Literature Review

How healthcare AI is regulated by the FDA, HHS, state laws Modern Healthcare, by Gabriel Perna; 3/26/24 Widespread oversight of artificial intelligence in healthcare is still a work in progress but that doesn’t mean the technology is completely unregulated. ... There are areas where developers, providers and insurers are regulated in how they use AI. Federal agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Health and Human Services Department have some oversight authority. Also, a few states have enacted laws governing use of AI within clinical care.

5 weeks of uncertainty: How the Change breach has unfolded Modern Healthcare, by Tim Broderick; 3/25/24 The healthcare industry is starting to play catch-up following a cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare subsidiary nearly five weeks ago that forced the company to disconnect its vital everyday systems. Change Healthcare processes about 50% of medical claims and manages prior authorization requests and reimbursement processes. The unprecedented network outage has forced hospitals, nursing homes, pharmacies and other providers to scramble as they try to mitigate operational and financial challenges. ... Here's a closer look at the fallout from the Change Healthcare cyberattack.

AI scribe saves doctors an hour at the keyboard every dayAMA, by Andis Robeznieks; 3/18/24 When a health system rolls out new technology that it insists will make physicians’ lives easier, the announcement is typically met with skepticism. But the use of augmented intelligence (AI)—often called artificial intelligence—has changed that. The Permanente Medical Group’s rollout of ambient AI scribes to reduce documentation burdens has been deemed a success, saving most of the physicians using it an average of one hour a day at the keyboard. ... Refinement of the tool, however, is ongoing. ... For example, one physician mentioned scheduling a patient’s prostate exam, but the AI scribe recorded that the exam had been performed. 

UnitedHealth says unit Change has restored and rebuilt functions handled by Amazon Reuters; 3/20/24 UnitedHealth Group said on Wednesday its unit Change Healthcare's cloud-based services for handling medical claims were completely rebuilt and restored, about a month after a cybersecurity attack on the subsidiary crippled healthcare in the United States. Amazon's cloud services for two of Change Healthcare's applications were restored from backups and cleared by their cybersecurity partners, the insurer said. 

Give generative AI another decade to revolutionize healthcare Modern Healthcare - Opinion, by Keith Figoli; 3/15/24... Generative artificial intelligence is poised to transform healthcare by enabling solutions to effectively address [common patient care] challenges. This cutting-edge technology opens new avenues for innovation in diagnosis, treatment planning, operations efficiency and overall healthcare delivery–and industry leaders are taking notice. A recent survey revealed that 25% of healthcare organizations implemented a generative AI solution in 2023, while 58% plan to adopt one this year. However, the generative AI-driven transformation won’t – and shouldn’t – happen overnight.

Creating a community-led telehealth approach for supportive cancer care mHealthIntelligence, by Anuja Vaidya; 3/18/24 Tennessee Oncology is joining forces with rural patients to explore strategies for expanding telehealth access to supportive cancer care services. ... The NEST program aims to expand access to palliative care, psychology, and integrative oncology and nutrition services among rural cancer patients in seven Middle Tennessee counties: Robertson, Dickson, Putnam, Dekalb, Warren, Bedford, and Coffee counties.

Healthcare hit hardest by ransomware last year, FBI IC3 report shows HealthITSecurity, by Jill McKeon; 3/12/24 The healthcare sector suffered more ransomware attacks than any other critical infrastructure sector last year, according to complaint data examined in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 Internet Crime Report. ... In 2023, IC3 received a record 880,418 complaints, with losses exceeding $12.5 billion. These figures signify a 10 percent increase in complaints received and a 22 percent increase in losses suffered compared to last year’s report.

HIMSS24: Change Healthcare outage is the elephant in the room Modern Healthcare - Digital Health, by Brock E.W. Turner; 3/14/24 There's certainly buzz about the Change Healthcare data breach at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference. But getting executives to talk openly about it is a non-starter. The breach, which has hobbled systems nationwide, has put even greater emphasis on the topics of cybersecurity and protecting patient data. But many attendees at the event in Orlando, Florida, have been unwilling to discuss it on the record, citing their relationship with the claims processing company owned by UnitedHealth Group.

Data breach affects more than 2,000 Texas hospital patients Becker's Health IT, by Madeline Ashley; 3/13/24Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center has been hit with a data breach that is affecting 2,094 patients, according to a data security breach report on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's website. ... The type of patient information breached includes addresses, medical information, health insurance, date of birth, and "other." "The incident involved internal use of unapproved software and did not involve a cyberattack or external exposure of data," a spokesperson for UT Southwestern Medical Center said in a statement shared with Becker's. 

Healthcare execs need to 'iterate faster' for success, says CIO Becker's Health IT, by Laura Dyrda; 3/13/24 Baton Rouge, LA-based Franciscan Ministries of Our Lady Health System embarked on a journey last year to incorporate more artificial intelligence into its operational and clinical systems. Will Landry, senior vice president and CIO of the system, said while the organization doesn't want AI making decisions, there is a lot of value in supporting caregivers and team mates. He joined the "Becker's Healthcare Podcast" to share the health system's strategy for governance and his push for more innovative thinking around AI applications.

Providers push lawmakers to make telehealth provisions permanent McKnights Home Care, by Foster Stubbs; 3/11/24 More than 200 healthcare organizations including LeadingAge and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice recently signed a letter to congressional leadership urging the permanent adoption of telehealth provisions affecting Medicare beneficiaries. Current provisions, which are set to expire at the end of the year, allow beneficiaries to access telehealth services in their home. 

US officials call on UnitedHealth to accelerate payments to providers The United Business Journal, by Rahul Kumar; 3/11/24In a recent open letter, officials from the U.S. government expressed urgency for UnitedHealth Group to expedite payments to healthcare providers. This plea came in the wake of a debilitating cyberattack on the insurer’s Change Healthcare tech unit, which severely disrupted medical claims processing and payments. The U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services emphasized the critical need for UnitedHealth to take swift action to ensure that healthcare providers do not face financial strain due to the cyberattack.

Why healthcare cyberattacks last so long Becker's Health IT, by Giles Bruce; 3/7/24 The cyberattack on Change Healthcare that has caused disruptions across a wide swath of the industry has entered its third week. But why do these IT outages last so long?