About the public’s health
Operation Warp Speed: a timeline so far: A good summary of the activity from May 15-July 15. Lots of activity, no results.
Patients Evaluate Visit Notes Written by Their Clinicians: a Mixed Methods Investigation: The majority of patients understand their physician’s notes. This finding runs counter to many claims to the contrary and implications from studies of patient health literacy, The researchers found: “Nearly all patients (96%) reported they understood all or nearly all of the self-selected note, with few differences by clinician type or specialty. Overall, 93% agreed or somewhat agreed the note accurately described the visit, and 6% reported something important missing from the note. The most common suggestions for improvement related to structure and content, jargon, and accuracy.”
Cost-effectiveness of Breast Cancer Screening With Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Women at Familial Risk: This study from the Netherlands “suggests that MRI screening every 18 months between the ages of 35 and 60 years for women with a family history of breast cancer is cost-effective within the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence threshold for all densities. Higher thresholds would favor annual MRI screening. These outcomes support a change of current screening guidelines for this specific risk group and support MRI screening.”
It is important to look at the numbers they used in their calculations. Among the figures, a Quality Adjusted Life Year was valued at $24, 795.87 while the mammogram cost was $322.09 (both converted form Euros). In the US, the CPT code for an MRI mammogram without contrast with computer aided reading is 77049 (global charge). Perusal of the Medicare fee schedule (https://www.cms.gov/apps/physician-fee-schedule/search/search-results.aspx?Y=0&T=0&HT=0&CT=3&H1=77049&M=1 ) shows an approximate average charge of at least $400 (though some localities are as low as $360s). Commercial rates are undoubtedly much higher. So while the cost/benefit of this imaging works in Europe, our costly healthcare system changes the recommendation to a much less affordable option.
Trump launches "Embers Strategy" in coronavirus hotspots:”The Trump administration is sending increased personal protective equipment, coronavirus test kits and top health officials like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx to coronavirus hotspots across the U.S. as part of a campaign called the ‘Embers Strategy,’ White House officials tell Axios…
Its name, the ‘Embers Strategy,’ is meant ‘to highlight the risk level of “‘embers'‘“to decrease the likelihood of “'fires,'" a senior White House official said.”
57% of New Mexico hospitals didn't report COVID-19 data last week: 4 things to know: The article highlights reporting deficiencies that are probably happening nationwide.
Mapping the Spread of the Coronavirus Outbreak Around the U.S. and the World: Time magazine announced its “one-stop dashboard” to keep track of COVID-19 statistics. One interesting feature is the ability to look at trends in new cases by state.
California cuts off coronavirus aid to two cities that refuse to shut down: The cities weigh the balance of losing state aid versus lost revenue from businesses staying closed.
”At their city council meetings on Monday, leaders in Atwater, a city of 29,000 off Highway 99 in Merced County, and Coalinga, a city of 17,000 in the southwest corner of Fresno County, stood by resolutions they passed this spring allowing all businesses in their communities to reopen.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services warned the cities last week that they could collectively lose about $600,000 of federal coronavirus relief unless they come into compliance with state health requirements.”
About pharma
Drug Price Forecast 2020: This monograph is Vizient’s forecast for the coming year. Among the findings are a 3.29 percent increase in hospital pharmaceutical costs and the continuation of specialty drugs as the main driver of increasing prices.
Moderna proposes coronavirus vaccine will cost $50 to $60 per course: “The price is higher than the $19.50 per dose price agreed upon by Pfizer and BioNTech for their experimental vaccine in a pre-order deal with the U.S., Financial Times reported.
AstraZeneca has signed a deal with some European countries to supply its COVID-19 vaccine at $3 to $4 per dose.”
GlaxoSmithKline employs 'new way of thinking' by using 23andMe's genetic data to launch cancer drug trial:”Early-stage trials for a new cancer drug developed by the two companies are now underway. They developed the antibody drug to block CD96, a protein that causes overactivity of another molecule in malignant tumors.”
AstraZeneca bucks industry trend with rise in first-half profits:”UK drugmaker AstraZeneca has increased first-half revenues and profits, bucking a trend at other large pharmaceutical groups that have begun to suffer from the coronavirus-related global economic slowdown. Revenue for the first six months of the year rose 14 per cent at constant currencies to $12.63bn, the company said on Thursday, while its core earnings per share jumped 26 per cent to $2.01. “
How a secretive Pentagon agency seeded the ground for a rapid coronavirus cure: For the past decade, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been funding technology aimed at “producing antibodies for any virus in the world within 60 days of collecting a blood sample from a survivor…
DARPA’s antibody program, which is known as the Pandemic Prevention Platform, or P3… has already led to the world’s first study in humans of a potential covid-19 antibody treatment.”
Fascinating article about DARPA and this process.
About health insurance
Trump Administration Continues to Keep Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs Low for Seniors: This article is the CMS announcement that the “average basic Part D premium will be approximately $30.50 in 2021.” Also significant is the previously announced $35 per month cap on spending for insulin.
Cigna saw utilization 'closer to normal' in June, expects similar trends in July despite COVID-19 spikes:”Cigna executives said that health utilization crept back up toward the end of Q2, with June appearing ‘much closer to normal.’
And early trends suggest that trend will continue through July, despite spikes in pandemic cases in several regions across the country. Cigna's utilization rate declined between 30% and 35% in April, but has climbed back up steadily since…”
Healthcare investments
State Of Healthcare Q2’20 Report: Sector And Investment Trends To Watch:
“REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
Global healthcare funding saw significant growth in Q2’20, setting a new quarterly record. Deals climbed slightly quarter-over-quarter.
Healthcare & digital health funding in Asia and Europe rebounded from the previous quarter, likely due to reopening efforts amid the pandemic.
Telehealth deals skyrocketed during the quarter, while funding declined slightly. Q2’20 also saw a record number of exits in the telehealth space.
The medical device sector reached new heights in both funding and exit volume during the quarter.
Healthcare AI startups received more than $1B in funding across 84 deals. Though up compared to the previous quarter, financing activity was below the record-setting levels seen in Q3’19. “