Healthcare is already a hotbed of AI activity, which has more than proved its worth as a tool for diagnosing illness, monitoring recovery, and developing new medicines. But globally, the industry is still grappling with longstanding challenges, including shortages of clinical staff, aging populations, and managing the front-loaded costs of transitioning to more preventative models of healthcare. This is where AI agents, the next wave of AI transformation, will come in.
As residents across the Chicago area continue battle intense heat, three hospitals within the region are dealing with air conditioning issues, impacting patients already hospitalized with unrelated health issues.
Rural Americans are likelier to develop chronic pain than their urban counterparts, a grim trend exacerbated by limited access to healthcare, age and economic status. A study conducted by the University of Texas at Arlington, released last week, found that more than a third of people in rural areas experience increased pain or are nearing a chronic pain diagnosis. Residents in urban areas, meanwhile, aren't as vulnerable to persistent, years-long pain and are likelier to experience no pain at all.
Out-of-state doctors are pushing for laws that will make it harder to detect who prescribes and sends abortion medication, as anti-abortion lawmakers look for ways to stop the flow of pills to their states.
Lack of access to healthy food is a threat to the lives of cancer survivors—a significant and often overlooked factor affecting their long-term health outcomes. A new study shows that those experiencing food insecurity had a 28 percent relative increase in risk of death as compared to those who were food secure.
The Oregon Senate passed a bill on Monday to put new safeguards in place in an effort to reduce workplace violence against healthcare workers. Senate Bill 537 would require violence-prevention procedures in healthcare settings, as well as data tracking for incidents of workplace violence.