Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dana-Farber Gets $50 Million Gift For Research Into Pancreatic Cancer
Boston Globe: Dana-Farber Receives $50 Million Gift To Study Pancreatic Cancer
Dr. Laurie Glimcher often gets calls from people she knows around the world asking if Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she is CEO, can help a friend or relative with pancreatic cancer. It’s a rare cancer but one that is almost always fatal, with silent tumors that tend to go undetected until they’re too advanced to treat. “It’s devastating. … We can help for a while, but ultimately these people are going to die,” Glimcher said. Now, Dana-Farber’s effort to better understand, detect, and treat pancreatic tumors is getting a big boost with a $50 million donation. (McCluskey, 5/11)
Stat: Illumina CEO Insists GRAIL Merger Won't Harm Competition
Before the pandemic, most people had never heard of Illumina, the California-based sequencing behemoth whose machines generate upwards of 90% of the world’s DNA data. And while Illumina might still not be a household name, over the last 15 months the technology it sells has become standard dinner table fare. Genetic vaccines, coronavirus variants, wastewater surveillance — never before has the world of sequencing spilled over so forcefully into mainstream public consciousness. (Molteni, 5/11)
Stat: How Digital Pharmacies Can Expand Access To Specialized Care
Even the most aggressive proponents of telehealth must concede that while technology can open the door to health care for some, it can also become an obstacle for others. “It’s true, the technology is not accessible to everyone,” A.G. Breitenstein, the CEO and co-founder of FOLX Health, said Tuesday at the STAT Health Tech Summit. “But it’s a lot more accessible than the system that we have today.” (Aguilar, 5/11)
Stat: A Health Care Leader Pushes For A Patient-Centric Approach To Technology
Each step in the career of Ashwini Zenooz is less comfortable than the last. She started as a radiologist, moved to toil over government medical records, and then took a leading health care role at the cloud technology company Salesforce. Now she is joining a California startup called Commure, hoping to agitate for the change that has eluded her. (Ross, 5/11)
Stat: Former Google CEO Schmidt Says AI To Have ‘Biggest Impact’ In Health
For the myriad applications of artificial intelligence, Eric Schmidt, the onetime Google CEO, sees one area where it’s poised to unleash the most sweeping changes. “When I try to market the importance of AI, I say that AI will have its biggest impact in biology and health, because biology is so complicated,” Schmidt said Tuesday at STAT’s Health Tech Summit. (Joseph, 5/11)
In nursing home news —
Modern Healthcare: Amedisys To Buy Visiting Nurse Association's Home Health And Hospice Services
Visiting Nurse Association signed an agreement to sell its home health and hospice services to Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys. The deal is expected to close around July 1, according to a news release. VNA, which provides home health and hospice care in Omaha, Neb. and Council Bluffs, Iowa, said company leadership has realized they would need external investors to ensure the home health and hospice programs would remain financially strong. As a provider of home health, hospice and personal care, Amedisys fit the bill. (Christ, 5/11)
Health News Florida: Most Florida Long-Term Care Facilities Meet Backup Power Rules
Headed into the 2021 hurricane season, the vast majority of Florida nursing homes and assisted living facilities are in compliance with rules requiring them to have emergency backup generators and 72 hours of fuel on-site. The state Agency for Health Care Administration website shows that 17 nursing homes and eight assisted living facilities have not fully complied with the backup power requirements. (Sexton, 5/11)
