Healthcare AI Guy Weekly Newsletter | 3/5

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ViVE 2024 recap and highlights

ViVE 2024 is officially a wrap! As expected, AI took center stage this year from automating medical documentation to making it easier for patients to get information about their medical care. Below are our top AI-related announcements from the conference:

• Veradigm, the healthcare data & analytics platform (fmr. Allscripts), acquired ScienceIO, a healthcare AI startup, for $140M. The deal will allow Veradigm to leverage ScienceIO's proprietary AI models on Veradigm's data set, inclusive of 400,000 providers and 200 million+ patients. (link)

• Humana, announced a partnership with data automation company Veda to improve the accuracy of its provider information and ensure seniors have real-time details about in-network providers. (link)

• DeepScribe, is working with Amazon Web Services to scale purpose-built healthcare LLMs and is incorporating AWS HealthScribe into its platform while also making its ambient documentation tool available to health systems through AWS Marketplace. (link)

• Biofourmis, is partnering with GE HealthCare to enhance continuity of care during transitions from the hospital to the home. Biofourmis’ care-at-home solutions will extend GE HealthCare’s inpatient monitoring portfolio. (link)

• Highmark, is joining forces with Epic and Google to bring more data to the point of care. Epic will enable “bidirectional” data sharing between the payor and providers, while Google Cloud will allow the tech to integrate with Highmark’s existing systems. (link)

• Health systems, are using AI in various ways to address industry challenges. Houston Methodist is using AI to redesign the care experience, including the development of "smart hospital rooms" and virtual medicine capabilities. Northwell Health is investing in AI through its "AI catalyzer" program, aiming to improve healthcare quality, safety, and efficiency. (link)

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Physician burnout increasing but AI can help

Athenahealth’s 2024 Physician Sentiment Survey found that nearly all of the 1,000+ respondents feel burned out on a regular basis (93%), with an average of 15 hours spent on after-hours work per week. As a result, 56% said they’ve considered leaving the field or no longer seeing patients.

However, many physicians are optimistic about advancements in healthcare AI with 83% saying AI could eventually reduce “many of the problems facing healthcare.” It’s good to know physicians are largely viewing AI as part of the solution, as the technology will greatly impact their role as care providers. (link)

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Health exec’s priorities for this year

Health Enterprise Partners and L.E.K. Consulting published a report that unpacks the results of a survey of 115 healthcare executives on their pain points, investment priorities, and strategic objectives heading into 2024. As expected genAI is on everyone’s minds, albeit for slightly different reasons.

For payers — leveraging AI is crucial for reducing costs by automating administrative tasks and enhancing risk contracting and analytics.

For providers — addressing labor challenges remains a top priority. In line with the physician sentiment survey report, utilizing technology to mitigate labor shortages and ease administrative burden stands out as key.

Overall, the chart below is a good summary of the findings across several major themes. AI will clearly play a big part in addressing cost reduction & revenue enhancement, labor challenges, patient acquisition & engagement, care setting optimization, and more. (link)

Tool Box 🧰

Latest on business, consumer, and clinical healthcare AI tools and partnerships…

LATEST TOOLS

• AI unlocks new prostate cancer findings: A new study from Cancer Research UK just uncovered two previously unknown subtypes of prostate cancer using AI, laying the groundwork for personalized treatments and more accurate diagnosis for one of the most common cancers found in men. (link)

• Sharp Healthcare launches Apple Vision Pro project: Sharp Healthcare is opening a ‘Spatial Computing Center of Excellence’ that will focus on developing novel ways to use the Apple Vision Pro in patient care settings. The research team will evaluate the impacts of spatial computing across various roles and look to identify potential use cases from the operating room to the bedside. (link)

• Amazon training AI chatbot for One Medical: Amazon is training an AI chatbot to handle incoming patient messages and address administrative queries for One Medical. (link)

• Hippocratic AI is testing its large language model: Over 40 provider groups, health systems, and digital health companies will begin internal testing of a generative AI-powered ‘healthcare provider’ developed by Hippocratic AI. (link)

PARTNERSHIPS

• Elsevier Health & OpenEvidence partner on AI-driven ‘ClinicalKey’: Elsevier Health has launched an AI-driven version of its flagship clinical decision support tool, ClinicalKey, in partnership with AI company OpenEvidence. The new version has an advanced conversational search interface to help doctors more quickly find the information they need. (link)

• Mercy & Microsoft partner on internal AI chatbot: St. Louis-based Mercy teamed up with Microsoft to create an AI-powered chatbot to act as a ‘super-smart assistant’ for its employees. Named “Joy,” the chatbot is powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and can answer colleagues’ questions about their benefits. (link)

Deal Desk 💸 

Spotlight on latest capital raises, M&A, and investments…

FRESH FUNDING

• Reveleer, an AI-enabled data & analytics company, raised $65M in funding. The startup provides a software platform that helps payors with several VBC-focused workflows, including risk adjustment, quality measurements, and member engagement. (link)

• HealthSnap, a remote patient monitoring and chronic care management platform for healthcare providers closed $25M in Series B funding. The HealthSnap platform includes disease-agnostic RPM and chronic condition management, as well as AI-guided care coordination, virtual care delivery, and population analytics. (link)

• Sonus Microsystems, a Vancouver-based developer of ultrasound technology for healthcare, wearables, and industrial applications, raised $2.1M in pre-seed funding. LDV Capital led the round and was joined by angel investors and others. (link)

• Ema, a developer of an AI women’s health assistant, raised ~$2M in a bridge round from Kubera VC and Victorum Capital. (link)

• Vysioneer, a Boston-based oncology AI company, raised $1.7M in seed funding. Chaac Ventures led the round and was joined by Roger Ferguson Jr. and others. (link)

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• Veradigm + ScienceIO, Veradigm, the healthcare data & analytics platform (fmr. Allscripts), acquired ScienceIO, a healthcare AI startup, for $140M. The deal will allow Veradigm to leverage ScienceIO's proprietary AI models on Veradigm's data set, inclusive of 400,000 providers and 200 million+ patients. (link)

Other Relevant News 🔍

News, podcasts, blogs, tweets, resources, etc…

• Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis predicts AI-designed prescription drugs to be in clinical trials in next years (link)

• “AI will cure cancer” misunderstands both AI and medicine (link)

• Healthcare orgs using genAI to solve fundamental challenges (link)

• Opinion: AI chatbots will not warn public on potential healthcare Harm (link)

• Concerns raised Microsoft’s copilot chatbot producing harmful responses (link)

• Questions emerge over use of AI in prior authorization (link)

• AI utilization expected to increase in 2024 (link)

Visuals of the Week 📸

Funny memes, cool pics, and interesting data from around the web…’