Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Both Uber And Lyft See Huge Potential In Medical Transportation. Here Are The People Behind Their Push Into Health Care.
Stat: The Key Players Behind Ride-Sharing's Move Into Health Care
It’s been a big year for ride-sharing: Rival companies Uber and Lyft both went public. Their drivers went on strike, demanding fair wages and better treatment. At the same time, the companies have continued their steady expansion into health care. Both Uber and Lyft have built out robust teams dedicated to the medical transportation market. They see huge potential in tapping into their driver networks to shuttle patients to and from doctors’ appointments. (Thielking, 6/12)
In other health industry news —
Modern Healthcare: Apple, Microsoft Back Feds Healthcare Data-Sharing Fees
Tech giants Apple and Microsoft recently wrote the CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to weigh in on their companion interoperability and information-blocking proposals, overwhelmingly voicing support for the two rules. Apple, unsurprisingly, was enthusiastic about the agencies' effort to connect patients with their health data via third-party apps. (Cohen, 6/11)
Stat: Intermountain, Amgen Subsidiary To Launch DNA Study Of 500,000 Patients
Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare and the Icelandic company deCODE Genetics are teaming up on a deep dive into the DNA of half a million patients, a collaboration they hope can reveal connections between the makeup of our genomes and our health. The partnership, announced Wednesday and dubbed the HerediGene: Population Study, aims to analyze the genomes of 500,000 patients from Intermountain’s network of clinics and hospitals in Utah and Idaho. Scientists and clinical experts from deCODE and Intermountain will compare the genomic data with patients’ medical histories to gain a better understanding of how our genes influence our health. (Joseph, 6/15)
