Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Concerns Over Medical Facility Violence In Wake Of Atlanta Shooting
The Wall Street Journal: Atlanta Shooting Highlights Risk Of Violence In Medical Facilities
Healthcare industry officials and state leaders are voicing growing concern over violence in medical facilities, highlighted by last week’s deadly shooting here. On May 3, a man opened fire with a handgun in the waiting room on the 11th floor of Northside Medical Midtown, a medical office building, according to Atlanta police. The day before, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had signed a new law, which partially took effect May 2, allowing hospital systems to establish their own campus police forces. Other states have also passed bills aimed at preventing attacks and increasing penalties for assaults, and more are in the works. (Kamp and McWhirter, 5/7)
In other health care industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Reports $1.2 Billion Gain In First Quarter
After sustaining big losses last year, Kaiser Permanente swung back into the black in the first quarter with an added boost from financial markets. Oakland, California-based Kaiser on Friday reported net income of $1.21 billion in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $961 million in the year-ago period. Revenue grew 4.2% to $25.22 billion. Expenses, including elevated labor costs and higher prices for goods and services, rose 3% overall to $24.99 billion. (Hudson, 8/5)
Stat: Geisinger Board Member: Consolidation Influenced Kaiser Deal
A long-running flurry of hospital and medical group acquisitions in Pennsylvania — especially among the giants UPMC and Highmark Health — forced Geisinger to make a bigger move of its own and to sell to Kaiser Permanente. That’s according to Gail Wilensky, who has been on the board of Geisinger since 2010. (Herman, 5/8)
Oklahoman: Stephenson Cancer Center At OU Recertified As Designated Cancer Center
Congressional, state and university leaders gathered Friday to celebrate a recertification of OU Health's Stephenson Cancer Center as a National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center. Stephenson's recertification "absolutely is cause for celebration," University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. told hundreds of guests who attended. (Money, 5/6)
NPR: How An Indiana Hospital Fought To Recover From A Cyberattack
It was October 2021 and the staff at Johnson Memorial Health were hoping they could finally catch their breaths. They were just coming out of a weeks-long surge of COVID hospitalizations and deaths, fueled by the Delta variant. But on Friday, October 1, at 3 a.m., the hospital CEO's phone rang with an urgent call. (Yousry, 5/8)
Stat: 4 Ways The Health Care System Should Shift Its Thinking On AI, Experts Say
This week, the “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton made news when he left Google and aired his concerns about how powerful artificial intelligence has become. In the last few months alone, ChatGPT has fueled frenzied efforts to use AI in nearly every industry — including health care. “In the last 10 years we’ve seen very steady acceleration of the technology,” said Suchi Saria, CEO and founder of Bayesian Health, at the STAT Breakthrough Summit in San Francisco on Thursday. “And what I find very exciting right now, especially with health care and biotech in mind, is the maturity of the ecosystem to absorb this technology.” (Trang, 5/5)
In updates about health care personnel —
Military.Com: Victims Asked To Come Forward After VA Doctor Charged With Sexually Assaulting Patients
A Department of Veterans Affairs doctor in Georgia has been indicted over allegations that he sexually assaulted at least four female patients, prosecutors announced this week. Rajesh Motibhai Patel, a primary care physician at the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, was charged with multiple counts of violating his patients' constitutional right to bodily integrity while acting under color of law and for engaging in unwanted sexual contact, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia said in a news release Thursday. (Kheel, 5/5)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Children's Searching For New President, CEO Staying In Role
Texas Children’s Hospital announced Friday that it will search for a new president to succeed Mark Wallace, who will remain CEO of the health care system. Wallace, 70, was named president and CEO of Texas Children’s in 1989 when he was 36 years old. During his tenure, the health care system has grown from a single building in the Texas Medical Center to the largest pediatric and women's health care system in the world. (MacDonald, 5/5)
KFF Health News: On The Night Shift With A Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
Jacqueline Towarnicki got a text as she finished her day shift at a local clinic. She had a new case, a patient covered in bruises who couldn’t remember how the injuries got there. Towarnicki’s breath caught, a familiar feeling after four years of working night shifts as a sexual assault nurse examiner in this northwestern Montana city. “You almost want to curse,” Towarnicki, 38, said. “You’re like, ‘Oh, no, it’s happening.’” (Houghton, 5/8)
In news about the pharmaceutical industry —
The Boston Globe: Investigation Continues Into Deadly Newburyport Pharmaceutical Plant Explosion
Authorities continued their investigation Sunday into the cause of an explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Newburyport last week which killed one worker, sent four other employees to the hospital, and triggered a massive response by state and federal agencies. The early morning blast Thursday at the PCI Synthesis facility was powerful enough to shake nearby homes, and blow a large industrial vat through the building’s roof and land about 30 feet away in a parking lot, officials have said. (Hilliard, 5/7)
Modern Healthcare: Cigna's Express Scripts PBM Ready For Crackdown, CEO Says
Cigna is prepared to weather a government crackdown on pharmacy benefit managers despite its Express Scripts subsidiary's reliance on spread pricing and drugmaker rebates, CEO David Cordani said Friday. Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are scheduled to consider a legislative package next week that would ban spread pricing and force PBMs to pass through all rebates to employer clients. The Senate Finance Committee and two House panels also are eying legislation to rein in PBMs. (Tepper, 8/5)
