TOP STORIES
New data from the CVS Health Research Institute shows very high levels of patient satisfaction with the quality of care delivered via telehealth at MinuteClinic retail medical clinics. — PR Newswire
LIFE SCIENCES
Freudenberg Medical, a global developer and manufacturer of specialty components and minimally invasive device solutions for the medical device and pharmaceutical industry, has acquired the majority of Hemoteq AG, a provider of surface coating technologies and related services for medical devices.
Khosla Ventures is leading a $44 million financing for Genalyte Inc ., whose microchip technology is designed to enable doctors to rapidly obtain diagnostic test results from a drop of the patient’s blood. — Dow Jones
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 Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to three major manufacturers of specialized medical scopes linked to deadly “superbug” outbreaks at hospitals. — FierceHealthcare
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
An improper billing probe tied to the overhaul of New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corp.‘s electronic health records system has so far led to the departure of Chief Information Officer Bert Robles, his interim deputy; and the head of training for the project. The chief technology officer also left a few weeks ago, although that was not tied to the probe.
“Severe issues with project management” were among the findings of the probe of the 11-hospital system. A budget of $764 million for the project ballooned to nearly double the stated cost and there were 14 project managers without a specific leader. Consultants on the project were also dismissed. In a statement, HHC spokeswoman Ana Marengo said:
“Even before the allegations of improper action by some IT consultants surfaced earlier this year, HHC took action to ensure the implementation of the new electronic medical records system is not compromised…We have adopted a new oversight and governance structure that will keep it on track,” she added. “We terminated consultants, appointed new leadership, and adopted new timekeeping tools that will help strengthen the management of this project.” —The New York Post
A closer look at what’s driving academic hospital systems in the U.S. and other countries to expand into China. — Forbes
TECH
A new study looked at the effectiveness of mobile device use in Emergency Departments.
The study showed that on average, 60% of smartphone users in the ED use their smartphones for health information seeking. Those in all socioeconomic subgroups had similar rates for health information seeking. Education level did positively correlate with the percentage who used new media for seeking health information (54% for those with no HS diploma and 65% for those with college+ education).
The Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to three major manufacturers of specialized medical scopes linked to deadly “superbug” outbreaks at hospitals.
POLITICS
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a long-awaited plan to replace Obamacare, becoming the first top-tier GOP presidential candidate to make his healthcare agenda public.
In a 10-page report released Tuesday morning, the Republican governor pledges to repeal the law and replace it with a more affordable and more efficient system, which he declared would not add to the deficit. He does not say how he would afford his “bold reforms.”
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
The annual Intel event got started and some interesting insights about the industry were shared.
Intel chief executive Brian Krzanich opened his keynote speech at the big developer event with a focus on three big assumptions. Computing in the future will be built on “sensification,” or the instrumenting of the world with computing sensors. It will also be “smart and connected,” or built on the Internet of Things. And computing will be an extension of you. It will, in other words, be used to express your wishes to your environment and the outside world.
