The artificial intelligence programs can diagnose eye disease in diabetics and complications in stroke patients.
Some artificial intelligence breakthroughs happen in computer science labs or tense televised board games between a person and a machine. The latest advance in medical AI has less glamorous origins: the depths of US government bureaucracy.
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently said it would pay for use of two AI systems: one that can diagnose a complication of diabetes that causes blindness, and another that alerts a specialist when a brain scan suggests a patient has suffered a stroke. The decisions are notable for more than just Medicare and Medicaid patients—they could help drive much wider use of AI in health care.
