TOP STORIES
A new ProPublica report that centers on patient safety and physician performance has analyzed Medicare data to determine surgical complication rates for nearly 17,000 surgeons across the U.S. People can weigh surgeons’ past performance and doctors can see where they stand relative to their peers, the report noted. Among the findings from the report were that the reputation of the medical institution did not necessarily equate with strong performance by surgeons.
Some 756 surgeons who each did at least 50 operations did not record a single complication in the five years covered by the analysis. Another 1,423 had only one.
A surgeon with one of the nation’s highest complication rates for prostate removals in our analysis operates at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital, a national powerhouse known for its research on patient safety. He alone had more complications than all 10 of his colleagues combined — though they performed nine times as many of the same procedures.
By contrast, some of the nation’s best results for knee replacements were turned in by a surgeon at a small-town clinic in Alabama who insists on personally handling even the most menial aspects of each patient’s surgery and follow-up care.
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.
A prenatal blood test used to spot genetic flaws in the fetus could also be used to determine whether the mother has cancer. A study of eight women who had abnormal results from the prenatal blood test, showed that when the mothers’ DNA was analyzed, the anomalies were linked to cancer in each of the women. — The Wall Street Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug to treat schizophrenia and depression, Rexulti brexpiprazole, developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. and H. Lundbeck A/S. — Drugs.com
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.
This is how companies are shifting away from needles with more sophisticated pills and patches. — Discover Magazine
AstraZeneca got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its lung cancer drug Iressa as a first-line treatment for a common form of lung cancer. The drug had previously only been approved for patients who did not respond to chemotherapy. — Reuters
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
How open are states with health care cost transparencies? Um, not very. Texas and 44 other states have received failing grades on their health care price transparency laws, according to a recent report that tracks whether states had passed laws or regulations requiring health care pricing information be made public. — Futurity
TECH
Microsoft is calling an end to its MSN Health and Fitness app. — MobiHealthNews
Perform critical appraisal of medical literature using an app — a review of CASP.
POLITICS
Health and Human Services are reviewing new best practices for nursing homes. — The Hill
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
It appears nobody knew Airbnb was going to end up what is now when they could have jumped in financially. It can sometimes be hard to spot a hit or miss for some investors.
Brian Chesky, cofounder and CEO of Airbnb, took to Medium yesterday to post some responses he received from potential investors way back in 2008, just as the company was setting out. Following meetings with seven “prominent investors in Silicon Valley,” only five responded — and each turned the investment opportunity down.
Photo: Flickr user James Whitesmith
