HHS' health IT office makeover may tip the scales in historic funding battle (6 Minute Read)
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP), formerly the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), has reorganized to include new roles such as Chief Technology Officer, Chief AI Officer, and Chief Data Officer to enhance HHS's technological expertise, particularly in AI and cybersecurity. Despite historically stagnant funding and talent retention challenges, the reorganization aims to bring innovative health technology policies and bridge gaps in AI strategy across HHS. This structural change is intended to boost creativity and align HHS's technological advancements with industry standards, without requiring additional appropriations.
New way to protect patient data for training AI models (4 Minute Read)
A study by researchers from Asan Medical Center in South Korea has demonstrated the use of homomorphic encryption (HE) to protect patient data while training AI models. HE allows computations on encrypted data, enabling multiple institutions to securely share data for AI model training without compromising privacy. The study, which used data from over 300,000 patients, suggests that smaller hospitals can use HE to develop AI models with better predictive capabilities by accessing data from larger institutions while ensuring data security.
Evaluating Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Settings—Let Us Not Reinvent the Wheel (13 Minute Read)
This article emphasizes the need to incorporate existing health IT evaluation frameworks into guidelines for evaluating AI in healthcare. By leveraging these frameworks, developers and decision-makers can build on existing empirical evidence to ensure safe and effective AI implementation. The authors provide a conceptual overview of how these frameworks can support the development, implementation, and sustainability of AI technologies in clinical settings.
How IT Leaders in Healthcare Can Strategically Tap ESG Data (7 Minute Read)
Healthcare organizations are increasingly adopting sustainability initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint, with IT departments playing a crucial role through energy efficiency and waste reduction strategies. Leveraging environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, these organizations can measure and optimize their sustainability performance, which not only helps the environment but also attracts patients and new hires. Key strategies include tracking resource usage, implementing energy-efficient technologies, and exploring AI's impact on sustainability goals.
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Public Health Informatics
Feds Weigh Generative AI Use in Cybersecurity, Data Analysis (2 Minute Read)
Federal officials are exploring the benefits of generative AI for improving cybersecurity, data analysis, and human decision-making. Generative AI can make unstructured data searchable and understandable, aiding in tasks such as analyzing electronic health records and physician notes. It also shows promise in cybersecurity by detecting threats and anomalies and can help reduce human bias in decision-making processes, enhancing the efficiency and innovation of government operations while ensuring compliance and data protection.
Medicaid vision coverage for adults varies widely by state (5 Minute Read)
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study revealed significant disparities in Medicaid vision coverage for adults across states. The analysis found that 12% of enrollees lived in states without coverage for routine eye exams and 27% in states without coverage for eyeglasses, with 20 states not covering glasses at all under fee-for-service Medicaid. These gaps in coverage, combined with copays and restrictive policies, pose barriers to vital eye care, highlighting opportunities for expanding Medicaid benefits to improve vision health and equity.
