Promise and peril in the health care metaverse

The collision of health care and technology.

Aug 24, 2022 View in browser   By Ruth Reader and Ben Leonard PROGRAMMING NOTE: Future Pulse won't publish Wednesday, Aug. 31. We'll be back in your inboxes Wednesday, Sept. 7. The Big Idea Some 400 health care patents have a connection to the metaverse, the immersive realm that blends virtual and physical reality, according to IFI Claims, a Connecticut company that tracks intellectual property. Companies with patents include IBM, Microsoft, Medtronic, Siemens, and Chinese telehealth firm Ping An. The prospects for improving health care via the metaverse, from medical training to mental health therapy, are promising, but the field is still nascent. While the FDA focuses on mitigating harm to patients, experts say there are concerns about data privacy. Enric Escorsa O'Callaghan, CEO of IALE Tecnología, a Spanish company that evaluates technologies for companies, said the metaverse's place in health care is still "a bit vague." It includes augmented reality that enhances a real-world scene with virtual features, virtual reality that puts a person inside a computer-generated environment, social technologies that facilitate human interactions and sensors that bring real life online. People can access the metaverse in a variety of ways: virtual reality headsets, cellphones, computers and even voice-activated devices. One of the best-use cases for the metaverse in health care is training. Magic Leap, which makes headsets for viewing three-dimensional MRI and CT scans before surgery, announced a partnership with four health tech companies this year. Med schools are now using virtual cadavers, in addition to physical versions, to teach students anatomy. Already, training is being put into practice. Johns Hopkins surgeons used augmented reality headsets last year to perform two complex back surgeries. Home health is part of the metaverse. Vinya Intelligence, which uses sensors and cameras to track the health of older adults at home, has applied for a patent for technology that detects patient decline. Mental health treatment is perhaps the most well-documented use of virtual reality. A fair amount of research shows that virtual reality can help patients who have anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias. The technology allows patients to confront or work through triggers in a simulated environment. Aaron Gani, CEO of BehaVR, a virtual reality mental health company, said the social aspects of the metaverse are intriguing: "What if it was you and the VR program and I connected you to a community of others who are going through similar things or have gone through similar things?" The prospects for improving health care via the metaverse, from medical training to mental health therapy, could be great. But the field is still nascent. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Regulation: The FDA has a framework for vetting virtual reality, augmented reality, digital therapeutics and artificial intelligence in medicine. The bigger problem may be outside the FDA's jurisdiction. Gani said that companies will be able to collect even more data about a person in the metaverse than they do currently. While the federal law known as HIPAA protects patient data, it doesn't extend far beyond the doctor's office. How companies do or don't protect data that's not covered will be something to watch, he said. Welcome back to Future Pulse, where we explore the convergence of health care and technology. On the heels of its One Medical buy, Amazon is among the bidders for Signify Health, an analytics company that helps coordinate at-home care. Why do you think Amazon wants Signify? Send us your thoughts. Share your news, tips and feedback with Ben at bleonard@politico.com or Ruth at rreader@politico.com and follow us on Twitter for the latest @_BenLeonard_ and @RuthReader. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp here.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     Tweet of the Week Twitter Washington Watch CDC OVERHAUL — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning an overhaul in response to criticism of its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the monkeypox outbreak, POLITICO's Krista Mahr reports.  CDC Director Rochelle Walensky wants to "transform" the agency by releasing data more quickly, increasing transparency around public health guidance, and communicating more frankly with the public. Ex-HHS Deputy Secretary Mary Wakefield will lead a team overseeing the revamp, and she'll develop a new executive council to "determine agency priorities." Walensky will also push for the CDC to have more authority to collect data and move funding around quickly during an emergency. AGENCIES LAG ON MAKING THEIR TECH ACCESSIBLE — Nearly a quarter of a century after Congress made it mandatory for government technology to be accessible to people with disabilities, much of it isn't, Ruth reports. Before senators left Washington for their summer recess, the Aging Committee held a hearing to examine whether agencies are complying with a law mandating that their websites and office technology can be used by people with disabilities. Roughly 30 percent of the most popular federal websites don't meet accessibility standards, according to a 2021 report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and some agencies, like the VA, are way behind. The Justice Department is supposed to issue a report reviewing the accessibility of federal technology every two years but hasn't released one since 2012. Now, Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) are pressuring the VA and the DOJ to bring the federal government into compliance. Around the Nation ALPHABET EMPLOYEES PUSH FOR STRONGER PRIVACY — More than 700 employees at Google parent company Alphabet are pushing the company to bolster privacy safeguards for people using Google products to seek abortions, POLITICO's Alfred Ng reports. The Alphabet Workers Union sent the petition calling for data privacy controls on health-related searches and a company-wide review of privacy practices to executives last week. After the Supreme Court decision turned abortion rights back to the states, Google said it would delete the location data of people going to abortion clinics. But the company hasn't made similar pledges for other data. Prosecutors could subpoena online search data Google collects in states banning abortions. Really? ABORTION QUACKERY ABOUNDS — Since the Dobbs decision in June, anti-abortion organizations have promoted an unproven practice called abortion reversal online, Ruth and POLITICO's Rebecca Kern report. Social media posts about the process advise people who've taken the first of two pills required for a medication abortion to take progesterone to counter the progesterone-blocking properties of the abortion pill. However, no studies validate this practice, and the only clinical trial that tested it ended early because three patients hemorrhaged. This type of content falls into a gray area in many social media platforms' policies about how to handle misinformation — one where definitive research doesn't exist and the level of danger is unclear. Ideas Lab FITBIT'S NEW WEARABLES HAVE GOOGLE SMARTS — This morning, Fitbit launched its latest wearable line. This is the first series to combine Fitbit and Google technology since the $2.1 billion acquisition closed last year. The big update comes to the Fitbit Sense. The watch already had an ECG to check heart health along with the ability to detect stress, oxygen saturation and body temperature. Previously, users could only spot-check for stress. Now the device will tell wearers in real time if they're showing signs of it. The Next Cures A BETTER FOOD ALLERGY TEST? — Traditional allergy tests are often inaccurate, leading to overdiagnosis, and don't offer much insight into the amount of an allergen a person can safely consume. That could mean living in fear when you don't need to. Pennsylvania startup Allergenis is trying to change that with a new type of blood test that can help patients know how much of an allergen they can tolerate. Traditional allergy tests are often inaccurate | Courtesy of Allergenis The research found the test more accurate than traditional ones. Allergenis began marketing the test for peanuts this year and aims to do the same for cow's milk, eggs and tree nuts within 12 to 14 months, CEO Jim Garner told Future Pulse. On Monday, the company announced that it's partnering with telehealth company LifeMD to provide the test via virtual care. If Allergenis' test results show a mild allergy, it "alleviates the anxiety for kids going to birthday parties, for moms not worrying while their kids are at school, for adults going to a Thai food restaurant with your friends which you never went to before because you're allergic to peanuts," Garner said. FISH SKIN TO HEAL WOUNDS —  Doctors in North Carolina use fish skin — yes, you read that right — to help heal wounds. The FDA granted marketing authorization to Kerecis last fall for a technology that involves grafting North Atlantic cod skin onto damaged tissue. Human cells then latch onto the fish skin to facilitate the healing process. The company recently received $100 million in funding in part from the investment group behind toy company LEGO. A study found the technology was more effective than traditional care for patients with diabetic foot ulcers. Hector Crespo Soto, a vascular surgeon at the hospital network Atrium Health, told Future Pulse that patients are sometimes skeptical at first but come around once they see the results. The procedure can prevent amputations, he said. What We're Clicking Serving patients through a screen — Danielle Ofri, opinion in The Atlantic Medicare cuts would undermine the movement to increasing in-home care — Krista Drobac, STAT News opinion Who are the most active early-stage investors in digital health? — Christina Farr, Substack   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.       Follow us on Twitter Ben Leonard @_BenLeonard_ Ruth Reader @RuthReader   Follow us

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