Apellis Drug Becomes First Approved Therapy for Vision-Loss Disorder Geographic Atrophy

Apellis Drug Becomes First Approved Therapy for Vision-Loss Disorder Geographic Atrophy

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…

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Veradigm, Healthverity Uses Registry Data for Chronic Disease Research

Veradigm, Healthverity Uses Registry Data for Chronic Disease Research

February 14, 2023 – Health IT vendor Veradigm, formerly Allscripts, announced a collaboration with healthcare data ecosystem HealthVerity that will leverage registry data to advance chronic disease research. The partnership will bridge Veradigm’s cardiology and metabolic registries with consumer data collected by HealthVerity, offering clinical researchers access to research-ready data. The Veradigm Cardiology Registry boasts over 102 million patient records representing more than 19.9 million unique patients, making it one of the largest outpatient cardiovascular quality improvement registries. The registry follows cardiac patients over time, monitoring essential measures such as demographics, plan of care, cardiac events and comorbidities, exams, procedures, lab…

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Self-Assembling Peptides as a Bioink

Self-Assembling Peptides as a Bioink

Researchers at Rice University have developed a bioprinting method that uses self-assembling peptides as a bioink. The technique involves using “multidomain peptides” that are hydrophobic at one end and hydrophilic at the other. When the peptides encounter water, they flip over each other to create hydrophobic sandwich structures that stack together to form fibers, creating the base structure of the printed hydrogel. This self-assembly helps the printed material to rapidly form a structure, and it will also reform after deformation. What makes the peptides highly suited for use in implanted constructs is their track record of safe use in the […]…

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How Healthcare Organizations Can Enhance Patient Experience & Trust During the Winter Surge

How Healthcare Organizations Can Enhance Patient Experience & Trust During the Winter Surge

Toni Land, Head of Clinical Healthcare Experience at MedalliaIt’s well known that the winter season typically creates spikes in illness and, consequently, a surge in healthcare visits. What might not be so obvious is that this time of increased demand is also the ideal opportunity for healthcare organizations to prioritize building trust and improving experiences for patients, clinicians and team members. Just as science grows more sophisticated each year, allowing practitioners to better treat a greater number of medical ailments, so should patient and team member experience efforts within the healthcare sector. That’s all the more true as the country now navigates…

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We’re Feeling the Effects of the Nursing Shortage. Technology Can Help.

We’re Feeling the Effects of the Nursing Shortage. Technology Can Help.

The healthcare industry is in desperate need of nurses — and fast. Chances are this isn’t news to you. You’ve seen the countless headlines covering the impact the pandemic has had on nurses, and how that nursing shortage has impacted employment numbers, healthcare facilities, and patient care.
Nurses are burnt out. They’re stressed, exhausted, and struggling to find adequate mental health support. But the pandemic isn’t the only issue to blame. Experts are predicting that over 1 million RNs will likely retire by 2030, which will only add to the heaviness of the nursing shortage. An overly-stressed out and aging workforce of…

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What Is PHI, and How Can Healthcare Organizations Keep It Secure?

What Is PHI, and How Can Healthcare Organizations Keep It Secure?

What Is Protected Health Information?According to UC Berkeley’s Human Research Protection Program, PHI includes any information found in medical records or clinical data sets that can be used to identify an individual. In addition, this information must have been collected, used or disclosed while providing a healthcare service. PHI can be used during the diagnosis or treatment of a patient or in clinical research processes.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule require the protection of identifiable health information, such as:
Information collected by doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers in the medical record
Conversations between doctors and other healthcare providers about a patient’s…

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3D Bioengineered Skin Grafts Fit Complex Anatomy

3D Bioengineered Skin Grafts Fit Complex Anatomy

Researchers at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center have developed a method to create three-dimensional bioengineered skin grafts. To date, bioengineered skin is typically created in flat sheets. However, these are difficult to fit to complex anatomy, such as the hand, and so these researchers have designed a more sophisticated technique that combines laser scanning, 3D printing, and cell culture to create seamless three dimensional skin grafts. For instance, the researchers have already created a skin “glove” that could be useful in replacing skin on the hands by simply slipping it over the hand (just like a glove). Replacing skin that has…

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