Morning Headlines 10/27/17

President Donald J. Trump is Taking Action on Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

President Trump declares the opioid epidemic a “public health emergency”, but falls short of declaring a national emergency which would have unlocked immediate funding to help address the situation. Officials assured critics that the administration would be requesting additional funding to support expanded treatment efforts shortly.

How Health Care Providers Can Help End the Overprescription of Opioids

Harvard Business Review covers the opioid epidemic, calling for mandated use of PDMPs and improvements in their integration with EHRs.

Cerner’s busy earnings call: more government deals, stock falls hard, no CEO yet

Cerner reports Q3 results: revenue climbed eight percent to $1.28 billion, adjusted EPS $.52 vs. $0.49, missing on both. Shares fell eight percent in after-hours trading. On its earnings call, COO Michael Nill noted that a new CEO had not yet been identified, but offered some assurances, explaining that “The company is being run by a very solid team. The board is going to take their time and go through that process in a very careful manner.”

CVS Makes Blockbuster Aetna Bid

CVS is reportedly in talks to buy Aetna at a $66 billion valuation, sending share prices up 11 percent in after-hours trading.