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In today’s healthtech in a nutshell:

What’s Next for Healthcare Tech in the US? Trump’s Policy Plans for AI, Data, and Telehealth

The summary:

The article explores how Trump’s return to office could impact healthcare technology, regulatory frameworks, and policies affecting AI, interoperability, and telehealth. There’s a shift in focus on loosening regulations, potentially accelerating innovation in healthcare tech but also creating challenges in maintaining certain standards set by the prior administration.

Key points:

• Changes in Interoperability and Data Sharing Regulations: Trump’s administration may reconsider the data-sharing and interoperability initiatives, like TEFCA, launched under Biden’s leadership to meet the goals of the 21st Century Cures Act. HIMSS’ Government Relations head, Tom Leary, emphasizes that changing direction on these could affect compliance timelines, especially for AI transparency and reporting.

• Potential AI and Cybersecurity Policy Changes: The new Congress may drive new AI and cybersecurity regulations, responding to global influences like the EU’s AI Act. HIMSS has introduced Public Policy Principles to guide AI and ML in healthcare, preparing for anticipated shifts in U.S. policy to support safe AI adoption in the industry.

• Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring: Temporary flexibilities for telehealth, instituted during COVID-19, need Congressional action by December 31 to remain in place. HIMSS advocates for making these extensions permanent, noting the widespread patient and provider adoption of telehealth as a critical healthcare access tool.

Why this matters: This shift in administration could bring accelerated adoption of AI, data-sharing technologies, and telehealth due to potential deregulatory stances. However, the challenge lies in balancing innovation with regulatory stability to ensure patient privacy, data security, and accessibility. While reduced regulation may encourage healthcare technology advancements, careful oversight will be necessary to maintain the progress made in recent years on interoperability, data-sharing standards, and patient protections.

Harmful Content, Misinformation, and Terminations - The Challenges of TikTok in the Healthcare Sector

The summary:

This article examines the challenges TikTok faces in safeguarding its users, particularly around harmful content related to mental health, suicide, and healthcare misinformation. It also explores how healthcare workers are using TikTok and the tensions around appropriate versus unprofessional social media use.

Key points:

• TikTok Legal Challenges: The article discusses a lawsuit in France where seven families are suing TikTok, alleging the platform's algorithm exposed their children to content promoting self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide, leading to two suicides. This highlights the ongoing criticism and scrutiny TikTok faces over its content moderation and user safety practices.

• Combating Healthcare Misinformation: The piece notes that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization partnered with TikTok to combat health misinformation on the platform. However, researchers from the University of Arizona College of Medicine have called for TikTok to do more to flag medical misinformation, stating that the platform needs increased representation from doctors and other healthcare professionals to provide accurate, science-based information.

• Healthcare Worker Social Media Use: The document examines the challenges healthcare workers face in using TikTok, as some have been fired for posting inappropriate or disrespectful content about patients. While some argue healthcare workers should be able to use social media as an outlet, others emphasize the need to maintain professionalism. Hospitals have varying guidelines on social media use by staff.

Why this matters: This article highlights the significant influence and impact social media platforms like TikTok can have on public health, particularly for vulnerable populations like children and young adults. It underscores the evolving challenges healthcare systems and workers face in navigating social media use, as the lines between personal and professional conduct continue to blur. As TikTok's popularity grows, the issues of content moderation, healthcare misinformation, and professional standards for healthcare workers on social media will likely become increasingly important for both the platform and the healthcare industry.

Fighting Corruption in Healthcare: Conflixis' Data-Driven Approach to Conflict Detection

The summary:

The article discusses how AI startup Conflixis is using machine learning and data analysis to help hospitals identify and mitigate the risks of corruption and conflicts of interest between doctors and medical device/pharmaceutical companies. The startup was founded by former risk management consultants who saw a need for hospitals to better monitor their relationships with vendors.

Key points:

• A Web of Risky Relationships: Hospitals and medical practices face significant legal and financial risks from corrupt relationships between doctors and medical product/service providers, such as kickbacks, undisclosed payments, and prescription of unnecessary or more expensive treatments.

• AI as the Watchdog: Conflixis uses AI to analyze data from public databases, hospital records, and other sources to identify the highest-risk relationships and transactions that hospitals should investigate, rather than having to manually review thousands of interactions.

• Beyond Risk: Conflixis goes beyond just identifying risk, and can also help hospitals make more informed procurement decisions and reduce overall spending by flagging cases where doctors may be recommending more expensive options due to undisclosed conflicts.

Why this matters: This article highlights the pervasive problem of conflicts of interest and corruption, as well as the challenges hospitals face in proactively monitoring and mitigating these risks. The rise of companies like Conflixis, which leverage advanced data analytics and AI to tackle this problem, demonstrates the growing need for innovative solutions to address systemic issues of transparency, accountability, and ethics in healthcare. As healthcare costs continue to rise and public scrutiny on industry practices intensifies, tools that can help hospitals identify and address corrupt relationships have important implications for patient care, hospital finances, and the overall integrity of the medical system.

Want to know how the healthtech sector is recovering across public and private markets? Take a look at Bessemer Venture Partner’s Annual Report on the healthtech landscape this year:

The health tech sector has shown resilience and adaptability in the face of market challenges, with the rise of AI-powered "Services-as-a-Software” (SaaS) companies emerging as a new business model. While early-stage funding remains constrained, later-stage private companies and public market performance have rebounded. Looking ahead, opportunities abound in areas like payer administration, pharmacy transparency, AI-assisted clinical services, and enabling the shift to value-based care.

Here are 5 key findings from the report:

1. The health tech public market index has increased 12% in the past year, outperforming high-growth software stocks. This recovery follows a steep market correction, with the sector's performance now on par with the broader healthcare and cloud software indexes.

2. Private market investment has rebounded to pre-COVID levels, with a surge in Seed funding for AI-focused startups. While early-stage (Series A/B) funding remains constrained, later-stage (Series C+) deals are nearing 2020 highs as established companies focus on growth and profitability.

3. The Series A and B funding crunch has led to a slower progression from Seed to Series A for recent cohorts. The median time to reach Series A has increased by 50% compared to prior years, underscoring the challenges early-stage companies face in the current market.

4. AI SaaS companies are rapidly scaling, achieving $10M ARR faster than traditional SaaS models. These businesses leverage AI capabilities to automate complex healthcare workflows and deliver services as a product, rather than just enabling software tools. Their sales cycles are also much shorter than typical healthcare sales.

5. Payer administration, pharmacy transparency, AI-assisted clinical services, and value-based care infrastructure are identified as key emerging opportunities. The report highlights the potential for AI-powered solutions to disrupt areas like utilization management, drug pricing, and empowering independent providers, as the healthcare system shifts towards risk-based models.

The health tech sector is poised for a resurgence, buoyed by the resilience of public companies, renewed private investment, and the emergence of a new AI-powered Saas business model. Looking ahead, innovative solutions targeting payer operations, drug pricing transparency, augmented clinical capabilities, and value-based care enablement are expected to drive the next phase of growth and transformation in healthcare technology.

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