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The ideas and innovators shaping health care | | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne, Carmen Paun, Erin Schumaker and Ruth Reader | | | | | 
Mass General Brigham physicians are envisioning the future of AI in medicine. | Courtesy of Mass General Brigham | Will 2024 be the year that artificial intelligence transforms medicine? Leaders at one of America’s top hospital systems, Mass General Brigham in Boston, might not go that far, but they have high hopes. Their new year’s predictions span departments and specialties, some patient-facing and others for the back office. Here’s what they foresee: Neurosurgery could see advancements in AI and machine learning, according to Dr. Omar Arnaout, a neurosurgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The tech could better tailor treatment plans to patients, more accurately predict outcomes and add new precision to surgeries. Radiology’s continued integration of AI could “revolutionize” the accuracy of diagnostics and treatments, said Dr. Manisha Bahl, a physician investigator in Mass General’s radiology department. And she sees liquid biopsies taking on more of a role as AI makes it easier to detect biomarkers. Patient chatbots will likely become more popular, according to Dr. Marc Succi, executive director of Mass General MESH Incubator, a center at the health system that, with Harvard Medical School, looks to create new approaches to health care. That could make triaging more efficient. Smarter robots could even come to patient care because of AI, according to Randy Trumbower, director of the INSPIRE Lab, affiliated with Mass General Brigham. He and his team are studying “semi-autonomous” robots that use AI to better care for people with severe spinal cord injuries. And AI tools themselves could see innovations that make them more appealing for medical use, Dr. Danielle Bitterman, an assistant professor at BWH and a faculty member on the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine program at Mass General Brigham, said. Breakthroughs could make AI systems more efficient and better at quickly incorporating current clinical information for the best patient care across specialties.
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Granby, Colo. | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Germans are taking more mental health days off work, Die Welt reports. The number hit a record in 2022 and doubled over the previous decade. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | |  Adopting new technology is as much a cultural issue as a technical one, the AMA says. | Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images | Health care providers can devise new ways to care for patients with digital tools, but the people building the tech and running hospitals need to be thoughtful about implementation. All sides of the business must work together to ensure the success and safety of the new tech, including AI-driven tools, according to guidance from the American Medical Association. Many hurdles standing in the way of digital health models aren’t technical but “cultural and operational,” the doctors’ group says. To advance patient care and leverage technology along the way, the AMA says health care executives should: — Prepare to share more data. With regulators moving to safeguard the exchange of patient data, organizations can prepare to follow the rules even before a partnership forms. — Find common goals early. Once partnerships form, clarifying the purpose, value and concerns early on can improve prospects for successful implementation. — Make sure clinicians are in the loop. Builders of new data systems should keep the needs of doctors and nurses in mind to ensure the updates aid in patient care and don't get in the way. — Keep patients in mind. Patients who can access and use their health data are more engaged in their care.
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Schistosomiasis affects at least 250 million people living in places without access to clean, safe drinking water and sanitation. | Marcus Perkins for Merck KGaA | Preschool children infected with schistosomiasis — the second-most widespread tropical disease after malaria — could finally have a treatment. In mid-December, Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, endorsed Merck Europe’s Arpraziquantel, the first drug formulated specifically to treat small children who get the disease, caused by a parasitic worm that can remain in the body for many years and cause organ damage. Some 50 million children ages 3 months to 6 years and mostly in Africa could benefit. The European Medicines Agency’s positive scientific opinion will streamline the drug’s endorsement by the World Health Organization, which makes it easier for countries where the disease is endemic to register the new formulation for children. Why it matters: Also known as bilharzia, schistosomiasis affects at least 250 million people living in places without access to clean, safe drinking water and sanitation. It’s long been neglected by drugmakers. The disease disables more than it kills, according to the WHO. In children, schistosomiasis can cause anemia, stunted growth and learning disabilities. The effects are usually reversible through treatment with praziquantel, a drug developed in the 1970s, which Merck donates through WHO to 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The company provides up to 250 million tablets of praziquantel a year to treat school-aged children in the region, Johannes Waltz, head of Merck’s Schistosomiasis Elimination Program, told Carmen. “Our focus in the treatment is on school-aged children because the effect is the worst and there’s … hope that there’s long-term effect if you treat regularly,” he said. The new formulation will make it easier to treat smaller children. They now receive part of a crushed praziquantel tablet, depending on how much they weigh. Arpraziquantel is water-soluble. The taste is tolerable for kids, and it withstands hot environments, the European Medicines Agency said. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
