Stay up to date on the latest in health tech, digital health and health AI news with this weekly brief. This is news from the week of Aug. 17 to 21.
Expressable joins Amazon's Health Benefits Connector
Speech therapy services provider Expressable announced Thursday it is joining Amazon's Health Benefits Connector.
The collaboration makes Expressable the first speech therapy provider on the platform, the company says. It pairs patients with a licensed, insurance-covered speech therapist for one-on-one virtual sessions and provides personalized home programs and practice activities between sessions. Expressable supports patients with a range of needs, including early language development, voice disorders, communication related to autism and more.
Ninety-six percent of patients across all diagnostic groups make clinical progress toward care plan goals within the first five sessions, executives say.
"A child's early years are a critical window for communication development, and identifying and supporting a speech or language disorder early can make a meaningful difference in how a child learns, connects, and grows," said Leanne Sherred, Expressable president and chief clinical officer, in a statement. "By meeting customers where they already are, this collaboration will help more children start care early when it matters most and make it easier for adults to receive services they need."
Ambience Healthcare introduces partnership model for healthcare AI
Ambience Healthcare launched a new partnership model for AI in healthcare, deploying teams to ensure contracts are structured so fees are based on measurable outcomes, not AI consumption.
The model, dubbed the Ambience Standard, works directly with healthcare system leadership to identify outcomes and targets. The Ambience Standard is powered by the company’s AI technology platform Ambience Chorus.
“There's a million miles between a better model and better care," said Mike Ng, Ambience Healthcare co-founder and president, in a statement. “Models don't improve healthcare on their own. It takes the right context, the ability to act inside clinical workflows, rigorous measurement, and people who drive adoption. The Ambience Standard is our commitment to being accountable for the result.”
Luma Health, Physician’s Computer Company partner on AI-enabled communications
Operational AI platform Luma Health and Physician’s Computer Company (PCC) announced a partnership Wednesday to bring Luma’s AI-powered communications to pediatric practices nationwide.
Luma is natively integrated into PCC through the partnership, which enables parents and caregivers to receive two-way automated communication about care in more than 30 languages. More than 300 independent pediatric practices and more than 1,400 pediatricians across the U.S. have access to the solution.
“My daughter's pediatrician is a PCC customer, so I see how much they care,” said Aditya Bansod, Luma co-founder and president, in a statement. “Amidst all the noise in healthcare, PCC stays focused on independent pediatricians. They're warm, they solve problems in creative ways, and they say what they mean, and mean what they say. That's the kind of partner we want to build with.”
PCC customers will learn more about implementation this fall, the companies say.
Function launches secure data connector to AI platforms
Function announced Tuesday the launch of a secure health data connector to leading AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity.
The launch allows users to securely bring lab results and clinician-reviewed notes into AI platforms when seeking out health information. More than 160 lab results, longitudinal health history and clinician-reviewed notes can be connected, the company says.
“AI can empower us to understand and take action in so many aspects of our lives. Yet when it comes to health, AI has been missing the context that matters most: our biology,” said Ziad Sultan, Function chief product and technology officer, in a statement. “Function now lets you safely share your lab results and clinician-reviewed notes with your preferred AI. You can now choose to truly personalize the conversation by grounding it in your own health.”
Survey of healthcare IT leaders finds cybersecurity is top concern
Twenty-seven percent of healthcare IT leaders cited cybersecurity and ransomware as a top concern at their organizations in a new survey from Nile.
The report drew insights from more than 300 IT leaders, C-suite executives and network and security professionals across the global healthcare sector.
“In healthcare, the network is the lifeblood of patient care – when it falters, both patient care and patient privacy are put at risk,” said Shashi Kiran, Nile chief medical officer, in a statement. “This report shows that these challenges are no longer separate problems to be solved independently; they are deeply interconnected. Healthcare needs a new architectural philosophy, where security and simplicity are built in, and where lean IT teams can focus on patient care rather than daily firefighting.”
Aside from cybersecurity and ransomware, other top concerns cited by healthcare leaders included staffing shortages and lack of expertise (23%); rising operational and compliance costs (20%); network reliability impacting clinical systems (16%) and aging or fragmented infrastructure (15).
Moreover, only 20% of surveyed leaders report their organizations are confident networks can contain cyber incidents—compared to 61% who report either being not confident or slightly confident.