About the public’s health
F.D.A. Approves First In-Home Test for Coronavirus: “The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it had granted emergency approval to the first in-home test for Covid-19, a nasal swab kit that will be sold by LabCorp… Patients will swab their own nose using a testing kit sent by the company, and will mail it in an insulated package back to the company. The test, called the Pixel, will be available to consumers in most states, with a doctor’s order, the agency said.”
Study Raises Questions About False Negatives From Quick COVID-19 Test: A related article discusses how the sensitivities of some of the commonly used tests can greatly vary. READ THIS ONE!
US lockdowns coincide with rise in poisonings from cleaners: “Reports of accidental poisonings from cleaners and disinfectants are up this year, and researchers believe it’s related to the coronavirus epidemic.”
Los Angeles coronavirus infections 40 times greater than known cases, antibody tests suggest:”Some 4.1% of adults tested positive for coronavirus antibodies in a study of Los Angeles County residents, health officials said on Monday, suggesting the rate of infection may be 40 times higher than the number of confirmed cases.” Read this article, not as an LA story, but how prevalence in the U.S. may be much greater than is documented.
Reports suggest many have had coronavirus with no symptoms: In a related article to the one above, this one delves into more details.
Association Between Breastfeeding and Ovarian Cancer Risk:”Breastfeeding is associated with a significant decrease in risk of ovarian cancer overall and for the high-grade serous subtype, the most lethal type of ovarian cancer. The findings suggest that breastfeeding is a potentially modifiable factor that may lower risk of ovarian cancer independent of pregnancy alone.” Longer breast feeding yields greater benefits, e.g., “breastfeeding for 12 or more months was associated with a 34% lower risk.”
About health insurance
Moody's: Payers likely to weather the COVID-19 financial storm: “ The analysts said that even in the most severe scenario modeled, where 40% of Americans are infected by the virus, companies would likely break even on EBITDA and have notable capital and liquidity. “
CMS to pay providers via MIPS for participating in COVID-19 drug treatment trials:”Clinicians can earn a credit via the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) if they participate in a clinical trial and report clinical information on COVID-19, the Trump administration announced late Monday….To receive the credit, clinicians must attest to CMS they are participating in a clinical trial on a COVID-19 drug or biologic to treat patients. The clinicians have to report their findings via a clinical data repository or data registry for the duration of the study, the agency adds.” With reduced volumes, clinicians need other means to preserve their payments and avoid penalties beyond their control.
About healthcare IT
Google opens Cloud Healthcare API to health systems to support data exchange: “Google is making its Cloud Healthcare API (application programming interface) available to the industry at large. The tool facilitates the exchange of data between healthcare applications and solutions built on Google Cloud and enables a unified view of patient data…The Cloud Healthcare API supports popular healthcare data standards such as HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), HL7 v2 and DICOM.”
Covid-19: remote consultations: This excellent graphic from BMJ is ”intended for use in a primary care setting…”
About healthcare personnel
Trump says he will suspend immigration, but provides few details about the plan: The status of healthcare workers is unknown- particularly international medical graduates who need visas to start their training.
About pharma
Amid Pandemic, FDA Seizes Cheaper Drugs From Canada: “The Food and Drug Administration in the past month has stepped up seizures of prescription drugs being sent to American customers from pharmacies in Canada and other countries, according to operators of stores in Florida that facilitate the transactions…
The latest seizures come as the Trump administration works with Florida, Colorado and other states to set up a system to help more Americans import drugs from Canada, where many brand-name medications are significantly cheaper than in the United States.
About 2% of American adults say they buy drugs from outside the United States — either over the internet or during travels to Canada or overseas.”