Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ups And Downs Of Artificial Intelligence: IBM Stops Sales, Development Of Watson For Drug Discovery; Hospitals Learn From EHRs
Stat: IBM Halting Sales Of Watson AI Tool For Drug Discovery
Citing lackluster financial performance, IBM is halting development and sales of a product that uses its Watson artificial intelligence software to help pharmaceutical companies discover new drugs, according to a person familiar with the company’s internal decision-making. The decision to shut down sales of Watson for Drug Discovery marks the highest-profile retreat in the company’s effort to apply artificial intelligence to various areas of health care. Last year, the company scaled back on the hospital side of its business, and it’s struggled to develop a reliable tool to assist doctors in treating cancer patients. (Ross, 4/18)
Modern Healthcare: ONC Names Hospitals Using EHR Data Most In Clinical Practice
Hospitals are increasingly using data from electronic health records systems to support quality improvement efforts and to monitor patient safety, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said Wednesday. Hospitals using Epic, Meditech and Cerner systems reported the highest use of EHR data to inform clinical practice, while those using EHRs from CPSI, MEDHOST or "other" vendors—a category that included developers like athenahealth, eClinicalWorks and GE Healthcare—were most likely to report not using EHR data for these purposes, ONC's report said. (Cohen, 4/17)
