Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos
Every week, we compile the most trafficked and thoughtful stories on MedCity News. Most influential: Formerly high-flying diagnostics company Theranos may be facing its demise.
1. Is this the beginning of the end for Theranos?
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.
The news that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have proposed revoking Theranos’ California lab license and banning the company’s owners, including Elizabeth Holmes, and its president Sunny Balwani from running a lab for two years or more, marks what could be a final chapter in the long running saga of the diagnostics company.
2. More virtual care than office visits at Kaiser Permanente by 2018
By 2018, Kaiser Permanente will perform more virtual visits than in-person office visits.
This bombshell of sorts came to us from Dr. Robert Pearl, executive director and CEO of the Permanente Medical Group and president and CEO of the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group. Pearl was on a keynote panel Tuesday at the 13th annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, and spoke to MedCity News briefly afterwards.
Obviously, telehealth technologies such as secure e-mail, telephone and video will not replace all care anytime soon. Some procedures, such as radiology tests, biopsies and surgeries, of course, have to be done in a clinical setting, but Pearl was referring to office visits.
3. Intermountain saves big by marrying behavioral health with primary care
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.
Leaders at Intermountain Healthcare believe that health systems can’t manage population health without addressing lifestyle issues. So, that’s exactly what the Salt Lake City-based organization is doing by integrating behavioral health into primary care.
Intermountain now pays attention to the entire continuum of care, particularly for those with multiple chronic conditions. “Our clinical programs are focused on what we call health pathways,” said Intermountain Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President for Clinical Operations Kim Henrichsen.
The results speak for themselves, as Henrichsen pointed out Tuesday at the World Health Care Congress in Washington.
4. It’s official: Meet 4 of the country’s most impressive healthcare startups
A quartet of companies on Wednesday were selected among the 44 businesses that presented at MedCity INVEST, MedCity News’ healthcare investing conference this week in Chicago. The winning companies, honored as the Best of INVEST, are building breakthroughs that leverage breath tests to detect cancer or are building better tools to diagnose orthopedic injuries in the doctor’s office, among other things.
Investors from more than 60 healthcare funds attending INVEST helped select the winners, which were from four categories: diagnostics, medical devices, digital health and biopharma. A trio of judges reviewed the companies, then the remaining investors contributed a fourth “crowd” score: an average score from their ballots. Judges’ scores and the crowd score were averaged and the company with the highest score won its category.
5. Improv training helps Cleveland Clinic improve MD communications
Even though the idea of “medical improv” came from an instructor and performer at Chicago’s legendary Second City comedy factory, laughs are not the goal. Relationship-building is.
“Comedy is just one genre” of improv, said Amy Windover, a psychologist who directs the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Excellence in Health Care. At its heart, it’s about listening, understanding, quick thinking and communication, Windover said during the Beryl Institute’s Patient Experience Summit in Dallas. “In improv, you are listening for facts, feelings and intentions,” Windover explained.
