Morning Medical Update: Primary care and screening for ‘social frailness’; California asks Medicaid to cover rent; AI assists doctors in one of the earliest and largest introductions yet

Social frailty awareness gaining traction with some primary care doctors

Physicians at a Chicago-based chain of 169 primary care centers for older adults ask patients about factors that could contribute to social frailty, according to CNN. These include loneliness, barriers to transportation, financial stress, and food insecurity, all of which coincide with other social determinants of health. “[Questions] add dimensions of what a clinician should know about their patients beyond current screening instruments, which are focused on physical health,” said Dr. Linda Fried, a frailty researcher and dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, in this piece.

Will Medicaid pay your rent?

To address the homelessness crisis in California, Gov. Gavin Newson has asked the Biden administration to authorize a new program called “transitional rent”. The report, published on News-Medical.Net, states that thirty percent of the homeless population in the U.S. live in California. This program would provide up to six months of rent of temporary housing for those who qualify.

AI assists doctors in one of the earliest and largest introductions

The Wall Street Journal reports that healthcare startups across the country are introducing more AI programs to primary care doctors. Examples include the Pittsburgh-based Abridge AI Inc., which is currently launching a large-scale operation that makes it available for over 2,000 doctors and other medical staff. Abridge allows users to summarize conversations by transcribing audio from visits. The program aims to decrease the amount of time physicians spend on notes, which can take up to two hours to complete without AI.