Welcome to Digital Health Briefing, a new morning email providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting the healthcare ecosystem, produced by BI Intelligence.Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing free to your inbox.Have feedback' We'd like to hear from you. Write meat:lbeaver@businessinsider.comAN AMAZON JOB POSTING IS RAISING MORE HEALTHCARE SPECULATION: Amazons new job posting for a HIPAA Compliance Lead with IT experience and exposure to software development and auditing is adding fuel to speculation that the company is planning to move into the storage and use of personal health data, according to GeekWire. The exact implications of the new position are unclear, however, HIPAA laws regulate patient data privacy. Coupled with software development and auditing experience, the position could be related to the development of healthcare-related skills for Amazons intelligent voice assistant, Alexa. Increasing Alexas healthcare footprint is a logical step for Amazon, as it continues to expand the scope of its voice assistant. Healthcare is one way the company could further entrench Alexa in consumers lives. Around 80% of internet users have searched for health-related issues online, according to a Pew study. One scenario might see Alexa reminding patients with chronic illnesses to take their medication or measuring vital signs.In the US, chronic diseases and the health risk behaviors that cause them account for most health care costs,accordingto the CDC. By 2025, UShealthcare spending willaccountfor nearly 25% of GDP.Amazon could also be planning to deploy Alexa as a clinical decision support (CDS) resource for medical staff. The virtual assistant could be used to retrieve patient files and electronic health records for medical staff. This could save physicians and clinical staff time when theyre looking for specific patient files and information, such as allergies to medications, giving them more time to spend with the patient. Having a team lead who is fluent in HIPAA compliance would be an important step in this direction.Amazons interest in the healthcare space has been heating up for some time and the company recently made inroads on three fronts. The company bought licenses in several US states that allow it to ship medical equipment. Its possible Amazon views shipping devices and supplies as the path of least resistance as it dips its toes in the lucrative, yet highly regulated, pharmaceutical industry.Amazon Web Services (AWS), the companys cloud business, partnered with healthcare tech giant Cerna in November 2017 to help medical providers use their data to make effective health predictions.Amazon also launched the Alexa Diabetes Challenge, which had third-party companies develop Alexa skills aimed at helping people with diabetes manage their condition.CHANGE HEALTHCARE STRENGTHENS PORTFOLIOWITH NEW ACQUISITION:ChangeHealthcare, one of the largestindependenthealthcaretechnology companies in the US, hasacquired National Decision Support Company (NDSC), a provider of cloud-based medical guideline solutions. As a resultof this acquisition, Change will get access to a number of medical guideline tools under NDSC's CareSelect platform, which will help strengthen the firm's evidence-based medicine offerings. These tools include:CareSelect Imaging: Through an exclusive digital distribution license with the American College of Radiology,CareSelect offers evidence-based clinical guidelines solutions for diagnostic imaging. The solution, which is integrated into a provider'selectronic medical record (EMR),helps users meet the federal mandate requiring that clinicians consult Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for imaging by offering themost appropriate test options or clinical pathways.CareSelect Choosing Wisely: Through the CareSelect Choosing Wisely offering, CareSelect delivers enterprise-wide clinical guidelines that have been authored by medical societies, as part of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation (ABIM)s Choosing Wisely initiative. These guidelines cover a variety of diagnostic tests and treatments, including procedures, blood test, and medications.CareSelect Lab: Based on a partnership with the Mayo Clinic, the CareSelect Labis a decision-support tool that integrates into electronic health records (EHR) and aggregates clinical knowledge around a menu of routine conditions to offer best-practice recommendations.AI WAS A MAJOR FOCUS OF VENTURE HEALTH FUNDING IN 2017: Global venture funding for healthcare technology companies saw a significant increasein 2017, climbing 42% year-over-year (YoY) to reach $7.2 billion from $5.1 billion in 2016,according toMercom Capital Group data cited by Healthcare IT News. Analytics, which includesAI and data analytics, led the way with $1.1 billion in funding, representative of industry trends. Healthcare providers have historically had access to troves of patient data, and with the introduction of new technologies such as fitness trackers and mobile health apps, this supply of data is only growing. However, up until recently parsing thisdata into meaningful and actionable insights has been time-consuming and expensive. Closing this disconnect is expected to lead to major advancements in improving patient care, strengthening operations, and reducinghealthcare-related costs. As a result, companies are flocking to introduce their own analytics solutions and traditional firms are investing heavily.SMART THERMOMETERS PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO FLU SEASON TRENDS:Smart thermometer company Kinsa is using data from connected thermometers to detect the prevalence of fevers in the US and track the spread of the flu around the country, according to theNew York Times. Kinsa offers a variety of oral and ear thermometers that connect to a users smartphone and upload readings to a website or app, so they can track temperature readings. The company is able to monitor this dataafter its anonymized to protect the privacy of usersto track spikes in the number of people with fevers in specific areas, which can indicate the spread of the flu. It's important to note, however, that Kinsa isn't able to differentiate between the flu and other illnesses that cause fevers. Kinsa is working with a number of experts who are analyzing the data collected since its thermometers launched in 2014 to gauge how effectively its capturing the spread of the flu virus. This type of connected home health technology could provide quick insight into the spread of illnesses and help public health officials allocate anti-influenza medications likeTamiflu, which are inlimited supply, for example.BI Intelligence research analyst Peter Newman contributed to this briefing.Join the conversation about this story
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