Pharmacies across the US are closing in record numbers, and the resulting pharmacy deserts are deepening healthcare disparities, according to a recent study from the University of Houston.

As consumers increasingly order prescriptions online and insurers leave independent pharmacies out of preferred pharmacy networks, pharmacy closures are disproportionately affecting underserved communities, the study found.

“Pharmacies have always been the frontline healthcare access points for families in medically underserved areas, but that’s going away,” Omolola Adepoju, a health services researcher and clinical associate professor at the University of Houston as well as the study’s lead author, said in a statement. “In these areas, which are mostly minority communities with serious socioeconomic challenges, it is adding to existing healthcare disparities.”

Researchers found, for example, that in Houston’s Greater Third Ward neighborhood, the nearest pharmacy is two miles away—four times farther away than in the nearby, more affluent neighborhood of Midtown.

Keep reading here.—MA

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Maia at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Maia for her number on Signal.

From HAL to Skynet, AI gets a bad rap. With its fast rise, buzzy headlines, and seemingly limitless potential, it’s hard to know if AI will help us or upend us. A pressing question on many employees’ minds: Will AI take my job?

MIT researchers offer a picture of the future of AI in the workplace. Read Tech Brew’s explanation of what artificial intelligence is capable of, what its probable use cases are, and the implications for your job. Hint: Predictions might be more complex and hopeful than you might expect. Read or listen here.

Cancer rates among people younger than 50 years old are on the rise, according to a recent paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, which looked at a cohort of more than 560,000 cancer patients, found the number of early-onset cancers among this group increased slightly, by 0.74%, from 2010 to 2019. The uptick was more pronounced among women, who saw a 4.4% increase, as well as individuals aged 30 to 39, where cancer diagnoses increased 19.4%. The researchers documented sharp increases in certain types of the disease, including breast and gastrointestinal cancer.

It’s not yet clear what risk factors are causing this uptick in cancers among people under 50, and the authors of the paper wrote that they hope it serves “as a call to action for further research” on the environmental conditions associated with the “concerning pattern.”

Keep reading at HR Brew.—CV

On Fridays, we schedule our rounds with Healthcare Brew readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

This week’s Making Rounds spotlights Dhruv Suyamprakasam, the founder, CEO, and director of global digital health platform iCliniq. Billed as a “medical second opinion” platform, iCliniq lets users ask specific questions about their health and virtually connects them with medical providers. Suyamprakasam shared some insight on how new technologies and capabilities, including artificial intelligence (AI), are shaping the future of healthcare delivery.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Tell me more about iCliniq and how it works.

We help our patients get connected to healthcare solutions that are reliable, accessible, and really personalized. We have access to high-quality doctors—over 4,300 doctors around the globe—helping patients mostly in the US. We have over 50,000 high-intent content pieces that patients engage with on the platform. We created content as a funnel for users to come to our platform.

Keep reading here.—SY

Do you work in healthcare or have information about the industry that we should know? Email Shannon at [email protected]. For confidential conversations, ask Shannon for her number on Signal.