| | | | |  | | By Gregory Svirnovskiy, Erin Schumaker and Daniel Payne | PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Dec. 2.
| | |  Is that AI easing your load or increasing it? | Shutterstock | | Artificial intelligence advocates have touted AI as a tool to lighten doctors’ administrative loads. But what if AI isn’t solving provider burnout and is instead making it worse? The results of a new study, published last week in JAMA Network Open, aren’t likely to please the AI faithful. Using AI frequently, scientists in China found, was linked to increased burnout — or feeling emotionally exhausted or detached from one’s thoughts, feelings or body — among radiologists, especially if they already worked long hours. Inside the study: Researchers tracked more than 6,700 radiologists from 1,143 hospitals across China. Among those who reported regular AI use, 40.9 percent said they were experiencing burnout, compared with 38.6 percent who reported burnout in the group that didn’t use much AI. Previous research suggests AI can reduce radiologists’ workloads, particularly when used for cancer screenings. But the new study’s authors wrote that high levels of AI use may increase radiologists’ overall workloads, decrease their interactions with co-workers and spark fears about job replacement. What they’re saying: “Although there are growing concerns that AI may alleviate physician workload across various medical specialties, the harmonizing of the relationship between physicians and AI tools has not yet been appropriately prioritized,” the authors wrote. Why it matters: Burnout, which has long plagued the health care industry, reached new highs during the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly 63 percent of doctors reporting burnout in 2021. Meanwhile, 35 percent of doctors say they’re likely to leave their job in the next five years, and vacancy rates for registered nurses have remained stubbornly high. AI, despite its promise, might not be a burnout panacea.
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Moynihan Train Hall, New York, N.Y. | Erin Schumaker/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. You can now buy lab-grown foie gras, Wired reports. But it'll cost you. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.
| | | | REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss. | | | | | | | | |  AI's helping doctors analyze the images. | AP | Two Missouri-based health entities have joined forces to establish an artificial intelligence-fueled health center. Their goal is to deliver faster — and better — care to patients. How so? The Center for Health AI, a collaboration between the Washington University School of Medicine and the BJC Health System, intends to build on the AI technology their clinicians have already developed and implemented. In addition to a pilot AI tool to help document patient visits, the center's providers already use AI tools that can: — Flag patients at high risk for sepsis or chemotherapy complications — Analyze medical images like mammograms to detect microscopic tumors — Help identify effective treatment for patients with rare diseases — Predict extreme blood loss during surgery so blood can be deployed to the operating room “AI is not a substitute for clinicians, but when used appropriately, it can enhance their capabilities, guide decision making and improve the quality, safety and outcomes of the care we provide to our patients,” Philip Payne, who co-leads the center and serves as its inaugural chief health AI officer, said in a statement. Big picture: The Center for Health AI wants to use the technology to streamline workflow and administrative tasks, which it says could make care more efficient and reduce doctor burnout. It’s also meant to be a hub where clinicians and business leaders can collaborate to develop AI tools and evaluate their safety and accuracy. What’s next: The center will prepare medical residents and students to enter a workforce where AI plays an increasingly vital role in patient care.
| | | |  Consider "bypassing" misinformation when you see it, researchers said. | AFP via Getty Images | | There could be a better way to battle misinformation than trying to counter it directly, new research suggests. The standard method for countering misinformation is to directly address it and explain why it’s incorrect. But “bypassing” — offering an alternative, factual statement instead of directly refuting the false claim — could be better at changing minds. That’s according to a new paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General from researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Case in point: Take the false claim that aluminum in vaccines causes bone problems, for example. Instead of directly challenging that claim, it may be more effective to counter it by stating the fact that aluminum in vaccines makes them more effective at preventing disease. Researchers found that the relatively new approach generally changes people’s attitudes and intentions more effectively than directly correcting the misinformation. Even so: Refuting false information was more effective in changing respondents’ views than not responding at all. Why it matters: Since the pandemic, public health experts have intensified their efforts to communicate more effectively with the public and combat misinformation about vaccines and other crucial public health measures. Further research on bypassing could provide experts with a new tool in their arsenal to counter false facts.
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