About healthcare technology
Stents and bypass surgery are no more effective than drugs for stable heart disease, highly anticipated trial results show: These findings were presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association ahead of publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The ISCHEMIA study showed that conservative medical treatment (with drugs and lifestyle changes) did just as well as more invasive therapies. Rather than say one treatment is better than another, therapy can be customized to a patient’s age and normal level of activity without worry that inferior care is being provided.
CMS to implement new appropriate use criteria for advanced diagnostic imaging in 2020: “Starting Jan. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will implement new appropriate use criteria (AUC) that will require ordering professionals to consult a qualified Clinical Decision Support Mechanism (CDSM) prior to ordering Medicare Part B advanced diagnostic imaging services for a patient that will take place in those settings.” Claims won't be denied during 2020, but starting Jan. 1, 2021, claims must include information regarding consultation with a CDSM in order to receive payment. Pre-authorization is widespread for private insurance but has not been used with Medicare services before. Portents of other changes?
FDA approves first contact lens to slow childhood nearsightedness: “The FDA has approved its first contact lens designed to effectively slow the progression of nearsightedness in children, starting in ages 8 to 12.”
About pharma
Pfizer scores FDA nod for biosim to AbbVie's Humira, but it'll have to wait til 2023 to launch: When the generic is available it will make a big difference in cost for this frequently used medication.
Bristol-Myers’ $74B Celgene buy wins antitrust nod in FTC party-line split vote: The surprise here is that the approval was not unanimous.
Trump says U.S. states will be able to buy prescription drugs abroad: “‘I’m going to be giving governors the right very shortly to buy ... their prescription drugs from other countries,’ Trump said at a White House event accompanied by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, among other officials.”
About healthcare IT
Is it 1970 or 2019? Nine in 10 in healthcare industry still using fax machines, survey finds: The headline tells the story.
New York estimates state HIE saves up to $195M annually in care spending: ” New York estimates that its statewide health information exchange reduces healthcare costs by $160 million to $195 million dollars annually.
Savings generated by the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY) includes significant savings for both Medicaid and Medicare programs within the state.
Even if just current users of the HIE used its full capabilities, nearly $1 billion could be saved annually in costs associated with duplicate testing, avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions, and preventable emergency department visits, the state’s research notes.”
Apple launches app to let users enroll in health studies: “People who download the research app would be able to enroll in studies including Apple Women’s Health Study, Apple Heart and Movement Study and Apple Hearing Study, the company said in a study.
After enrolling, participants using Apple Watch and iPhone can contribute useful data around movement, heart rate and noise levels, captured during everyday activities, from taking a walk to attending a concert. Users can also control the type of data they wish to share with each study.”
The question is: Will such data gathering methods skew reports because of exclusion of non-tech savvy patients?
Google almost made 100,000 chest X-rays public — until it realized personal data could be exposed: In 2017, two days “before Google was set to publicly post more than 100,000 images of human chest X-rays, the tech giant got a call from the National Institutes of Health, which had provided the images: Some of them still contained details that could be used to identify the patients, a potential privacy and legal violation. This Washington Post piece. that came from a freedom of information filing, points out how precarious privacy measures are, even when large, well-respected organizations are involved.
Janssen drops clinical sites for smartphones, wearables in 100% virtual Invokana study: “Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical arm Janssen is launching its first completely virtual clinical trial, using personal smartphones and wearable devices to track participants with no in-person site visits required. The decentralized study, dubbed CHIEF-HF, aims to gather real-world evidence to support a new cardiovascular indication for its diabetes drug Invokana (canagliflozin).”
About the public’s health
Trump Retreats From Flavor Ban for E-Cigarettes (NY Times, subscription may be required):
“…under pressure from his political advisers and lobbyists to factor in the potential pushback from his supporters, Mr. Trump has resisted moving forward with any action on vaping, while saying he still wants to study the issue.”
CDC: The jobs with the highest rates of suicide in the U.S.: Interesting comparison of differences by sex— very different sector ordering,
About health insurance
New York Medical Clinics head convicted in nearly $100M kickback, money laundering scheme: The details of the scheme are in the article; but it raises a question I have previously asked: When did you see such a fraud perpetrated on the private sector?
CMS releases proposed and final rules to make hospitals and insurers post prices, cost-sharing information: “The Trump administration released a final rule to require hospitals to publish payer-negotiated prices and a proposal to mandate insurers post online real-time cost-sharing information.” Covered entities will have until 2021 to comply (previously the date was 1/1/2020).
Blues plans to launch high-performance network nationwide in 2021: “The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) revealed this week that its member plans would offer Blue HPN [High Performing Network] beginning in January 2021. The network will be available in 55 markets across the U.S.
Jennifer Atkins, vice president of network solutions at BCBSA, told FierceHealthcare that the goal in launching the network was to build on the plans' existing value-based and patient-centered models.” Multi-location employers should be particularly interested in this initiative.