Welcome to This Month in Digital Health, where I highlight articles and trends that recently caught my eye and attempt to explain why I think they matter. This time around, there’s actually maybe possibly some decent news about chronic care management and care at home, though rural health, AI, and support for the nursing workforce are all a bit messy.
AI is still complicated. HHS is setting a course to broaden AI adoption internally, with the hope of setting an example for the private sector to follow. It seems that healthcare organizations may benefit from any guidance they can get: They’re struggling with AI governance, feel underprepared for AI deployment, aren’t getting AI ROI fast enough, and aren’t yet seeing major productivity gains from AI.
Chronic care is getting good attention. CMS announced the ACCESS model for pay providers for using tech to support chronic disease management. Many see it as a “bold new model” for tech-enabled care, and vendors see it as an opportunity to prove their worth to providers who are typically skeptical of such things. That said, providers have a lot to consider when it comes to who to enroll, what tech to use, and how program structure ay change.
Finding rural health details the hard way. CMS isn’t talking about what states plan to do with Rural Health Transformation money, so KFF Health News filed public records requests and reported on the details. There’s a lot about improving access to food, medication, and lifestyle improvements – just not specifically for Native American tribes, who weren’t eligible to apply and have to rely on their state governments.
More care at home momentum? Former CDC director Susan Monarez penned a piece for Chief Healthcare Executive suggesting up to 90% of care can take place in the home. A JAMA Network Open study found care at home is especially effective in rural areas, which bodes well for programs looking to demonstrate value. Speaking of which, vendors are pushing for value-based contracts from Medicare, which would help with their own long-term stability.
The balancing act for supporting nursing teams. An interview with the Mayo Clinic in HealthTech Magazine (a client of mine, for the record) highlighted the benefits of AI to support nursing workflows – provided that nursing teams get a say from the get-go in what tools will do and how they’ll be implemented. Saving time should be a point of emphasis, as nurses who skip breaks or stay late are probably burning the candle at both ends.
Meanwhile, I found a bunch of odds and ends this month.
- The Leapfrog Group’s latest safety ratings roll up hospitals into their parent organizations. It’s an intriguing look at which facilities are being left behind after M&A activity.
- The number of concierge and direct primary care practices increased 83% from 2018 and 2023. That contributes to a shortage of PCPs in traditional settings, which isn’t the best.
- Whoopsie! Whoop got a slap on the wrist from the FDA about rolling out blood pressure measurement without authorization. The company argued BP is a wellness feature, not a medical diagnosis. Expect broad philosophical debates to follow.
- Providers are pushing back at updates to the HIPAA Security Rule that the Biden administration proposed at the end of 2024. They say doing things like maintaining written security policies and updating them regularly would create “substantial new financial burdens.” Maybe they could use AI. (Too soon?)
- CVS is launching an engagement platform, which could optimistically be viewed as a way to help people access low-acuity retail care or cynically viewed as a way to get people to buy more stuff at CVS.
Happy Holidays. If you have children home from school for the next couple weeks, remember that no one’s going to judge you if they wear pajamas all day, eat candy for breakfast, and use every pillow and couch cushion in the house to make an obstacle course or fort – especially if you don’t tell anyone about it…
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