Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Apps That Need Doctor's Prescription Could Be Wave Of Future Or Just 'Meaningless' Rebranding
The New York Times: Take This App and Call Me in the Morning
Health tech companies are making a big push to digitize medicine, introducing novel tools like digital pills that track when patients take their drugs and smart spoons that can automatically adjust to hand tremors.Now they want some patients to get prescription treatments from the app store as well. Later this year, doctors treating patients addicted to substances like cocaine and amphetamines will be able to prescribe Reset, an app that gives patients lessons to help them modify their behavior. The Food and Drug Administration cleared it in September as the first mobile medical app to help treat substance-use disorders. (Singer, 3/18)
In other health and technology related news —
Modern Healthcare: Chief Information Officers Roundtable: As Technology Drives Consumerism, Consumerism Drives Technology
High-tech, high-touch companies like Apple, Amazon, Google and Uber are not just knocking on healthcare's front door—they are poised to kick it down. The industry's glacial-like approach of adapting to new trends has never been more challenged. For chief information officers, that means embracing the shift to consumerism and fostering an environment where healthcare closely resembles how consumers interact with practically every other sector of the economy and their private lives. (Arndt, 3/17)
Dallas Morning News: Amazon Taps Health Information Expert With Texas Connection To Lead Health Tech Business
Amazon has tapped a former chief of health informatics for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who went to school in Texas to serve in a role focused on health care projects. Dr. Taha Kass-Hout, will work in a business development role, according to a report from CNBC citing a source with knowledge of the hire. Kass-Hout’s online profile says he holds a master of science in biostatistics in epidemiology and a doctor of medicine from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. (Rice, 3/16)
