Literature Review

7 health tech predictions for 2024McKnights Home Care, by Patrtick Tarnowski; 1/4/24

8 healthcare tech trends in 2024, per DataLinkBecker's Health IT, by Noah Schwartz; 12/28/23Health IT company DataLink projected eight trends in healthcare technology for 2024. Artificial technology dominated the trends list. Here are the eight healthcare technology predictions for 2024, according to a Dec. 28 DataLink news release:

West Monroe’s 3 healthcare outlooks for 2024: AI, cost pressures, dealmakingMedCityNews, by Marissa Plescia; 12/29/23 In a recent report, consulting firm West Monroe laid out three trends for the healthcare industry to watch out for:

Mass General Brigham's generative AI plans for '24Becker's Health IT, by Bruce Giles; 1/2/24Mass General Brigham plans to use generative artificial intelligence to compare patients to ones with similar profiles to help with their treatment, The Wall Street Journal reported. The health system also intends to release its first AI-powered diagnostic products as part of its new commercial AI office in the first half of 2024, according to the Dec. 29 story. ... With advancements in large language models, algorithms that scan medical images for insights used to take millions of dollars and several years to create, he told the news outlet. Now they can be built in a matter of months.

Chatty AI robot companions help seniors fight loneliness: ‘She makes them smile and brings joy’News8, by Terry Spencer; 12/31/23CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. ... The women are some of the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to alleviate the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. ... The robots are mostly distributed by assistance agencies in New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Washington state, but can also be purchased individually for $600 a year and a $250 installation fee. Skuler wouldn’t say how many ElliQs have been distributed so far, but the goal is to have more than 100,000 out within five years.

Denied by AI: How Medicare Advantage plans use algorithms to cut off care for seniors in needSTAT, by Casey Ross and Bob Herman; 12/28/23An algorithm, not a doctor, predicted a rapid recovery for Frances Walter, an 85-year-old Wisconsin woman with a shattered left shoulder and an allergy to pain medicine. In 16.6 days, it estimated, she would be ready to leave her nursing home. On the 17th day, her Medicare Advantage insurer, Security Health Plan, followed the algorithm and cut off payment for her care, concluding she was ready to return to the apartment where she lived alone. Meanwhile, medical notes in June 2019 showed Walter’s pain was maxing out the scales and that she could not dress herself, go to the bathroom, or even push a walker without help...

How broadband expansion is bolstering rural healthcareModern HealthcareDecember 26, 2023Health systems have emerged as crucial collaborators in government efforts to improve access to high-speed internet in rural communities. Nearly 30 million people in the U.S. live in places that lack broadband infrastructure, according to the Commerce Department. 

What Do Physicians Really Think of AI?MedCityNews, By Katie Adams, 12/18/23Nearly half of physicians are equally excited and concerned about the use of AI in their field, according to a new AMA survey. Those who felt optimistic about AI cited reduced administrative burden as the number one benefit they’re seeking. Patient privacy and the impact to the patient-physician relationship were the most common reasons physicians cited for having reservations about AI.

Skilled nursing seniors support VR with eye-popping enthusiasm, latest study showsMcKnight’s Senior LivingDecember 20, 2023Virtual reality is having a moment. Last month, a study showed that VR tools can help establish stronger ties between seniors and their caregivers at long-term care communities. Now, new study results show that seniors in skilled nursing facilities believe using VR tech overwhelmingly helped address feelings of loneliness and social isolation. 

Can AI Help You Die? Doctors in New Jersey are experimenting with software to prompt discussions with patients about palliative or hospice care.BloombergDecember 18, 2023Doctors can be slow to talk about the end of the traditional medical road. When they’ve been trying to manage a life-threatening illness or keep a terminal patient alive, bringing up palliative or hospice care can feel like giving up. But these options can radically improve quality of life, or the end of life, when traditional medicine hasn’t helped enough—if patients and their doctors figure it out in time. ... “When someone is actively declining, you can see it, but being able to predict before that happens is hard.” Can artificial intelligence software do a better job than humans of picking that moment? That’s the idea behind Serious Illness Care Connect, a software tool that about 150 doctors are testing in a pilot program in New Jersey’s largest health-care network, Hackensack Meridian Health. ... The Hackensack Meridian team stresses that the tool isn’t making decisions. “Think of this as a ‘check engine’ light,” says Lauren Koniaris, the chief medical informatics officer at Hackensack Meridian.

Compassus Looking For More AI Use Cases, Risk-Bearing Partners In Near-Term FutureHome Health Care NewsDecember 12, 2023As artificial intelligence becomes more applicable in health care, home-based care providers are finally diving into use cases that may work for them. The Brentwood, Tennessee-based Compassus is a prime example of that. A forward-thinking provider, it has been utilizing RPM and telehealth for years, even prior to COVID-19. Now, it’s looking at ways it can fit AI into its operations.