Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Aetna Set To Provide Virtual Primary Care To Some Policyholders
Modern Healthcare: CVS Health Launches Virtual Primary Care For Aetna Members
Aetna will begin providing virtual primary care to some policyholders, parent company CVS Health announced Tuesday. The new service, Aetna Virtual Primary Care, is available under self-funded employer plans and provides eligible members with remote and in-person healthcare. "Aetna Virtual Primary Care gives our members the power of choice and convenience, making it easier for people to get and stay healthy, even when balancing the demands of work and life," Aetna President Dan Finke said in a news release. (Christ, 6/11)
Modern Healthcare: Scripps Health Cyberattack Cost The Company $113 Million
Scripps Health estimates the spring malware attack that temporarily took a portion of its network offline has cost the company almost $113 million so far. The San Diego-based health system said the $113 million loss through mid-year covers revenue lost and incremental expenses from responding to the crisis, which included shutting down many of its systems, launching an investigation, instituting emergency downtime procedures and notifying federal law enforcement agencies. (Bannow, 8/11)
KHN: Apple Aims To Push More Patient Data To Doctors. But Who Can Gauge Its Impact On Health?
Soon, Apple announced recently, it will enable doctors to monitor health data from their patients’ phones and watches between visits, part of the push into health care that Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has declared will constitute the company’s greatest contribution to mankind. Since 2014, health systems around the country have partnered with Apple to tap into the mountains of data the company’s devices generate from patients. But most are still experimenting with these tools. While some doctors appreciate seeing records of home-monitored blood pressure, exercise and the like between visits, for others the data is more of a burden than an asset. (Kwon, 8/12)
Also —
Modern Healthcare: Demographics Impact Survival Rate For Liver Transplant Patients
Black patients have lower liver transplant survival rates than white or Hispanic patients, and researchers are concerned that the survival rate disparity between these groups has only widened over time. On average between 2002 and 2018, Black patients had a 15% higher chance of dying after a liver transplant than white or Hispanic patients, according to a study by Keck Medicine of USC. While researchers assumed outcomes for Black liver transplant recipients would improve in the years following a 2002 landmark study detailing the disparity, Brian Lee, a study author and liver transplant specialist with Keck Medicine, said he was surprised to find that the opposite was true. (Devereaux, 8/11)
