MedCity News - (Saturday February 18, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ MedCity News Geographic atrophy, an eye disorder that starts as a loss of central vision and progressively worsens to total blindness, now has its first treatment. The FDA on Friday approved an Apellis Pharmaceuticals drug that slows the progression of this disease, which affects more than 1 million people in the U.S.
Approval of the Apellis drug, pegcetacoplan, covers all patients with geographic atrophy, a broad label that reflects the representative patient population tested in pivotal studies, Chief Medical Officer Caroline Baumal said during a Friday evening conference call. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company plans to launch the drug in March, marketing the product under…
MedCity News - (Saturday February 18, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ MedCity News Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) took a hit from lawmakers during a Thursday hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee, with some questioning why the drug middlemen are even necessary.
“The way I see the situation on PBMs, I don’t know why the hell they even exist,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. “They were set up with all the right reasons … But what I see them doing in my state, I don’t think the consumer gets much benefit and they’re shutting down small businesses on main street right and left and those are called our local neighborhood pharmacies.” The hearing discussed how… |
HIMSS - (Saturday February 18, 2023)
HIMSS/ Videos Be part of the most exciting week in healthcare at #HIMSS23 in Chicago!HIMSS23 is the can’t-miss health information and technology event of the year, where professionals connect for education, innovation and collaboration.Are you ready?Join us April 17-21, 2023: https://bit.ly/3ke9rip…
MedCity News - (Saturday February 18, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ MedCity News The pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to rely heavily on telehealth services. In 2020, virtual visits accounted for more than a quarter of all outpatient visits in the U.S., and they’ve been steadily increasing since then. But there is a flip side to this trend. Recent data shows that telehealth is declining in healthcare, which could create a burden for both healthcare systems and patients. Let’s take a look at why this is happening and what can be done about it.
Reasons behind the decline There are several factors driving the decline in telehealth utilization in healthcare settings. One reason is cost… |
eHealth Radio Network - (Friday February 17, 2023)
eHealth Radio Network/ Podcasts Dr. Alisha Mavis, a Pediatric Hepatologist at Duke University where she cares for pediatric patients with liver disease joins eHealth Radio and the Children’s Health & Health News Channels.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels and guest Dr. Alisha Mavis discuss the following:
What is the prevalence of fatty liver disease in children, and who should we be screening?
When screening a child for fatty liver disease, what are some of the tools used to evaluate for the disease, and how is the diagnosis of pediatric fatty liver disease made?
What is the natural history of pediatric liver disease, and how does this…
HealthTech Magazine - (Friday February 17, 2023)
AI/ Frequent Updates/ HealthTech Magazine HEALTHTECH: What are the highest-priority issues for senior care organizations in 2023?ROSE: I think it would be workforce and staffing issues, especially in the post-acute area. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw so many people leave healthcare. Staffing has always been an issue, but it reached critical status during the pandemic. Now, organizations are really trying to recover, so they’re looking for solutions that can augment their workforce and make workflows seamless — not a lot of logins, not a lot of devices, more cloud-based solutions that will really drive efficiency and mobility, because that’s going to be key to a… |
MedCity News - (Friday February 17, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ MedCity News A Chiesi Farmaceutici drug for a rare enzyme deficiency is now approved by the FDA, making it the first U.S. treatment for a disorder that leads to a range of cognitive and muscle problems.
The regulatory decision announced late Thursday covers the treatment of children and adults who have alpha-mannosidosis (AM), a disease caused by a genetic mutation that leads to defective or inactive forms of an enzyme called alpha-D-mannosidase. Chiesi’s drug, velmanase alfa, is an engineered version of that enzyme. The privately held Italian company will market its new FDA-approved drug as Lamzede, the same name for the product in Europe,…
HealthTech Magazine - (Friday February 17, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ HealthTech Magazine Listen Pause
Healthcare organizations have always needed to be prepared for unexpected events, from natural disasters to pandemic surges. Increasingly, cyberattacks must factor into their response plans, especially as threats grow more sophisticated and coordinated.
Ninety-six percent of executives across industries consider cyber resilience to be highly important to their businesses, according to a 2022 Cisco report. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they experienced a security incident that affected their resilience, with a majority happening over the past two years.
As cyberattacks continue to make headlines, organizations should think in terms of… |
Medgadget - (Friday February 17, 2023)
Daily Reads/ Medgadget Surgical robotics is dominated by various versions of the da Vinci system from Intuitive Surgical, a competent but expensive tool that’s become a standard in modern advanced hospitals. It took Intuitive about 30 years to achieve this status, but there are systems from J&J, Medtronic, CMR Surgical, and others that are chipping away at the company’s dominance. All of these systems operate under the “master-slave” concept, which involves a surgeon sitting behind a console, away from the patient, who manipulates the mechanical arms of the robot via some kind of joystick-like device. Thanks to kind support from Biomed Israel, the leading…
MobiHealthNews - (Friday February 17, 2023)
Frequent Updates/ MobiHealthNews Collective Health, a health benefits management platform, has laid off 54 employees as it arranges its workforce to better align with customer needs. The company’s CEO, Ali Diab, announced the layoffs on LinkedIn, saying the employees were being let go due to a “workforce reduction,” while urging companies that may encounter those employees during the hiring process to provide them with “strong consideration.”
Collective Health acts as a third-party health benefits administrator, bringing companies’ various benefits into one platform to let employers manage their offerings while assisting employees with navigating their healthcare.
“We can confirm that as part of a restructuring of our workforce,… |