TOP STORIES
Lab testing: The ‘Wild West’ of medicine – but as this shockingly unregulated industry gets peeled apart by FDA, diagnostics companies are starting to fight back. –Wall Street Journal
Market Trends to Watch for Health Systems and Their Specialty Pharmacies
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
Novo Nordisk is teaming up with the IBM Watson supercomputer platform to create a “virtual doctor” – developing software that can dole out treatment advice to diabetics, such as insulin dosage. –Wall Street Journal
LIFE SCIENCES
Testing behemoth Quest Diagnostics is taking over laboratory operations at New Jersey-based Barnabas Health hospitals – News Medical
FDA has endorsed Teva’s asthma drug, reslizumab, permitting no-holds-barred marketing approval – as long as it’s used in adults only. –Fierce Biotech
The Funding Model for Cancer Innovation is Broken — We Can Fix It
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
Medical imaging company Analogic may contend with a $15 million foreign corruption settlement, thanks to a potential bribery scheme it unveiled in 2011 between distributors and BK Medical –Mass Device
Circuit Therapeutics landed a $2.7 million contract from DARPA for its work in optogenetics – deploying gene therapy and light delivery to nerves that control neuropathic pain. –PR Newswire
PAYERS-PROVIDERS
There’s a disturbing discrepancy in organ distribution – with geography proving to be one of the largest factors a patient may not get a lifesaving transplant. –Health Affairs
UnitedHealth is disincentivizing its sales reps from selling ACA policies. That is, it’ll stop paying sales commissions to its agents that sell these plans – right on the heels of announcing it may leave the ACA marketplaces in 2017. –News & Observer
The government’s proposed changes to its risk-adjustment model for Medicare Advantage plans could result in large payment increases or decreases, depending on where seniors live. –Fierce Health Payer
We’re a nation in need of nurses – as illustrated in this handy infographic. – Rasmussen
TECHNOLOGY
The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology teamed up with San Diego’s HardTech Labs to launch a startup accelerator program that incubates companies developing next-gen techs in human health and well being. –Xconomy
Cancer patients that report their own outcomes, using tablet computers, during routine cancer treatments tend to have a higher quality of life. –Journal of Clinical Oncology
Population health management vendor Orion Health is joining the precision medicine game by adding a new product to its offerings: Amadeus. –Healthcare IT News
POLITICS
Congressional leaders are coming closer to a year-end tax package that could halt the Affordable Care Act’s “Cadillac Tax” and medical device tax for two years. –Politico
HHS is partnering with pharmacies across the country to increase Obamacare enrollment as the sign-up deadline approaches. This includes CVS and Walgreens, which are holding enrollment events to help customers sign up for insurance. –The Hill
A LITTLE BIT EXTRA
Hiking up local sales taxes on alcohol leads to a decrease in risky sexy behaviors – and a decrease in sexually transmitted disease. –Fox News
[Photo: Flickr user Atomic Taco]