The ideas and innovators shaping health care
| | | | |  | | By Daniel Payne, Carmen Paun, Ruth Reader and Erin Schumaker | | | | |  AI is proving it can see things the human eye cannot. | Damian Dovarganes/AP | Artificial intelligence could predict women’s risk of getting breast cancer years ahead of diagnosis, new research in JAMA Network Open suggests. Researchers in Norway and the U.S. analyzed records from hundreds of thousands of mammograms performed on women ages 50 to 69 in Norway from 2004 to 2018. They then used an AI screening tool from the South Korean firm Lunit to review the data. Though intended only as a screening tool, the Lunit program, Insight MMG, was able to predict which patients would later develop breast cancer. The scans in which the AI tool saw cancer were taken four to six years before the actual diagnosis. Why it matters: Better risk assessment could prompt patients to undergo further testing or more frequent exams, leading to earlier detection. Cancer detected earlier is usually more treatable, potentially saving lives and reducing long-term health care costs. Even so: Some researchers have raised concerns that insurance companies might not cover additional screening costs unless traditional risk factors are also present. And using an algorithm for a purpose other than what it was built for could pose legal risks for health systems.
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Edgewater, Md. | Shawn Zeller/POLITICO | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. The European Space Agency launched a spacecraft this week that will try to help figure out how to deflect an asteroid if one is ever headed toward Earth, POLITICO’s Joshua Posaner reports. 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.
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Scutari sees mental health benefits in magic mushrooms that the FDA has not. | AP Photo/Mel Evans | New Jersey’s legislature could become the first to pass a law legalizing the psychedelic drug psilocybin, better known as magic mushrooms, for medical use if a state Senate bill continues to advance. Our Daniel Han reports that the state Senate’s Budget and Appropriations Committee advanced the measure unanimously this week. Oregon and Colorado voters previously legalized the drug for supervised use through ballot measures. Cities in several other states have decriminalized the drug. The backstory: The authors of the New Jersey bill, including Senate President Nick Scutari, a Democrat, say psilocybin can effectively treat various behavioral health conditions, including clinical dependence disorders, depression, anxiety and end-of-life psychological distress. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved psilocybin for any of those disorders, but the National Institute on Drug Abuse is studying the drug as a possible treatment for mental illness. The drug remains illegal to use under federal law and is thought to pose a high risk for abuse, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The New Jersey bill would permit doctors, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants to sign off on the drug’s use. “As you read through the bill, there is a lot of protection here in place — this is not a recreational [drug],” said state Sen. Paul Sarlo, the Democrat who chairs the Budget and Appropriations Committee, during the panel’s meeting. “This is here to help those who are really struggling.”
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More widespread vaccination could help mitigate the problem of antimicrobial resistance, the WHO says. | Siphiwe Sibeko/Pool via AP | Vaccines could prevent more than 500,000 deaths related to antimicrobial resistance every year and significantly reduce the use of antibiotics, overuse of which contributes to the growth of resistant pathogens, a new World Health Organization report says. The WHO estimates that more than 1 million people die each year because they can’t get effective antibiotics, our Claudia Chiappa reports. A recent study found that over the next 25 years, pathogens that resist treatment with antibiotics could cause more than 39 million deaths and contribute to 169 million additional deaths unless countries take urgent measures. That should include vaccination, the WHO says. Its report focused on 24 pathogens and 44 vaccines. Some shots are already licensed by national regulatory agencies, while others are at various stages of clinical development. In total, those vaccines could prevent an estimated 515,000 deaths and reduce the number of antibiotics needed by 22 percent, or 2.5 billion doses, annually, the WHO says. Improving coverage with existing vaccines — such as for Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia and meningitis — could avert 106,000 deaths each year, save $861 million in hospital costs and reduce antibiotic use by tens of millions of doses. Vaccines in early- and late-stage clinical development — such as for tuberculosis and Klebsiella pneumoniae — could avert up to 543,000 deaths annually, save $31.2 billion and reduce antibiotics use by 2.4 billion doses if developed and distributed globally. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
