International health IT week in review: May 31

Pulse+IT's weekly round-up of international health IT news for the week ending May 31: Unproven AI for COVID-19, patients want access to everything, digital health stocks surging, digital travails for South Africa, nurse robots for COVID-19, stress app for healthcare workers, Google Cloud COVID data, smart health stations, Fitbit's COVID-19 wearables study, virtual paramedics, wearable sensor for respiratory rate, phasing out pagers
Hundreds of AI solutions proposed for pandemic, but few are proven
MedCity News ~ Elise Reuter ~ 28/05/2020
With hundreds of research articles describing the use of artificial intelligence or machine learning, many of them preprints, it can be difficult to sort out which ones are most effective.
The future of APIs first depends on building value for patient access
Healthcare IT News ~ Susan Morse ~ 27/05/2020
Patients want access to everything, according to focus groups interviewed by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Digital health stocks are surging because ‘suddenly now we’re in the future’
CNBC ~ Christina Farr ~ 23/05/2020
“Things that were 10 years away are now here,” said Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, which owns shares of Teladoc.
South Africa’s digital health travails provide useful lessons
Financial Times ~ Malebona Matsoso ~ 17/05/2020
Country yet to match ambition for data-fed, unified system with investment in skills and infrastructure.
Fitbit launches COVID-19 wearables study for early detection algorithm
MobiHealthNews ~ Dave Muoio ~ 22/05/2020
Fitbit has launched an in-app study the company says could help develop an algorithm for detecting potential COVID-19 cases prior to symptom onset.
Trial of medical robots proving successful in Bahrain
Healthcare IT News ~ Rachel McArthur ~ 28/05/2020
The Kingdom’s Ministry of Health confirmed that the three devices are being used in order to protect healthcare staff from excessive exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
App to monitor stress among hospital workers
Canadian Healthcare Technology ~ Staff writer ~ 27/05/2020
No study to date has assessed the potential of self-monitoring mobile apps for healthcare workers and support staff affiliated with a healthcare institution.
HCA, Bon Secours, others using SADA portal for COVID-19 data sharing
Healthcare IT News ~ Mike Miliard ~ 28/05/2020
Built on Google Cloud, the platform is meant to help healthcare organizations and government agencies share data and best practices about treatments and reopening strategies.
Health kiosk maker Higi closes $30M round headed by Babylon Health
MobiHealthNews ~ Dave Muoio ~ 27/05/2020
The free-to-use Smart Health Stations are self-service, deployed in retail businesses and feed consumers a breadth of digital content focused on health-condition prevention and management.
Renfrew adds paramedic visits to virtual visits
Canadian Healthcare Technology ~ Staff writer ~ 27/05/2020
This new approach allows the community paramedic a direct link to a physician for a patient who may not be able to reach their family doctor, or who does not have a family doctor.
Philips receives FDA clearance for patch that monitors breathing
MedCity News ~ Elise Reuter ~ 26/05/2020
Designed long before the Covid-19 pandemic, Philips received FDA clearance for a wearable sensor that can track respiratory rate. The disposable patch is used to monitor patients after they are moved from the ICU to another care setting.
NHSX looking to create framework for communication solution
Digital Health News ~ Hannah Crouch ~ 22/05/2020
NHSX is looking to create a framework for NHS trusts to procure communication services in a bid to help phase out pagers.
Third NHS trust signs deal with Babylon for digital triage
Digital Health News ~ Andrea Downey ~ 22/05/2020
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust joins two Midlands trusts in deploying the app-based service to provide online triage in a bid to keep unnecessary A&E visits down.
Photo courtesy Bahrain News Agency
Posted in Australian eHealth