Healthcare AI News

Good morning! Welcome to the first edition of Healthcare AI News, your weekly dose of the latest developments and headlines in the world of healthcare AI.

This week learn about what's in store in healthcare technology for 2023. AI is making tremendous advances; it may help diagnose and treat cancer, and Chat GPT passed the same test questions aspiring doctors are asked. But don't fear; a physician AI expert explains how technology can assist, not replace, doctors. This newsletter also looks at the latest news on the expansions and declines in telehealth usage. All that and more in this week's edition of Healthcare AI News

In Today’s email:

• Headline Roundup: Catch up on the latest developments and headlines in the world of healthcare AI.

• The Feature: This week’s highlighted healthcare AI industry story on how AI is redefining provider network management.

• Industry News: Get a quick rundown on most important healthcare news.

• Tech News: Keep abreast of the newest trends in healthcare AI.

• Deal Flow: A brief run-down of M&A in the healthcare industry.

Let's dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

• Artificial Intelligence: A Game Changer in the Fight Against Cancer. Artificial intelligence (AI) parks our cars, knows what movies we like and creates grocery lists for us. But could artificial intelligence actually help diagnose and treat cancer? (HH)

• Researchers just tested ChatGPT on the same test questions as aspiring doctors – and found the AI was ‘comfortably in passing range’ (TI)

• Telehealth utilization has declined by almost 4%. The decline was larger than the national average in the South, Midwest, and West, and there was an increase in the Northeast. (HF)

• Demystifying AI’s role in healthcare to reassure new providers and old pros. Studies show that many medical students fear artificial intelligence. One physician AI expert, Dr. Michael Donovan, explains how the technology can assist, not replace, doctors in pathology, diagnostic radiology, and anesthesiology. (HF)

• How technology will shape healthcare in 2023, experts share predictions for virtual care, AI, the digital health market, and data privacy for this year (HD)

• GE HealthCare taps informatics leader Taha Kass-Hout as new CTO. With its spinoff now complete, it hired the machine learning expert – who has leadership experience in the private sector, at Amazon, and in government at the FDA – to help develop new approaches to analytics and personalized care. (HIT)

• Sanford Health's CIO discusses virtual care, workforce challenges, and the modern data ecosystem. Brad Reimer faces health IT challenges and crafts many innovations, including a $350 million telehealth program. He shares how his and his team's work is positively changing the vast health system. (HF)

• State Medicaid programs want to keep telehealth expansions, KFF analysis finds. States reported high utilization of behavioral telehealth services across all or most populations served by Medicaid. Many reported permanent adoption of pandemic-era telehealth policy expansions. (HF)

THE FEATURE

How AI is redefining provider network management

Artificial intelligence, more popularly known as AI, has been taking the world by storm, with everything from instantly generated art to warehouse management to improving patient care and treatment for all involved.

In healthcare, technological advances are nothing new. Think, for example, of the switch from paper charts to digital. While it was certainly an adjustment, it allowed for easier sharing of patient information among care teams. It decreased errors from hard-to-read handwriting, which we know isn't a physician's forte.

The latest healthcare trend is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into provider network management. By utilizing AI, the healthcare industry can improve the way healthcare providers and payers interact, with the global provider network management market projected to reach $5.96 billion by 2026, according to a recent market research report. The compound annual growth rate of the market is 15.5%.

The Current State of Provider Network Management

Currently, provider network management is a complex and time-consuming process that involves coordinating care between various healthcare providers, payers, and patients. This process can be inefficient, with providers and payers struggling to communicate effectively and share patient information. The use of paper charts and manual processes can also lead to errors and a lack of transparency in the total cost of care for patients. In the US alone, the healthcare industry generates 30% of the world's data, but only 2% of it is used in decision-making.

AI's Benefits in Provider Network Management

AI offers the potential to improve provider network management in several ways. For example, companies like Innovaccer Inc. have developed AI-powered provider network management solutions that can enhance provider network performance, data collection, and analysis. Insurers can use these tools to reach out to providers and educate them about services and the total cost of care for patients. Another leader in healthcare tech is Centene Corporation, a US-based managed care company. In January 2022, Centene acquired Magellan Health Inc., a US-based provider network management organization, for $2.2 billion. The fusion of the companies' technologies helped them to increase their behavioral and specialty healthcare service portfolio and integrate healthcare solutions for patients at lower medical costs.

Considerations for Adopting AI in Provider Network Management

As healthcare providers and payers consider adopting AI in provider network management, they should keep in mind the importance of data privacy and security. They should also ensure that they have the necessary infrastructure and resources in place to support the integration of AI, and that they are working with reputable companies and vendors. Additionally, they should be prepared to adapt their processes and workflows to take full advantage of the benefits of AI.

INDUSTRY NEWS

• Pfizer CEO rules out generic COVID drug Paxlovid for China. Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) is not in talks with Chinese authorities to license a generic version of its COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid for use there, but is in discussions about a price for the branded product, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday. (RT)

• UnitedHealth brushes off hit from 'tripledemic' of respiratory diseases. (RT)

• Point32Health Collaborates with Valera Health to Enhance Access to Quality Mental Health Care in Massachusetts. (PRN)

• Cigna Earned the #1 Ranking for Corporate Citizenship in the Health Care Industry by JUST Capital and CNBC. (PRN)

• Alphabet's Verily announces layoffs amid strategic restructuring. The company's CEO said the layoffs will help Verily refine its strategy, prioritize its product portfolio and simplify its operating model. (MH)

• Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company adds another PBM partnership. Cuban tells MobiHealthNews that MCCPDC is working on adding partnerships with PBMs that "share our mission of cost-plus pricing, transparency and no rebates."(MH)

TECH NEWS

• Will your smartphone be the next doctor's office? Using smartphones as diagnostic tools is a work in progress.(HM)

• Telehealth Saves Healthcare Costs for Some Cancer Patients (TT)

• Study: Wearables could help detect patients struggling after traumatic event. The research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, found a wearable device could help detect and monitor patients facing poor sleep, pain and anxiety after trauma. (MH)

• The Future of Healthcare Unveiled by Info-Tech Research Group in New Trends Report (PRN)

• The global healthcare IT market is projected to reach USD 974.5 billion by 2027 from USD 394.6 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 19.8% (YF)

• How Healthcare Cybersecurity Benchmarking Can Help Sector Enhance Security Efforts (TT)

DEAL FLOW

• Huma acquires Alcedis to expand clinical trial platform (MH)

• Amazon's $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical moves a step forward (MH)

• Centene sells Magellan Rx to Prime Therapeutics (MHC)

• Health tech startup RedBrick AI has raised $4.6 million in a funding round led by Sequoia India (TC)

• Ferrum Health Raises $6 Million to Bring Artificial Intelligence into Healthcare(PRN)

• Peppy raises $45M for U.S. expansion and more digital health fundings (MH)

• Virtual nurse staffing firm ShiftKey gets $300M in funding (MHC)

• Digital health funding and deals roundup: Carbon Health’s $100M round preceded by layoffs (MHC)

TOP 5 TWEETS OF THE WEEK

DON'T MISS OUT ON FUTURE ISSUES!

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