Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Glitches During Board Exams Cause Some Physicians To Receive Failing Scores
MedPage Today: Physicians Question Board Exam Results After Glitch
Several physicians who experienced glitches while taking the internal medicine board exam on Aug. 13 are raising questions about their results. The key issue was being locked out of their computers following breaks, which the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has acknowledged -- though it insists this did not cause any other technical problems. (Fiore, 10/29)
In other healthcare industry news —
WUSF: BayCare Plans Pilot Program For Robotic Blood-Draw Devices At Two Pinellas Labs
BayCare is planning a pilot program for Florida's first FDA-approved, image-guided robotic blood-draw device. The Aletta device uses real-time imaging to guide blood collection. According to the manufacturer, Vitestro, Aletta has achieved a 94.5% first-stick success rate. (Mayer, 10/29)
Modern Healthcare: BayCare, Hartford Revamp Care For Higher-Acuity Patients
Patients are getting sicker, requiring health systems to revamp how they provide care or risk losing market share. Health systems are working to increase capacity, deploy cutting-edge technology, reduce operating costs and standardize care as they treat more complex patients. They are trying to keep pace with competitors while managing rising costs and declining payment revenue. Operational improvements and expansion efforts have shown promising early results, executives said. (Kacik, 10/29)
Fierce Healthcare: BCBSMA, Medzown Team Up To Match Members With Clinical Trials
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is teaming up with precision medicine company Medzown to make it easier for members with complex conditions to participate in clinical trials. In the partnership, Medzown's tech stack will identify the members that are most likely to benefit from a novel therapy for their condition, and then match them with potential clinical trials. The company will then deploy a team of scientists, clinical trial experts and care navigators to work alongside the patient and their care team through the process. (Minemyer, 10/29)
Bloomberg: Americans Reject Use Of AI For Medical And Coverage Decisions
Most Americans don’t want artificial intelligence making decisions about their medical care and insurance, according to a new Pew Research Center report. While Americans are generally open to AI use in healthcare for tasks like translating, 60% of the 3,488 US adults Pew surveyed in June said they were uncomfortable with AI helping their doctor make a diagnosis or treatment plans. (Silva, 10/29)
Stat: Feds Scramble To Avoid Regulatory Logjam As States Look To Test AI In Clinic
Health officials hoping to boost adoption of artificial intelligence in health care have been moving behind the scenes to address brewing conflict between states and the federal government over the technology. (Aguilar, 10/30)
KFF Health News: Your Phone Knows You’re At The Doctor, And Data Brokers Do, Too — Then Profit From It
Chris McQueen finished treatment for leukemia a year and a half ago, but the ads for fake cures never stopped. Juice cleanses to cure cancer, “natural” cancer treatments, clinics in Mexico promising full recovery with little chemotherapy — all appeared on McQueen’s mobile phone during routine oncologist visits and monthly bloodwork. McQueen and others have taken to social media to vent about companies known as data brokers tracking their whereabouts via their smartphones’ location data, connecting it with other data gathered about them, and then drawing inferences about their health struggles to sell to companies hawking unproven treatments. (Scaturro, 10/30)
KFF Health News: Frights, Fangs, And Healthcare Nightmares In Winning Halloween Haikus
What’s scarier than ghosts and goblins? How about measles, unaffordable dental care, and an insurance claim denied by artificial intelligence? Nearly 80 healthcare-themed haikus crept into our inbox this Halloween season. Meet the winners of KFF Health News’ eighth annual Halloween haiku contest below. (10/30)
