I'm a health journalist for @statnews.com interested in speaking with people who have used telehealth companies for weight loss. If you have an experience you'd be open to sharing, please reach out! katie.palmer@statnews.com or Signal at palmer.01
Katie Palmer
@katiepalmer.bsky.social
Health tech correspondent at STAT News (www.statnews.com) Share tips: katie.palmer@statnews.com Signal: palmer.01
For 3 years, I've reported on 2 big telehealth trends: pharma partnerships and compounding. They've gone head-to-head as patients demand GLP-1s. But they've been part of the same story for much longer. Here's how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking: www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/t...
From erectile dysfunction to weight loss, how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking
Marketing of on-demand telehealth prescriptions has rapidly become a constant presence for American consumers
statnews.com
It's been 6 months since the FDA updated its public list of authorized AI-enabled devices. So @statnews.com went ahead and checked how things are going. At least 167 more AI-enabled devices have gotten cleared or approved since the last one added to FDA's list: www.statnews.com/2025/06/20/f...
As AI device market grows, FDA's accounting goes silent
As the market for AI enabled medical devices grows, experts say there is less transparency around device approvals.
statnews.com
Are you a physician or health care provider using AI tools like OpenEvidence? I want to hear about your experience! I'm a health tech journalist @statnews.com reporting on clinical AI, and you can find me on Signal at palmer.01 (email in bio)
May 1 is the deadline for health systems to make sure that AI and other tools informing patient care don't discriminate. But the Trump admin scrubbed information about the civil rights rule months ago. What does that mean for compliance? My latest for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/h...
Health systems in limbo as HHS stays quiet on nondiscrimination rules for AI, algorithms
Lack of clarity from officials delay providers' efforts to ensure clinical decision support tools don't discriminate.
statnews.com
Work on insuring clinical algorithms are free of bias has been underway for years. Now a May 1 deadline to show tools are bias-free is in limbo as all information about the new rules have been removed from HHS websites. More from @katiepalmer.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/04/30/h...
Health systems in limbo as HHS stays quiet on nondiscrimination rules for AI, algorithms
Lack of clarity from officials delay providers' efforts to ensure clinical decision support tools don't discriminate.
statnews.com
The explosion of compounded GLP-1 offerings is ending, and many patients are left with no good options. Telehealth companies and compounders are pursuing workarounds that may be riskier. At the same time, patients still can't afford the branded drugs. w/ @katiepalmer.bsky.social
The end of compounded GLP-1 copies leaves many patients in a ‘lose-lose’ position
With GLP-1 shortage officially over, patients who relied on compounded copies have only bad options to choose from
statnews.com
In 2026, HHS was set to require fields for sexual orientation and gender identity in EHRs, supporting research and better care for LGBTQ+ patients. Now, HHS won't enforce those requirements. Read in @statnews.com about impacts on providers and EHR vendors: www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/h...
HHS will not enforce gender and sexual orientation requirements for medical records
HHS will not enforce standards that medical records be able to capture patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity.
statnews.com
Reporters @statnews.com are following the HHS restructuring closely — on the health tech team, we especially want to hear from those impacted by the IT consolidation and those impacted at OCR. Reach out here: www.statnews.com/2025/03/27/h...
Are you affected by the HHS cuts and restructuring?
HHS is set to cut 10,000 jobs and consolidate divisions — have you been affected? @statnews would like to hear from you.
statnews.com
Facing a shrinking market for compounded GLP-1 weight loss drugs, dozens of telehealth companies are marketing hormone therapies for men and women — many of them compounded options that use the same backbone built to capitalize on intense GLP-1 demand www.statnews.com/2025/03/11/t...
As GLP-1 compounding stares down a wall, telehealth companies pivot to hormones
As it gets harder to offer compounded GLP-1s, many telehealth companies are pivoting to hormone replacement therapy.
statnews.com
In today's edition of AI Prognosis we: -Address the question of whether health care's adoption of AI scribes is entirely vibes-based -Have an exclusive Q&A with co-founder of an AI deep research tool made specifically for scientists who just raised a $22M Series A -Recommend a 🔥 Song of the Week
Are we adopting AI scribes based on... vibes?
The web edition of STAT’s AI Prognosis newsletter, our subscriber-exclusive guide to AI in health care and medicine.
statnews.com
I'm looking to talk with VA employees who may be directed to alter gender-related fields in medical records. Signal: palmer.01. Please boost! #journorequest #veterans
On Saturday, Trump's layoffs hit the FDA. If you've been affected by the firings in federal health agencies, you can contact STAT using the form in this story. www.statnews.com/2025/02/15/t...
Trump administration lays off FDA employees
The cuts are part of a purge of 5,200 probationary workers across federal health agencies that started Friday.
statnews.com
Two weeks of work went into this and I’m not done yet. Coming soon: - explore diffs of all datasets that have been republished with changes - search and access all archived data www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t...
STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time: See what's changing
STAT is backing up and monitoring CDC data in real time: See what's changing.
statnews.com
A potent story from @jonathanwosen.bsky.social and @angusrohan.bsky.social showing that threats to federal science funding are already having an impact on career choices for talented scientists, threatening the US's leadership position in biomedical research. www.statnews.com/2025/02/12/t...
Trump policies spark fears of brain drain, threatening to undermine U.S. dominance in biomedicine
A torrent of Trump administration policies is alarming scientists who fear the current climate is weakening researchers’ resolve to stick with careers in academic science.
statnews.com
As a health tech reporter at STAT News, I cover the role of technology in health care and clinical research — including artificial intelligence, telehealth, EHRs, and remote patient monitoring. Is there an untold story about how tech is impacting patients? Contact me securely on Signal: palmer.01
There's a hard deadline coming up in May for health care providers to vet clinical decision support tools for discrimination — but “most health systems just aren’t looking," one source told me. Via @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/01/14/c...
As deadline looms, health systems rush to ensure clinical algorithms don’t discriminate
A deadline is fast approaching for federally funded health systems to show that clinical algorithms don't discriminate based on protected traits such as sex or race.
statnews.com
FDA's AI device count has now ticked over 1,000. But it has also quietly received over 500 drug submissions with AI, and today it put out an anticipated draft guidance on AI in drug development. What does high-risk AI in drugs mean to FDA? Read in @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2025/01/06/a...
FDA's new guidance on AI in drug development centers the risk introduced by the technology
After nearly a decade of machine learning innovations, the FDA has issued its first draft guidance on the use of AI in drug development.
statnews.com
NEW: Some consider him a fearless truth-teller with a deep respect for science. Others consider him a contrarian for contrarian’s sake, opining on matters for political clout. Which Marty Makary would run the FDA? www.statnews.com/2024/12/17/m...
Truth-teller or reflexive contrarian: Which Marty Makary would run the FDA?
Pancreatic surgeon Marty Makary is a long-time critic of the medical establishment who's now set to regulate food, drugs, and medical devices at the FDA.
statnews.com
A surprising finding in this analysis of FDA-authorized AI/ML devices: 22 devices indicated for use in kids were validated in adult datasets only. That's part of a much broader problem in how representative (or not) AI devices' training and validation data are: www.statnews.com/2024/12/16/f...
FDA authorizes many AI devices for use in kids. Are they validated in a pediatric population?
A new study resurfaces long-simmering concerns about the lack of transparency in data used to train and validate AI and ML-enabled devices.
statnews.com
FDA-cleared apps for everything from depression to opioid use disorder have struggled to gain adoption, and one company just abandoned its app after 4 years of development. @mariojoze.bsky.social explains the dynamics behind a struggling digital therapeutic: www.statnews.com/2024/12/03/o...
This is astonishing especially because self-reported large health data breaches hit an all-time high last year, impacting more than 165 million individuals — half the U.S. population. Imagine how much higher the number would be if OCR did regular audits.
Health data breaches hit an all-time high in 2023
At least 116 million individuals were impacted by large and numerous health data breaches reported to federal regulators this year.
statnews.com
Brittany Trang@brittanytrang.com · 2y agoNew @statnews.bsky.social from me: HHS' Office of Civil Rights hasn't audited HIPAA compliance since 2017. These audits, required by the HITECH Act, are supposed to assess things like cybersecurity readiness, but even when it conducted audits, OCR only looked at 8 of 180 #HIPAA rules 😳 More: 🩺🖥️
NEW: UnitedHealth Group is paying many of its own physician practices significantly more than it pays other doctor groups in the same markets for similar services, undermining competition and driving up costs for consumers and businesses. www.statnews.com/2024/11/25/u...
UnitedHealth pays its own physician groups considerably more than others, driving up consumer costs and its profits
First-of-its-kind data analysis finds UnitedHealth Group pays many of its own physician practices significantly more than the average it pays other doctors in the same markets
statnews.com
Thanks to so many science & health experts for describing why they're here on Bluesky, and what the moves could mean for science communication and public health messaging: www.statnews.com/2024/11/21/b...
Bluesky is the new destination for X/Twitter’s health and science community. Here's why
#MedTwitter is migrating en masse from X to Bluesky, suddenly making it an essential hub for scientific discourse. Here's why.
statnews.com
#Breakingnews: Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid www.statnews.com/2024/11/19/d...
Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid
WASHINGTON — President-elect Trump has selected the surgeon and television personality Mehmet Oz as the administrator of the Center for Medicare and
statnews.com
Will the FDA's advisory committee meeting on generative AI in medical devices this week surface productive solutions for regulation, or will it be "a lot of hand-waving and overpromising"? We'll be watching: www.statnews.com/2024/11/19/f...
In first meeting of FDA’s digital health advisory committee, generative AI is up for debate
The FDA's digital health advisory committee is expected to weigh in on how generative AI should be regulated by the agency.
statnews.com
Late Friday news drop: Telehealth prescribing flexibilities for controlled substances extended for another year by DEA and HHS — leaving long-awaited permanent rule making to the next administration www.statnews.com/2024/11/15/t...
Stalemate breaks on telehealth prescriptions of stimulants and addiction treatment
The DEA grants a one-year extension on telehealth prescription of addiction medications, kicking resolution on a fraught issue to the second Trump administration.
statnews.com
A reminder that, just this week, moderate Republican senators were scrambling for cover when @rachelcohrs.bsky.social @owermohle.bsky.social and John Wilkerson tried to ask for their thoughts on confirming RFK Jr. www.statnews.com/2024/11/13/g...
Moderate GOP senators: Don’t ask me about confirming RFK Jr.
Trump has promised to give RFK Jr. broad rein on food and medicine regulation.
statnews.com
Clinicians have long discouraged using Google Translate to get important messages across to patients with limited English. Now some health systems, including Children's Hospital Los Angeles, are turning to LLMs to translate key documents. For @statnews.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2024/11/11/c...
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles tests generative AI to translate discharge notes into Spanish
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is testing generative AI to translate discharge notes for Spanish-speaking patients in seconds
statnews.com