Hospitals go green

The ideas and innovators shaping health care

Aug 01, 2024 View in browser   By Daniel Payne, Erin Schumaker, Toni Odejimi and Ruth Reader FORWARD THINKING Intermountain is increasing its use of green energy. | AFP via Getty Images Health systems are getting more serious about their carbon footprints. The latest example? Intermountain Health, the Salt Lake City-based system with 33 hospitals and hundreds of clinics, recently announced its investment in solar energy to offset the electrical needs of 17 of its facilities, including nine hospitals. The health giant estimates $500,000 in reduced energy costs from the move and pointed to the environmental benefit of resource-intensive health systems changing their practices. Why it matters: A significant number of health systems signed a 2022 pledge, coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House, to cut their greenhouse gas emissions significantly by 2030 and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Even so: Parts of the health sector have experienced financial troubles in recent years, making major infrastructure investments difficult to afford.   Live briefings, policy trackers, and procedural, industry, and people intelligence from POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy this election cycle. Secure your seat.      WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE Chappaquiddick, Mass. | Erin Schumaker/POLITICO This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. It’s a loss for the sandwich lovers, as Boar’s Head expanded its 200,000 pound recall to include 7 million more pounds of deli meat and other products, according to CNN. The recall was because of listeria, a foodborne illness that can cause a fever, headaches and more. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com, Daniel Payne at dpayne@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com, or Toni Odejimi at aodejimi@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp.  INNOVATORS A high-tech version of the Band-Aid could deliver the drugs of the future. | Getty Images Harvard researchers plan to develop new RNA therapies capable of bolstering the immune system against cancer and other deadly diseases, thanks to up to $27 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Called DAIRS, for Disease-Agnostic Immune therapies using RNA Structure, the project aims to accelerate research involving ribonucleic acid, with the goal of submitting fast-tracked therapies to the Food and Drug Administration for approval. How so? The plan is to use RNA technology to activate the immune system, training it to identify pathogens or tumor cells and to attack or generate immune memory against them. “It’s a universal mechanism that can be applied to a range of diseases,” Natalie Artzi, principal investigator and core faculty at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, told Erin. RNA therapy could be applied to any disease involving the immune system, from cancer to infectious diseases to autoimmune and rare diseases. The researchers are also working on developing delivery methods, like microneedle patches or nanotechnology, which could direct the therapy through the body intravenously. Ultimately, the team wants to maximize how well the therapies work by tailoring the best drug and delivery combinations to tissues and cells for each disease. What’s next? The microneedle patch, which Artzi describes as a “smart Band-Aid,” isn’t painful because the needles are so small, making it easy for patients to apply themselves. Self-applied patches would allow drugs to bypass barriers like international shipping problems and cold-storage complications, which delayed prefilled Covid-19 vaccines from being distributed more widely during the pandemic’s early days. “The idea is to have a patch that can be disseminated everywhere worldwide, to make it much more accessible,” Artzi said.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRI     WASHINGTON WATCH There's no sense in waiting for AI regulation, some government officials say. If health care executives are holding back in using artificial intelligence while they wait for the government to weigh in, they shouldn’t, some federal leaders say. “I would say try it,” said Dr. Matt Hepburn, senior adviser at the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. Why’s that? “You’re going to wait forever” if you’re waiting for guidance from the government, Hepburn said at an event hosted last week by the Alliance for Health Policy, a nonprofit group that aims to aid policymakers. Other federal officials who spoke at the event echoed his sentiment. “It’s going to take a while … for the government or a nongovernment entity to decide whether or not they’re acceptable,” Dr. Lee Fleisher, former chief medical officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said of assurance labs and other systems to verify AI tools. State of play: The federal government — from Congress to the administration — is working to develop guidelines for AI use in health care. Though some current rules around tech and health apply, most experts agree that new rules, frameworks and even authorities will be needed to ensure AI is used safely in the health system. Even so: Health providers should be cautious when deploying a new AI system, the government officials said. Providers should follow best practices and keep track of how systems are working.   Follow us on Twitter Carmen Paun @carmenpaun Daniel Payne @_daniel_payne Ruth Reader @RuthReader Erin Schumaker @erinlschumaker   Follow us

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