Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Specialized AI Chatbots Could Help Triage Patients For Primary Care Physicians
Last year, nearly 100 people tried a new form of medical care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. After scheduling a visit with the hospital’s urgent care facility, they discussed their ailments with a Google chatbot before meeting with their doctors. The bot explored their symptoms, the possible causes of their maladies and the potential treatments, before generating a summary of each conversation. Doctors could then review the bot’s summary in preparation for a patient’s visit. (Metz, 10/8)
Hospital, insurance, and drug developments —
Hospitals are looking for medical devices that deliver a meaningful return on investment as they face mounting pressure to cut costs. Medical and surgical supply costs, including for devices, rose from $40 billion in 2020 to $57 billion in 2025, reflecting an average annual increase of about 8.2%, according to data and analytics company Definitive Healthcare. The average hospital margin was less than 3% in 2025, said Kristi Kline, principal at Deloitte Consulting. (Dubinsky, 10/8)
Luminis Health announced that its systems have been restored, five weeks after the hospital system experienced a cyberattack. (Bhat, 10/8)
Michigan’s attorney general filed an antitrust suit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, alleging the insurer unlawfully abused its market-leading position. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), claims the insurer overcharged the state employees’ medical benefit plan by conspiring with other Blue Cross Blue Shield carriers to divvy up markets. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which also owns Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, is the largest insurer in the state. (Tong, 10/8)
Argenx said Thursday that its blockbuster drug Vyvgart didn’t outperform placebo in a Phase 3 trial of patients with Sjögren’s disease, a chronic autoimmune disorder. (Mast, 10/8)
Also —
Beth Israel Lahey Health has tapped Peter Shorett as its next president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. He succeeds Dr. Kevin Tabb, who in March announced he would step down. Shorett, who joined the 14-hospital system in 2019, is the system’s chief operating officer and senior executive vice president. (DeSilva, 10/8)
