In an era where the digital landscape is an extension of human reality, the mechanics of our interactions with technology are more than mere convenience—they are a mirror to our psychological and neurological make-up. Every swipe, like, and notification is meticulously engineered not just to capture, but to captivate, holding our attention hostage in the palm of our hands. But what is the cost of this constant digital engagement?

Key Takeaways

• A renewed shift toward consumerism is occurring in medical care markets dominated by customers using health insurance as payment.

• A.I. technologies, acting as personal medical assistants for patients, are breaking down language barriers between doctor and patient which in turn are fostering new economic opportunities for stakeholders and investors alike.

• This shift back to consumer decision-making as an economic force in healthcare markets will be gradual and keep pace with innovation, but over time we expect it will become near absolute.

• Investors and stakeholders should consider consumer-enabling digital technologies with A.I. platforms as gateways to these markets.

• We highlight A.I. healthcare company Decoded Health to help tell our story.

Key Takeaways

The integration of bias into A.I. represents a danger to American society as highlighted by recent examples including Google DeepMind's Gemini model.

A.I. operating systems capable of objectivity when encountering instances of human bias are the right approach to support effective reasoning and decision-making.

A historical understanding of bias and related issues can provide developers and regulators a useful framework for regulating bias.

Part 3: Reimagine FDA Regulation for the Digital Age

Key Takeaways

We predict that Congress will grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new statutory authorities for regulating digital medical products like A.I. in the next agency user-fee reauthorization expected 2027.

The functional nature of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is more closely aligned with medical service providers than traditional medical devices - the FDA should consider them similarly for purposes of regulation.

Congress should update FDA’s statutes to establish a new regulatory pathway for medical products like A.I. capable of delivering medical services like human workforces.

In their negotiations with health insurers, hospital systems have found a new tactic: removing themselves from the networks of Medicare Advantage plans.

By David Hogberg

Key Takeaways:

Leading health technology investors are starting to agree with Forest Hill Labs that A.I. healthcare companies are a go-to-market opportunity for the larger digital health sector.

The transition from a consumer market to the more lucrative medical care and insurance coverage markets are the prize.

Metrics FHL uses to track progress in these markets include looking to:

1. medical retail business models by Amazon Health & CVS Health for clues on how A.I. & digital technologies are changing medical service delivery models.

2. behavior/mental health and other forms of therapy for a better understanding of current A.I. capabilities in medical care.

As the second decade begins for the Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges, it is clear that they have fallen short of certain expectations. The exchanges have not achieved the savings that Obamacare supporters promised, and enrollment has never reached the level predicted by the Congressional Budget Office.

Key Takeaways

• A.I. healthcare companies with transparent decision-making capabilities are more attractive to lawmakers and the health system than those that operate in a “black box.”

• Patient safety and medical liability concerns – current roadblocks to A.I. use in the sector – can be addressed by transparent products.

• Calmwave, an A.I. healthcare company, demonstrates some of the benefits of these technologies as alternative workforces in medical provider business models.

Key Takeaways

1. Investors & employers view A.I. healthcare companies as gateways to the larger digital health market.

2. Private and public health insurance plans will increasingly feature digital healthcare options (both services and workforces) because consumer demands for access and cost-saving nature of the technology are winning over payers.

3. Medical provider business model changes will continue to fuel A.I. & digital health adoption - just ask Amazon & CVS Health.

4. Federal recognition of digital services & workforces keys to coverage and reimbursement.

Key Takeaways

1. This article explores key legal and regulatory questions ahead of our recommendations on how to reform the market.

2. How can the agency determine whether A.I. in healthcare is “safe and effective” for use if the product is designed to change its own functional nature after market approval? - is creating an opportunity to rewrite the market rules governing the healthcare sector.

3. Congress and the FDA are expected to update these rules in the next five years when the FDA User-Fee law is reauthorized by Congress.

A.I. in Healthcare Newsletter 2023 Year in Review. Key takeaways and other notable events in A.I. healthcare.

Key Takeaways

The need to reduce federal spending is becoming more popular among the voters- the economy, inflation, and past spending habits are all contributing factors.

Complicating lawmakers’ efforts to reduce federal expenditures are historical differences between Democrats and Republicans on the most appropriate ways to save and spend federal revenues.

Financial credit rating agency Fitch recently downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+ highlighting decades of deficit spending and federal governance concerns.

Updating decades-old statutes to improve how efficiently existing federal funds are spent is a bipartisan way to create savings without reducing benefits.

Viewing policy changes as opportunity zones for smarter spending can facilitate broader bipartisan policy discussions about how well statutes work in an ever-changing world.

This legislative approach, called Smart Spending, can deliver better returns from existing federal financial investments.

Key Takeaways

• Congress should redevelop federal statutes to increase medical workforce alternatives in the healthcare sector.

• Workforce Alternatives include:

  • Allow “paraprofessionals” to take the burden from higher trained workforces.

  • Reimagine the concept of paraprofessional for the digital age.

  • Allow artificial intelligence & other digital technologies to replicate human workforce service delivery because it can improve access, care quality AND price.

  • Why pay for what would otherwise be free?

Key Takeaways

• A flawed federal strategy that waits for a medical diagnosis before helping people is fueling a mental health crisis and needless federal spending.

• Prevention is the cure for America’s mental health crisis.

• Federal reform principles necessary to reimagine mental health policy include:

• Prevention as a federal funding strategy can reverse the mental health crisis.

• Knowledge and skill development can prevent poor mental health and illness.

• How prevention is taught matters – look to other cultures for effective alternatives.

Key Takeaways

• This article, first of three, describes how lawmakers in Congress and the states can solve the mental health crisis.

• Principles necessary to reimagine mental health policy include:

  1. Mental health is synonymous with well-being – not health care.

  2. The science of human connection can improve policy outcomes.

  3. How a person chooses to connect also influences personal well-being.

  4. Ensuring every American understands this and has the necessary skills to take advantage is the secret to reimaging mental health policy and ending a national crisis.

Key Takeaways

• Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are building a modern federal funding strategy to reimagine mental health policy and reverse society’s negative mental health trends.

• The strategy: redesign the federal government’s relationship with communities, reimagine mental and behavioral health services, and continuously improve the system.

• The vision put forward by Sens. Bennet and Cornyn represents real promise that America can end the crisis.

Key Takeaways

• The current U.S. strategy for improving mental health is contributing to a national crisis because it is largely reactive and fails to understand the true nature of mental health.

• Needed is a modern strategy capable of increasing access to mental health care for those in need of care while preventing poor mental health in everyone else.

• A proactive mental health agenda to improve everyone's pursuit of mental health can succeed in reducing the incidences of poor mental health where other reform efforts have failed.

• A strategy supported by smart political and spending strategies to help support passage during tough economic and political times.

• This article is the first in a series that will focus on the components of mental health reform and how to achieve it.