Morning Headlines 1/28/16

Theranos’ Deficiencies Put Patient Safety In “Immediate Jeopardy”

CMS has issued a public letter to lab test vendor Theranos warning that deficiencies found during its CLIA recertification and compliance inspection put patients in “immediate jeopardy.” Theranos has 10 days to submit proof that the deficiencies have been corrected, or it could lose its CLIA certificate. 

McKesson Reports Fiscal 2016 Third-Quarter Results

McKesson reports Q3 results: total revenue up three percent to $47.9 billion, EPS $2.71 vs. $2.04. Technology Solutions revenue was down eight percent, to $694 million, compared to the prior year.

Some States Look to Avoid Federal Obamacare Payments

State officials discuss sharing state insurance exchanges after CMS published new rules last year requiring states to pay a three percent user-fee per policy issued over Healthcare.gov.

Adoption of Certified Electronic Health Record Systems and Electronic Information Sharing in Physician Offices: United States, 2013 and 2014

The CDC publishes data from its 2014 National Electronic Health Records Survey, finding that 74 percent of office-based physicians are now using certified EHRs, while 32 percent are sharing patient health information with external providers.

Morning Headlines 1/27/16

Leidos To Combine With Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions Business

Leidos will acquire the Information Systems and Global Holdings business units of Lockheed Martin, including its health IT business, for $5 billion.

Centene Announces Internal Search of Information Technology Assets

Insurance provider Centene Corporation announces that it has lost six hard drives containing the personal health information of 950,000 patients. The loss was discovered during a recent IT assets inventory.

Design Considerations and Pre- market Submission Recommendations for Interoperable Medical Devices

The FDA publishes draft guidance outlining interoperability standards for medical device manufacturers.

Scripps Trial Fails Where Geisinger Succeeded

Forbes covers the recent Scripps Translational Health Institute study on remote patient monitoring, highlighting the reasons it failed to demonstrate reductions in cost and utilization or improvements in outcomes.

Morning Headlines 1/25/16

Hurley Medical Center Confirms ‘Cyber-Attack’ as Anonymous Hacking Group Threatens Action Over Flint Water Crisis

Hacker group Anonymous is suspected of a cyberattack on a hospital in Flint, MI after the group posted a YouTube video promising realization for the city’s recent water crisis. Hospital administrators report that the attack was detected on January 21, but that patient care was not companied.

athenahealth Partners With University of Toledo Medical Center to Accelerate Development of Inpatient Electronic Health Record

Athenahealth will work with the University of Toledo Medical Center to develop its inpatient EHR, The University of Toledo Physician Group has been on Athena since 2014.

Data Sharing

A NEJM editorial raises concerns about medical research based on big data when combining data sets is often an imprecise endeavor, asking “Can it be assumed that the differences in study populations, data collection and analysis, and treatments, both protocol-specified and unspecified, can be ignored?”

Morning Headlines 1/22/16

Virus hits TRMC computers

Ransomware has been blocking EHR access at Titus Regional Medical Center (TX) since January 15, sending all hospital operations back to paper. “It’s just like in the 1970s, before electronic medical records. Everything is on paper and people are serving as runners. There’s no automation,” explains the hospital’s public information officer. There is currently no estimate for when the system will be back online.

VA chief to Congress: You can’t fire your way to excellence

VA Secretary Robert McDonald testifies before Congress that he has fired 2.600 VA employees since he took office 18 months ago, and that he is now working to turn the organization into the number one customer-service agency in government, primarily through new IT projects

Clarifying, Eliminating and Enforcing Special Enrollment Periods

CMS updates its rules on special enrollment periods for insurance exchanges to crack down on those that “remain uninsured and then decide they need health insurance when they get sick.”

Time for a Patient-Driven Health Information Economy?

An NEJM opinion piece calls for APIs that could help establish a patient-controlled health record infrastructure, citing reluctance of providers to share medical records with patients, despite HIPAA and HITECH mandates.

Morning Headlines 1/19/16

Privacy experts say Coburn op-ed misses the mark

Privacy experts respond critically to an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal last week by former Senator Tom Colburn, MD’s in which he argues that “HIPAA makes it difficult for researchers to tap into large caches of clinical and genomic data shared across multiple institutions or firms, and then share their findings more broadly.”

50 hospitals charge uninsured more than 10 times cost of care, study finds

A Health Affairs study analyzing Medicare-certified hospital data from 2012 and 2013 finds that 46 of the 50 hospitals with the highest overall markup on care delivered to out-of-network or uninsured patients are members of for-profit health systems, and that 20 of 50 operate in Florida.

Cerner again teams up with KC-area startup

Cerner partners with local Kansas City startup Infusion Express, an outpatient IV therapy company, to reduce IV treatment costs among its employees and reduce absenteeism by a forecasted 5,000 hours annually.

Morning Headlines 1/18/16

New Guidelines Nudge Doctors to Give Patients Access to Medical Records

The New York Times covers the recent OCR clarification reminding providers of their obligation to provide electronic copies of medical records to patients.

NHS out-of-hours GP service 12-hour wait ‘clinically unsafe’

In England, NHS callback times have reached 12 hours for patients calling out of hours with non-emergency conditions, a situation some describe as a “significant risk to patient safety.” The delay is blamed on a shortage of doctors and inefficient call handling.

Privacy-breach discipline against 24 of 48 health-care workers withdrawn

In Canada, 24 healthcare workers accused of inappropriately accessing medical records have had disciplinary actions against them dropped after a nurses union successfully argued that the hospitals policy was unclear.

Morning Headlines 1/15/16

Walgreens, UnitedHealth Are In Talks To Buy WebMD

Rumors of a buyout send WebMD share prices up nearly 10 percent today, but prices tumbled after the company issued a press release stating that no acquisition was being planned. Share prices ultimately overcorrected, closing down 7.7 percent.

Medical Taylorism

An opinion piece published in NEJM argues that EHRs, while “introduced with the laudable goals,” have undermined patient care by monopolizing the provider’s limited time during patient encounters. The author explains, “Open-ended interviews, vital for obtaining accurate clinical information and understanding patients’ mindsets, have become almost impossible.”

Athenahealth CEO uses CPR to resuscitate a stranger

Athenahealth CEO Jon Bush, a former EMT and combat medic, provides CPR to a man who had collapsed, commenting about the encounter afterwards, “It was like the US health care system. Everybody was standing there, nobody was helping.”

Chief Information and Technology Officer

In England, the NHS publishes a job description for a national chief information and technology officer to lead “the strategic procurement and successful implementation of the information and technology priorities that will support a modern, sustainable health and care system.”

Morning Headlines 1/13/16

Comments of CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt at the J.P. Morgan Annual Health Care Conference

CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt announces that Meaningful Use will soon be shut down, explaining “Now that we effectively have technology into virtually every place care is provided, we are now in the process of ending Meaningful Use and moving to a new regime culminating with the MACRA implementation.”

Why Shares in McKesson Slumped 10% Today

McKesson shares fell 10 percent after dropping the upper limit of its 2016 EPS forecast from $13.00 to $12.90.

Electronic Health Record-Related Events in Medical Malpractice Claims

A study analyzing malpractice claims from 2012-2013 uncovers 248 cases in which health IT was cited as having caused patient harm. 80 percent of the health IT related claims resulted in moderate or severe harm to the patient.

The Doctor Will See You Now?

The National Center for Policy Analysis publishes a report critical of the Texas Medical Board for its efforts to limit telehealth visits in the state, noting that Texas ranks last in the country for access to medical care.

Morning Headlines 1/12/16

Medical device maker Medtronic to buy back up to $5 billion shares

Medtronic raises its full-year EPS forecast from $4.33 to $4.36 and announces a $5 billion share buyback program that it will execute over the next several years.

New hospitals and health care providers join successful, cutting-edge federal initiative that cuts costs and puts patients at the center of their care

HHS announces 121 new Medicare ACOs, including 21 organizations that are the first to enroll in the Next Generation ACO Model, bringing to total number of ACOs to 477.

Texas board asks appeals court to block suit challenging telemedicine rules

The Texas Medical Board files an appeal with the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals after telehealth vendor Teladoc won the right to proceed with its antitrust case against the board over its restrictive telehealth policies.

Barton Health First to Implement Proteus Digital Health’s Innovative Solution for Patients with Chronic Conditions

Smartpill vendor Proteus Digital Health announces that Barton Health (CA) will be the first health system to implement its medication adherence technology. The project will focus on improving uncontrolled hypertension.

Morning Headlines 1/11/16

Understanding Individuals’ Right under HIPAA to Access their Health Information

OCR mandates that patients will be provided electronic copies of their medical records on request, with no unreasonable delays or processing fees, noting that redirecting requests to a patient portal is unacceptable.

Suspended VA bosses to return to agency jobs next week

Two key VA administrators suspended and then given termination notices during the Phoenix VA waitlist scandal have been reinstated and reassigned to new VA positions after internal investigations on the men were hampered by “conflicts, delays, and contradictory findings.”

Leader, Global Healthcare – Amazon Business in Seattle, United States

Amazon is searching for a healthcare leader to run its B2B healthcare marketplace.

Tax filing issues could jeopardize health law aid for many

HHS reports that 1.4 million Healthcare.gov customers may lose their federal subsidies or insurance coverage after failing to properly disclose the entitlements in tax filings last year.

Morning Headlines 1/7/16

AT&T Just Announced a Major, New Health Care Venture

AT&T announces the opening of a health-focused innovation center called the AT&T Foundry for Connected Health. The new center will operate at the Textas Medical Center Innovation Institute in Houston.

HealthSpot shutters its telemedicine kiosk operations

Health IT startup HealthSpot, which sold telehealth kiosks outfitted with medical devices to health systems and retail locations, has shut down. The company had raised $28 million in VC funding since its 2010 launch, including $12 million in 2015.

Under Armour launches brand’s first suite of fitness-tracking products

Under Armour unveils UA HealthBox, a suite of devices that integrates with its digital health app including an activity tracker, a wireless scale, and a chest-strap heart rate monitor.

Death of man restrained at a D.C. hospital ruled a homicide

The death of a 74-year-old patient injured by security guards while trying to leave MedStar Washington Hospital Center without signing out has been ruled a homicide by the Washington DC medical examiner’s office.

Morning Headlines 1/6/16

NantWorks and NantHealth Complete Acquisition of Navinet, America’s Leading Healthcare Collaboration Network

NantWorks and NantHealth acquires NaviNet, a payer-provider collaboration platform, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition aligns with NantHealth’s vision of “delivering on whole health systems integration.”

Mayo sells data center for $46M to new IT partner

Mayo Clinic sells its data center to Epic for $46 million and will lease it back from Epic for the next four years, with an option to continue the arrangement indefinitely.

No time for stodgy: Crusading editor aims to shake things up in science

The British Medical Journal is being criticized for its perceived transition from a science magazine to one that takes controversial political stances. One Yale epidemiologist comments BMJ “should carefully think about what it wants: to remain a top scientific medical journal, or to transition into a public-opinion publication that seeks to attain the highest ratings possible based on one-sided positions that are not carefully researched.”

Many See IRS Penalties as More Affordable Than Insurance

The New York Times reports on the 10.5 million Americans who are eligible to buy coverage through an insurance exchange but are still uninsured, noting that for many the $1,800 IRS fee is still far cheaper than paying for an insurance policy.

Morning Headlines 1/5/15

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System

HHS issues a final rule modifying HIPAA to allow psychiatrists to report potentially violent patients that should be prevented from purchasing a gun to the National Instant Criminal Background Check system.

Meaningful Use: When the Exemption Becomes the Norm

Athenahealth SVP and General Counsel Dan Haley discusses the impact that blanket MU hardship exemptions will have on the program at large, saying “when every program participant is potentially exempt from the application of what was heretofore deemed a key component of said program, there really isn’t a program any more.”

Artificial pancreas system aimed at type 1 diabetes mellitus

Researchers at Harvard Medical School will begin the largest-ever long-term clinical trial of an “artificial pancreas” comprised of an implantable continuous glucose monitor and  an insulin pump that will work together to auto-regulate insulin levels for Type 1 diabetics.

25 W.Va. hospitals see $265 million drop in uncompensated care

In West Virginia, uncompensated care has dropped $265 million in the last year, a shift attributed to an overall drop in the uninsured rate brought on by the ACA.

Morning Headlines 1/4/16

Epic Systems growth expected to continue

A local paper reports that Epic’s employee base has grown to 9,400, increasing by 1,400 in the past year.

Patients given just hours warning to attend hospital after problems plague new IT system

In England, an estimated 20,000 patients at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust have erroneous data in their medical records and appointment waitlists jumped from 40,000 to 60,000 patients as a result of a troubled CSC Lorenzo EHR migration.

How Denmark Dumped Medical Malpractice and Improved Patient Safety

ProPublica analyzes the results of Denmark’s decision to eliminate malpractice suits, replacing them with a government-run claims program that pays patients when they are harmed, but also collects the details of their case and uses it to improve the overall care delivery system.

Morning Headlines 12/31/15

Nearly 1 in 3 patients say email communication with providers improved their health

Researchers from Kaiser Permanente have published results from a 1,000-patient survey,  finding that one-third of patients who sent messages to their providers said it improved their health, led to less office phone calls, and reduced office visits.

Valeant Says CEO J. Michael Pearson Is on Medical Leave

Valeant CEO J. Michael Pearson is being treated for pneumonia and will be on medical leave for an indefinite period. In his absence, the company will be run by a three-man office of the chief executive.

North Shore-LIJ ends first nine months with higher margin

North Shore-LIJ Health System (NY) ends its third-quarter with $6.4 billion in revenue, up from last year’s $5.4 billion, but ended the quarter flat due to poor investment performance.

Morning Headlines 12/30/15

HIPAA Helper: Who is Revealing Your Private Medical Information?

ProPublica publishes a search tool that lets consumers search for doctors, hospitals, insurers, and pharmacies to see if they have had any data breaches or privacy complaints.

Health Insurers to Face Fines for Not Correcting Doctor Directories

Starting Friday, CMS will be able to fine insurers $25,000 per beneficiary for errors in the Medicare Advantage provider directory and $100 per beneficiary for errors in plans sold on public exchanges.

Avoid ageism when testing physicians

A blog post debating the value of competency testing for aging physicians suggests that testing should be rolled out across the board and not just for aging physicians, citing inconclusive research on the influence age has on clinical performance.

Cyber security: Attack of the health hackers

Financial Times estimates that 100 million patient records were stolen by hackers in 2015, with 80 million coming from the Anthem breach alone. Eight of the 10 largest healthcare hacks on record happened this year.

Morning Headlines 12/29/15

At Theranos, Many Strategies and Snags

Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist John Carreyrou recaps the fast paced rise and fall of Theranos in a year-end Wall Street Journal article.

Why Preventing Cancer Is Not the Priority in Drug Development

The New York Times investigates how the FDA and US patent system work together to inadvertently discourage preventative and early-stage cancer treatment research, while encouraging late-stage treatment research. The article builds a case arguing that “There’s more money to be made investing in drugs that will extend cancer patients’ lives by a few months than in drugs that would prevent cancer in the first place.”

Obama administration’s proposed insurance reforms incite industry backlash

Several consumer protection provisions included in proposed rules governing 2017 ACA insurance plans have drawn criticism from insurance companies, including minimum provider network standards, and the introduction of “standardized options.”