Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Broken Mental Health Care System Fails Many Young Adults Navigating Challenging Time Between Adolescence, Adulthood
Stat: Facing A Broken Mental Health System, Many Teens Fall Off A 'Cliff' In Care
An 18th birthday can mean many things. It’s a formal step into adulthood. It’s the newfound right to vote, get a tattoo, join the armed forces, be called for jury duty. It’s also what some mental health providers know, anecdotally, as “the cliff,” the cutoff at which teens with mental health conditions are flung into adulthood, often without any preparation for the challenges to care ahead. (Thielking, 6/17)
Stat: University Of California Strikes Research Access Deal With Nature Publisher
The University of California has reached a landmark deal with the world’s second largest academic publisher, Springer Nature, that could get more journal articles out in front of paywalls — and set a precedent for how scientific research is paid for, published, and shared. The four-year agreement, announced on Tuesday, ramps up pressure on the world’s largest scholarly publisher, Elsevier, to concede to the demands of a growing number of academic institutions over payments for so-called open access research, which is freely available to the public. (Robbins, 6/16)
Stat: In A Landmark Decision, FDA Greenlights A Video Game For Kids With ADHD
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday for the first time gave a green light to a game-based therapeutic: a video game meant to be prescribed to kids with ADHD. The game, known as EndeavorRx and developed by Boston-based Akili Interactive Labs, can now be marketed as a way to improve attention function in kids with ADHD as measured by computerized testing. Physicians can prescribe it to children between the ages of 8 and 12 who have an ADHD diagnosis and have demonstrated an issue with attention. (Robbins, 6/15)
Boston Globe: Startup Raises Almost $44M For Less-Invasive Treatment For Fluid In The Brain
A Massachusetts medical device startup said Tuesday it has raised $43.9 million in venture capital to advance its lead product, a minimally invasive shunt to relieve fluid that can build up in the brain as a result of a neurological condition. Newton-based CereVasc raised the money to fund a clinical trial of its experimental device, the eShunt System. The firm, which was founded in 2014 and has seven employees, plans to begin enrolling volunteers for the trial in the second half of the year. (Saltzman, 6/9)
