About the public’s health
Cicadas are related to shrimp – don't eat them if you have a seafood allergy, FDA warns: The headline is the message.
About Covid-19
Why you shouldn’t get a COVID antibody test after a vaccine: “…antibody tests don’t paint a full picture. They are not an effective way of making sure your vaccine and immune system are on task, said Dr. Jesse Goodman, who formerly directed the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and is a senior scholar with the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law.
‘I definitely would not recommend it,” he said. “For most people, if you’ve been vaccinated with an authorized vaccine, you’re going to have antibodies, and we understand what your protection would be.’”
Moderna plans mix of COVID-19 vaccine doses with new Lonza deal: “Moderna is gearing up to halve the dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. drugmaker said on Wednesday, so that it can also be used to combat variants and inoculate children.”
It has agreed a deal with Swiss-based drugmaker Lonza which said a new drug substance production line in Geleen, Netherlands, will have capacity to make ingredients for up to 300 million doses annually at 50 micrograms per dose.”
U.S. details global coronavirus vaccine plan, with 25 million doses headed to Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, Africa: “The Biden administration on Thursday announced a plan to share 25 million vaccine doses globally by the end of June, routing about three-quarters through international public health organizations while reserving the remaining 25 percent for direct donations to handpicked nations.”
Masks have stopped disease spread for centuries. Here’s why they may catch on in the U.S.: Good review of the issue.
About hospitals and health systems
New Harmony Healthcare Survey of Hospital Leaders Finds More Than 30% of Hospitals Near Danger Zone of Denial Rates: “Across the nation, the average denials rate is between 6% and 13%, and over 1/3 of hospital reimbursement executives surveyed responded that their organizations are nearing the denials danger zone of 10%…
Research shows that approximately 85% of denials are preventable, but successfully preventing them requires strengthened leadership and improved skills of hospitals’ prevention and recovery teams… Key findings include:
32% of respondents reported their top concern as coding
30% of respondents reported their top concern as medical necessity acute IP
20% of respondents reported their top concern as front end
18% of respondents reported their top concern as clinical validation denials”
About pharma
MorphoSys to buy Constellation Pharmaceuticals for $1.7 billion: FYI
Sackler Family Empire Poised To Win Immunity From Opioid Lawsuits: “According to legal documents filed as part of the case, that immunity would extend to dozens of family members, more than 160 financial trusts, and at least 170 companies, consultants and other entities associated with the Sacklers…
In addition to contributing money from their personal fortunes, the Sacklers have agreed to give up control of Purdue Pharma. They will, however, retain ownership of other companies, admit no wrongdoing and will remain one of the wealthiest families in America.”
F.D.A. Approves Pricey Pill to Treat Vaginal Yeast Infections: A perfect case for discussion about value-added.
”The drug, Brexafemme (ibrexafungerp) made by SCYNEXIS, is a one-day oral treatment and the first of a new class of triterpenoid antifungal drugs. The company said the new drug kills candida — the yeast that can cause an infection.
The standard oral medication, Diflucan (fluconazole), inhibits the growth of yeast but does not kill it.
But the treatment most likely wouldn’t be prescribed widely at first for common vaginal yeast infections. Dr. David Angulo, the company’s chief medical officer, estimated that the list price of the drug would range from $350 to $450 for the four-tablet treatment. By comparison, GoodRx lists the average retail price of fluconazole as $29.81.”
About health insurance
Medicare Advantage Plans Lose Skirmish Over Quality Ratings Data: “Three Medicare Advantage plans lost their attempt to require the CMS to collect data on patient care and satisfaction during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a federal court said the agency hadn’t exceeded its statutory authority in suspending the collection.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday granted the Health and Human Services Department’s motion for summary judgment and denied AvMed Inc.'s motion for summary judgment and preliminary injunction due to its finding that the agency action wasn’t arbitrary and capricious.”
Expanding Insurance Coverage Is Top Priority for New Medicare-Medicaid Chief: A brief interview with new CMS head Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. Not a lot new but worth a quick read.
About medical technology
Magnetic Interference on Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices From Apple iPhone MagSafe Technology: “Magnet wireless charging is being utilized increasingly in current generation smartphones. Apple's MagSafe is a proprietary wireless charging technology with an array of magnets that has the capacity to generate magnet fieldstrength >50 gauss (G). We hypothesize that there is clinically significant magnet interference caused by Apple's MagSafe technology on cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED).”
About healthcare IT
J&J experiences 15.5B cybersecurity incidents per day, CISO says: “Ransomware is just one type of cybersecurity incident, in a continuous cycle of attacks. Johnson & Johnson experiences around 15.5 billion cybersecurity incidents each day, Marene Allison, J&J's chief information security officer said.”
I had to look at the number several times!
About healthcare personnel
AMA joins opposition to 'physician associate' rebrand: The AMA joins the AOA in opposition to the name change. See yesterday’s post.
National Health Service Corps:Program Directs Funding to Areas with Greatest Provider Shortages: From the GAO: “The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that about 25% of the U.S. population lives in an area with too few primary care physicians. Its National Health Service Corps programs offer scholarships and loan repayments to primary, dental, or mental health care providers in exchange for working in areas where there are shortages.
Our review of the programs for FY 2020 found:
About 14,000 recipients provided care at about 7,000 sites
Recipients were most commonly nurse practitioners (26%), physicians (15%), and licensed clinical social workers (12%)
About 57% of new applicants received funding”