Personalized health care and artificial intelligence could improve your life—at the cost of your privacy. Read our latest cover story:
.videocontent{position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%}.tvplayer > div {position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%} Health Andres Rubiano first got the news that his blood pressure was too high in the 1990s, when he was in his late 30s. It didn’t come as a complete surprise—his father had had chronic hypertension at an early age too. His doctor prescribed medication and encouraged him to get more exercise and cut down on the amount of salt in his diet.
There are, however, clear risks. The key to digital medicine is, after all, the gathering and sharing of copious data about nearly every aspect of a patient’s life. Are hospitals, researchers, Big Pharma, insurers and tech companies worthy stewards of such sensitive data? “If a system can detect signs of cognitive decline in patients’ voices, they don’t want it being used against them in job situations or health insurance,” says Christine Lemke, co-founder of Evidation, a health data company.
A digital health industry has spent billions on developing new tools and projects in recent years. To improve patient care, they are trying to create an ecosystem of apps and devices that link hospitals and doctors offices to data from portable devices like the Fitbit and an insulin injector for diabetics. FS Productions/Getty
A man checks his heart rate on a Fitbit Charge HR wearable activity tracker and monitor. Data from Fitbit trackers alone has inspired 675 studies in health-related journals. Lisa Werner/Getty De Brouwer channeled his data obsession into a startup called Doc.ai, which makes a medical app that automates the process of assembling its users’ exposome and behaviorome. You start by taking a selfie, which the app’s AI uses to estimate your age, height, weight and gender . Next, you enter your current and previous ZIP codes, which the software uses to query databases of air pollution.
To head off these crises, doctors at Ochsner wired their patients’ inhalers to alert them to patterns of usage that signal growing respiratory distress. Those patients get a text or call at home suggesting a change in medication or prompt a checkup. Patients also get text alerts when air particle readings are dangerously high in their communities, urging them to ease up on outdoor activity. “We can wirelessly manage the symptoms of thousands of patients closely,” says Milani.
Mordecai took data from 14 million patient visits to clinics run by Kaiser Permanente and two other health care systems that collaborated on the project. The data included whether or not each patient ultimately attempted suicide. Then he fed the data into “machine-learning” software, a form of AI that can identify complex patterns in reams of data that humans cannot see. The AI found 150 factors that, in various combinations, tend to signal that a patient is at an elevated risk.
Apostolos Davillas, a health economist at the University of Essex in Colchester, England, is putting data on the condition of communities and households, including income, education levels and culture, into predictive AI models. These “social determinants of health” are often easily obtained in government databases and can be linked to patient data. Davillas has crunched that data for thousands of patients and says that it serves as a strong predictor of disease risk.
Such studies can cost one-100th as much as conventional studies, notes Evidation’s Lemke, a data analyst who used to figure out ways to target video-game ads until she decided to apply her skills to improving health. “The scale at which we can run a study at reduced cost is compelling,” she says. “And the subjects are in real-world situations, not going through complicated processes at a clinical site with physicians.
Ultimately, government regulation will have to set boundaries on how health data can be shared, extending the protection it already gives patient health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The HIPAA keeps health care providers in line, but it may not apply to consumer health technology companies, which largely emerged after the legislation was enacted in 1996.
A case in point: Even though preliminary data from the Ochsner digital health monitoring programs run by Milani with 5,000 patients suggest that the approach produces better health outcomes and pays for itself within a year, health insurers won’t cover it. Medicaid requires health providers to collect a copayment for all services they provide. That would create a burdensome blizzard of $16 copays for patients in Milani’s project, which emphasizes frequent doctor-patient interactions.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Thousands of customers sign petition complaining about Instagram fitness influencerThousands of customers sign petition complaining about Instagram fitness influencer, alleging she never delivered on personalized diet and fitness plans that in some cases cost close to $300 per person.
Consulte Mais informação »
U.S. criminal probe of Facebook is said to extend to grand juryA Facebook Inc. investigation by the U.S. Justice Department has broadened to include a grand jury, according to a person familiar with the matter, signaling an escalation in the ongoing federal probes of the company’s data-sharing practices.
Consulte Mais informação »
Cleveland Clinic has launched the Center for Clinical Artificial IntelligenceCleveland Clinic's new AI center will offer its researchers, data scientists, and clinicians a centralized hub to develop AI research projects into clinical improvements:
Consulte Mais informação »
Warren Buffett says there's 'enormous resistance to change' as Haven looks to revamp health careBuffett said health care providers and others entrenched in the current model don't have any incentive to change things.
Consulte Mais informação »
Trump once again bashes John McCain over health-care voteTrump once again bashes the late Sen. John McCain over health-care vote
Consulte Mais informação »
What disasters reveal about mental-health careTrained laypeople can provide 'psychological first aid'—not just in conflict areas
Consulte Mais informação »
Medicare-for-all: Where Democrats stand on health-care issuesThe major Democratic presidential contenders have been vocal about the need to expand health-care coverage for more Americans. But they have split on how to do so.
Consulte Mais informação »
Everything we know about Haven, the Amazon joint venture to revamp health careAmazon, J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway are building a team to fix health care for their employees. Here's what we know about the group so far.
Consulte Mais informação »
Learn 2020 candidate Beto O'Rourke's policies on immigration, health care, gun control, abortion and moreBeto O'Rourke is running for president. Here's where he stands on the issues.
Consulte Mais informação »
Opinion | Democrats have figured out where they’re going on health careOpinion: Democrats have figured out where they’re going on health care
Consulte Mais informação »