It was on November 21st that I was last in Copenhagen, not to have some of that famous Æbleflæsk but to moderate an OECD event. I was tasked to challenge health ministers and other policy makers about the impact of advanced technologies on patients’ lives and what regulations would facilitate these changes.

It was encouraging to see country leaders take a positive stance towards digital health and to hear about concrete examples as to how they are implementing technology to modify their local healthcare landscape. This experience served as an inspiration to write this article.

In it we will highlight the most notable initiatives pertaining to digital health around the world by country.

We cover a lot of news and announcements about digital health technologies to provide context for you. Even within The Medical Futurist team, there are favorite technologies and trends. And we thought it would be time to share the technologies we’re excited about! With advancements in exoskeleton technology, A.I.’s ever-increasing importance in healthcare and technologies like 5G and quantum computing soon going mainstream, there’s much to be excited about. Without further ado, let’s jump in!

Looking for a device to track your running routine? Or you’d like to treat yourself to a little gadget for the end of year season that will supplement your workout? Maybe you just need a little push with the help of what technology can offer to get out of your apartment and hit the running track? We’ve got you covered! We’ll list our favourite health tracking devices that we’ve tested and found appropriate for running.

The clinician shortage is a dilemma for most hospitals today. It’s projected that the size of the RN workforce will be nearly 20% below projected requirements by 2020 and the physician shortfall will rise to nearly 122,000 by 2032. These shortages have a far-reaching ripple effect. They can lead to burnout, low morale and high turnover, all of which have a negative impact on patient satisfaction and care.

Labor is a hospital’s biggest expense. It’s a cost that shortages are making worse as hospitals increase pay, offer bonuses and boost benefits to attract and retain talent. The negative impact this has on financial stability and profit margins is evident and relief isn’t expected for years to come.

Older adults are embracing technology in record numbers, a movement that can reduce loneliness, boost mental and physical fitness, and even help users take better control of their care.

In fact, a recent Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that Americans ages 60 and older spend more than half of their daily leisure time on their TVs, computers, tablets or other electronic devices. It’s why senior care residences are boosting their network infrastructure and product offerings to meet demand.

But a big problem remains: Devices and website design aren’t always created with this population in mind, which can slow — or even inhibit — a user’s motivation to connect.

Sira Medical CEO Rick Beberman runs a demo of the VR/AR surgery planning tool, which he says can save up to 20% of operating room time.

While the shift is necessary, the transition period will likely see hackers targeting newly vulnerable information, said Halamka.

With the Internet of Things and connected medical devices, poor cybersecurity poses risks to both patient safety and the infrastructure that keeps hospitals running. It’s an ongoing challenge for healthcare security professionals.

What makes it such a challenge is that the hospital environment is a very different beast than it once was. Clinical delivery has moved from a palliative care model to a highly technological model that’s very IoT-centered. It’s convenient because it allows hospitals to stack all kinds of monitors and telemetry systems in patients’ rooms. But it introduces risks, as IoT devices are unable to be managed centrally.

“There are inherent vulnerabilities and risks, and they’re growing at a pretty exponential rate,” Richard Staynings, chief security strategist at Cylera, said at the Healthcare Security Forum in Boston on Tuesday. “The machines are taking over our hospital environment.”

That raises a basic question: How can healthcare deal with this environment?

There’s no easy answer. Saif Abed, director of cybersecurity advisory services at AbedGraham, said the way medicine is being practiced is being forced to change because of how much technology there is in the clinical environment. One manifestation of this is that the newer class of medical students is growing up more technologically dependent, and the industry is still coming to terms with what to do when this dependency is exposed.

Neurosurgeons top the salary list, telemedicine is one of the fastest-growing sectors and primary care physicians are the most in-demand, according to a new physician labor market study.

The use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics has enormous potential, but along with that promise come critical privacy and security challenges, says technology attorney Stephen Wu.

For example, in healthcare, “we’re beginning to see surgical robots … and robots that take supplies from one part of a hospital to another. …You can use AI to help sequence a child’s DNA … and match and identify a condition in very short order,” Wu says in an interview with Information Security Media Group.

But along with those bold technological advances come emerging privacy and security concerns.

“The HIPAA Security Rule doesn’t talk about surgical robots and AI systems,” he notes. Nevertheless, HIPAA’s administrative, physical and technical safeguard requirements still apply, he says.

As a result, organizations must determine, for example, “what kind of security management procedures are touching these devices and systems - and do you have oversight over them?”

Also critical is ensuring that “communications are secure from one point to another,” he points out. “If you have an AI system that’s drawing records from an electronic health record, how is that transmission being secured? How do we know the AI systems drawing [information] from the EHR system has been properly authenticated?”

A security expert offers a variety of suggestions for how to improve security training to effectively beat the threat of ransomware and other criminal mischief.

Tech giant Google continues to face Congressional scrutiny about its collection and use of sensitive health data in a project with Ascension. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., sent a letter last week to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, former Alphabet CEO Larry Page, and Google Cloud senior official Tariq Shaukat demanding answers on how the companies use the health data they collect and the procedures they have in place to protect that data.

The class action lawsuit was filed in August 2016 on behalf of close to 3 million individuals affected by the data breach. Hackers initially attacked Banner’s network through its payment processing system at food and beverage outlets, then ultimately gained access to servers that contained patient data.

According to court documents, plaintiffs in the case allege that “financially-motivated cyber-criminals entered Banner’s network, rummaged through Banner’s information systems, downloaded and installed hacking software, and copied and exfiltrated massive quantities of personally identifiable information belonging to approximately 2.9 million people.”

Judy Faulkner, CEO of electronic health record giant Epic, has big concerns about two federal interoperability rules, primarily that the rules undermine patient privacy.

One health system recently learned the cost of relying too heavily on the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule’s “low probability of compromise” standard when it failed to notify all affected individuals and report the HIPAA breach to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

HIPAA covered entities frequently struggle with determining whether an inappropriate disclosure of protected health information (PHI) rises to the level of a reportable HIPAA breach—or alternatively, whether the disclosure creates only a “low probability of compromise.” A low probability of compromise determination means the covered entity is not required to notify the affected individual(s) or OCR under HIPAA’s Breach Notification Rule.

On November 27, 2019, Sentara Hospitals (Sentara), a health system with sites of care in Virginia and North Carolina, settled with OCR for $2.175 million for failing to properly notify OCR and affected individuals of a breach of unsecured PHI. Specifically, Sentara mailed out 577 patient billing statements to the incorrect addresses. The billing statements included patient names, account numbers, and dates of services. At the time of the incident, Sentara conducted a risk assessment and determined Sentara only needed to notify eight individuals of the breach because the other disclosures did not contain a patient diagnosis, treatment information, or other medical information. That is, Sentara determined the other disclosures created only a “low risk of compromise” to the PHI and thus, notification was not required.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) engages in several global health IT projects from a United States government perspective. ONC works with global counterparts to share experiences, and ensure alignment between global interoperability efforts and the United States’ approaches to interoperability. This includes working through worldwide partnerships, bi-lateral and multi-lateral engagements, global networks, and memoranda of understanding. Through these engagements, we focus on advancing common health data standards for global interoperability, enhancing individuals’ access to their data, progressing healthcare providers’ experiences, and improving factors associated with transparency and competition.

This past summer, ONC hosted the 3rd Interoperability Forum in Washington DC, where we heard from several global health IT leaders who are working on similar health IT issues in their own countries. This post highlights the insights and resources these leaders provided during the Forum, and is not inclusive of ONC’s complete global health IT efforts.

Commercially available for five years, the Apple Watch received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018 for its electrocardiogram function, which employs machine learning and individual algorithms to detect issues such as atrial fibrillation (AFib). The news sparked wider discussion about the role of wearable consumer devices in medicine.

Commercially available for five years, the Apple Watch received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018 for its electrocardiogram function, which employs machine learning and individual algorithms to detect issues such as atrial fibrillation (AFib). The news sparked wider discussion about the role of wearable consumer devices in medicine.

In our first episode of “When It Works,” intracranial hematoma patient Danielle Collins and George Washington University Hospital’s Dr. Walter Jean discuss how a virtual reality tool provided surgical theater to help Collins comprehend her condition.

AI Med19 is for those interested in the biggest paradigm shift in healthcare and medicine: Artificial Intelligence. This is the biggest event of it’s kind in the USA dedicated to the transformative impact that AI-inspired technology is having on healthcare. A platform designed by clinicians to showcase the latest thinking and facilitate new ideas and partnerships. 

5 reasons to attend AIMed 19

AIMed 19 has a very impressive line-up of expert speakers including, Stephen Kingsmore, Tim Chou, Lynda Chin, Aziz Nazha & Ted Shortliffe. Our agenda covers several hot topics including, Quantum Computing, overcoming issues in AI development, Facilitating the adoption of AI systems in clinical practice, Public Health Perspectives - Opportunities and Applications of AI around the world. See fresh new talent coming out of academia as our accepted applicants present their innovative ideas from our Abstract Competitions. Discover the next big thing set to disrupt med-tech with our Shark Tank start-up competition. AIMed 19 offers one of a kind networking with our unique social events. Speed networking with canapes and drinks, an AIMed BBQ with music and our spectacular Gala beach dinner under the stars.

Reserve your place now. For more information, visit aimed.events/north-america-2019/Read on aimed.events
“The goal is not to replace doctors, but to elevate them. Artificial

Keeping patients happy doesn’t end with mobile technology — but it’s an excellent start.

The CURE ID online data repository’s crowdsourcing approach could help the agency to identify novel uses for approved drugs.

University Health Care System has replaced the manual process of creating price estimates with a digital tool that’s accurate within 5% – and patients’ upfront payments have been steadily increasing.

Healthcare organizations have been fighting the good fight against cybercrime for many years. But they still need to up their game. As such, they need to take the following steps as they more proactively deal with cybersecurity threats.

Cerner will address the ongoing issue of clinician burnout with this advanced voice-enabled technology.

Gaming can be used to prepare for space health emergencies, says Level Ex founder and CEO Sam Glassenberg, who demonstrates the VR technology involved.