TOP STORIES
The House of Representatives passed The Protecting Cyber Networks Act on a 307-116 bipartisan vote. Supporters believe this will help prevent future hacks, but opponents believe it will give the government too much access to information.
The political climate around cybersecurity has changed since CISA [Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act] failed last year. Since CISA was considered last year, Sony was hacked, the State Department and White House were breached and health insurance records were compromised at Anthem.
Why Pharma Companies Should Look To Social Media For Better Patient Insight
Healthcare decision-makers, especially at pharmaceutical companies, must prioritize patient input. Data collected from social media listening is a significant step in the right direction.
So I have traveled off the beaten path in search of tools and tips that might help heal. These explorations are fraught with their own unique peril. For example, my voyage into the land of weight loss supplements left me in a very unsavory place. I wish I could take back enthusiastic words I used to support these products years ago. And I understand the criticism I’ve received as a result.
Also, here’s the case for mocking Dr. Oz but not firing him for reasons that include: “The truth is boring.”
German healthcare group Fresenius has decided to wait for the market to cool down before making more large acquisitions (referring to the Teva/Mylan offer, the AbbVie/Pharmacyclics proposal, and the Valeant/Salix $11B deal).
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LIFE SCIENCE
Great Basin Scientific’s Group B Streptococcus molecular diagnostic test got FDA approval.
A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal on preemption grounds of a personal injury lawsuit filed over the alleged off-label use of Medtronic’s controversial InFuse bone-growth protein.
German researchers are making moves toward personalized vaccines against cancer. The scientists reported they have developed an immune-system therapy that knocks out several types of aggressive tumors in mice.
Stryker topped Wall Street’s earning forecast with its Q1 results – profits of $224 million, up 220 percent from Q1 in 2014.
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
Mount Sinai Health System has selected InterSystems HealthShare as its interoperability platform for long-term growth, according to a press release.
We don’t really need to be afraid of bird flu, despite the recent spread.
In JAMA, support for same-sex marriage.
According to a new study, patients are much more concerned about customer service than credentials and education when it comes to their physician.
TECH
Under Armour has added 10 million users to its fitness apps since February.
Caregiver communicator Voalte has raised $10 million – it also recently added Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital as a customer.
Dr. Sandeep Gupta, a professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Arizona State University, led the development of a platform to ensure apps are safe.
His team has created Health-Dev, a platform to facilitate the development of safe and reliable apps. They have also developed ECG and photoplethysmography (PPG) based biometric “passwords” to improve app security.
Data aggregator BurstIQ has raised $250,000.
POLITICS
A detailed report about complaints claiming privately run Medicare Advantage plans are manipulating risk scores to bilk the government.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will release a report later this year about multiple cybersecurity “incidents” at HealthCare.gov. Gregory Wilshusen, director of Information Security Issues for GAO, suggested there have been several cyber events at ObamaCare’s online exchange.
At the ceremonial swearing-in of Vivek Murthy, Joe Biden took a jab at the Senate for how long it took fill the surgeon general position officially. “Thankfully, the people that held up the nomination don’t have to wait that long for a doctor’s appointment,” Biden said. Gotta love Biden jokes.
Some minor momentum to repeal the health insurance tax in Obamacare.
Missouri just passed the following malpractice caps: $400,000 on noneconomic damage awards that would be raised to $700,000 for catastrophic and wrongful death cases. Both caps would increase 1.7 percent annually.
California moved its vaccine bill forward quashing the personal beliefs exemption. Long way to go, though.
A LITTLE EXTRA
As both fears and some assets are coming from hacking currently, it’s not entirely surprising that there is a game out that you actually must hack in order to beat it. It’s called Pwn Adventure, and it was created by Jordan Wiens and Rusty Wagner, the two former Raytheon security researchers.
“The concept of the game is to look at the common security flaws that games have and make a challenge out of those flaws,” says Wagner, who presented the game along with Wiens at a talk at the Infiltrate security conference last week. “You take all these bugs we intentionally placed in the game, and through the course of playing, you abuse those bugs to win.”
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.