‘Talent Shortage’ Threatens Advances In Cancer-Fighting Treatment

Stat: New Cancer Treatment May Be Hamstrung By ‘Talent Shortage’
Radiation is a core part of cancer treatment, and has been for generations. But over the last couple of years, there’s been a surge of interest in a new type of treatment, one that is testing drug developers and health care practitioners alike. (DeAngelis, 12/2)

NBC News: Depression Affects A Third Of Cancer Patients. Experts Say It’s One Of The Biggest Gaps In Oncology
About a third of cancer patients struggle with depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, although these conditions often go undetected and undiagnosed. ... Mental health has long been deprioritized, with health care centers losing money caring for psychiatric patients. But this neglect comes at a significant cost, with mortality rates up to 39% higher among cancer patients with depression when compared to those without mental illness. Research also shows that the risk of suicide is 13 times higher in the week following a cancer diagnosis — and three times the average even a year later. (Bajaj, 11/29)

In other health industry updates —

The Boston Globe: BrownHealth Integrates Saint Anne’s, Morton Hospitals After Steward Buyout
On the count of three, Governor Maura Healey and Brown University Health chief executive John Fernandez unfurled the banner outside St. Anne’s Hospital. The old sign reading “Steward Family Hospital” was covered by a spiffy new BrownHealth logo. The ceremony in November marked the $175 million handoff of St. Anne’s and Morton Hospital in nearby Taunton to Rhode Island’s largest health care system. (Weisman, 12/2)

KFF Health News: Homebound Seniors Living Alone Often Slip Through Health System’s Cracks
Carolyn Dickens, 76, was sitting at her dining room table, struggling to catch her breath as her physician looked on with concern. “What’s going on with your breathing?” asked Peter Gliatto, director of Mount Sinai’s Visiting Doctors Program.“I don’t know,” she answered, so softly it was hard to hear. “Going from here to the bathroom or the door, I get really winded. I don’t know when it’s going to be my last breath.” (Graham, 12/2)

Pharma and tech news —

KFF Health News: Who Gets Obesity Drugs Covered By Insurance? In North Carolina, It Helps If You’re On Medicaid
After losing and regaining the same 20-plus pounds more times than she could count, Anita Blanchard concluded that diets don’t work. So when the University of North Carolina-Charlotte professor learned that Ozempic — developed to treat Type 2 diabetes — helped people lose weight and keep it off, Blanchard was determined to try it. The state employee’s health insurance initially covered the prescription with Blanchard kicking in a $25 copayment. (Newsome, 12/2)

Fox News: Medical Breakthrough Could Make Blood-Contacting Devices Safer: Researchers 
Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed what’s being considered "a groundbreaking coating" that could make medical devices safer. For millions of patients, this could mean reducing the risk of thrombosis (or blood clot formation) and dangerous bleeding, according to a UBC press release. The new material, which is designed for tubing in various medical devices, mimics the "natural behavior of blood vessels." (Stabile, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: Siemens Healthineers Releases 2 New Photon-Counting CT Scanners
Siemens Healthineers launched two new, more affordable photon-counting CT scanners on Dec. 1. The new models come three years after the company introduced its Naeotom Alpha, which was the first commercially available photo-counting CT available for clinical use. Photon-counting CT can produce higher-resolution images by counting each X-ray photon that travels through the patient and generating anatomical and functional information. It requires lower radiation doses than traditional CT and can detect small structures with fewer artifacts. (Dubinsky, 12/1)