Morning Headlines 4/20/16
Theranos Is Subject of Criminal Probe by US
Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation to determine whether Theranos misled investors about the state of its technology and operations.
Major Health Insurer Bailing On Most Obamacare Exchanges
UnitedHealth Group pulls its plans from ACA exchanges, citing $1 billion in losses from the markets over the past two years.
Health apps: Unlimited promise or ‘like having a really bad doctor’
The LA Times highlights the persistently poor clinical quality of consumer-focused medical apps, citing concerns over diabetes management apps that do not instruct users to call 911 when their sugar levels are dangerously low, or apps for people with depression that do not recommend calling a suicide hotline when users report feeling unsafe or suicidal.
Movie stars have their uses: medical science isn’t one of them
The Guardian discusses the role movie stars have in forming public health opinions after Robert De Niro lobbied to have a discredited movie about the risks associated with vaccinations included in the Tribeca Film Festival.
Weird that Google can acknowledge its crowdsourced medical advice was wrong, but escape penalties for doing it wantonly at scale.