I’ve been called a force of nature, and I know it is not meant as a compliment. But when Nobel prize winner George Bernard Shaw coined the phrase, he was proud to consider himself a force of nature because “life is no brief candle… it is a sort of splendid torch… I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” I love that. As I’ve been reading about the gentlemen who won the Nobel Prize for inventing artificial intelligence, it occurs to me that George would probably call them forces of nature too. Of course, just as a Nobel Prize winner would, one of them is warning everyone that AI could have bad consequences and “get out of control.” Right. In the One Thoughtful Paragraph, the topic is how purchasing digital health tools seems to be out of control.
In fact, the news about purchasing health tech is out of control this week:
- Federal Gov’t Purchasing Tech: The Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum that provides guidance for Federal agencies when acquiring AI technologies, with a focus on managing AI risk and performance, promoting a competitive AI market, and ensuring collaboration across the federal government.
- Private Sector Acquisitions: Thriveworks, a mental health provider, acquired Synchronous Health, an AI-powered behavioral health company. GE Healthcare acquired Intelligent Ultrasound’s AI-powered ultrasound business. Astrana Health, a tech-enabled value-based care company, acquired Collaborative Health Systems, a management services organization helping primary care physicians transition to value-based care. Harmony Healthcare IT, a health data management platform, acquired Trinisys, a data management company.
- Know Before You Buy: The Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) announced that it is partnering with Google and the Mayo Clinic to create a consensus-driven AI implementation playbook for the healthcare industry. The resources will clarify challenges, financial viability, standard language, capabilities, and applications of AI.
Hurricane Milton was a force of nature in its truest sense, not this romantic George Bernard Shaw version of being a splendid torch. It always feels wrong to try to press on with regular things while terrible storms are flooding the homes and endangering the lives of our family, friends, and colleagues. Still, there is a splendid torch to share about this week. Try not to let the not-force-of-nature name fool you because this report will be illuminating for some: the Peterson Technology Health Institutes’ 2024 State of Digital Health Purchasing Survey. If you’re one of the many tech vendors or funders of technology startups trying to figure out how purchasers (plans, health systems, employers) decide what digital health products to buy, then this survey is for you. Mostly, the survey says that purchasers want to know that the thing works – meaning there is evidence that the tech saves money and improves health outcomes – and that people don’t hate using it. And you’ve got only a year or two to prove those things, or you’re toast. PHTI isn’t going to win a Nobel Prize for this survey, but it’s worth a read. And in case anyone thinks I failed to find a relevant movie, you can click on the trailer for the pretty bad film Force of Nature, and you will see why there is no quote in there worth quoting.
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