Author: yourhealthtech

While the country is committed to providing access to quality healthcare through its national programs and initiatives, India finds itself at a crossroads with one of the most infectious diseases in the world – tuberculosis (TB). The Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting diversion of healthcare resources on a massive scale has rolled back years of progress made by India in its mission to eradicate TB. This setback was further heightened by the Union Budget for FY 2023-24. Unlike its predecessor, which specifically allocated ₹36 billion for curtailing TB in the country, the latest budget makes no mention of TB or…

Last week, Intellect announced a strategic investment from IHH Healthcare, Asia’s largest private healthcare group. Now Thoughtfull, another digital mental health platform focused on Asia, has raised $4 million in a pre-Series A round led by Sheares Healthcare Group. Sheares is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek. The round, which Thoughtfull said was oversubscribed, also saw participation from returning investors Vulpes Investment Management, The Hive Southeast Asia, global family offices and founding members of companies like Grab and Zalora. TechCrunch last covered Thoughtfull in October 2021, when it raised its seed round. Thoughtfull marks Sheares’ first investment in mental healthcare in…

Google and Microsoft are on a mission to remove the drudgery from computing, by bringing next-generation AI tools as add-ons to existing services. Microsoft announced an AI-powered system called Copilot will soon be introduced to its 365 suite apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. The news came about two days after Google published a blog explaining its plans to embed AI into its Workspace apps such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Chat. Now, Microsoft and Google have found a more concrete way to bring generative AI into our offices and classrooms. Both systems are integrated into existing…

TOPLINE Former Microsoft CEO and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called artificial intelligence the “most important advance” in technology since the development of computers and smartphones in a blog post-Tuesday, arguing AI bears both opportunities and responsibilities as it can help improve access to healthcare and education globally—but acknowledged developers still need to work out some shortcomings.Gates pitched the advances in AI as a way to improve productivity in the workplace, help reduce global preventable deaths among children and improve inequity in American education by bettering students’ math skills. AI will reduce the workload on healthcare workers, completing tasks for them…

Microsoft continues to leverage OpenAI technology with Nuance Communications, a Microsoft subsidiary, launching a new application for health workers. The app is aimed at making it easier for doctors to take notes and is part of Microsoft’s wider integration of ChatGPT and other OpenAI tech in Office, Edge, and Bing. This move reflects Microsoft’s commitment to improving healthcare services through innovative technological solutions. Nuance Communications from Microsoft has launched DAX Express, an AI-powered application designed to help doctors reduce their administrative workload. DAX Express is a clinical documentation app that combines conversational and ambient AI with OpenAI’s advanced GPT-4 model. the fully automated workflow-integrated…

Communication is a means of exchange of information, as also a method of sharing ideas. Fundamentally it has three components – Speaking, Listening, and Non-verbal communication (use of posture, hands, eyes & gestures). We use words, vocabulary, emotion, enunciation, dialect, and our knowledge of the subject to speak and our ears and brain to listen. We tend to ignore the role of the non-verbal part of communication, despite research that emphasizes its role and value. Whilst the University of Pennsylvania’s research gives 70% of weightage to body language, the more commonly followed 7-38-55 rule gives it 55% weightage. Communication follows…

It was not like there was no cure. It was not like nothing could be done. It was just a matter of money, and there wasn’t enough of it to save Palak (name changed), age 8. Palak was that child who beamed her big smile whenever she saw you. She loved to sing nursery rhymes and play clapping games. And then, she was diagnosed with blood cancer. It would cost Rs. 15 lakhs for a cord blood transplant that would ensure that her bone marrow started to make healthy cells instead of cancerous ones. Medicine can now effectively cure not just…

Intellect, the Singapore-based mental health platform that now serves over three million users in 20 countries, is getting ready for a new phase of growth after striking a strategic partnership with IHH Healthcare, Asia’s largest private healthcare group. IHH Healthcare will work with Intellect to develop and customize digital mental health programs for its patients, corporate clients and staff. IHH Healthcare also made an investment into the startup, without disclosing the amount. IHH Healthcare is Intellect’s first strategic investor. Its other backers include Tiger Global, Y Combinator and Insignia Ventures. Founded in 2019, Intellect’s markets now include Malaysia, Singapore, India and Hong…

a European startup building a recruitment marketplace for healthcare workers has raised €44 million ($47 million) in a Series C round of funding. Founded out of Berlin in 2017, Medwing targets the healthcare industry in Germany and the U.K. with a platform designed to match hospitals and clinics with nurses and elderly caregivers, though it also caters to pharmacists, midwives, doctors, and similar professionals. The platform is currently available in Germany and the U.K., where it claims some 5,500 registered medical employers and 500,000 healthcare professionals, who can access an entirely digital workflow spanning job search, contracts, signatures, and timesheets.…

Threat actors are no strangers in targeting critical sectors to get what they want and the healthcare industry has been a victim of choice. Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent variants, hospitals, and clinics have seen alarming rates of attacks in recent years with more incidents directly leading to patient endangerment. A recent study by Ponemon Institute and Proofpoint.Inc., found that cyberattacks have significantly strained healthcare providers, resulting in the following: More than 20% of providers surveyed reported experience with common attacks including cloud compromise, ransomware, supply chain, business email compromise (BEC), and phishing.Cyberattacks have caused delayed procedures and tests, increased complications…