AI
• Utah launched the first AI‑driven autonomous prescription‑refill pilot with Doctronic under a 2024 regulatory sandbox, enabling instant online renewals for routine meds.
• The program initially covers 191 common drugs, including statins, antihypertensives, psychiatric medications, and birth‑control, while excluding narcotics, stimulants, injectables and short‑term antibiotics.
• Safety safeguards start with the first 250 refills overseen by a clinician, a 10% AI‑decision sampling, and monthly state reports on usage, approvals, denials and complaints.
• The pilot seeks robust evidence to shape future AI prescribing rules, with Doctronic already consulting regulators in Arizona, Texas and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Startups/ Innovation
• Healthcare VC is rebounding with a clear focus on AI that delivers measurable value, with AI-powered health-tech funding rising significantly and representing a large share of digital-health investment.
• Investors are prioritising solutions that integrate into existing clinical and operational workflows, such as EHRs, telehealth, and revenue-cycle systems, because they improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance outcomes.
• Economic pressures in healthcare, from staffing shortages to unsustainable costs, are accelerating adoption of practical AI tools that automate tasks, improve throughput, and lower long-term spending.
• The investment thesis for 2026 emphasises scaling and integration with proven ROI rather than speculative innovation, with winners being those that make AI usable and valuable within real healthcare settings.
Australia
• The Albanese Government is allocating $10.1 million to fund 67 NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships for early‑career health researchers across Australia.
• One scholarship, led by Dr Jessica Redmond (Monash University and The Alfred), will study how menopause and ageing affect symptoms, cognition and quality of life in women with multiple sclerosis.
• The project will employ novel visual and brain‑imaging biomarkers to detect accelerated ageing and disease progression, aiming to predict disability earlier.
• MS affects women three times more than men, and people over 50 now represent a large share of the MS population, making the research critical for improving care as women age.
Wearable devices/Apps
• Perfood’s Glucura app, a German DiGA, uses AI‑driven metabolic profiling from a 14‑day continuous glucose monitor to personalize diet and activity recommendations for type 2 diabetes.
• In a clinical trial of 320 participants, app users lowered their HbA1c by an average of 0.8 percentage points and lost 4.7 kg over six months, outcomes comparable to medication.
• The study showed individualized food triggers, such as chocolate cake causing smaller glucose spikes than apple cake for some users, highlighting the app’s precision nutrition approach.
• Glucura is reimbursable under Germany’s Digital Care Act and is one of only four diabetes DiGA apps listed by the BfArM, available on iOS 14+ and Android 8+.