Will AI replace doctors who read X-rays or just make them better than ever?

| 5/21/2024

Will AI replace doctors who read X-rays or just make them better than ever?

How good would an algorithm have to be to take over your job? For doctors who review scans to spot cancer and other diseases, AI has loomed for about a decade as more algorithms promise to improve accuracy, speed up work and, in some cases, take over entire parts of the job. Predictions have ranged from doomsday scenarios in which AI fully replaces radiologists, to sunny futures in which it frees them to focus on the most rewarding aspects of their work. [Source: Health News Florida]

Hundreds of nursing homes in Florida forced to close due to surging property insurance rates

In the five-year period ending in 2023, an average of 146 nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Florida have closed each year, according to the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration. During that same five-year period, commercial property insurance premiums rose 125% in Florida. more from Bloomberg News and the New York Post, and McKnights.

Commentary: Advancing mental health care access for Floridians

According to Mental Health America, here in Florida, more than 2.9 million adults have experienced a mental illness. Of them, more than half are not receiving treatment. For many, it’s not that they won’t seek treatment; they cannot access it. Like the rest of the nation, the Sunshine State is experiencing a serious shortage of behavioral health providers. We do not have enough to meet the growing demand for services. [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

Florida reports 22,000+ abortions this year before the six-week law began

More than 22,000 abortions were performed in Florida this year before a law took effect May 1 preventing most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Newly posted data on the state Agency for Health Care Administration website showed a reported 22,409 abortions had been performed as of May 1. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Addressing Florida's infant mortality rate and barriers to health care

Although Florida has spent millions of dollars on maternal and infant health, its infant mortality rate has remained nearly stagnant for about a decade. In that time, the rate of births to mothers with no prenatal care has risen, according to state data. Cindy Krischer Goodman, health care reporter for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, said infant mortality among Black babies is double that of white babies. [Source: WUSF]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› 'Can we live here?': Lower Keys officials, residents anxious about medical care services [WLRN]
When the doors closed last year at the only cancer center in the Florida Keys, public officials and local residents worried that Monroe County's 82,000 residents may lose more specialized medical care in the future. Those concerns were evident this month when the Lower Keys Hospital District Board announced it was going to convene a special committee to set minimum care standards on the Lower Keys Medical Center’s next lease.

› Opening date is delayed at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City [Tampa Bay Business Journal]
The long-awaited opening of BayCare’s South Florida Baptist Hospital in its new North Park Road location in Plant City has been pushed back. BayCare Spokeswoman Lisa Razler told the Business Journal that the system is continuing to prepare for the opening of its new state-of-the-art replacement hospital. She cited a delay but was not specific about the circumstances.

› New healthcare center fills a gap in underserved Broward County areas [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
From the outside, Broward County’s new healthcare center in the middle of a strip mall may look like an ordinary medical office. Inside, it could be a game changer for pregnant women. The Lauderdale Lakes center combines medical exam rooms staffed by Broward HealthPoint and community spaces operated by Community Care Plan. It will be fully open by the end of the month and offer a mix of services previously unavailable in the surrounding underserved communities.

› AdventHealth study aims to increase type 1 diabetes screening [Orlando Sentinel]
AdventHealth researchers are seeking local participants for a study that will attempt to identify people with type 1 diabetes early in their disease. Participants will come in for a single blood draw and paid up to $50 each in the study, sponsored by AdventHealth and the Florida Department of Health. If the person’s blood draw shows signs of diabetes, they will be referred to follow-up care.

Tags: Health Care eNews

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