About Covid-19
Wisconsin Supreme Court won't order ivermectin use for COVID “Wisconsin's conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a hospital could not be forced to give ivermectin to a patient with COVID-19, saying a county judge did not cite a legal basis for ordering the facility to administer the drug, as reported by ABC News.
The FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating COVID-19 and warns that misusing it can be harmful, even fatal. The Wisconsin lawsuit is one of dozens filed across the US seeking to force hospitals to administer ivermectin for COVID-19…
In Tuesday's ruling, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of Aurora Health Care, with three liberals and three conservatives in support and only conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley dissenting. The decision upholds an appeal court's ruling against Allen Gahl, who sued Aurora in October 2021 when doctors refused to treat his uncle with ivermectin.”
Comment: Common sense and science prevails.
About health insurance/insurers
Arbitration panel hands Envision a victory over UnitedHealth, awards $91.3M judgment “An arbitration panel has handed Envision Healthcare a $91.3 million judgment against UnitedHealthcare over underpaid claims, the physician staffing firm said Tuesday.
The independent, three-member panel from the American Arbitration Association made the ruling March 30, Envision said. The arbitrators will also weigh whether Envision is entitled to attorney's fees as well as prejudgment interest, according to the news release.
The $91,270,257 award covers claims for services provided to UnitedHealthcare members in 2017 and 2018, when Envision was still in UHC's network. The arbitration panel determined that the insurer ‘unilaterally reduced reimbursement to Envision clinicians in violation of the network agreement,’ according to the release.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
National Hospital Flash Report End of April report on March Data:
“Key Takeaways
Hospital finances improved in March.
Hospital margins continued to stabilize in March with a slight improvement over February. Margins, however, continue to sit at razor-thin, near-zero levels, putting hospitals in a vulnerable position should a recession or a new public health emergency materialize.
Material expenses are burdening hospitals.
Increased material costs associated with drugs and supplies as a result of inflationary pressures continue to negatively affect hospital margins. Additionally, workforce shortages persist, driving up the cost of labor, albeit at a slower pace than material costs.
Patient volumes continue to rebound.
Outpatient volumes remained strong in March, while lengths of stay decreased hinting at a reduction in patient acuity. Hospitals still face a bottleneck discharging patients to post-acute sites of care. Furthermore, workforce shortages still hamper hospitals' ability to treat patients admitted to their institutions.”
Spring 2023 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade You can look up all surveyed hospitals. Some highlights:
“Twenty-nine percent of hospitals received an “A,” 26% received a “B,” 39% received a “C,” 6% received a “D,” and less than 1% received an “F.”
The top ten states with the highest percentages of “A” hospitals are: New Jersey, Idaho, Utah, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Virginia and Massachusetts.
There were no “A” hospitals in Delaware, District of Columbia or North Dakota.”
About pharma
Pfizer to start selling stake in Advil maker Haleon within months, says CFO “Pfizer said it would begin offloading its 32 per cent stake in consumer health business Haleon as it focuses on reducing debt linked to its $43bn acquisition of Seagen and boosting returns to shareholders…
GSK and Pfizer combined their consumer healthcare businesses in a joint venture in 2019 that sat within GSK before it was spun off via a listing on the London Stock Exchange. The listing created the world’s biggest pureplay consumer health company with a valuation of £30.5bn.”
EU states push for law to limit dependency on drug ingredients from China “A majority of EU member states are pushing for legislation to address shortages of critical drugs and to reduce dependency on imported chemicals from China and other countries. In a paper seen by the Financial Times, Belgium and 18 other countries — including Germany and France — have gone further than Brussels’ recent proposals to overhaul the bloc’s pharmaceuticals laws, calling for a ‘last-resort’ mechanism to swap medicines between member states and the establishment of a list of critical drugs whose supply chains must be monitored.”
About the public’s health
First vaccine targeting RSV wins FDA approval. More are coming. “U.S. regulators Wednesday approved the first vaccine to prevent the respiratory ailment RSV, a decision that marks a turning point in the six-decade-long quest to protect vulnerable people against the virus.
A shot developed by pharmaceutical giant GSK to protect older adults against the respiratory syncytial virus is the first to get a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration.”
Gut Microbiome Changes Throughout the Day and With the Seasons “The investigators found that nearly 60% of related bacterial groups fluctuate with a distinct 24-hour cycle…
Seasonal fluctuations were even more pronounced, with certain types of bacteria following one of two distinct patterns over the course of a year…
Seasonal fluctuations might be influenced by location, climate, pollen, humidity and other environmental factors, he suggested. These findings could offer a potential explanation why humans are more susceptible to colds and flu during specific seasons, since the microbiome is known to influence immune response.
The fluctuating microbiome also plays a role in how drugs are metabolized, and therefore could alter the results of clinical trials unless it's taken into account…”
Comment: If the microbiome is constantly changing, how effective are probiotics?
About healthcare IT
Telehealth providers cheer DEA move to temporarily extend virtual prescribing flexibilities “Under the proposed rule, Schedule 2 medications or narcotics would require an in-person prescription. Schedule 3 or higher medications, including buprenorphine, can be prescribed for 30 days via telehealth but would require an in-person visit before a refill. Non-narcotic drugs like Ambien, Valium, Xanax and ketamine also fall into this category. If a patient is referred to a provider, an in-person appointment is not required as long as one took place with the referring physician.
If a telemedicine relationship was established during the COVID-19 public health emergency, the DEA will extend the in-person exam waiver for an additional 180 days.”
Toolkit: Analyzing Telehealth Claims to Assess Program Integrity Risks From the HHS OIG: “This toolkit provides detailed information on methods to analyze telehealth claims to identify program integrity risks associated with telehealth services… [It] is intended to assist public and private sector partners—such as Medicare Advantage plan sponsors, private health plans, State Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other Federal health care agencies—in analyzing their own telehealth claims data to assess program integrity risks in their programs…
Through the use of proactive, data-driven analyses, including measures such as those detailed in this toolkit, public and private partners can more effectively identify potential fraud, waste, and abuse schemes in their health care programs.”
About healthcare personnel
In pandemic’s wake, over 40% of doctors regret career choice “Between Dec. 9, 2021, and Jan. 24, 2022, nearly 2,500 U.S. physicians responded to a survey by researchers from the AMA, the Mayo Clinic, Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The researchers found that professional fulfillment scores fell, dropping from 40% in 2020 to 22.4% in 2021.
Published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the study, Changes in Burnout and Satisfaction With Work-Life Integration in Physicians Over the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic, also found that—consistent with those trends in professional fulfillment—57.5% of physicians indicated they would choose to become a doctor again, dropping from 72.2% in 2020. This is also a decrease from 68.5% in 2017, 67% in 2014, and 70.2% in 2011.”
About health technology
Nanox scores clearance for cloud-connected X-ray bed after years of FDA review “Nanox has secured a long-awaited clearance from the FDA for its multi-source X-ray bed, designed to operate as a smaller, lighter imaging system in clinics and hospitals.
The Nanox.ARC can employ up to five separate X-ray-emitting tubes at once—mounted together above the patient on a tiltable gantry—to take multiple pictures of the inner body and digitally reconstruct them into a three-dimensional image, similar to a CT scan…
In its announcement this week, Nanox said it plans to offer access to its multi-source imager through a pay-per-scan business model—with scan readings and analyses being performed remotely through its teleradiology network.”
Comment: Look at the photo in the article. The possibilities for diagnostics in remote areas are exciting.
FDA: The heart-checking smart toilet seat is a go “The battery-powered, Internet-connected Heart Seat is designed to replace a standard home toilet seat, automatically capturing and uploading SpO2 and heart rate data using the same types of sensors built into smartwatches and other devices for checking vital signs.
The system can also flag readings for healthcare providers The FDA cleared its use in adults ages 22 and older.”