Amid Shortages, IV Fluid Manufacturing Restarts at Baxter
On the heels of an October survey where nearly 90% of providers said they were experiencing an IV fluid shortage, Baxter has announced that it is restarting production of IV solution. Albeit slowly, solutions are expected to ship out later this month at the earliest.
Modern Healthcare:
Baxter Restarts IV Solution Production Line At Largest Plant
Baxter International's largest facility has restarted its highest-throughput manufacturing line for IV solutions in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Before hurricane-related damage led to the September shutdown of the company's facility in Marion, North Carolina, the plant produced 60% of the IV solutions used daily in the U.S. It is still uncertain when it will fully reopen, the company said in a Thursday website update. (DeSilva, 10/31)
In hospital news —
Becker's Hospital Review:
CMS' Hospital Capacity Reporting Rule Takes Effect: 10 Notes
Beginning Nov. 1, CMS will require hospitals to report admission information related to respiratory illnesses, including capacity, to the CDC. The new rule reinstates some pandemic-era requirements that have been voluntary since May 1. (Gregerson, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare:
Cross-Market Hospital Mergers Under Scrutiny As FTC Collects Data
Federal and state regulators' push for more information on potential cross-market hospital mergers is setting up a showdown that could slow or potentially scuttle the increasingly common combinations. Regulators are asking for more information from insurers and employers that work with organizations pursuing transactions between hospitals that are at least 50 miles apart, merger and acquisition advisers said. In many cases, the Federal Trade Commission has worked with state regulators to suss out the potential effects of cross-market hospital consolidation, the advisers added. (Kacik, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare:
Steward Health Sells Physician Group To Rural Healthcare Group
Steward Health Care completed the $245 million sale of its physician group, Stewardship Health, to private equity-owned Rural Healthcare Group. As part of the transaction, Kinderhook Industries, the private equity firm that owns Rural Healthcare Group, plans to rebrand the combined company as Revere Medical, Kinderhook said Thursday in a news release. The acquisition adds about 5,000 employed and affiliated Stewardship physicians across nine states to Revere’s network of 17 primary care clinics in Tennessee and North Carolina. (Kacik, 10/31)
The Boston Globe:
Steward Doctors Group Will Now Be Called Revere Medical
The sale of the Stewardship Health doctors group — the last piece of Steward Health Care’s once extensive holdings in Massachusetts — was completed Thursday, ending the company’s 14-year run in the state. Kinderhook Industries Inc., a New York-based private equity firm, said it had consummated its $245 million buyout of Stewardship. The physicians network includes about 5,000 employed and affiliated doctors in 10 states, about half of them in Massachusetts. (Weisman, 10/31)
Chicago Tribune:
UChicago Medicine Receives $75 Million Donation For New Cancer Hospital
University of Chicago Medicine has received a $75 million donation from the AbbVie Foundation to help it build its massive new cancer hospital on the city’s South Side. The money will go toward construction of UChicago Medicine’s new freestanding hospital — a 575,000-square-foot project that is expected to cost $815 million. The building will be named the AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion, and is slated to open in 2027. (Schencker, 10/31)
More health industry news —
Los Angeles Times:
Berkeley Startup Wins Award To Develop Radiation Treatment
Whether its lead from old buildings, arsenic from contaminated food or strontium fallout from a nuclear explosion, heavy metals that enter the body pose a serious health threat. With chemical properties exceedingly similar to typical nutrients like iron and calcium, toxic metals look virtually the same to the body. So, it starts incorporating the toxic elements into the skeleton, liver and brain. (Haggerty, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare:
AdvancedMD To Be Acquired By Francisco Partners For $1.1B
Private equity firm Francisco Partners said Wednesday it planned to acquire medical software company AdvancedMD from payment technology company Global Payments. Francisco Partners is acquiring AdvancedMD for $1.12 billion, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from Global Payments. Global Payments acquired AdvancedMD for $700 million in September 2018 from investment firm Marlin Equity Partners. (Turner, 10/31)
Modern Healthcare:
Oracle Health Summit Centers On AI Tools, Subtle Attacks On Epic
Oracle previewed a new electronic health record flush with artificial intelligence tools Tuesday as it tries to win back market share lost to its largest competitor, Epic Systems. The company said the EHR will be built around conversational AI and can summarize a patient’s medical history to provide tailored recommendations for clinicians. The preview came on the first day of a two-day event for Oracle customers and others. (Turner, 10/30)
Bloomberg:
Scientist Charged With Insider Trading On CVS, OSH Deal
A pharmaceutical scientist was accused of making $617,000 in illegal profits from trading on a secret tip he got from his domestic partner about plans by drug store chain CVS Health Corp. to buy Oak Street Health Inc., where she was a senior executive. Carlos Sacanell, 58, was charged with insider trading and lying to federal investigators in an indictment unsealed in Philadelphia federal court. His domestic partner, who wasn’t identified, was described as serving on the executive committee of Oak Street, a Chicago-based primary care provider. (Van Voris, 10/31)
