 

– Healthcare data analytics company Arcadia launches a generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant powered by Open AI, that will help boost productivity and improve care team efficiency.

– Care managers play a critical role in the healthcare delivery system, but they are stretched thin, having to quickly review and interpret massive amounts of information from complex medical records. Arcadia’s AI assistant does the heavy lifting with the ability to catch “needle in the haystack” insights (like an undocumented medical condition). With this tool, care managers can alleviate burnout and focus on higher-value work, with the goal of improving patient care.

Seamless Integration with Arcadia’s Data Platform 

The AI assistant plugs in to Arcadia’s data platform to generate and provide patient summaries to members of the care team, such as a nurse, to improve care coordination. Care teams can also use the assistant to improve patient communication by translating dense instructions into simpler terms that are easier for patients to understand and follow. Arcadia plans to deploy additional AI capabilities, including broadening support for unstructured media and data types and a development factory where users can leverage Arcadia’s data platform to build and run self-service AI applications. The company also plans to support an ecosystem of multi-modal generative models.

“The healthcare industry continues to embrace technology to reimagine how care is delivered and support the workforce with tools that maximize their abilities,” said Nick Stepro, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Arcadia. “For years, Arcadia has used AI to meticulously aggregate and cleanse healthcare data to create a high-quality and accurate data asset, power proprietary risk adjustment algorithms, and automate care management workflows. Now, we’re taking that a step further by enabling customers to harness the power of AI to effectively utilize data at a scale and pace that maximizes its value.”

Walgreens and Pearl Health, a provider enablement company has announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the expansion of value-based care in collaboration with community-based primary care physicians. As part of the strategic partnership, Walgreens will provide complementary services, including prescription fulfillment, medication adherence, immunizations, care gap closure and diagnostic testing. In addition, Walgreens will also work with providers to help patients discharged from the hospital transition to home.

Best Buy Health and Geisinger expand their work together to bring a better level of care to more patients within the Geisinger network. Developing innovative care models by leveraging advanced technology and logistics services, Best Buy Health and Geisinger are looking to scale the way chronic disease can be managed at home. Together, they will design a comprehensive package of technology and services to empower patients and support healthcare organizations as they operate their own chronic condition management programs.

Mayo Clinic and GE HealthCare have formed a strategic healthcare collaboration for research and product development programs aimed to transform the experience of patients and clinicians in the practice of radiology and the delivery of novel therapies. The Strategic Collaboration for Innovation in Medical Imaging and Theranostics comprises Mayo Clinic and GE HealthCare scientists, technology developers, clinicians and other healthcare providers. The partnership seeks to better equip clinicians with technology to precisely diagnose and treat medical conditions and personalize the patient experience at each step of their care journey through the clinical translation of novel technologies and approaches to medical imaging and theranostics.

Blue Shield of California and Salesforce expand collaboration to meet members’ need for unified experiences by leveraging the agility and breadth of the Salesforce platform. With its adoption of Salesforce Health Cloud, Blue Shield of California will be able to expand and scale more in-depth care management services to its members, promoting higher quality care.

SohoMD, the foremost online mental health platform focused on comprehensive biological psychiatry forms a first-of-its-kind partnership with Withings Health Solutions, the Healthcare division of Withings, the global leader in at-home connected health. Through this new partnership, SohoMD patients who opt for holistic treatment plans may purchase Withings Body Pro scales and BPM Connect Pro blood pressure and heart rate monitors through SohoMD’s online shop at www.sohomdstore.com.

GE HealthCare and Mass General Brigham form a strategic collaboration on the co-development of an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that will help increase scheduling operations effectiveness and productivity. The first innovative AI app from the collaboration is the schedule predictions dashboard of Radiology Operations Module (ROM), a digital imaging tool that helps optimize scheduling, reduce cost, and free providers from administrative burden, allowing more time for the clinician-patient relationship. ROM is commercially available to healthcare institutions.

Paige joins forces with Microsoft in the fight against cancer, making headway in their collaboration to transform cancer diagnosis and patient care by building the world’s largest image-based artificial intelligence (AI) models for digital pathology and oncology. Paige is developing with Microsoft a new AI model that is orders-of-magnitude larger than any other image-based AI model existing today, configured with billions of parameters. This model assists in capturing the subtle complexities of cancer and serves as the cornerstone for the next generation of clinical applications and computational biomarkers that push the boundaries of oncology and pathology.

23andMe, a human genetics and biopharmaceutical company, and the non-profit Sickle Cell 101, have joined forces to expand awareness of people’s sickle cell carrier status. The collaboration will include DNA testing and access to 23andMe’s Health + Ancestry Service for up to 1,000 eligible participants, and 23andMe will be providing monetary support to Sickle Cell 101 to support this effort.

Flatiron Health renews collaboration with the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) of the FDA to jointly develop and implement specific research projects to advance the use of Real World Data (RWD) and explore the potential strengths and limitations of using Real World Evidence (RWE) for regulatory purposes. The partnership will specifically evaluate RWD study designs and analytic methods through the collaborative development of priority, clinically meaningful research questions regarding care, treatment, and outcomes of patients with cancer.

Cedar, an enterprise financial engagement platform that improves the end-to-end journey for consumers collaborates with Google Cloud to leverage its generative AI tools, including Vertex AI, Generative AI App Builder and others to build solutions that will assist patients in understanding and resolving their healthcare bills. By leveraging Google Cloud’s enterprise AI and machine learning solutions, including Vertex AI, Generative AI App Builder, Document AI and Contact Center AI, Cedar will be able to accelerate its development of LLM applications within its Cedar Suite.

FluidAI Medical, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup and developer of the Stream™ Platform for post-surgical monitoring forms a strategic partnership with Medtronic Canada ULC, a subsidiary of the global healthcare technology company, Medtronic PLC. Together, they are working to revolutionize Canadian healthcare through the Continuous Connected Patient Care (CCPC) project under Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, known as DIGITAL. The CCPC project aims to allow patients to continue their care at home after discharge through the development of new predictive analytics, AI, and home monitoring technology that integrates with current medical systems for uninterrupted care from hospital to home.

FIGS, Inc., the direct-to-consumer healthcare apparel and lifestyle brand, and Eko Health, an innovator in digital health technology for heart and lung disease detection, today announced the launch of the FIGS | Eko CORE 500TM Digital Stethoscope. The collaboration unites two companies that have reinvented two healthcare professionals’ mainstays — scrubs and stethoscopes — through new technology, modern design, and authentic connections with the healthcare community. 

 HealthEM.AI announced a strategic partnership with WellBe Senior Medical, a leading organization delivering home-based medical care for older patients with multiple comorbidities. WellBe leverages HealthEM.AI to integrate claims and electronic health record data in multiple formats and normalize data. HealthEM.AI provides complete member 360 across records, files, service locations, and states. 

Deciphex, a trailblazer in digitizing and networking global pathologists, has joined forces with Xybion, a global leader in unified cloud software solutions for regulated industries. The collaboration between Deciphex and Xybion introduces an integration that offers a seamless synergy between their platforms. This integration provides real-time digital slide availability during pathology data entry. 

Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) partners with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (Cost Plus Drugs), a pioneer in affordable medicines, and the COPD Foundation, dedicated to enhancing the lives of COPD patients. The collaboration aims to bolster access to healthcare by expanding the availability of Tiotropium Bromide Inhalation Powder, 18 mcg/capsule, to COPD patients in the US. Lupin’s Tiotropium Bromide Inhalation Powder, 18 mcg/capsule, is currently the only generic product available that is therapeutically equivalent to Spiriva® HandiHaler® (Tiotropium Bromide Inhalation Powder), 18 mcg/capsule by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Bicycle Health, the nation’s largest provider of telemedicine treatment for opioid use disorder partners with Albertsons pharmacies to make prescriptions for buprenorphine extended-release injections (known as Sublocade) available to patients across 17 states through a partnership with. This collaboration increases access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) by enabling Bicycle Health’s doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to prescribe monthly injections of buprenorphine that can be filled inside an Albertsons’ pharmacy as an alternative to taking buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) orally, every day.

What You Should Know:

• A new study from Bain & Company and KLAS Research shows US healthcare providers are accelerating spending on IT and software. The research shows nearly 80% of healthcare executives say they increased spending materially over the past year, spurred by emerging technologies—particularly generative AI—labor shortages, and cost pressures.
• The survey of more than 200 US healthcare provider executives showed nearly 75% are expecting growth in software and technology spending to continue over the next year. These are among the findings of Bain and KLAS’s 2023 Healthcare Provider IT Report.

Key Insights from the 2023 Healthcare Provider IT Report

Academic medical centers (AMCs), as well as large hospitals and health systems, expect a stronger increase in their own spending than smaller operators due to a greater focus on innovation and financial flexibility. Top drivers of new investment include technological advances and the availability of new solutions, particularly around patient engagement and cybersecurity, with intense labor shortages and financial pressures driving spending.

“As AI moves out from the silos of the IT department and into the C-suite agenda, providers are accelerating their investments in IT and tech solutions and looking to streamline their vendor lists,” said Eric Berger, a partner in Bain’s Healthcare & Life Sciences practice. “AI has the power to transform many processes and workflows. However, this shift hinges on the technology’s ability to demonstrate productivity gains in real-world applications without increasing clinical risk. The best vendors will offer AI and other technologies that create clear returns to providers and help mitigate structural challenges facing the US healthcare industry.”

Prioritizing revenue cycle management and clinical workflow optimization

Driven by financial challenges and shrinking margins, the study shows executives prioritize investments in areas with clear, near-term ROIs, such as revenue cycle management (RCM) and clinical workflow optimization software. Patient engagement has moved up the list of priorities, particularly among more advanced or digitally mature providers. In addition to RCM and clinical workflow optimization, the survey found freestanding hospitals and physician groups are prioritizing other core systems, namely electronic health records (EHR) and IT infrastructure. 

Providers want fewer vendors and seamless EHR integration

Providers continue to express a preference for fewer vendors. The survey showed nearly two-thirds of respondents saying they look first to existing vendors, especially electronic health record providers, for new functionality before evaluating new vendors and offerings. While 94% of respondents are open to looking elsewhere if existing vendors lack a solution or have a significant functionality gap, seamless EHR integration is a key purchasing criterion for all healthcare providers evaluating IT solutions.

AI strategy moves from the IT department to the C-suite

Around 70% of health system respondents indicate they believe AI will have a greater impact on their organization than last year, moving AI strategies from the IT department to the C-suite. While only 6% of respondents have a generative AI strategy today, the survey found about 50% of respondents are actively developing a strategy or planning to do so in the near-term. Relative to other provider segments, AMCs lead in AI adoption both today and over the next year. Providers with more advanced AI strategies, especially AMCs, have positive AI sentiments overall due to the potential for greater efficiency, improved patient outcomes, and cost savings.

What You Should Know:

• Notable, the leading automation platform for patient engagement and staff workflows, launched Notable Assistant, a first-of-its-kind patient assistant designed to expand access to healthcare information and services using large language models (LLMs) and conversational AI.
• Built on the rich data at the heart of the Notable platform, Patient AI, Notable Assistant introduces an accessible experience, in which every patient has a personal guide navigating them through the intricacies of the healthcare system.

Leveraging Large Language Models and Conversational AI to Improve Healthcare Information Accessibility

Today, patients prefer to use digital tools for basic tasks like finding a doctor or scheduling an appointment. Notable research found that 70% of patients who tried online scheduling were redirected to a phone call. Tasks that should be simple quickly become cumbersome as patients are pushed to overloaded call centers. It doesn’t have to be this way.

“Patients today struggle just to get access to care and to navigate their way through the maze of the healthcare system,” said Aaron Neinstein, Chief Medical Officer at Notable. “With Assistant, patients can use their native language to manage their care and access the information they need, quickly, without having to pick up the phone. By putting large language models to work to eliminate administrative barriers to care, we are taking meaningful steps to rebuild the patient-physician relationship.”

Notable Assistant allows any health system to provide a single, AI-powered entry point to their services and information through their website, mobile application, or portal. Using content from a health system’s website, call scripts, existing staff workflows, and EHR data, Notable Assistant allows patients to:

1. Access provider services and information
2. Find a doctor that meets their specific needs
3. Schedule, reschedule, or cancel an appointment
4. Find directions to a clinic
5. Pay outstanding bills or inquire about financial assistance
6. Request a prescription refill.

What You Should Know:

• Elsevier Health, a global leader in information and data analytics, released its Clinician of the Future 2023 report, which serves as the global health ecosystem’s most recent pulse on what doctors and nurses think about the changes and challenges in healthcare, including the rapid rise of generative AI products and platforms.
• The report finds that almost half of all doctors and nurses are eager for physicians to utilize this innovative technology in the future to support their clinical decision-making, further affirming the need to drive a technological shift in healthcare.

Analysing the Current State of Healthcare Using Data-Driven Metrics

The current study comes one year after the launch of the inaugural Clinician of the Future report, which provided a voice for clinicians and a mandate for change to help future-proof the global health industry. This new report champions the experiences and views of 2,607 doctors and nurses worldwide, underscoring the gravity of healthcare workforce challenges highlighted in the original survey, but now putting an additional lens on the future role of generative AI technologies across global healthcare.

Participants across both Clinician of the Future reports spotlight concerns around overwhelming resource issues for healthcare systems worldwide, even as they face substantial treatment backlogs. Clinician shortages remain the top concern in North America and Europe. 54% of clinicians surveyed for the 2023 report still identify nurse shortages as a pressing health priority. Interestingly, 45% similarly reported the need to tackle doctor shortages. This reinforces the urgent need for innovative solutions, such as generative AI, to address clinician shortages, as well as identify opportunities for efficiencies and training to both enhance clinical readiness and provide much needed clinician support.

Jan Herzhoff, President of Elsevier Health said, “As healthcare systems continue to face significant challenges, we must raise the voices of doctors and nurses worldwide to understand how we can best support them and the patients they care for. In this pursuit, advanced technology combined with trusted medical content emerges as a powerful ally, and generative AI, particularly, shows immense promise in helping clinicians.”

As global healthcare systems progress towards a more digital-first approach, the findings in the Clinician of the Future 2023 report demonstrate that the workforce not only recognizes the potential new technologies like generative AI provide to innovate global healthcare but also how they can help improve patient care today and in the future.