Weekender 7/31/20

Weekly News Recap

• HIMSS pushes out its 2021 conference from March to August in Las Vegas.
• Allscripts will sell its EPSi business to Strata Decision Technology for $365 million.
• New investment in WellSky values the company at $3 billion.
• Irregularities are found in HHS’s $10 million contract with TeleTracking for a COVID-19 hospitalization tracking database.
• The COVID Tracking Project says that COVID-19 hospitalization data is now unreliable, partly because of HHS’s abrupt switch to a new system and accompanying data element changes.
• Private equity investments in Edifecs value the company at $1.8 billion.
• A surgery journal retracts an article in which the authors created fake social media accounts to search for photos or comments by surgery residents that they deemed unprofessional.

Best Reader Comments

I couldn’t care less about what my PCP or NP is doing with their family and friends in their off time. What’s considered “professional” and “unprofessional” is a social construct and is consistently changing over time based on patriarchal or even outdated viewpoints. To this day people still consider minority hairstyles as “unprofessional.” I’m glad they retracted this ridiculous journal article. (Brooke)

Very frustrated and disappointed with HIMSS. I am a small single attender and have attempted to reach them for a refund, as a refund would be of financial help. They won’t answer a phone nor reply to email. As Mr. Wonderful would say, “You are dead to me.” (Bigdog)

Watercooler Talk Tidbits

Readers funded the Donors Choose teacher grant request of Ms. K in California, who asked for headphones for her middle school special education class. She reported in February, “Your generosity towards my students have made a huge impact on their learning. Being a special education teacher, I teach students with a wide range of abilities. In order to differentiate instruction and meet their individual needs, I use various forms of technology in the classroom. In my language arts class, I rely on computers for their reading intervention program and audio books. The online intervention program is individualized to work on deficits each child still has. The headphones allows my middle school students to work on phonics and reading comprehension skills at their own level and pace. These headphones are exactly what my students need to progress as successful learners.”

Organizers of the influential CES technology conference, which draws 175,000 attendees to Las Vegas each year, announce that the January 2021 event will be virtual only.

The Arizona Diamondback fill the empty seats for its home opener with teddy bears representing Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Former pro football player Myron Rolle says it’s not yet safe for the NFL to resume play. His credentials exceed just being a retired 33-year-old player – he holds an MD degree from Florida State University College of Medicine, earned a master’s degree in medical anthropology as a Rhodes scholar, and is a neurosurgery resident at Mass General.

ED physician Candice Myhre, MD plays the winning hand in the #MedBikini protest by posting a photo of herself saving a boating accident victim while wearing a pink bikini.

In Case You Missed It

• News 7/31/20
• EPtalk by Dr. Jayne 7/30/20
• News 7/29/20
• Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 7/27/20
• Monday Morning Update 7/27/20

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