News Briefs
Hospitals Urged to Check for Accuracy as AI Use Increases
About 65 percent, or 1,696, of U.S. hospitals surveyed reported using artificial intelligence or predictive models integrated with their electronic health record system, according to a study published in Health Affairs. More hospitals need to check models for accuracy and bias using their own data, the study's authors wrote.
(Source: Medtech Dive, 2025-01-10)
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HHS Unveils Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has issued its HHS Artificial Intelligence Strategic Plan, which the agency says will "set in motion a coordinated public-private approach to improving the quality, safety, efficiency, accessibility, equitability and outcomes in health and human services through the innovative, safe, and responsible use of AI." The strategic plan is focused on four key goals, across public health, care delivery, medical research, and other areas, according to HHS.
(Source: Healthcare IT News, 2025-01-13)
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Using Robots in Nursing Homes Could Boost Retention, Better Care
New research suggests that using robots in nursing homes has a positive influence on employee retention, hiring rates, and resident care. The study examined robotics implementation in a nursing home in Japan, where more than 10 percent of the population is over the age of 80.
(Source: McKnight's Long-Term Care News, 2025-01-13)
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V.C. Investment in Healthcare Reached $23 Billion in 2024
Venture capital investment in healthcare increased in 2024, spurred by enthusiasm for artificial intelligence startups, according to a report by Silicon Valley Bank. Funding for U.S. healthcare companies reached $23 billion last year, compared with $20 billion in 2023, with nearly 30 percent of the 2024 investment going to startups leveraging AI, according to SVB.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2025-01-09)
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Health Services M&A Activity Expected to Increase in 2025
The new year is expected to bring with it a more favorable environment for dealmaking within health services. Thanks to plenty of capital available to corporate and private equity investors, the potential for further interest rate cuts, and policy by the incoming presidential administration driven by a pro-business stance, M&A activity should continue to rise in 2025, according to a report by PwC.
(Source: HealthLeaders Media, 2025-01-13)
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Digital Health Startups Brought in $1.8 Billion in V.C. Funding
The digital health sector raked in $10.1 billion in venture funding in 2024, down from $10.8 billion in 2023 but higher than 2019's funding total. Digital health startups brought in $1.8 billion in V.C. funding across 118 deals in the fourth quarter, according to Rock Health's 2024 digital health funding report.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2025-01-13)
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Lawmakers Call on FTC to Release Interim Staff Report on PBMs
A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to vote in favor of releasing an interim staff report on pharmacy benefit managers. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), along with Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) and Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.), wrote to the FTC in light of an open commission meeting to consider issuing a second interim staff report on PBMs.
(Source: The Hill, 2025-01-10)
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CMS Increases Incentives to RNs to Work for Nursing Homes
The Biden administration unveiled a tuition repayment program to incentivize nurses to work in nursing homes or state agencies that monitor them as it wraps up its final days in office. Registered nurses who work for three years in a qualifying nursing home or in a state agency oversight role can get up to $50,000 in tuition reimbursement and upfront incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, McKnight's Senior Living first reported.
(Source: Axios, 2025-01-13)
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New CFPB Regulations Bar Medical Debts from Credit Reports
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued new regulations barring medical debts from American credit reports, enacting a major new consumer protection just days before President Joe Biden is set to leave office. The rules ban credit agencies from including medical debts on consumers' credit reports and prohibit lenders from considering medical information in assessing borrowers.
(Source: KFF Health News, 2025-01-07)
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