Hi friends,
This week: Is microfluidics the new blockchain? Will doctors get out of their own way?
Get in on the conversation with the Healthtech Pigeon Podcast ➡️ SomX’s Jessica Somauroo and Amy Thomas dive into this week's healthtech news. Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
News Bites 🥪
📲 Smartphone test for type 2 diabetes launches in the UK – PocDoc, founded by long-term-friend-of-Pigeon, Steve Roest, has rolled out a new HbA1c finger-prick test that lets you check your type 2 diabetes risk with just a drop of blood, your smartphone and a patented microfluidic assay. If you want to sound clever this week, tell a friend: “microfluidics is definitely one to watch - miniturised lab workflows, at the point-of-care*, far less reagent usage… and going after HbA1C could go some way to easing the £8.8 billion annual diabetes hole in the NHS pocket.”
💉 Mounjaro price inequality in full play – Eli Lilly is reportedly hiking the UK price of weight-loss drug Mounjaro by up to 170%, risking sending it from ‘public health tool’ to ‘luxury good.’ Clinicians are quite rightly warning that this could entrench inequality, pushing those in need toward dodgy sources and unregulated knock-offs. Eli Lilly says it’s bringing prices in the UK more in line with those in other developed countries, the market has evolved, and they have new data to support changing their prices in this way…
🧑💻 Are AI Chatbots Making Mental Health Crises Worse? – Let this sink in - Sam Altman himself warned against using generative AI as a therapist or life coach because it simply ‘isn’t ready yet.’ Now, Stanford researchers have raised alarms after it gave dangerous replies during simulated mental health crises. So here we are… in a world where ChatGPT is widely available, can be used by the vulnerable, and the CEO just says ‘maybe don’t do that.’ The horse has well and truly bolted folks.
💭 Imperial trials at-home monitoring service for dementia patients – Dementia patients are getting sensors installed all across their homes to track their movements and send data to their care teams to escalate to interventions when needed. Sensors in doors, appliances, movement sensors, a bed mat for sleep disturbances, respiratory and heart rates. Feels like a throwback to the internet-of-things hype we had a while back, but it’s hopefully very sensible and effective for these patients and their families.
✍️ New editorial explores double-edged sword of AI scribes in health care – So, what I’m not going to write here is “clinicians continue to shoot-selves-in-foot by complaining about the very technology that solves their biggest problem.” That would be biased, and probably unfair - the piece is pretty balanced. Though ask yourself this… In healthtech, do you think our time is better spent (a) mitigating issues with ambient scribes, or (b) trying to get them vetoed? I’d argue that one of those is significantly more difficult than the other. And “nothing worth having in this world comes easy.” Bob Kelso, Chief of Medicine, Sacred Heart, USA.
What to Listen to 🔊
Events 📅
THE FIX (Featured event)
📅 Sept 18
📍 Harwell Science Campus, Oxfordshire
A hands-on, practical, mind-expanding, friendship-building, exploratory, curiosity-led, science-based, creative, artistic, participatory, decentralised, experimental, edgy, live, risky, urgent and unpredictable gathering of the talented people working on health technologies. A production of VOYAGERS. Use SOMX15 for a 15% discount.
Intelligent Health, Basel
📅 Sept 1
📍 Switzerland
WHX Tech
📅 Sept 8 - 10
📍Dubai
The King’s Fund 10 Year Health Plan Event
📅 Sept 9
📍 London
LSX World Congress USA
📅 Sept 16 - 18
📍Boston
BMJ Future Health conference - Early bird discount
📅 Nov 6 - 7
📍 London
Opportunities 🕵️♀️
🧠 Knowledge & Training Specialist, Elvie - If you want to be at the heart of delivering confident, compassionate support to customers and work for a company transforming women’s health, then boy, does Pigeon have the role for you!
🧑💻 Senior Program Manager, eMed - Can you manage product delivery in your sleep? Do you have exceptional stakeholder management skills? Do you have credentials like PMP, PgMP and SAFe under your belt? Looking for your next big opportunity? You won’t believe your luck…
🫂 Head of Patient Experience, Hertility - The women’s health legends are on the lookout for a new member of the team to hang out in their Labia Lounge** - if you’re up for the challenge of helping women understand their hormones and take charge of their bodies, Patient Experience Head Honcho has your name all over it.
* I’ve just realised why it’s called POC-doc
** IYN you should probably apply right now