TOP STORIES
The Wall Street Journal delivers a pretty solid take on the uncertain future of Myriad Genetics – including a backhand from one of their key competitors. “The whole field of genetic sequencing has been rendered generic,” said Invitae’s chief executive, Randy Scott. “Prices, we think, are going to start coming down fairly dramatically.”
Something has to give in the Merck v. Merck name issue. It’s (finally) coming to a head.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
LIFE SCIENCE
Siemens was under investigation last year in China for bribery.
Generics beat brand names again. This time, it’s drugs that lower risk of transplant rejections.
THIS. “Generic Vicodin’s ranking as the drug most widely prescribed to Medicare beneficiaries in 2013 illustrates how comfortable doctors have become reaching for this powerful painkiller for primary care, despite its potential for abuse.”
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Atul Gawande reiterates his concern about waste in healthcare. But this time, he uses a lot of words.
This may surprise you, but some grumpy doctor is insecure about the Internet and wanted you to know about it.
Who in the world is going to stop emergency room visits? They’re up again.
More details on the Tuesday PBS Frontline broadcast on Ebola.
TECH
It’s going to be all telehealth all the time this week. Three great places to start:
- Dan Munro’s great piece in Forbes: Targeting The ‘Superusers’ Of Healthcare With Telehealth
- The #ata2015 hashtag
- MedCity News’ telehealth section
POLITICS
Oh God. He’s in. Ben Carson to formally announce Monday he’ll run for president.
A LITTLE EXTRA
Boy do the problems Microsoft is having sound like a lot of healthcare companies.
We have not quite achieved this synergy yet, but opportunities emerging in 2015 will move the industry much cloI tend to think there are three Microsofts. There’s business-Microsoft that conquered the world with Excel and isn’t going away any time soon. There’s tech-Microsoft that makes all the coding tools and servers beloved by a legion of developers. And then there’s consumer-Microsoft that makes phones, Xboxes and a variety of web services. Business-Microsoft and tech-Microsoft consistently seem to be in rude health, delivering profits and value and doing the meat-and-potato work of a giant corporation. Consumer-Microsoft, on the other hand, is supposed to be the front facing cool kid of the company, the one that’s selling the overall idea.
And consumer-Microsoft isn’t doing a great job. Indeed it never has.
The essay concludes: “Microsoft: be the engineering company you actually are and don’t worry so much about being cool. Y’know?” It’s worth a full read.
