There are obvious benefits to medical technology. It can help detect diabetes, diagnose cancer, make highly accurate predictions in radiology, identify the presence of tuberculosis, and so much more. It can reduce human error. Some research even suggests that AI-powered applications in healthcare could improve patient outcomes by 30–40 percent while reducing treatment costs by up to 50 percent. But an increased use of medical technology has accelerated the problem of de-skilling, a reduction in the level of skill required to complete a task because some or all components of the task have been automated.
Technology is not just a tool to save costs and automate care but a lifeline to decrease clinician burden and empower patients to participate in their health. Prevention-focused models with cutting-edge innovations can help reshape healthcare into a system that prioritizes whole-person health, helping to improve longevity and health span while reducing the need for costly interventions altogether.
When Virginia Mason merged with Catholic Health Initiatives in 2021, becoming Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, some employees were told that the only changes to care would be related to the delivery of abortion and medical-aid-in-dying services, which are typically stopped following mergers of secular and Catholic health systems. But the week of Sept. 17, two months before the birth center was shuttered, Virginia Mason employees were told their insurance benefits would be changing "to align" with those of CommonSpirit, the largest national Catholic hospital chain, itself the product of a merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Americans lived slightly longer in 2023 as compared to 2022, according to a new mortality report from the CDC. Last year, life expectancy at birth was 78.4 years for the total U.S. population, an increase from 77.5 in 2022, the CDC report said. For men, life expectancy increased by a year from 74.8 in 2022 to 75.8 in 2023. For women, life expectancy increased 0.9 of a year from 80.2 in 2022 to 81.1 in 2023. The report presents final 2023 U.S. mortality data on deaths and death rates by demographic and medical characteristics, the CDC said.
While significant progress has been made, a fully AI-driven healthcare system remains a distant goal. However, even with ongoing challenges and limitations, AI has already begun to reshape the healthcare industry in profound and meaningful ways.
California officials have declared a state of emergency over the spread of bird flu, which is tearing through dairy cows in that state and causing sporadic illnesses in people in the U.S. That raises new questions about the virus, which has spread for years in wild birds, commercial poultry and many mammal species. The virus, also known as Type A H5N1, was detected for the first time in U.S. dairy cattle in March. Since then, bird flu has been confirmed in at least 866 herds in 16 states. More than 60 people in eight states have been infected, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the CDC. One person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the nation's first known severe illness caused by the virus.