In this edition:

• 🏠 Americans find hospital-at-home care appealing

• 🚨 Geisinger data breach likely reached 1.2 Million

• ⚖️ SCOTUS ruling’s effect on healthcare

• ➡️ Healthcare is all in on AI

• And more!

Hospital-at-home care is appealing for most

Hospital-level care provided in a patient's own home is appealing to a majority of people for its convenience, comfort and effectiveness, according to a USC Schaeffer Center study.

The study, published in JAMA, found that most survey respondents felt they would recover faster if cared for at home, rather than in the hospital, and that they felt safe being treated at home.

Researchers say their study provides important insights about patient and family preferences as policymakers weigh whether to extend a pandemic-era program that allowed hospitals to provide care at home.

"Patients, of course, want the best-quality care, but often prefer to be at home, especially if technology allows them to work closely with their physician team toward recovery," says Melissa A. Frasco, research scientist at the Schaeffer Center.

The research also found that 82% of respondents felt comfortable with managing a patient's medications at home, and 67% reported willingness to provide more in-depth care such as wound care.

Geisinger data breach likely impacted over 1.2 Million

On Nov. 29, 2023, Geisinger discovered and immediately notified Nuance that a former Nuance employee had accessed certain Geisinger patient information two days after the employee had been terminated.

An investigation was launched, and law enforcement was engaged. The former Nuance employee has been arrested and is facing federal charges.

Through its investigation, Nuance determined the former employee may have accessed and taken information pertaining to more than one million Geisinger patients.

The information varied by patient but could have included names in combination with one or more of the following: date of birth, address, admit and discharge or transfer code, medical record number, race, gender, phone number and facility name abbreviation.

Despite hurdles, healthcare is all in on AI

Generative AI (GenAI) is having a renaissance, but few industries are experiencing this like healthcare.

As early adopters, everything from hospital operations and administrative duties, to clinical trials and drug discovery are being impacted by the technology. Despite the rosy outlook,  it doesn’t paint the full picture of GenAI in healthcare.

Highlighting both the successes and challenges of GenAI in healthcare, the survey uncovers some interesting trends, among them:

1. GenAI budgets are growing exponentially

2. Task-specific language models reign supreme

3. Use cases vary by company size and technical experience

4. Human intervention remains necessary

FDA approves Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer's drug

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly that has been shown in clinical trials to modestly slow a decline in memory and thinking abilities in people with the disease, the drugmaker said Tuesday.

The drug, donanemab, which will be sold under the brand name Kisunla, is a monoclonal antibody infusion given every four weeks.

The FDA cleared the drug for use in adults with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease, Lilly said. Kisunla works by targeting amyloid in the brain, considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

The approval is significant because it adds another treatment option for the devastating disease, said Dr. Ronald Petersen, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic. Last summer, the FDA granted a full approval to a similar drug called Leqembi.