The American Medical Association is urging Congress to add safeguards for AI mental health chatbots amid safety concerns, while noting their potential to expand access.

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As always, this year’s HLTH conference brought a slew of announcements — from product launches to funding rounds to new partnerships. This list features short summaries for seven of the conference’s most notable announcements.

The post 7 HLTH Announcements You Don’t Want to Miss appeared first on MedCity News.

The AMA has launched a new Center for Digital Health and AI to ensure physicians are actively involved in shaping how emerging technologies are integrated into healthcare.

The post AMA Unveils Center for Digital Health and AI to Elevate Physician Voice in Tech appeared first on MedCity News.

Florida plans to end all vaccine mandates, drawing sharp criticism from health experts who warn it threatens public health and could lead to preventable disease outbreaks.

The post Healthcare Experts Slam Florida’s Plan to End Vaccine Mandates appeared first on MedCity News.

Physicians are facing rising workloads, shrinking support staff and declining reimbursement — resulting in a burnout crisis and threatening the sustainability of independent practices. Experts say urgent Medicare payment reforms are needed to prevent further consolidation, as well as preserve access to care.

The post Workload Up, Payment Down: The Growing Strain on Independent Practices appeared first on MedCity News.

In a new analysis, the American Medical Association detailed the lack of competition among pharmacy benefit managers and their high level of vertical integration with insurers.

The post New AMA Report Highlights Lack of Competition in PBM Market appeared first on MedCity News.

Several insurers, such as UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna, pledged to improve prior authorization. These changes include streamlining decision timelines and increasing transparency.

The post More Than 50 Health Plans Commit to Simplifying Prior Authorization appeared first on MedCity News.

May has seen a slew of executive hires, exits and layoffs across the healthcare industry. For example, the American Medical Association and TigerConnect named new CEOs, and Google and UnitedHealth Group have seen key executives leave their roles. There were also layoffs at organizations including Devoted Health and New York-Presbyterian.

The post Healthcare Moves: A Monthly Summary of Hires, Exits and Layoffs appeared first on MedCity News.

The current prior authorization process in U.S. healthcare constitutes a crisis, according to Jesse Ehrenfeld, immediate past president of the American Medical Association. Prior authorization is wasting clinicians’ time, delaying care and deepening public distrust — yet, payers show little urgency in fixing this problem, he said.

The post Why One Leader Is Calling Out Insurers’ Inaction on Prior Authorization appeared first on MedCity News.

Healthcare experts shared key principles that are guiding health system strategy during a panel at MedCity News’ INVEST conference. These leaders believe in flexible, patient-centered engagement strategies, emphasize clinical value as the benchmark for adopting technology, and champion collaboration to scale solutions that deliver proven results.

The post 3 Rules Health Systems Are Living By in 2025 appeared first on MedCity News.

The healthcare investor conference, scheduled for May 20 and 21 at the Willis Tower in Chicago, combines panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a startup pitch contest. Register today!

The post Who is Speaking at INVEST 2025? appeared first on MedCity News.

The American Medical Association released a new report on Monday on pharmacy benefit managers. It explained that there is low competition among PBMs and high vertical integration with payers.

The post AMA Report Details Low Competition in PBM Market appeared first on MedCity News.

Many primary care physicians are not participating in value-based payment models. A new study details why and potential solutions.

The post ‘Great on Paper’: Why Primary Care Physicians Are Reluctant To Join Value-Based Care appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS issued its proposed rule for next year’s Medicare physician fee schedule, revealing plans to cut payment rates by 2.8%. Industry groups swiftly expressed their outrage, arguing that reimbursement rates need to keep up with the pace of inflation.

The post Why Industry Groups Are Decrying CMS’ Physician Fee Schedule Proposal appeared first on MedCity News.

Here is a selection of recent executive hires, promotions and layoffs occurring across the healthcare industry.

The post Healthcare Moves: A Monthly Summary of Hires and Layoffs appeared first on MedCity News.

The Supreme Court sided with the FDA and unanimously ruled to uphold access to abortion pill mifepristone. The decision quells worries about what it might look like if the Supreme Court sided with the physician group — many healthcare leaders feared that if the top court could overturn mifepristone’s FDA approval, the same could happen to other drugs.

The post How Healthcare Leaders Are Reacting to the Supreme Court Preserving Abortion Pill Access appeared first on MedCity News.

In an interview last week, Larry Cohen — CEO of Health 2047, the American Medical Association’s venture studio — noted that digital health programs have proven to do a good job of improving patient outcomes — but only for certain groups. As technology continues to advance, he urged healthcare leaders not to underestimate the effectiveness of engaging patients by having boots on the ground.

The post Health2047 CEO: As Tech Advances, the Power of Community Engagement Can’t Be Forgotten appeared first on MedCity News.

The Medicare physician pay cuts that went into effect January 1 is a “disaster for the profession,” said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the AMA, during an interview at CES 2024. Getting the pay cut reversed is a top priority for the organization.

The post AMA President: Medicare Physician Pay Cuts Will Have ‘Dire’ Impact if Not Reversed appeared first on MedCity News.

Some healthcare organizations have reduced health equity to a buzzword, using the phrase superficially without a true commitment to dismantling systemic barriers. During a webinar, two industry leaders — AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld and Emory Healthcare Chief Transformation Officer Amaka Eneanya — discussed why this approach must be avoided and explored how leaders can do better.

The post How to Ensure Health Equity Isn’t Just a Buzzword appeared first on MedCity News.

Nearly half of physicians are equally excited and concerned about the use of AI in their field, according to a new AMA survey. Those who felt optimistic about AI cited reduced administrative burden as the number one benefit they’re seeking. Patient privacy and the impact to the patient-physician relationship were the most common reasons physicians cited for having reservations about AI.

The post What Do Physicians Really Think of AI? appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS finalized updates to its physician fee schedule for 2024, as well as finalized the rule for next year’s Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). Provider groups are displeased with the updated rules, arguing that both physicians and provider organizations need more monetary relief than what the agency is offering.

The post Why Provider Groups Are Denouncing CMS’ New Payment Rules appeared first on MedCity News.

At HLTH 2023, I had dozens of conversations with providers, digital health investors, startup CEOs and other players in the healthcare industry. When I got home, I compiled seven refreshingly honest takes I heard from them while at the conference.

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To address the growing physician shortage, some people argue that the scope of practice should be expanded for skilled healthcare professionals like nurse practitioners and pharmacists. American Medical Association President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said this is a “terrible idea.” He argued that throwing other professionals into physicians’ roles will have poor ramifications of patient safety. In his view, the industry should focus on uplifting strong interprofessional care teams.

The post Why the AMA President Thinks Scope of Practice Expansions Are a ‘Terrible Idea’ appeared first on MedCity News.

Over the past decade, a significant percentage of the country’s physicians have shifted from working in private practices (defined as those owned wholly by physicians) to working in bigger, health system-owned practices. The ability to negotiate higher payment rates with insurers when working at a larger practice is a crucial factor causing this trend, according to a new AMA analysis.

The post Fewer Physicians Are Practice Owners Than Ever & Medicare Rates Are to Blame, AMA Says appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS recently revealed its proposals to raise reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient departments and cut payments for physicians. Next year, the agency is planning to decrease physicians’ pay by 1.25% and increase outpatient payment rates by 2.8%. Provider groups are unhappy with the news — AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said the new physician fee schedule will be “almost biblical in its impact.”

The post ‘This Is Almost Biblical in Its Impact’: Providers Push Back Against CMS’ New Proposed Rules appeared first on MedCity News.

Providers often have a checklist of requirements they use to determine whether they should bring new technology into their organization. Digital health startups would be wise to learn about these criteria when taking their products to market, said Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health strategy, at a recent conference. That way, startups can build their products around meeting providers’ needs.

The post Why Digital Health Startups Should Embrace a Provider-Centric Approach, Per an AMA Exec appeared first on MedCity News.

The post FDA says pharmacists can prescribe Covid treatment appeared first on MedCity News.

The director of psychological services at Amwell said that the report from the American Medical Association entitled “Accelerating and Enhancing Behavioral Health Integration Through Digitally Enabled Care: Opportunities and Challenges” represent a solid starting point for engaging multiple stakeholders in this effort.

The post Amwell exec weighs in on findings of AMA report, best practices for delivering behavioral healthcare virtually appeared first on MedCity News.

About 73% of health insurance markets are highly concentrated, and in 46% of markets, one insurer had a share of 50% or more, a new report from the American Medical Association shows. The report comes a few months after President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to ramp up oversight of healthcare consolidation.

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The government’s proposed changes to HIPAA aim to provide guardrails against data breaches and misuse, but some of the modifications may not work as intended. Three healthcare experts delved into the ways in which certain proposals could provide inappropriate access to health data during a recent panel discussion.

The post Some proposed HIPAA changes could inadvertently expose the data it’s supposed to protect appeared first on MedCity News.