Skip to main content

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.

Subscribe Follow Us Donate
  • Trump 2.0

    Trump 2.0

    • Agency Watch
    • State Watch
    • Rural Health Payout
  • Public Health

    Public Health

    • Vaccines
    • CDC & Disease
    • Environmental Health
  • Audio Reports

    Audio Reports

    • What the Health?
    • Health Care Helpline
    • KFF Health News Minute
    • An Arm and a Leg
    • Health Hub
    • HealthQ
    • Silence in Sikeston
    • Epidemic
    • See All Audio
  • Special Reports

    Special Reports

    • Bill Of The Month
    • The Body Shops
    • Broken Rehab
    • Deadly Denials
    • Priced Out
    • Dead Zone
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • Overpayment Outrage
    • Opioid Settlement Tracking
    • See All Special Reports
  • More Topics

    More Topics

    • Elections
    • Health Care Costs
    • Insurance
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Health Industry
    • Immigration
    • Reproductive Health
    • Technology
    • Rural Health
    • Race and Health
    • Aging
    • Mental Health
    • Affordable Care Act
    • Medicare
    • Medicaid
    • Children’s Health

  • GLP-1s for Medicare
  • Drug Control Strategy
  • Misoprostol
  • AI Deepfakes
  • Fruit-Flavored Vapes

WHAT'S NEW

  • GLP-1s for Medicare
  • Drug Control Strategy
  • Misoprostol
  • AI Deepfakes
  • Fruit-Flavored Vapes

Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

  • Email

Friday, Aug 31 2018

Full Issue

When Specialists In Genetic Disorders Get Stumped, They're Now Turning To Facial Recognition Software

Of the more than 7,000 known rare diseases, up to half are believed to cause changes to the shape of the face or skull. Uploading a picture of the person's face to an app can be a new tool to help doctors with a diagnosis.

Boston Globe: Facial Recognition Zeroes In On Genetic Disorders

Founded in 2011 by two Israeli entrepreneurs around the same time they sold a facial tagging system to Facebook for $70 million to $80 million, the firm designed the software to more quickly point medical geneticists in the right direction. ...Through crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence, the software ranks the 10 most likely causes of a genetic disorder on the basis of facial patterns — what the app calls the “gestalt.” (Saltzman, 8/30)

In other health and technology news —

CNN: Technology Is Changing The Way You See A Doctor, But Is That Good For Your Health?

One morning, Charlie Latuske woke up feverish and somewhat delirious in his home in Surrey in the UK, leaving him unable to function and in need of a doctor. He'd endured a sore throat and general malaise for a few days, believing it would get better, but that morning in August 2017, he knew that he had to do something about it. "I was quite out of it," said 27-year old Latuske, who was also due to go on vacation with his wife in just three days. (Senthilingam, 8/30)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Doctors Making House Calls With New Technology

New technology is getting Sacramento doctors back into the business of making old-fashioned house calls, employing a mobile application in an attempt to extend the amount of time they can spend on interviewing and bonding with their patients. Sacramento residents can schedule a doctor’s visit at their homes within two hours, using the Heal app or website. (Anderson, 8/30)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
Newsletter icon

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Stay informed by signing up for the Morning Briefing and other emails:

Recent Morning Briefings

  • Today, May 6
  • Tuesday, May 5
  • Monday, May 4
  • Friday, May 1
  • Thursday, April 30
  • Wednesday, April 29
More Morning Briefings
RSS Feeds
  • Podcasts
  • Special Reports
  • Morning Briefing
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Staff
  • Republish Our Content
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Bluesky
  • TikTok
  • RSS

Sign up for emails

Join our email list for regular updates based on your personal preferences.

Sign up
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2026 KFF