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Thank you for reading our blog. Paul and I will continue to publish " Dispatch from the Digital Health Frontier " on https://www.mayoclinicplatform.org/blog/. (Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO)
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - November 9, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Machine Learning Can Make Lab Testing More Precise
An analysis of over 2 billion lab test results suggests a deep learning model can help create personalized reference ranges, which in turn would enable clinicians to monitor health and disease better.Paul Cerrato, MA, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform and John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Almost every patient has blood drawn to measure a variety of metabolic markers. Typically, test results come back as a numeric or text value accompanied by a reference range which represents normal values. If total serum cholesterol level is below 200 mg/dl or...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - October 21, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Gastroenterology Embraces Artificial Intelligence
AI and machine learning have the potential to redefine the management of several GI disorders.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Colonoscopy is one of the true success stories in modern medicine.Studies have demonstrated that colonoscopy screening detects the cancer at a much earlier stage, reducing the risk of invasive tumors and metastatic disease, andreducing mortality. However, while colorectal cancer is highly preventable, it is thethird leading cause of cancer-related deathsin the U.S. A...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - October 13, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Societal Resilience Requires a Public Health Focus
We must make a serious commitment to increase financial resources and provide better analytics for real world evidence/real time data in support of public health.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Public health has been underfunded for decades. That neglect has had a profound impact since the COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold, and awakened policy makers and thought leaders to the need for more investment.Consider the statistics: The U.S. spends about $3.6 trillion each year on healthbut less th...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - October 6, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Reimagining the FDA ’s Role in Digital Medicine
In addition to evaluating the safety of software as a medical device (SaMD), the agency needs to devote more resources to evaluating its efficacy and quality.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.The FDA ’s approach to software as a medical device (SaMD) has been evolving. Consider a few examples.In 2018, IDx-DR, a software system used to improve screening for retinopathy, a common complication of diabetes that affects the eye, became the first AI-based medical device to receiveUS Food and Drug...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - September 30, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Secure Computing Enclaves Move Digital Medicine Forward
By providing a safe, secure environment, novel approaches enable health care innovators to share data without opening the door to snoopers and thieves.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.We know that bringing together AI algorithms and data in ways that preserve privacy and intellectual property is one of the keys to delivering the next generation of clinical decision support. But meeting that challenge requires health care innovators to look to other innovators who themselves have created uniq...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - September 9, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Breast Cancer Screening: We Can Do Better
The three risk assessment tools now in use fall far short. Using the latest deep learning techniques, investigators are developing more personalized ways to locate women at high risk.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.The promise of personalized medicine will eventually allow clinicians to offer individual patients more precise advice on prevention, early detection and treatment. Of course, the operative word iseventually.A closer examination of the screening tools available to detect breast c...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - August 31, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Can Social Determinants of Health Predict Your Patient ’s Future?
This article was written by Tim Suther, Nicole Hobbs, Jeff McGinn, Matt Turner with Change Healthcare, John Halamka, MD, MS, president of Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform.By one estimate, social determinants of health (SDoH) influence up to80% of health outcomes. Although reports like this suggest that these social factors have a major impact, thought leaders continue to debate whether they can also enhance the accuracy in predictive models. Resolving that debate is far from simple because the answer depends on the type, source and quality o...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - August 23, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

We Need to Open Up the AI Black Box
To convince physicians and nurses that deep learning algorithms are worth using in everyday practice, developers need to explain how they work in plain clinical English.Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, and John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.AI ’s so-called black box refers to the fact that much of the underlying technology behind machine learning-enhanced algorithms isprobability/statistics without a human readable explanation.Oftentimes that ’s the case because the advanced math or the data science behind the algorithms is t...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - August 17, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

The Future Belongs to Digital Pathology
Advances in artificial intelligence are slowly transforming the specialty, much the way radiology is being transformed by similar advances in digital technology.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Any patient who faces a potential cancer diagnosis knows how important an accurate, timely pathology report is. Similarly, surgeons often require fast pathology results when they are performing a delicate procedure to determine their course of action during an operation. New technological develop...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 30, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Shift Happens
Dataset shift can thwart the best intentions of algorithm developers and tech-savvy clinicians, but there are solutions.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.Generalizability has always been a concern in health care, whether we ’re discussing the application of clinical trials or machine-learning based algorithms. A large randomized controlled trial that finds an intensive lifestyle program doesn’t reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in Type 2 diabetics, for instance, suggests the...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 28, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Causality in Medicine: Moving Beyond Correlation in Clinical Practice
A growing body of research suggests it ’s time to abandon outdated ideas about how to identify effective medical therapies.Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, and John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.“Correlation is not causation.” It’s a truism that researchers take for granted, and for good reason. The fact that event A is followed by event B doesn’t mean that A caused B. An observational study of 1,000 adults, for example, that found those taking high doses of vitamin C were less like ly to develop lung cancer doesn’t p...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 23, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Taking Down the Fences that Divide Us
Innovation in healthcare requires new ways to think about interdisciplinary solutions.Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform and John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.During the 10 years we have worked together, John and I have written often about the power of words liketransformation, optimism, cynicism, and misdiagnosis. Another word that needs more attention is “interdisciplinary.” It’s been uttered so many times in science, medicine, and technology that it’s lost much of its impact.  We all give lip service to the ide...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 19, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Identifying the Best De-Identification Protocols
Keeping patient data private remains one of the biggest challenges in healthcare. A recently developed algorithm from nference is helping address the problem.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.In the United States, healthcare organizations that manage or store personal health information (PHI) are required by law to keep that data secure and private. Ignoring that law, as spelled out in the HIPAA regulations, has cost several providers and insurers millions of dollars in fines, and serious dam...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 12, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs

Learning from AI ’s Failures
A detailed picture of AI ’s mistakes is the canvas upon which we create better digital solutions.John Halamka, M.D., president, Mayo Clinic Platform, and Paul Cerrato, senior research analyst and communications specialist, Mayo Clinic Platform, wrote this article.We all tend to ignore clich és because we’ve heard them so often, but some clichés are worth repeating. “We learn more from failure than success” comes to mind. While it may be overused, it nonetheless conveys an important truth for anyone involved in digital health. Two types of failures are worth closer scrutiny: alg orithms that claim to improve diagn...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - July 6, 2021 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs