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Something to Watch: Google’s Attempt to Monetize AI in Health
The search giant is working to monetize artificial intelligence for the healthcare market through a new deal with iCADan oncology company planning to license Google Healthbreast cancer detection and risk prediction models and incorporate them into clinical practice. Google’s use of his AI model and its cloud infrastructure (more on that later) could drive adoption of iCAD’s broader cancer detection service, the executive said in a press release. said in
Partnerships of this kind are key to growing Google Health’s business. Greg Collardthe head of Health AI at Google said in a separate release.
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As we reported in 2020, a Google Health study found that Nature The company’s breast cancer screening tool suggests it can detect cancer more accurately than clinicians can. However, it’s not yet clear how widely healthcare systems will use this technology, or how easy it will be to incorporate it into clinical workflows.
Speaking of Google Cloud…
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…my colleague Mario Aguilar watched as Google pitched its cloud business to hospitals. HLTH Industry conference in Las Vegas. The company positions its cloud business as an easy turnkey service for healthcare systems wary of moving data to the cloud, Mario wrote. Sales of “Accelerator” have also started. This is a ready-made package of data models and dashboards for his case of common use in healthcare.
And the company may be ahead of other consumer-focused tech companies that are particularly eager to get into health. Amazonits expansion has drawn concern from the traditional health care system, writes Mario. Learn more about Mario.
NIH plan to crowdsource COVID-19 test results
of National Institutes of Health We recently soft-launched an online hub where people can self-report their Covid-19 test results at home. This is often not reported elsewhere and is something of a blind spot for researchers and the public health sector. MakeMyTestCount.org Ask people to report positive or negative results and the type of test, along with basic information such as gender and presence or absence of symptoms. However, it is still unclear how they plan to address potential issues, such as falsified test results.
Andrew WeitzThe NIH co-leader of the effort said that while the site is protected from distributed denial-of-service attacks and multiple attempts to submit results, “the broader problem is that people It could be how you know the consequences of everything you do,” he told me. What you are submitting is actually the truth, the answer is not,” he said. The Department of Health said it could gain more insight into home testing than it does now.
“We’re not trying to invade anyone’s privacy or track people,” he said. “Before this all existed, it’s powerless for people to go to labs and get tested for Covid, or go to clinics and get tested for Covid, and people understand that the information has already been reported. I think … we are simply asking people … who are willing to share that information voluntarily.”
Yet Another Telemedicine Merger Rumor
telemedicine giant Amwell Reportedly in talks to acquire virtual mental health therapy company talk spaceaccording to an Israeli publication Calcarist, The acquisition is reportedly valued at about $200 million or $1.50 per shareNeither Talkspace nor Amwell confirmed the reports. As Mario writesmental health tech companies are facing slowing sales growth, with Talkspace in particular telling investors and analysts that potential customers are delaying decision-making in the face of economic uncertainty. I’ve been warning you since summer.
Additional Considerations About the FTC’s Commercial Data Use Investigations
comment period of Federal Trade Commission‘s commercial surveillance and data security survey ended last week, but we’re hearing from a few more about worst-case scenarios when consumer health data use remains largely unregulated. Legal Action Center, For example, using an app in a condition such as substance use disorder or using location data that indicates a visit to a harm reduction or addiction treatment center can reveal a person’s health status and lead to discrimination or other harm. I am pointing out that there is a possibility of connection.
And if you have hours to kill, Electronic Privacy Information Centerof 230 pages of comments, consumers “may reasonably assume that anything they search on a healthcare search site is protected and restricted in the same way as their interaction with a doctor,” but in reality, there are stricter data requirements. Some websites only meet the requirements. when they are working with a healthcare provider.
“In practice, the healthcare search site discloses information about her device, location data, contact information, demographics, and healthcare provider searches to ‘advertising networks’ and ‘analytic partners.’ She could then be targeted and profiled by these unknown third-party companies. This is a secondary use of sensitive personal information out of context. ”
industry news
what we are reading
- How air quality sensors keep workers healthy new york times
- Telehealth companies are lobbying to extend pandemic-era rules. WSJMore
- Who will be the next healthcare M&A target? intense health care
