5 Ways Google Is Protecting Kids’ Mental Health on YouTube
During a session at CES 2024, a Google exec shared several changes the company has made through YouTube to protect children and teens.
Google Unveils Suite of Healthcare-Specific Generative AI Models
Google introduced a new suite of healthcare-focused generative AI models designed to speed up workflows for clinicians and medical researchers. Health systems and medical research organizations, including HCA Healthcare and BenchSci, have been testing these models since April.
How Do We Know If Digital Mental Health Solutions Are Effective?
There are several ways to know if a digital mental health solution is working, including whether it has proven clinical outcomes or if it's improving access to care, executives said during a panel discussion.
LLMs Can Perpetuate Harmful Ideas About Race-Based Medicine, Study Shows
A new study led by Stanford researchers tested four commercially available LLMs and found that they all could potentially cause harm by breeding inaccurate, racist information. For example, all models tried to justify race-based medicine when asked questions about calculating patients’ kidney function and lung capacity — two areas where race-based medicine practices used to be common but have since been scientifically refuted.
Most Hospitals Are Still Violating HIPAA By Using Web Tracking Tools, Despite Federal Warnings
The federal government has warned hospitals that using third-party analytics tools on their websites could violate HIPAA, and more than 20 hospitals are facing class-action lawsuits over the use of these tools. But a recent analysis found that hospitals are doing a poor job of fixing their websites and preventing patient data collection.
Senator Probes Google About ‘Premature Deployment of Unproven Technology’ In Healthcare Settings
Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) penned a letter to Google leadership expressing concerns about Med-PaLM 2 — the company’s generative AI tool for healthcare providers that is currently being used by Mayo Clinic and other health systems. The letter requested that Google provide more clarity about its chatbot’s training, accuracy, ethical considerations and deployment in healthcare settings.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Lawmakers Are Cracking Down on Companies Using Health Data for Advertising
Three senators recently introduced legislation that would ban the use of health data for advertising and marketing purposes. The proposed legislation comes amid media reports claiming that data brokers are selling social media companies patients' location data, as well as reports that hospitals and digital health startups are collecting patients’ online data and sharing it with tech giants such as Facebook and Google.
GoodRx Illegally Sold Users’ Data to Google & Facebook, FTC Says
GoodRx failed to notify users that it sold their personal health information to Google, Facebook and other tech companies, the FTC claimed. The agency filed an order that prohibits GoodRx from sharing its users' data with third parties for advertising purposes and requires the company to pay a $1.5 million penalty. GoodRx agreed to pay the settlement but did not admit to wrongdoing.
Google Partners with iCAD, Licenses Its Mammography AI Model for the First Time
Medical device manufacturer iCAD entered into a development and commercialization agreement with Google Health, in which it will integrate Google’s mammography AI technology into its suite of breast imaging AI products. The agreement marks Google’s first commercial partnership to deploy its breast imaging AI model into clinical practice.
What Will Be 2023’s Biggest Challenge in the Employee Benefits Space? 4 Execs Weigh In
Uncertainty, benefits navigation, cost and innovation are some of the key challenges ahead for those in the employee health benefits space. Executives made these comments last week during the HLTH conference in Las Vegas.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
Experts Unpack the True Meaning Behind 3 Healthcare Buzzwords
A panel of healthcare data experts recently broke down some of healthcare’s most common buzzwords at HLTH. While the experts agreed that many industry professionals still struggle to grasp the true denotations of words and phrases like “interoperability” and “reimagining healthcare,” the panelists said these terms can be quite meaningful once they’re unpacked.
Information as a social determinant: 3 ways Google is addressing health inequity
Google announced three updates at the Google Health Equity Summit, including a new video series partnership, improved search features and an expanded program with Fitbit.
Google exec at Mayo Clinic conference: AI, ML ‘is math, not magic’
Michael Howell, chief clinical officer of Google, discussed the ways AI and ML are serving healthcare, as well as some lessons he learned since he started working at Google.
Project seeks to chart regulatory paths for digital products
The nonprofit Digital Medicine Society is partnering with the likes of Google and the FDA to develop a free resource designed to help digital health startups navigate the regulatory process.
Hackensack Meridian Health deploys Google Chrome OS devices, uses Cloud AI for screenings
The New Jersey-based health system initially partnered with Google in 2019. It has now migrated to Google Workspace, providing thousands of Chrome OS devices to remote workers, and is using Google Cloud AI capabilities to detect diseases like breast cancer and Covid-19.