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Morning Read: Questions about mobile medical devices on an airplane

Current medical news from today, including questions about how the FAA will handle mobile medical devices, how to pick biotech stocks and how some hospitals are getting love from Wall Street.

Here’s an interesting thought about mobile health we haven’t addressed yet: What’s going to happens with electronic gadgets and commercial airlines? Will the FAA soon require us to turn off wireless heart rate monitors and smart glucose pumps the way we have to turn off MP3 players and laptops when taking off and landing? A NYT article prompted commentary from Neil Versel, who suggests that mobile health devices shouldn’t have to be turned off since they don’t distract passengers from hearing announcements on the plane.

Biotech stocks are among the hardest to identify and select. Money Morning recommends picking a niche, spreading your risk and three other tips for picking the next hot biotech stock.

Publicly traded hospital chains like Community Health and Health Management Associates Inc. are getting some new love on Wall Street from investors who are lured by their low stock valuations and the way in which they’re taking over struggling non-profit hospitals and investing in new technology.

Roche is under investigation by the European Medicines Agency after the regulators found that the drug company had not properly evaluated 80,000 reports – included 15,161 deaths – from a 1997 patient support program, to see if they should be reported as suspected adverse reactions.

Is it possible that electronic health records could make things too complex, and in the end be impeded by their own technology? A new book called Interop lays out a framework for thinking about interoperability long-term in various different fields. Wade Roush does an interesting interview with its author here.

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