About healthcare IT
Amwell® Announces Results for Third Quarter 2020: The telehealth company announced 3Q results. Compared to the same period last year:
“Total active providers of approximately 62,000 at the end of the third quarter increased 930% compared to a year ago
Total visits of 1,414,000 in the third quarter increased 450% compared to a year ago
Revenue of $62.6 million in the third quarter increased 80% compared to a year ago…
Net loss was $(64.6) million, compared to $(24.1) million”
About the public’s health
The US has added half a million new coronavirus cases since Monday: “The US has added more than half a million new Covid-19 cases since hitting 10 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
At this rate, the number should pass 11 million in the next four days, making for the fastest addition of another million yet, John Hopkins data show.”
Trump Administration Partners with Chain and Independent Community Pharmacies to Increase Access to Future COVID-19 Vaccines: “To maximize access to COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)… announced the U.S. government’s partnerships with large chain pharmacies and networks that represent independent pharmacies and regional chains. Through the partnership with pharmacy chains, this program covers approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
Survey: Americans Likely to Attend Large Holiday Gatherings Despite COVID-19: “A new national survey by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds that although a majority of Americans plan to take precautions at holiday gatherings, such as social distancing and asking those with COVID symptoms not to attend, many will also put themselves at risk. Nearly two in five report they will likely attend a gathering with more than 10 people and a third will not ask guests to wear masks.”
And in a related story: At dinner parties and game nights, casual American life is fueling the coronavirus surge as daily cases exceed 150,000.
Progress Toward Regional Measles Elimination — Worldwide, 2000–2019: Not everything can be blamed on COVID-19.
“During 2000–2016, annual reported measles incidence decreased globally; however, measles incidence increased in all regions during 2017–2019. Since 2000, estimated measles deaths decreased 62% and measles vaccination has prevented an estimated 25.5 million deaths worldwide. No WHO region has achieved and maintained measles elimination.”
In the US: “From January 1 to December 31, 2019, 1,282* individual cases of measles were confirmed in 31 states. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992. The majority of cases were among people who were not vaccinated against measles.”
Laxness in attention to currency of vaccinations as well as availability (in developing countries) are contributing factors. Of course, in developed countries, the anti-vaxers are part of the problem.
COVID-19 fatality rate down 30% since April, study finds: “In the United States, COVID-19 now kills about 0.6% of people infected with the virus, compared with around 0.9% early in the pandemic…”
The “statistics reflect that doctors have figured out better ways to care for patients, including the use of blood thinners and oxygen support. Effective treatments, such as the generic steroid dexamethasone, have also been identified.”
CureVac Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine Can Be Stored Under Normal Refrigeration: “German drugmaker Curevac says its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, CVnCoV, can remain stable for at least three months at 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees Celsius), making it easier to distribute than some competitors’ vaccines.
This storage temperature would present fewer distribution challenges than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that must be kept at an ultra-cold -94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius).”
However, this vaccine will not be one of the first ones on the market.
About health insurance
CMS: More than 800K signed up for ACA plans on HealthCare.gov on first week of open enrollment:”The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which reported the numbers late Thursday, said that there were 173,344 new consumers and 645,021 who renewed their coverage for 2021.”
Medical groups implore Congress to extend moratorium on sequester cuts as COVID-19 ramps up: “A collection of provider and payer groups are imploring Congress to continue a moratorium on Medicare payment cuts instituted under the sequester.
The letter sent Friday by more than 20 groups to congressional leaders is concerned that the moratorium installed under the CARES Act expires on Jan. 1. The groups want the moratorium to extend through the COVID-19 public health emergency, which has been renewed by the federal government several times.
The groups said that the moratorium needs to be extended as healthcare facilities are under massive financial stress with new surges of COVID-19.”
Mechanicsburg Physician To Pay $850,000 To Resolve Potential Liability Under The False Claims Act: “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Nava K. Nawaz, M.D. of Mechanicsburg, PA has agreed to pay the United States $850,000 to resolve allegations that she submitted fraudulent travel claims to the Medicare program. As part of the settlement, Dr. Nawaz has also agreed not to seek or be an owner or operator of a laboratory for the next 18-months. According to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed, Dr. Nawaz used her laboratory company Perll Diagnostics, Inc. to defraud Medicare by submitting over 23,000 false and inflated travel reimbursement claims for specimen collection and testing between 2014 and 2017. In doing so, the government contends that Dr. Nawaz misrepresented the distances traveled by Perll’s lab technicians and wrongly obtained taxpayer dollars for travel that never occurred.”
Notice how cases like this one almost always involve Medicare or Medicaid, as opposed to private insurance.
About pharma
Fluvoxamine vs Placebo and Clinical Deterioration in Outpatients With Symptomatic COVID-19: “In this preliminary study, adult outpatients with symptomatic COVID-19 treated with fluvoxamine, compared with placebo, had a lower likelihood of clinical deterioration over 15 days; however, determination of clinical efficacy would require larger randomized trials with more definitive outcome measures.”