Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕ 

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.   

???? News  

????People in North Lancashire and South Cumbria who have suspected skin cancer are to benefit from faster diagnosis thanks to ground-breaking new technology at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust (UHMBT). The pilot program with medical technology company Skin Analytics, combines AI technology and teledermoscopy to diagnose and treat people with skin cancer, earlier.  The programme has been made possible thanks to funding from the Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Alliance. The technologies are set to significantly speed up the patient’s journey from referral to the service for suspected skin cancer, to diagnosis and, if necessary, treatment. 

????Imprivata, the digital identity company for life-and mission-critical industries, today announced a significant leadership transition as Gus Malezis, the current CEO, assumes a new role as a strategic advisor to Imprivata and welcomes Fran Rosch as the new CEO, effective January 1, 2024. Malezis has been a driving force behind Imprivata’s success over the past seven years. Rosch brings experience in cybersecurity and digital identity, having successfully led technology companies through growth and SaaS transformations.  

????‍⚕️Earlier this week, Forward, a health-tech startup, unveiled its CarePods, a series of AI-powered doctor’s offices. Designed by experts from universities including Harvard and John Hopkins, the CarePod is intended to act as a trained medic that can address both general and specialized health needs without any medical professionals present. The goal is  to make primary medical care more accessible. Starting in 2024, Forward plans to deploy them in malls, gyms, and offices across San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and other US cities. 

????An AI-aided home stethoscope provides reliable information on asthma exacerbations, according to a study published in the November/December issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Andrzej Emeryk, M.D., Ph.D., from the Medical University of Lublin in Poland, and colleagues evaluated home monitoring of asthma exacerbations with the use of an AI-aided stethoscope. The analysis included 149 patients with asthma (90 children and 59 adults). 

????Artificial intelligence is already revolutionizing industries, including the world of medicine. The medical community is increasingly moving in the direction of using AI to improve patient care and augment the role doctors play. At Northwell Health, New York’s largest health care system, physicians are using AI to help detect pulmonary embolisms and pancreatic cancers, diagnose diseases and enhance colonoscopy screenings. They’re also using it to better detect seizures through the use of an AI-powered headband made by Ceribell. 
 

???? What we’re reading 

Technology and data are integral to global daily life, including in the health sector.  But despite technological progress and data availability, health policy decisions in many countries are often not based on reliable data.  It is estimated that some countries use less than 5% of health data to improve health.  Within challenging fiscal environments, people-centered and evidence-based digital investments can help governments save up to 15% of health costs. The Digital-in-Health: Unlocking the Value for Everyone report presents a new way of thinking about digital health investments expanding the focus from digitization of health data to integrating digital and health as one: Digital-in-health. 

???? This week’s events 

12 December, 9am-3 pm    Digital Networks Exchange December – Unlocking digital maturity in healthcare: levelling up for success