Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Software That Scans A Patient鈥檚 Face For Disease Signs Is In The Works By Geneticists, Computer Scientists
Dr. Maximilian Muenke has a superpower: He can diagnose disease just by looking at a person鈥檚 face. Specifically, he can spot certain genetic disorders that make telltale impressions on facial features. 鈥淥nce you鈥檝e done it for a certain amount of years, you walk into a room and it鈥檚 like oh, that child has Williams Syndrome,鈥 he said, referring to a genetic disorder that can聽affect聽a person鈥檚 cognitive abilities and heart. (Sheridan, 4/10)
WellCare Health Plans Inc., an insurer focused on Medicaid and Medicare patients, is building two AI systems 鈥 one for clinicians, one for patients 鈥 designed to analyze symptoms, demographics, medical histories, and other data sources to suggest treatment plans and interventions. The goal for both projects is to give field workers like visiting nurses, as well as patients themselves, mobile access to medical advice aimed at improving health. (Nash, 4/7)
Days after a bill was introduced to the Senate that would allow Medicare to test covering more telehealth models, the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee introduced a bill that would put more Medicare money into telemedicine. The sponsors of the bill鈥擲en. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)鈥攁re seeking to improve the quality of care for chronically ill Medicare patients. (Arndt, 4/7)
