Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cancer-Detecting Software Shows Promise To Read Genetic Material For Treatment Clues, But Results Can Be Spotty, Study Shows
Stat: Study Highlights Challenges Using AI To Personalize Cancer Therapy
The top-line finding of the study by a team at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is that the system worked: It was able to scan pathology reports and pick out lung cancer patients with telltale genetic quirks, achieving an accuracy level of 95 percent on a Washington state data set. Automating that task is especially helpful for research, allowing doctors to track whether patients received appropriate treatment and determine how they fared. However, the system’s performance was spotty when it was asked to complete the same task on a group of patients in Kentucky. The study reported that the algorithm got tripped up by demographic and language variations, and differences in the way the tumor testing was recorded in the pathology reports. The accuracy varied widely, dipping as low as 20 percent on some tasks. (Ross, 5/6)
CQ: FDA Assessing Medical Devices With Artificial Intelligence
Imagine a not-too-distant future where medical devices powered by artificial intelligence continuously adapt to new symptoms presented by patients and learn how to make accurate diagnoses much like a well-trained physician would. The Food and Drug Administration is preparing for such a future and contemplating how to assess and certify such medical equipment, viewing them more like living things that cannot be regulated in the same manner as old fashioned devices. (Ratnam, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: Touchstone Medical Imaging To Pay $3 Million HIPAA Fine
Touchstone Medical Imaging has agreed to pay $3 million to HHS' Office for Civil Rights to settle potential HIPAA violations associated with a data breach that exposed more than 300,000 patients' protected health information. The Franklin, Tenn.-based diagnostic medical imaging services company will also adopt a corrective action plan as part of the settlement, HHS announced Monday morning. (Cohen, 5/6)
Arizona Republic: Student's Fight For Medical Records Inspires New Arizona Law
An Arizona college student forced to delay life-saving surgery because a hospital would not turn over her medical records is optimistic no one else will have to go through a similar ordeal. Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday signed a new law inspired by Caitlin Secrist's story in The Arizona Republic. (Sanders, 5/6)
Modern Healthcare: Kaiser To Launch Social Care Network
Kaiser Permanente will soon launch a new care network that connects the system's more than 12 million members to community services that address their social needs. The Thrive Local initiative will be integrated into Kaiser's electronic health record, and will be rolled out regionally this summer, though the first location hasn't been announced yet. Over the next three years, the health system will make it available throughout the entire system. (Johnson, 5/6)
