AgentClinic puts medical AI through a more realistic diagnostic test

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260430/AgentClinic-puts-medical-AI-through-a-more-realistic-diagnostic-test.aspx A new benchmark shows that passing medical exams is not enough; clinical AI agents must gather information, handle uncertainty, use tools, interpret images, and navigate bias in simulated patient encounters. A recent study published in the journal npj Digital Medicine introduced a multi-modal agent benchmark, AgentClinic, for clinical artificial intelligence (AI) agents in simulated clinical environments.

AI scribes save clinicians time but fail to reduce overtime work

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260501/AI-scribes-save-clinicians-time-but-fail-to-reduce-overtime-work.aspx AI scribes promise to ease documentation burden, but new real-world data reveal a more complex reality: modest efficiency gains, unchanged after-hours work, and important questions about how clinicians actually use the time they save. Artificial intelligence (AI)–powered scribes can moderately benefit clinicians by reducing the time to record and document electronic health records and increasing weekly visit volume, as reported in a new study published in JAMA.

Google Search Data Provide Patient-Level View of Dermatologist Access Issues Alicia Ault April 30, 2026

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/google-search-data-provide-patient-level-view-dermatologist-2026a1000dth

Why Can’t Europe Kick Its Antibiotic Habit? Sophie Cousins l Medscape Europe April 30, 2026

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/why-cant-europe-kick-its-antibiotic-habit-2026a1000dys

DOJ, Elevance spar over access to top exec in Medicare Advantage fraud case Elevance ‘refuses’ to make Peter Haytaian available for deposition, Justice Department says

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/elevance-health-fraud-doj-says-access-blocked-key-witness/ By Bob HermanApril 30, 2026 Bob Herman is the author of Health Care Inc., an award-winning weekly newsletter about the business of health and medicine.

New obesity tool aims to predict risk of 18 serious complications Model goes beyond BMI, using range of signals to say who might benefit from GLP-1 drugs

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/obesity-health-risks-new-tool-obscore-beyond-bmi/ By Elizabeth CooneyApril 30, 2026 Cardiovascular Disease Reporter

What does Akeso’s primo plenary spot say about its survival data? Mystery cloaks an ASCO plenary lung cancer survival result By Adam FeuersteinApril 30, 2026 Senior Writer, Biotech

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/akeso-summit-therapeutics-drug-ivonescimab-results-announced-asco/

Cigna will exit ACA individual markets next year, adding to tumult for patients The health insurer wants to focus on more promising parts of its business

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/cigna-exits-aca-market-2027-369-thousand-people-affected/ By Tara BannowApril 30, 2026 Hospitals and Insurance Reporter

Trump drops Casey Means as surgeon general nominee, opts for radiologist Nicole Saphier It’s a setback for RFK Jr.’s MAHA movement, which pushed for months to get Means confirmed

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/trump-withdraws-casey-means-nomination-surgeon-general-taps-nicole-saphier/ By Elizabeth Cooney, Chelsea Cirruzzo, and Daniel PayneApril 30, 2026

Hair-raising trial results, and Servier’s M&A wishlist We get into all that and more on this episode of ‘The Readout LOUD’ STAT’s biotech podcast

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/investors-excited-hair-loss-drugs-ai-improve-clinical-trials-readout-loud/ By Allison DeAngelis, Adam Feuerstein, and Elaine ChenApril 30, 2026

Katherine Szarama named acting director of FDA’s vaccines and biologics center Szarama was deputy to Vinay Prasad, who just left the agency

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/fda-names-katherine-szarama-acting-director-cber/ By Lizzy LawrenceApril 30, 2026 FDA Reporter

Remembering J. Craig Venter: a relentless scientist who changed biotech — and was all too easily misunderstood Venter died on Wednesday at 79, having transformed genomics

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/craig-venter-an-appreciation-pioneer-modern-genomics-dies-age-79/ By Matthew HerperApril 30, 2026 Senior Writer, Medicine, Editorial Director of Events

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma set to dissolve after judge approves its criminal sentence ‘It is not lost on me that those who started the epidemic will not serve a sentence,’ the judge said

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/oxycontin-maker-purdue-pharma-will-dissolve-criminal-sentence-approved/ By Associated PressApril 30, 2026

The psychedelic revolution is leaving behind people of color Racial minorities could gain a lot from psychedelics, but so far, they aren’t

https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/01/psychedelics-law-black-hispanic-indigenous-groups-research/ By Jerel Ezell and Sugy ChoiMay 1, 2026 Ezell is a social epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Choi is a health services researcher and assistant professor at New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

America is worrying about fertility again. But it’s not really about families There’s a fine line between a pro-family agenda and a coercive one

https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/01/america-birth-rate-decline-fertility-eugenics-policy/ By Sonya Borrero, Christine Dehlendorf, and Rachel LoganMay 1, 2026 Borrero, Dehlendorf, and Logan are authors of the forthcoming book “Reproducing Control: The Family Planning Framework’s Conflict with Reproductive Autonomy.”

Her daughter Mila got a bespoke medicine. Now she’s starting a new biotech to make more After a prior effort shuttered, Julia Vitarello is trying again

https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/01/biotech-julia-vitarello-scaling-custom-therapy-everyone-medicines/ By Andrew JosephMay 1, 2026 Europe Correspondent

As artificial intelligence shows off diagnostic chops, scientists reckon with the way forward A prominent study in Science prompts physicians to call for rigorous clinical trials

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/open-ai-llm-model-outperforms-doctors-study-published-journal-science By Katie PalmerApril 30, 2026 Health Tech Correspondent

‘Forever chemicals’ in baby formula? Scientists unpack FDA results Many formulas are PFAS-free, but experts say more should be done to protect infants

https://www.statnews.com/2026/05/01/fda-infant-formula-safety-pfas-forever-chemical-levels-analyzed/ By Sarah ToddMay 1, 2026 Reporter, Commercial Determinants of Health

In her own words: Surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier expresses enthusiasm and caution for MAHA ‘Questioning the vaccine schedule, that doesn’t mean you’re anti-vax’

https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/30/surgeon-general-nominee-nicole-saphier-in-her-own-words/ By Elizabeth Cooney, Helen Branswell, and Katie PalmerApril 30, 2026

Drug Amount Reporting: FDA Publicly Identifies over 7,700 Noncompliant Companies May 1, 2026 By Fabiola C. Gomez, Ph.D., CMC Regulatory Expert —

https://www.thefdalawblog.com/2026/05/drug-amount-reporting-fda-publicly-identifies-over-7700-noncompliant-companies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=drug-amount-reporting-fda-publicly-identifies-over-7700-noncompliant-companies On March 31, 2026, the FDA published a list of companies that have not submitted required drug amount reports for calendar year 2024. For stakeholders involved in drug manufacturing, this update highlights both a critical regulatory requirement and a compliance gap across the industry.

Webinar – Reducing Readmissions through Device Innovation for the Home (READI-Home) Innovation Challenge June 24, 2026

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/medical-devices-news-and-events/webinar-reducing-readmissions-through-device-innovation-home-readi-home-innovation-challenge?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery Webinar – Reducing Readmissions through Device Innovation for the Home (READI-Home) Innovation Challenge The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a webinar for industry and other interested parties to discuss the Reducing Readmissions through Device Innovation for the Home (READI-Home) Innovation Challenge. The goal of this Innovation Challenge, which is part of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health’s (CDRH) Home as a Health Care Hub Initiative, is to accelerate patient access to medical device technologies aimed at reducing hospital readmission. Innovation in this area has the potential to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with chronic conditions and significantly reduce the financial and logistical burden on the health care system Date: June 24, 2026 Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET Registration is required. https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/home-health-care-hub/fda-readi-home-innovation-challenge-reducing-readmissions-through-device-innovation-home?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery