Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1058375
35 CIO / HEALTH IT Amazon, NIH partner to link biomedical researchers By Alyssa Rege A mazon's cloud computing platform Amazon Web Services teamed up with the National Institutes of Health's research initiative to connect biomedical re- searchers and their work through cloud computing, the NIH announced Oct. 23. Here are three things to know: 1. Amazon Web Services joined the NIH's Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experi- mentation, and Sustainability Initiative, or STRIDES, which launched in July. 2. The goal of the collaboration is to help NIH researchers connect with their colleagues across more than 2,500 aca- demic institutions receiving NIH support and integrate AWS' range of technologies and cloud computing capabilities. "Teaming with Amazon Web Services will give NIH research- ers powerful cloud-based resources to more efficiently col- laborate and analyze data," said Andrea T. Norris, NIH CIO and director of NIH's Center for Information Technology. "AWS's longstanding leadership in the cloud space will help bolster the innovative research being conducted through NIH support." 3. STRIDES is part of the NIH's New Models of Data Stew- ardship Program, which was created to enhance biomedical research and discovery, and make that data findable, acces- sible and reusable through the cloud. n BayCare rolls out retail locations that will sell healthcare wearables By Anuja Vaidya C learwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System launched TechDeck, a resource for health and wellness technology. TechDeck will be opened in BayCare's HealthHub facili- ties. With HealthHub, BayCare aims to provide traditional healthcare services along with wellness initiatives. Tech- Deck will provide various patient-focused products such as weight scales, blood pressure cuffs, wearable technol- ogy and apps that can be connected to personal devices. Certified health technology coaches will be stationed at the TechDecks to help consumers. The first BayCare Tech- Deck is open at BayCare HealthHub in Largo, Fla., and a second is expected to open in March 2019 at the Health- Hub location in Valrico, Fla. This is the latest in BayCare's move toward a consumer-fo- cused strategy. Late last year, the health system partnered with Publix, a Lakeland, Fla.-based grocery store chain, to open HealthHubs at all Publix stores. Additionally, the health system plans to open 25 walk-in telehealth clinics in Publix locations in the next two years. n Mayo Clinic partners with AI firm to screen patients for heart conditions By Jessica Kim Cohen R ochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic entered into a collaboration with so- ware developer Eko to create and com- mercialize a tool that helps physicians detect patients with low ejection fraction, a danger- ous heart condition. e tool will use machine learning — a type of artificial intelligence in which a computer learns over time, rather than having to be pro- grammed like typical soware — to analyze data from a digital "smart stethoscope." is analysis will flag patients who suffer from low ejection fraction, or a weak heart pump, in a matter of seconds. e machine-learning tool would streamline the screening process for patients at risk for low ejection fraction, according to Eko and Mayo Clinic. e two organizations said their method would stand in contrast to more tra- ditional, expensive and time-consuming im- aging techniques, such as echocardiography, a sonogram of the heart. "With this collaboration we hope to trans- form the stethoscope in the pocket of every physician and nurse from a hand tool to a power tool," said Paul Friedman, MD, chair of cardiovascular medicine at Mayo Clinic. "e community practitioner performing high school sports physicals and the surgeon about to operate may be able to seamlessly tap the knowledge of an experienced cardiologist to determine if a weak heart pump is present simply by putting a stethoscope on a person's chest for a few seconds." Eko will work with physicians from Mayo Clinic to bring the health system's expertise in AI and heart disease screening — along with information from its large-scale cardiovascu- lar database — into its existing cardiac mon- itoring platform. Eko said it will seek FDA approval for the technology aer running clinical studies with Mayo Clinic focused on the accuracy of in-clinic screenings. Mayo Clinic and Dr. Friedman both have a fi- nancial interest in the AI tool. Mayo Clinic said it will use any revenue it receives to support its patient care, education and research mission. n