TOP STORIES
We all know him from his show and constant questionable-credibility buzz from the media, but Dr. Oz also holds the surgery department vice chairmanship at Columbia University’s medical school. And some fellow doctors want him out.
That Columbia affiliation doesn’t sit well with some doctors, 10 of whom from various institutions have sent a letter to Columbia’s dean of medicine Lee Goldman calling Oz’s faculty position at “a prestigious medical institution unacceptable.”
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Use of e-cigarettes by teens in the U.S. has tripled in just one year.
HIMSS
We won’t do a special e-mail today. Instead, here’s a few tidbits from HIMSS (though we’ll still write up a few things):
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.
Epic was demonstrating in the Interoperability Showcase and Jenn (who had a HIMSS conference press pass) snapped a photo of what Epic was publicly displaying. Someone from Epic came up, said nobody’s allowed to take pictures of Epic’s screens, and then demanded that the photo be deleted from the camera while they stood there to verify. That sounds like Soviet-style overstepping big time, especially since Jenn was attending as a journalist – if you are showing your product on the big screen, if HIMSS doesn’t prohibit picture-taking in the exhibit hall (which they don’t any more as far as I can after reviewing the attendee agreement), and if the person taking the photo doesn’t work for an organization that has signed a confidentiality agreement with Epic, then I don’t believe Epic people have any legal basis for detaining attendees and demanding that they delete photos. Claims of friendly and open interoperability just don’t jibe with clearly evidenced paranoia and legal muscle-flexing. I think there’s enough Epic out there that whatever national secrets are contained on their screens have already been exposed.
Also, everyone says HIMSS will either be a Las Vegas show or an Orlando show. MedCity’s own personal point of view: We hate Orlando.
Because most of you missed it: Some great details from the HIMSS final keynote.
Healthcare Dive had a few more details on HIMSS parties and whatnot
LIFE SCIENCE
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has said that it will transfer the North American rights to cancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab) to partner Eli Lilly and Company. After 14 years of partnership, the companies are reportedly looking to streamline their individual portfolios and strengthen oncology assets.
Discovery Labs cut 50 jobs, nearly half its staff, as part of a restructuring.
New mouse models for the study of principal malignant tumor associated with neurofibromatosis type 1 have been developed by researchers.
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Aetna is collaborating with Moffit Cancer Center to create patient centered medical homes that will focus on cancer patients.
A new study indicates that mental health concerns and diagnoses continue for EMS workers who responded during the 9/11 attacks.
Hospitals aren’t thrilled about the new five star rating system that CMS has rolled out.
TECH
Four new digital health tools have been developed at Boston Children’s Hospital and were displayed at the annual Innovator’s Showcase.
Even with smartphones, laptops and tablets, more than half of physicians are still using desktop computers for communication purposes. Is it a problem to be kind of behind the times, or does it even matter?
Telemedicine startup TouchCare has rolled out an app for Android devices.
POLITICS
The Supreme Court is temporarily halting the enforcement of Obamacare’s contraception mandate against several Catholic organizations in Pennsylvania.
A LITTLE EXTRA
If you’re a sucker for inspiring or cute animal videos, you’ll love this. Sometimes sick cats or dogs need more care than a vet can provide them. In those cases, at least at a veterinarian clinic in Poland, there’s Radamenes: The lovable cat nurse.
The Morning Read provides a 24-hour wrap up of everything else healthcare’s innovators need to know about the business of medicine (and beyond). The author of The Read published it but all full-time MedCity News journalists contribute to its content.
