Daily Briefing for October 23, 2026

Microsoft diagnostic AI beats generalist physicians on hard cases, study says The voices on this episode are generated, and so is the script, from the day's post at Physician in the Loop. Every fact in the post links to its source. Read the post and its sources Get the free email briefing Microsoft's multi-agent diagnostic system reached the correct diagnosis in 83.2% of complex New England Journal of Medicine cases, against 36.1% for generalist physicians, in a benchmark study Science published online Oct. 22 . The physicians in the comparison were primary care physicians and general internists working alone with reference materials, and no specialists or physician teams took part, TechCrunch reported . The authors described the results as coming from a controlled benchmark, and Microsoft said it plans a prospective study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston in which patients interact with the system directly. Elsewhere, the director of the Food and Drug Administration's Digital Health Center of Excellence said Oct. 20 that draft guidance on generative AI devices will come in the coming months, MedTech Dive reported . Sutter Health said more than 6,000 of its clinicians have drafted more than 5 million notes with Abridge's ambient AI, and the FDA approved Edwards Lifesciences' Pascal Precision system for transcatheter repair of the tricuspid valve. In this episode Microsoft's AI diagnostic panel solves 83.2% of hard NEJM cases vs. 36.1% for generalist physicians, Science paper reports FDA digital health chief says draft generative AI device guidance is coming; device center lost about 22% of its staff Sutter Health says more than 6,000 clinicians have drafted 5 million notes with Abridge's ambient AI Google Research's personal health agent ranks first for 46.7% of 45 end users vs 24.4% for a single-agent baseline in a rating study FDA approves Edwards' Pascal Precision system for transcatheter repair of severe tricuspid regurgitation Hims & Hers asks court to dismiss FTC suit over sharing customer data with ad platforms and subscription billing Baba raises $40 million for care coordination that pairs AI with licensed clinicians for Medicare and Medicaid patients