Recent Digital Health Trends, Insight and News - January 2025
Withings gets FDA clearance, GPT-4 helps clinicians, Biden signs telehealth funding bill and more AI.
Trying to navigate the busy holiday season and the latest digital health trends is no easy feat. Fortunately, we got you covered. We summarized December’s latest news and insights so you’re up-to-date on what happened as you transition into the new year.
Learn about AI policy updates and extended telehealth flexibilities to remote monitoring wins in this month’s recap.
Technology, News and Insights
Withings Gets FDA Clearance for BPM Pro 2 Cellular Monitor
Withings Health Solutions, a remote patient monitoring company, recently received FDA clearance for its device, BPM Pro 2. This tool measures pulse rate and blood pressure (BP) in adults with arm circumferences of 9 to 17 inches or 16 to 20 inches. This at-home monitor can prompt patients to retake their BP if it surpasses the preset threshold, ask them questions about their symptoms and educate them on correct measurement. Care team members can also send patients personalized messages, thus promoting patient engagement.
Read the full Mobi Health News article here >>
Study: GPT-4 Helps Clinicians with Physical Exam Guidance
In a study published in the Journal of Medical Artificial Intelligence, researchers concluded that large language models (LLMs) may help address physician knowledge gaps. They evaluated using a GPT-4 LLM during physical exams, watching how it responded when prompted to suggest instructions based on a patient's primary symptom. After that, three attending physicians ranked the LLM's performance for accuracy, comprehensiveness, readability and overall quality. Researchers found that it performed well, noting that they expect a greater role for LLMs in clinical decision support in the future.
Read the full Mobi Health News article here >>
Remote Perioperative Monitoring in Adult Cardiac Surgery: The Impact on 1000 Consecutive Patients
A study was conducted at three United States hospitals from July 2019 through April 2023 to assess the impact of remote patient monitoring on patients who underwent a cardiac procedure. Researchers discovered that patients using at-home RPM devices experienced a statistically significant shorter postoperative length of stay compared to the non-RPM cohort. In addition, patients had fewer 30-day readmissions and higher rates of discharge to home.
Read the Annals of Thoracic Surgery report here >>
Policy and Regulatory
Congress Releases AI Policy Blueprint
With AI growing in popularity and expected to be implemented in various health systems nationwide in 2025, lawmakers aim to establish regulatory oversight of its use. Twenty-four members of Congress released a report that included 89 recommendations and 66 key findings. Some of their suggestions include ensuring AI in healthcare is safe, transparent and effective and creating incentives and guidance to encourage risk management of AI technologies in healthcare.
They aim to adopt an agile approach to further assess AI's capabilities and update their policies as developments evolve.
Read the full Healthcare IT News article here >>
Biden Signs Funding Bill Extending Telehealth Flexibilities, But No Relief for Doctors — or PBM Reform
In the final bill, Congress provided a three-month extension of current Medicare telehealth flexibilities, permitting the rules established during COVID-19 to continue. However, this is down from the two-year recommendation discussed in the original agreement, signaling more uncertainty for telehealth. In addition, Congress failed to stop the 2.8% Medicare cuts from going into effect on January 1, 2025, but reform may be on the table next year for physicians. The article goes on to cover the PBM reform.
Read the full Healthcare Dive article here >>
HHS final rule aims to boost interoperability
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a new rule on December 11th, aiming to make the distribution of health information more seamless and secure. This rule is part of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Its goals are to simplify the process of health IT certification, promote the use of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) APIs, stop information blocking and more.
Read the full Beckers Hospital Review article here >>
Industry Conversations
Technology Priorities for Health Systems in 2025
On December 12, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions published survey results capturing key technology trends that may impact 2025. The survey was completed by 80 top executives from large U.S. health systems and health plans with revenues over $500 million. The results showed that approximately a third of executives stated that investing in technology would be a priority, and 60% of health system executives said they’d focus on bettering cybersecurity at their organization next year.
Read the full Beckers Hospital Review article here >>
Wolters Kluwer Health 25 for '25 expert predictions report
Leading experts at Wolters Kluwer Health offered predictions on what they expect the trends, challenges and opportunities in healthcare to be in 2025. Julie Frey, who is the Head of Provider Product and Clinical Effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer Health, for example, believes new evidence-based tools will be available to help primary care physicians (PCPs) who commonly take on mental health service demands. Currently, health systems are unable to hire enough mental health specialists, so new technology may help PCPs make more informed mental health decisions.
Other predictions include retail pharmacies shifting toward e-commerce to better align with patient expectations, using technology like AI to onboard new nurse educators and more.
Read the full Wolters Kluwer article here >>
Growth, Funding and Innovation
Johns Hopkins Medicine Deploys Abridge AI Platform for Clinical Documentation Across Enterprise
On December 18th, Johns Hopkins Medicine signed a deal to partner with Abridge to introduce its generative AI-powered clinical documentation app across the health system. This will allow the organization's 6,700 providers, who work within its 40 patient care centers and six hospitals, to utilize the tool for more efficient clinical documentation. This is Abridge’s latest deal, but it has partnered with other large health systems, such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and Christus Health.
Read the full Beckers Hospital Review here >>
Carta Healthcare to Power Oncology Research and Clinical Trials with Acquisition of Realyze Intelligence, a UPMC Enterprises Company
Carta Healthcare, a leader in clinical data abstraction that employs AI, recently acquired Realyze Intelligence. As a result of the acquisition, Carta Healthcare can now utilize the clinician-trained AI from Realyze Intelligence to scan EHRs for ideal patients quickly and assemble cohorts within seconds instead of the hours or days it usually takes. This should optimize research and cut costs in the oncology space, which is needed as cancer is inching up to become the leading cause of death worldwide.
Read the PR Newswire article here >>
OpenLoop Resources & News
OpenLoop CEO Forecasts the Digital Health Trends of 2025
Want a pulse on what’s expected in the digital health realm next year? Dr. Jon Lensing, the CEO and Co-founder at OpenLoop, shares seven digital health trends that healthcare professionals should watch for in 2025. Some of his predictions involve potential regulatory changes, GLP-1 medications, healthcare delivery via mobile apps, and more.
Read the full OpenLoop blog here >>
Gamification in Diabetes Improves Glycemic Control Among Patients
Can patients and practitioners use gamification to improve diabetes management? In this article, we uncover the results of a study in which researchers discovered that patients who participated in gamification saw decreased HbA1c levels. Also, gain more insight into what gamification is, why it should be used in healthcare and more.
Read the full OpenLoop blog here >>
What's Next For Diabetes Technology in 2025?
The prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is increasing, and providers are scrambling to find ways to maximize current disease management interventions. In this article, we’ve pinpointed what diabetes technology might look like in 2025, especially regarding AI, remote patient monitoring and virtual visits.