A general partner at the venture capital firm Accel says he hears several pitches every day for big data solutions.
Ping Li says the ideas fall into three categories:
- Plumbing or data platforms
- Enterprise apps that sit on the plumbing
- Data driven apps
Li also said that this is not a short-lived trend, but will be a said that this will be a formidable investment area for many years to come.
Vivus got good news from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel Wednesday with a 20-2 vote in favor of their diet drug Qnexa. Panel members had to balance the increased risk of both heart problems and birth defects with the drug’s positive effect on weight loss. A recent study showed a 10% weight loss at two years for people taking the drug.
Qnexa is a combination of phentermine and topiramate. No new diet drug has been approved for marketing in the United States since 1999.
A Thomson Reuters report released this week suggested four financial data points that could predict how successful an accountable care organization (ACO) will be.
According to the report, meeting the goals of improving patient outcomes and costs savings will depend on:
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
- The number of attributed members
- Current member in-network and out-of network utilization and payments
- Opportunities to reduce utilization and costs
- Baseline costs and payer financial terms
The FierceHealthCare article offered this example from the report, “if diabetics make up 5.5 percent of 10,000-member ACO–that is, 550 patients–each participating primary care physician might only care for a handful of diabetic patients, making it difficult to accurately justify significant changes.”
ChartLogic is hoping that Stella – its new voice recognition software – will become the Siri of the hospital world.
The electronic health record (EHR) provider announced this new product at HIMSS 2012 and said the overlay is compatible with all leading EHR systems. The voice recognition feature works with iPads, iPhones as well as other mobile devices.
As the launch date for health insurance exchanges moves closer, the federal government is giving more money to states to launch them. Now 33 states plus the District of Columbia will receive $229 million in federal funds (free subscription required).
This money is designated for actually building the exchanges. Earlier grants were for planning only. Wednesday’s announcement suggests that these states ultimately may launch their own versions of the insurance marketplaces mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Over the next 10 months, states must enact their own exchange laws and certify their ability to launch one by 2014. The alternative is federal exchange.
[Photo from Flickr user Mondopiccolo]
