Lyra launches mental health chatbots as lawmakers pass curbs on bots

Lyra Health announced its members will be able to chat about their mental health with a bot amid concerns from experts, regulators, and lawmakers that such technology is unpredictable and can lead to harms. Ahead of the launch I spoke to Lyra chief clinical officer Alethea Varra and chief product and technology officer Jenny Gonsalves who detailed the company's careful approach to developing and launching the bot, which will be available first to select people being coached for "challenges" like stress and burnout. The executives underscored the company's safety system that is monitored by staff 24 hours a day, but Lyra has not offered data about the safety and clinical outcomes associated with its tool ahead of launch.

primary care

Startup wants to train nurses with AI

There's been an increase in nurse practitioners delivering primary care driven by a worsening shortage of physicians who can do the work. A startup called Altitude wants to use technology to improve the skills of this workforce so they're better equipped to handle complex care.

For a new story, I spoke to clinicians using the technology, which offers suggestions aimed at boosting clinical mastery in the flow of patient care. Altitude's software is being introduced at a time when the American Medical Association and other groups are warning about the risks of leaning too heavily on "non-physicians." Experts point out that empirical evidence suggests nurse practitioners deliver care of similar quality to doctors.

policy

Amazon drops out of AI group under fire from HHS

The Trump administration escalated its assault on the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) last week with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warning that the group is trying to build a "cartel." Other health leaders from the administration have said that the industry-funded group is trying to push through regulations that will stifle innovation. CHAI says that most of its members are startups and that it's taking a "bottom-up" approach to developing voluntary standards for industry.

Amid the drama, I broke the news that Amazon, one of CHAI's four founding industry partners, has not renewed its membership. Microsoft, another founder, is currently assessing whether it wants to continue.

Health tech news roundup

A top Democrat lawmaker is pressing the nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurers to provide more detail about their use of artificial intelligence tools amid reports that these companies are rapidly increasing their reliance on the technology to help make decisions about patients' care and coverage. Read more from Casey Ross here.
Apple is moving its health and fitness teams under services SVP Eddy Cue, Bloomberg reported. Jeff Williams who has been the top executive overseeing the company's health efforts is retiring. The new leadership is interesting in light of rumors that Apple plans to launch a "Health+" service in the near future.
Christopher Longhurst will be the the new CEO of Seattle Children's. Longhurst is currently chief clinical and innovation officer UC San Diego Health where he's a leading public voice on the the use of AI by health systems.
OutcomesAI, which "combines AI voice agents with licensed nurses to extend nursing capacity," announced $10 million in seed funding led by Santé Ventures
WellTheory raised a $14 million Series A round led by General Catalyst for its "whole-person care platform for autoimmune disease."
Pear Suite, which builds tech to support community health workers, raised a $7.6 million Series A round led by Rock Health Capital and Nexxus Holdings.

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