Below is a roundup of health tech and digital health news you may have missed
Primary care docs ready for AI but want training, legal protections: survey
Primary care doctors and family physicians have a strong interest in adopting artificial intelligence, citing optimism about the ability for AI to improve their workload.
But that excitement is tempered by concerns about its implementation.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and Rock Health surveyed more than 1,200 family physicians and other primary care clinicians between September and November 2024 about their perceptions and use of digital health and AI tools.
Most of these clinicians (62%) report they already use generative AI tools like ChatGPT outside of work; among those that haven’t, 80% expressed a desire to do so. Eighteen percent said they use AI tools daily in their personal lives—outpacing the general U.S. population, where only 6.4% report daily personal AI use.
Half of respondents reported having used AI tools for at least one use case at work. Thirty-two percent have used AI for clerical support such as message drafting or ambient clinical documentation. More than half in this category use it daily. Sizable shares have used AI-powered information management (24%) and AI-enabled clinical decision support (23%) tools. More than 90% of survey respondents have tried or are open to trying each one of the professional AI solution categories referenced in the survey, including more nascent AI use cases such as behavioral health support and population health management.
Nearly 40% of family physicians and other primary care clinicians report experiencing burnout, and 70% believe AI will improve clinician well-being and 66% think it will improve their workload.
Many said they believe AI will improve their own clinical efficiency, including improving time to diagnosis (73% expect positive impacts), diagnostic accuracy (66%) and appropriateness of treatment plans (66%).
But clinicians continue to have significant concerns. Eighty-one percent want more training to fully trust AI solutions at work, signaling hesitancy to adopt these tools into their workflows. Nearly 70% also want medico-legal protections before they trust AI tools, and 64% want education on legal, liability and malpractice risks—likely reflecting concerns about increased liability.
Further, 68% are looking for ethical guidelines on how to best use AI in their practice.
Despite being on the front lines of care, most family physicians and other primary care clinicians reported having limited influence over the AI tools available in their practices. Sixty-five percent said they have limited or no input on AI purchasing decisions.
The AAFP and Rock Health note that AI’s long-term success in primary care will ultimately depend on the buy-in of those using the tools.
Teladoc Health taps new digital health partners on Prism platform
Teladoc Health has added digital health companies specializing in digestive health, fertility and specialty care to its connect care program.
Teladoc's Prism platform enables providers to make closed-loop referrals to brick-and-mortar practices as well as referrals to Teladoc’s digital care partners. The company has existing partnerships with Hinge Health and Sword Health for musculoskeletal care.
New companies joining Teladoc Health's connected care program include Carrot Fertility for fertility, family building and hormonal health services and Carrum Health, which developed Centers of Excellence for specialty care. Teladoc also is partnering with two digestive health providers, Cylinder Health and Oshi Health.
Also, recently announced technology integrations enable Teladoc Health’s care providers and coaches to view members’ eligibility for these services and seamlessly refer them to appropriate partner programs at the point of care.
The expansion comes amid growing demand for integrated virtual care solutions among plan sponsors, patients and providers. According to a recent survey, more than 70% of large employers are concerned about the siloed care experience due to the lack of coordination between virtual and community-based healthcare providers.
Accolade partners with Oshi Health for GI care
More Oshi Health news.
Health benefits platform Accolade tapped Oshi Health to expand access to specialized clinical care for people managing digestive health conditions. The partnership adds to Accolade's existing GI health partnership with Cylinder.
GI diseases are a common and costly health issue in the U.S.
Oshi provides an integrated team of GI specialists—including advanced practice providers, registered dietitians and licensed psychologists with expertise in gut-brain health—who work together to accelerate the time to diagnosis and to achieve sustainable symptom control.
Launched in 2019, Accolade's Trusted Partner Ecosystem currently consists of 19 partners across 12 categories.
In January, employee healthcare navigation company Transcarent announced plans to acquire Accolade in a deal valued at $621 million.
Oracle's Health clinical AI agents saves docs 30% in documentation time
AI agents were the star of the show at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Global Health Conference last week.
Oracle Health, formerly Cerner, unveiled data that showed it's clinical AI agent, a multimodal voice and screen driven assistant, can save physicians time when doing medical charting. Physicians using the agent are seeing a nearly 30% decrease in documentation time each day, the company said.
The AI agent is now available for more than 30 medical specialty areas including urgent care, sports medicine, nephrology, pulmonology, urology, gastroenterology, hepatology, cardiology, otolaryngology, internal medicine and behavioral health.
The Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent combines generative AI, agentic technology and automation, multimodal voice and screen driven assistance, and simplified workflows into a single, unified solution. Integrated with the Oracle Health electronic health record, the solution provides highly accurate draft notes in minutes and proposes next steps for providers to review and approve directly at the point of care, executives said.
Hartford HealthCare and K Health team up on new virtual care offering
Hartford HealthCare announced the launch of a new virtual care offering, HHC 24/7, that will allow Connecticut residents to have around-the-clock access to clinicians, powered by K Health.
Hartford HealthCare patients can access on-demand and same-day appointments with clinicians through HHC 24/7, and the system ensures coordination between the in-person and virtual modalities. Hartford HealthCare operates over 500 locations that range in scope, from behavioral health, to physician groups, to surgery centers and home care, among other programs.
K Health not only powers virtual primary care, it also integrates an AI copilot that assists with patient intake, synthesizes the intake and gives patient insights to providers. The company says it is the only primary care solution powered by peer-reviewed, clinical-grade AI.
UNC Health partners with ShiftMed
UNC Health is teaming up with ShiftMed to bolster its internal staffing, according to a release by ShiftMed on Feb. 19. ShiftMed is a mobile and online platform that allows clinical staff to match with open shifts in time slots they prefer to reduce a health system’s reliance on external staffing resources.
ShiftMed touts that its solution is a cheaper and more sustainable option than relying on external staffing resources.
Since the rollout of ShiftMed Flex, a solution that matches clinicians’ availability with open shifts, UNC Health has increased internal staffing on available shifts by 100%, a press release says. The AI-powered solution has been rolled out at 258 clinics, and staff have increased their shift loads from 4 to 8 shifts per month.
The solution shows real-time availability of clinicians, and allows staff to easily pick up more shifts when needed. The technology has significantly streamlined internal scheduling, UNC Health said.