Australia

• AMA calls for stronger AI regulations after doctors use ChatGPT to write medical notes: Five hospitals in Perth's South Metropolitan Health Service were advised in May to stop using ChatGPT to write medical records for patients after it was discovered some staff had been using the large language model for the practice. Calls for more regulation here were front and center in the American Medical Association's (AMA) recent discussion paper on safe and responsible AI uptake in Australia. Overall, AMA's position is that AI in healthcare remains a "high-risk application" where rapid regulation for all use cases is required.                                         
  • See also: Australian Microsoft Hype Cycle: Generative AI can deliver up to $13B value to Australia's healthcare sector
• Medical scan AI that can seek second opinion from other AI developed in Australia: Researchers from Monash University have come up with an AI algorithm that can judge another AI algorithm's annotation or label in a medical scan, mimicking the process of seeking a second opinion (Nature publication on it). The algorithm allows multiple AI models to "leverage advantages from labeled and unlabeled data, and learn from each other's predictions to help improve overall accuracy." It also allows them to make more informed decisions, validate their initial assessments, and uncover more accurate diagnoses and treatment decisions. The researchers are now working to expand their AI system to work with different types of medical images and develop a dedicated end-to-end product for practices.                                                                                                                                                                                                
  • See also: Eric was diagnosed with low bone density. AI made his GP wonder if there was more to it
• Should you register with a GP? What is MyMedicare and how might it change the care you get?: Australia is changing how GPs get paid. Starting in May 2024, MyMedicare enrolled GPs will receive capitation payments for any patients admitting to the hospital 10+ times per year. Though not confirmed, numbers floating around are $2,000 per patient per year plus $500 to keep them out of the hospital. This is a notable departure from pure fee-for-service (FFS) or blended FFS, which the Australian primary care system has been attached to for years.

Belgium

• Constitutional Court unravels Flemish social protection reform: The Constitutional Court has largely unraveled the social protection reform introduced in 2021 by the Flemish government. The Court deemed unconstitutional the way in which the then Minister for Social Affairs had linked additional residence and integration conditions to the right to a health budget or a socially corrected health premium. The Flemish social protection is an add-on to federal social security. It provides monthly care budgets for people in need of extensive care, disabled persons and elderly people in need of care. Since 2021, anyone wishing to claim a care budget must have 10 years' residence in Flanders region.

Canada

• Calgary surgeon performs minimally invasive heart surgery as it was still beating: A surgeon conducted Alberta's first minimally invasive direct coronary bypass at Foothills Medical Center. This procedure is usually open-heart surgery. The patient was able to return to work after eight days, compared to the usual two months recovery time needed for open heart.
• Province directs Alberta Health to investigate Calgary clinic charging membership fees: Private care clinics charging patients membership fees are growing at a faster rate across Canada. Health Canada wrote to Alberta officials investigate a clinic in Calgary to ensure compliance with the Canada Health Act — which forbids private clinics from charging membership fees to grant faster access to medically necessary services that are covered by OHIP. Health Canada warned that if the clinic violates the Canada Health Act, federal transfer payments to the province will be deducted.
• Shortage of anesthesiologists leads to operating room closures in Alberta, doctors say: Canada has fewer anesthesiologists per 100,000 people than other countries. The growing shortage is contributing to backlogs, as organizations are having to cancel procedures because of the lack of anesthesiologists available. One hospital reported that it's been two years since they've been able to run their ORs at full capacity. Alberta piloted Anesthesia Care Team model — which leverages the skills and expertise of respiratory therapists — as a stopgap solution to the shortages.

Denmark

• Combined blue opposition rages over patient conditions in Region Central Jutland - minister is called in consultation: Region Central Jutland's patient office is facing criticism from opposition conservatives. Patients are waiting up to three weeks to be referred for private treatment (in the region, the public patient office refers you for private care). This means that the "investigation within 30-days" right is exceeded before they are even allowed to get help to get a faster appointment in the private sector.

Germany

• Hospital Associations Disappointed in German Hospital Reform: Germany's impending hospital reform has elicited fierce criticism from hospital associations. However, 14 of Germany's 16 federal states gave their approval. One of the most crucial changes is that the previous system of flat-rate payments is being replaced. Vital clinics are receiving what is known as "contingency rates." That is, they are continuing to receive money for the services they provide, but not for those that they have provided. However, no extra money is entering the system as a result of the new allowances. Revenue is just being distributed differently, according to the position paper. The contingency rates should account for 60% of the costs of a procedure; therefore, the proportion from diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) will decrease.

Switzerland

• After a year, a child on cardiac assistance saved without a transplant: After spending a year in intensive care at CHUV, a four-year-old boy finally did not need a heart transplant: his heart is now beating on its own. Hospitalized for cancer at the age of 3 in 2022, he developed heart failure due to an infection. The child could not be put on the waiting list for a heart transplant and was placed on bi-ventricular cardiac assistance. The team at CHUV operated for the first time to install this device on both ventricles. This machine is exclusively reserved for children who suffer from heart failure and saves time by preserving the heart for a possible transplant. But after months of improved recovery, the decision was made to not get a transplant. Instead, the machine was removed and the child's heart (with the assistance of medication) continues to beat on its own — a first in Switzerland.

Thailand

• This startup brings Southeast Asia's vacant operating rooms into the sharing economy: HD, a startup based out of Bangkok, is applying the gig economy model to healthcare in Southeast Asia. HD operates a platform that helps three parties meet: surgeons with private practice, patients looking to have their surgeries done more cheaply, and vacant surgery rooms at hospitals. They have also just entered into a collaborative agreement with Johnson & Johnson MedTech Thailand to increase access to high-tech and innovative surgical procedures.