The AI hunting for tooth decay

I can feel my eyes roll into the back of my head when I'm laying back in a chair, my mouth pried open with a plastic cheek retractor, and the dentist tells me about the very expensive treatment I will require to prevent future cavities, gum disease, root canals — whatever.

I may succeed in declining possibly unnecessary elective procedures, but would it be harder to say no if the dentist was armed with an artificial intelligence tool backing them up?

In a new story, STAT's Casey Ross explores the emerging world of AI dentistry tools, spun out from institutions like Harvard and MIT, that promise to help doctors spot troublesome conditions in x-rays and other images before they happen, empowering people — and the dentists — to intervene before things get worse. In the past three years, eight AI products have been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration with many more on the way.

While the tools have demonstrated an ability to spot possible problems, it remains to be seen whether the use of such tools actually improve dental outcomes and save money. Saving money at the dentist! Wouldn't that be something?

Mental Health

AI discovers brain biomarker for depression

In a newly published study, researchers say they've been able to measure the improvement from treatment-resistant depression, STAT's Mohana Ravindranath reports. The researchers used data collected from the electrodes in brain stimulators implanted in 10 people receiving treatment for the tricky depression. After feeding data into a home grown artificial intelligence system, researchers were able to track people's progress from electrical activity in brain cells.

If the biomarker for depression is verified it could help with diagnosis and treatment as well as the development of new treatments.

Pear data from beyond the grave

Pear Therapeutics might be dead, but data suggesting its apps saved Massachusetts money is doing the rounds.

In 2021, MassHealth, the Massachusetts state Medicaid program, announced a deal to cover Pear Therapeutics' two FDA-cleared prescription digital therapeutics for the treatment of substance use and opioid use disorders. Pear filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, but in recent months, MassHealth representatives have been showing data from the first year of that deal suggesting the treatments created $2,000 in savings per member by reducing health care utilization. Unsurprisingly, people in industry are excited about this, and the data has been presented to policymakers and lawmakers considering federal legislation that would require Medicare to cover prescription apps.

It's worth noting: The data isn't from a randomized study and there is no comparison to people who didn't get the apps, so we don't know if the reduced utilization was simply a case of members regressing to the mean.

insurance

What digital codes are insurers actually paying?

Screen Shot 2023-09-20 at 11.23.02 AM

If you don't cover their codes, the American Medical Association is going to call you out.

The AMA this week published a "Future of Health" report, which analyzes which of the AMA's CPT codes for digitally enabled care commercial insurers are actually reimbursing. The AMA's key observation, which is plainly visible in the chart from the report above, is that there is "a lack of alignment" across public and private insurers about what they cover and how. "This lack of alignment makes it difficult for physicians to reliably provide digital services and for the consumer to know what services are accessible to them."

health tech

Industry news

Oracle announced new generative AI capabilities for health care, including a new Clinical Digital Assistant. Oracle in 2021 acquired electronic health record vendor Cerner.
Equip, which provides virtual treatment for eating disorders in young people, announced it would add a service for adults. It also announced an investment from General Catalyst, which was $20 million, according to SEC filings.
Medical device giant Boston Scientific announced plans to acquire Relievant Medsystems for $850 million up front and additional payments based on performance over the next three years. Relievant makes an FDA-cleared nerve ablation system to treat chronic low back pain.

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What we're reading

Everything We Know About Neuralink's Brain Implant Trial, Wired
AlphaFold tool pinpoints protein mutations that cause disease, Nature
Google Health's chief clinical officer talks about incorporating AI in health care, JAMA