Ruth, here. Perhaps the most interesting news of the week is from Updoc, a clinical platform that combines traditional physician-led medicine with AI to deliver primary care. This week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the company to use AI to tweak insulin doses for patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Cleveland Clinic will be running a pilot of the program in the fall, wherein Updoc’s bot does patient follow-up, reviews their glucose levels, and adjusts medication as needed. It’s not clear if the FDA is taking a different approach to post-market surveillance for this particular product. The Wall Street Journal’s report only says that the Cleveland Clinic and Updoc will evaluate the technology’s impact on patient outcomes.
Updoc’s move is interesting because so many companies in the same category are actively avoiding FDA regulation. Doctronic, a platform that uses both doctors and AI to treat patients, is testing AI prescription renewals. But rather than get authorization from the FDA, it’s testing its technology in Utah through a state-run program. The FDA has not signaled that it will interfere with the state’s program.
The FDA regulates software involved in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, or mitigation of a disease. As a result, many similar companies are pursuing AI products that are more supportive. For example, several different AI companies are using bots to take on administrative work, surface relevant medical literature, and scribe on behalf of doctors. Some doctors are also not happy with AI taking on aspects of their workload.
Certainly, people will be watching Updoc to see what this authorization does for the company and if it helps propel it to success. FDA authorization does not necessarily lead to big commercial wins (for some digital health companies, it’s done quite the opposite).
My sense is that many health tech companies and health systems will want to keep AI in a supportive role for the foreseeable future.
And now, the news of the week.
Episode 1 of Rounds is here!
Co-hosted by Christina Farr and Stephanie Davis, this episode dives into women’s health care. Megan Scheffel from Silicon Valley Bank joins to break down the latest SVB women’s health report, and Joanna Strober, Founder of Midi Health, sits down to talk about building a billion-dollar company out of a gap the healthcare system spent decades ignoring.
