Welcome back to AI 411, a monthly roundup of artificial intelligence (AI) announcements from across the healthcare industry.
The big news this month was Epic announcing its new suite of AI tools, including integrating an ambient scribe into the electronic health record (EHR) giant’s platform. (We spoke with other AI note-taking platform startups to see how they’re feeling about the news.)
Here’s the rundown of health-related AI updates from around the industry in August.
Artisight. Smart hospital company Artisight announced Aug. 28 it can now autonomously document operating room activity into EHRs. The tool could reduce administrative burden on clinicians and also prompt staff to do things like scrub up when a patient enters the room. Similar tools from the company are already used in patient rooms at health systems like York, Pennsylvania-based WellSpan and Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine.
CHAI/NACHC. The Coalition for Health AI, or CHAI, a nonprofit dedicated to responsible AI use, and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), which represents community health centers (CHCs) serving nearly 34 million patients, announced a new partnership Aug. 14. Through policy, education, research, and integration support, the pair said in a release they hope to ensure CHCs and patients “are prioritized and positioned to benefit” from AI in healthcare.
EliseAI. On Aug. 20, EliseAI, which automates healthcare and housing systems like multistep scheduling and prior authorizations, announced a $250 million fundraiser. The Series E round was led by venture capitalist (VC) firm Andreessen Horowitz and had participation from other VCs, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, and Navitas Capital. Funds will be used to hire more staff, according to a release. The company’s valuation has doubled to $2.2 billion since last August, Reuters reported.
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Grow Therapy. Mental health company Grow Therapy announced a new AI feature on Aug. 19. Called “between-session reflections,” it provides a space for clients to write about their thoughts and feelings between appointments. The reflections are organized into themes they can access privately, and they can choose what they'd like to share with their provider.
Medallion. Infrastructure software company Medallion, which uses AI to automate the back office of healthcare, announced $43 million in new funding on Aug. 18, bringing its total funding to $130 million. The round was led by VC Acrew Capital, and had participation from other firms, such as Washington Harbour Partners, Sequoia Capital, GV, Spark Capital, and NFDG. Among other things, the company is using the funding to launch CredAlliance, a tool designed to speed up and reduce administrative burden around the credentialing process for health insurance companies, according to a release.
Oracle Health. On Aug. 13, EHR provider Oracle Health announced a “next-generation” platform, which includes implementing an AI agent to be an “intelligent clinical assistant” in the software, according to the company’s website. The tool automatically drafts clinical documentation, enables voice search, and provides patient summaries to help clinicians prepare their workflows.