Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Small Study Finds ChatGPT Outperforms Docs At Diagnosing
The New York Times: ChatGPT Defeated Doctors At Diagnosing Illness
Dr. Adam Rodman, an expert in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, confidently expected that chatbots built to use artificial intelligence would help doctors diagnose illnesses. He was wrong. Instead, in a study Dr. Rodman helped design, doctors who were given ChatGPT-4 along with conventional resources did only slightly better than doctors who did not have access to the bot. And, to the researchers’ surprise, ChatGPT alone outperformed the doctors. “I was shocked,” Dr. Rodman said. (Kolata, 11/17)
In other health industry news —
Bloomberg: CareMax Becomes Latest Health System To File For Bankruptcy
CareMax Inc., which runs a system of medical centers catered toward elderly patients, has filed for bankruptcy. Miami-based CareMax filed Chapter 11 in Texas on Sunday, listing assets of between $100 million and $500 million, and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion. CareMax sought court protection after cost cuts and attempts to refinance its debt. (Randles, 11/17)
Modern Healthcare: IU Health Cuts To Hit 100 Jobs, Operations Restructured
Indiana University Health is restructuring operations and cutting some leadership roles. IU Health is consolidating its six operational regions to four, according to a Friday news release. The health system expects the changes to affect about 100 jobs, a spokesperson said. (Hudson, 11/15)
CBS News: UI Health Nurses Return To Work As Strike Ends
Nurses at UI Health are back at work—ending a four-day strike. The Illinois Nurses Association said it reached a tentative contract agreement with the hospital late Saturday night. The union said the four-year deal includes improvements to hospital safety, better wages, and more input in staffing decisions. ... Nurses will vote to ratify the new contract this coming Tuesday. (Odenthal, 11/17)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Security Improvements Remain A Work In Progress, One Year After NH Hospital Shooting
Eleven days after a security guard was killed at the state psychiatric hospital, in November 2023, the Department of Safety gave Gov. Chris Sununu a list of recommended security enhancements for all state buildings. Sununu had requested the list, saying safety was the “number one priority” in the wake of the shooting. A year later, the state has completed some safety measures at the state hospital, but officials are only just beginning to take on most of the other recommendations, including a professional safety assessment of state facilities. (Timmins, 11/15)
Modern Healthcare: Epic, Oracle Health Compete For International Business
Epic, Oracle Health and other electronic health records companies are eyeing opportunities abroad, primarily in countries where the digitization of healthcare lags behind the U.S. The U.S. hospital market for EHR vendors has firmly shifted in Epic’s favor over the last few years. It was the only vendor to add beds and hospital customers in 2023, according to a May report from market research firm KLAS. Consolidation among health systems has meant that more than half of acute care beds use Epic, and that share is expected to grow as more large integrated systems switch to the vendor. (Perna, 11/15)
