Walmart is partnering with AI platform Health at Scale to connect its associates with a doctor that’s the best fit as more workers say they’d give up flexible hours for better health benefits.

In wake of Headspace Health’s acquisition of AI chatbot Sayana, we explore how telemental health firms might look to stand out from the pack.

Why AI will be at the center of health systems’ focus this year: A new survey reveals how health systems are more bullish than ever on AI. We unpack some of the key challenges with the tech below..

Digital health gets a new AI unicorn as health leaders bet on AI for clinical admin: Iodine Software just became the latest healthcare AI unicorn via a private equity investment—growth we expect to continue as provider orgs look to run a tighter ship with their finances.

Is AI-powered cancer diagnostics mainstreaming? A Memorial Sloan Kettering spinout got the FDA nod for its cancer-detecting AI tool, and NYU Langone’s study results boast the efficacy of a similar tool—more fuel for healthcare stakeholders investing in AI for cancer diagnostics.

AI and Machine Learning. Chatbots, voice assistants, and voice-enabled devices can provide digital biomarkers of a range of conditions. The Alexa-powered Amazon Echo smart speaker, for example, can be used to detect irregular heart rhythms and monitor infants’ breathing.

AI and Automation. AI technology is integral to the hospital of the future. Smart hospital solutions use AI to capture and process information, then build automation around the data. Due to the pandemic, healthcare executives in the US are more interested in AI and automation technology than ever:.

AI for healthcare administration startups moved up to the third-highest funded area compared with the 11th place in Q4’21, raking in $888 million. This category included startups like medical transcription company DeepScribe. Physician burnout and nursing shortages are likely drivers behind the jump in AI admin funding.

Oracle’s acquisition of Cerner could help the EHR company broaden its AI voice tech to attract new health system clients over the next few years. When Oracle scooped up Cerner in a $30 billion deal last December, their press release noted that AI voice tech is a key component of their expansion strategy.

And this past February, it launched Biofourmis Care—an AI-powered specialty care platform that uses RPM and virtual care to target chronic condition management. Biofourmis also hits on two booming digital health markets: RPM and telehealth. 15.1% of the US population (39.3 million people) used RPM in 2021.

The news: Microsoft launched Azure Health Data Services to boost healthcare interoperability and expand its healthcare cloud strategy across data, AI, and clinician experiences. For example, the new Azure service could allow a physician to pull up an MRI alongside a patient’s medical history, or use AI to analyze data from wearable devices to determine whether or not a patient has a healthy lifestyle.

AI algorithms that detect and prevent infections before they become deadly. This can help reduce human error and boost care quality. For example, John Hopkins’ spinoff Bayesian Health developed an AI clinical support platform that signals when a patient becomes high-risk for clinical deterioration, sepsis, or injury. 2. Nurse staffing platforms can address the nursing shortage.