The Next Web: Dubious claims that AI outperforms doctors pose risk to ‘millions of patients,’ study finds. “AI‘s ability to analyze X-rays, MRIs, and other scans has led it to be hyped up as the future of medical imaging. But patients remain reluctant to use it, as they believe only humans can understand their unique needs. Turns out they might be right.”
healthcare
Becker’s Hospital Review: Vanderbilt develops EHR data-mining tool to identify disease associations
Becker’s Hospital Review: Vanderbilt develops EHR data-mining tool to identify disease associations. EHR in this case stands for Electronic Health Record. “Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University engineers created a new tool that can identify disease co-morbidities by analyzing de-identified EHR data and medical diagnosis codes, according to a Feb. 18 news release. The toolkit, called Phenome-Disease Association Study, uses machine learning algorithms to perform association studies and identify disease co-morbidities across time in EHRs.”
ProPakistani: Maroof International Hospital Hit with Severe Ransomware Attack
ProPakistani: Maroof International Hospital Hit with Severe Ransomware Attack. “Maroof International Hospital Islamabad’s entire computer network has been compromised in the wake of a massive ransomware attack. Maroof is one of the most expensive private hospitals in Islamabad.”
New York Academy of Medicine Launches Hospital Postcard Pilot Project
The New York Academy of Medicine has launched a new collection of hospital postcards. (Thanks for letting me know, Carrie!) “This pilot project represents a small portion of the NYC sub-collection of the Robert Matz Hospital postcards digitized by the New York Academy of Medicine Library. It showcases 118 hospital postcards from New York City. Hospitals from all five boroughs (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island) are represented, including public, private, not-for-profit, government, and military hospitals.” The entire collection is about 2000 postcards.
Ars Technica: Why is the healthcare industry still so bad at cybersecurity?
Ars Technica: Why is the healthcare industry still so bad at cybersecurity?. “Many articles about cybersecurity risks in healthcare begin with descriptions of live simulations (so when in Rome). Imagine a doctor completely unaware of what they’re walking into triaging two patients: one in need of a hospital cardiac catheterization lab after an irregular electrocardiogram (EKG) reading, the other suffering from a stroke and needing a CT scan. All systems are down due to ransomware, so the physician working through the scenario can’t access electronic health records or use any of the assessment methods modern medicine is so reliant on. So, what to do?” Incredibly deep dive. If you’re at all interested in security issues around health care, I urge you to read this article.
Tubefilter: The FDA Is Studying Influencers Who Endorse Healthcare Products
Tubefilter: The FDA Is Studying Influencers Who Endorse Healthcare Products. “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is probing the world of influencers who endorse healthcare products. In a proposal published Jan. 28, the agency said it’s already conducted two related studies. One concluded that more people buy drugs and products endorsed by physicians, pharmacists, and other consumers than drugs endorsed by celebrities. The other found that consumers think expert endorsers are more credible than celebrities, but pay the same amount of attention to ads from both.”
It’s not just Google: Amazon, Microsoft, IBM get hospital data, too (Mashable)
Mashable: It’s not just Google: Amazon, Microsoft, IBM get hospital data, too. “The public freaked out in November 2019 at the Wall Street Journal’s revelations that Google was taking in non-anonymous healthcare information from hospital network Ascension. Now, a new report from the Journal shows that the tech giant is far from alone: Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and IBM also have data-sharing agreements with hospitals. The scope of work spelled out in those agreements allows for some information to be shared that could identify patients, too.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: State launches more consumer-friendly website with inspection reports on healthcare facilities
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: State launches more consumer-friendly website with inspection reports on healthcare facilities. “A month after a glitch took the state’s healthcare facility website offline, the Georgia Department of Community Health on Thursday restored online access while launching a new version of the website with crucial licensing and inspection information for thousands of facilities.”
The Buffalo News: New state website to help consumers compare hospital costs
The Buffalo News: New state website to help consumers compare hospital costs. “New York State residents will soon have a new tool to help them decipher health care costs, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday. As part of his 2020 State of the State agenda, Cuomo plans to direct three state agencies to develop a new website, called NYHealthcareCompare, that will let consumers search cost and quality information for medical procedures at hospitals in the state.”
University of Michigan: U-M, MDHHS launch one-stop website to guide safe pain treatment across Michigan and beyond
University of Michigan: U-M, MDHHS launch one-stop website to guide safe pain treatment across Michigan and beyond. “The toolkit includes everything from evidence-based guides for how many opioid and nonopioid painkiller doses patients typically need after different types of operations to materials that can help guide conversations about tapering off of long-term opioid treatment in favor of other treatments. It also offers information about effective treatments for opioid use disorders, as well as resources for aiding clinicians to link patients to available services in Michigan.”
Washington Post: Racial bias in a medical algorithm favors white patients over sicker black patients
Washington Post: Racial bias in a medical algorithm favors white patients over sicker black patients. “A widely used algorithm that predicts which patients will benefit from extra medical care dramatically underestimates the health needs of the sickest black patients, amplifying long-standing racial disparities in medicine, researchers have found.”
PR Web: Nonprofit Launches National Network to Track All Drug Diversion Within Hospitals and Health Systems to Combat Opioid Crisis (PRESS RELEASE)
PR Web: Nonprofit Launches National Network to Track All Drug Diversion Within Hospitals and Health Systems to Combat Opioid Crisis (PRESS RELEASE). “The Healthcare Diversion Network, a nonprofit association dedicated to preventing drug diversion, today announced the launch of HealthCareDiversion.org, a first-of-its-kind forum that aims to compile all known healthcare diversion incidents into a single national database. The new online forum is the first step in building national dialogue and transparency around one of the most critical, yet often unspoken, risks associated with the opioid crisis.” It is expected that eventually the database will be opened to the public.
The Next Web: Healthcare has a massive cybersecurity problem, and we’re not doing enough to fix it.
The Next Web: Healthcare has a massive cybersecurity problem, and we’re not doing enough to fix it.. “Not long ago, it was reasonable to think that financial businesses would be the most prominent and most profitable targets of criminal activity. After all, a successful bank robbery could score you tens of thousands of dollars (or more). But these days, it’s another industry facing the brunt of criminal attacks, and it’s one with much more bearing on us as consumers: healthcare.”
PR Newswire: MTPA Launches National Online Directory Of ALS Specialists And Neurologists At Multidisciplinary Centers (PRESS RELEASE)
PR Newswire: MTPA Launches National Online Directory Of ALS Specialists And Neurologists At Multidisciplinary Centers (PRESS RELEASE). “Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) today announced the launch of a national online database of healthcare providers (HCPs) who treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The ALS Care Locator is designed to provide a convenient, searchable resource to help patients and caregivers identify ALS specialists and multidisciplinary centers in their local areas.”
Healthcare Informatics: ECRI’s Guidelines Trust Goes Live
Healthcare Informatics: ECRI’s Guidelines Trust Goes Live. “Earlier this year, funding cuts forced the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to shut down the National Guideline Clearinghouse. ECRI Institute, a nonprofit patient safety organization, has now launched the ECRI Guidelines Trust, a portal to expertly vetted, evidence-based guideline briefs and scorecards.”
