And four more news items for physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and CRNAs to peruse this week.
- As stated in a recent press release, the American Medical Association (AMA) passed its first policy addressing artificial intelligence (AI) at its annual meeting. It has implemented broad policy recommendations for health and technology stakeholders on the issue. A key point in the new policy: the AMA will identify opportunities to integrate the perspective of practicing physicians into the development, design, validation, and implementation of healthcare AI.
- A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-led research team has developed a new machine learning algorithm. As reported by Engadget, the recently crafted technique makes it possible to examine changes in 3D medical scans up to 1,000 times quicker on a personal computer with a fast graphics card. The increased, nearly real-time speed would be enormously helpful for surgeons as they could hypothetically analyze the success of a procedure during surgery.
- Last week, HealthLeaders Media reported on the findings of a study published by the Annals of Emergency Medicine. The conclusion shows there are notable differences in the type of clinician staffing emergency care between rural and urban communities. Important takeaways from the study: 63 percent of emergency medicine (EM) physicians work in urban areas, cost factors depress hiring of EM doctors in rural areas, and the shortage of EM doctors in rural areas is severe.
- Research conducted by athenahealth, developer of cloud-based practice management and electronic health record (EHR) systems, indicates nurse practitioners (NPs) in its network from 2014 to 2017 were 8 percent less likely than physicians to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately during any part of their day. Training may be a factor, according to Joyce Knestrick, certified registered NP and president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, as noted in an anthenainsight post.
- Findings of a study published June 12 in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggest physicians who maintain board certification are more positively associated with performance scores on a set of HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set) process measures. Per the abstract, study participants were 1,260 general internists who were initially certified in 1991 and provided care for more than 85,000 Medicare patients between 2009 and 2012.
Call Optimum Permanent Placement Services at 603.288.1125 to explore permanent opportunities with a knowledgeable recruiter, and check out our blog for the latest news and other helpful information.
