Health Equity In The AI And Digital Health Era: Promise Or Peril?  – The Medical Futurist Newsletter

Health equity through digital health is not a tech issue Exciting news! Our latest research paper, the comprehensive international patent analysis of AI and ML trends in healthcare, [was published last week](. The study, identifying over 10,000 AI-related patents from 2012 to 2022, provides insights into the rapid advancements in AI technologies and the potential impact on various medical specialties. We also crafted an [open-access database]( of these patents for your exploration. Such milestones invigorate me. The Medical Futurist Institute works to support the visionary claims of The Medical Futurist with evidence-based research. We have many exciting peer-reviewed publications in the pipeline that promise to bring you the latest and greatest insights from the world of digital health technology and AI. I hope you will find the newsletter useful! Best regards, Berci Bertalan Meskó, PhD The Medical Futurist [HEALTH EQUITY IN THE AI AND DIGITAL HEALTH ERA: PROMISE OR PERIL?]( Will digital health and/or artificial intelligence improve health equity? This is one of the questions I most often get. Despite its seemingly straightforward nature, the answer isn’t a simple yes or no. Theoretically, the introduction of technology should enhance access to healthcare. However, the caveat here is that the advantages will only be accessible to those who can access the technology. Thus, the health equity gap is fundamentally a tech gap. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? [This report]( estimated that poor health reduces global GDP by 15% each year. This figure alone explains why health equity should be a priority of global policymakers. [LOW-COST SMARTPHONE ATTACHMENT FOR BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Engineers have developed a simple, low-cost clip that uses a smartphone's camera and flash to monitor blood pressure at the user’s fingertip. "The clip works with a custom smartphone app and currently costs about 80 cents to make. The researchers estimate that the cost could be as low as 10 cents apiece when manufactured at scale." [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Blood pressure measurement and monitoring live through a golden age, new methods use technology patients already own, and share data with patients. This is in line with the digital health revolution. [WELCOME TO THE AI COURSE: THE EASY WAY TO LEARN EVERYTHING YOU NEED]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Healthcare course is a comprehensive program designed to introduce participants to the basics of AI and its applications in healthcare. I talked about what you can expect from the AI course [in this video](. The first chapters are available for everyone, so feel free to try and decide without commitments. [ENROLL NOW]( [AI GROUP USES NEW STRATEGY TO DEVELOP 3D-PRINTED PILLS]( --------------------------------------------------------------- German and American researchers have developed a novel process for 3D-printing pills that can release pharmaceutical drugs at predetermined speeds. The 3D-printed specific shapes determine the speed at which they dissolve within the human body. "Geometric shapes are easier to control than alternative timed drug-delivery methods such as intravenous infusion. Thus, given the importance of controlling pharmaceutical drug levels in patients, it is claimed that this new method has significant potential." [READ MORE]( WHY IT'S IMPORTANT? This is a new way to look at the process: you determine practically any release profile, and then compute the shapes accordingly. [WHAT IS MEDICAL CODING AUTOMATION AND ITS POTENTIAL IN HEALTHCARE?]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Medical coding involves the conversion of medical records, generally from clinician’s texts, into structured codes based on a classification system for the appropriate patient diagnosis and relevant procedure. It is labor-intensive, error-prone and vitally important. No wonder it has attracted interest in automating the process; more specifically using AI technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing. [READ MORE]( WHY IT'S IMPORTANT? Computer-assisted medical coding [has been found]( to enhance the accuracy, quality, and efficiency of manual coding. Researchers and medtech companies alike are now interested in supplementing such aids with AI technologies. ['CEASE IMMEDIATELY': AUSSY DOCTORS FORBIDDEN FROM USING AI AMID PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY CONCERNS]( --------------------------------------------------------------- "The use of AI technology, including ChatGPT, for work-related activity that includes any patient or potentially sensitive health service information must cease immediately." With due respect, it seems that the Australian Medical Association is putting the cart before the horse. Instead of such drastic measures, they should involve medical professionals to collaboratively devise a framework for regulating the field, thus ensuring both technological advancement and patient privacy. [READ MORE]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? As a citizen, I'd be much happier knowing that the basic AI regulations in healthcare were drafted by physicians from a medical association than policymakers that have never seen healthcare in practice. [ME AND MY DIGITAL TWIN IN OUR NEW VIDEO]( --------------------------------------------------------------- I know the avatar looks a bit weird and the voice is not what you're used to hearing from me but experimenting with it is quite fun. Like any relatively new technology, let's give it some time to be a bit more well-developed. However, I believe there will be many use cases in healthcare, like delivering training materials for colleagues. [WATCH THE VIDEO]( WHY DO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT? Deep fake humans are here, so it's time to learn a bit more about them. If you'd like to know how to spot them, [here is a guide]( with some basic info. MORE NEWS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE --------------------------------------------------------------- DEVELOPING CURRICULUM– [Cedars-Sinai makes major push into AI]( BETTER ALLOCATED– [The impact of artificial intelligence on the reading times of radiologists for chest radiographs]( $42K A MONTH – [Scientists say they can’t rely on Twitter anymore]( ANCIENT DNA – [10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023]( [color-forwardtofriend-48.png](mailto:berci@medicalfuturist.com) [color-facebook-48.png]( [color-youtube-48.png]( [color-linkedin-48.png]( [color-twitter-48.png]( [color-instagram-48.png]( © The Medical Futurist 2023 This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Medical Futurist · Budapest · Budapest, Pest 1118 · Hungary