Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Envision Healthcare Will File For Bankruptcy
Modern Healthcare: Envision Healthcare To File For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: Report
Physician staffing company Envision Healthcare plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The filing could happen as early as this weekend, the newspaper reported Tuesday. Much of Nashville, Tennessee-based Envision's $7 billion in outstanding debt would be swapped for shares if the company restructures. (Hudson, 5/10)
Modern Healthcare: Babylon Health Plans To Be Taken Private
Babylon Health announced plans Wednesday to be taken private as it reported a first-quarter loss more than twice the size of a year ago. The Austin, Texas-based company said it entered into an agreement with AlbaCore Capital Group, a London-based investment manager, and its affiliates to accept $34.5 million in interim funding. In return, AlbaCore plans to take the company private, provide additional financing and create a long-term employee incentive plan, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing. (Turner, 5/10)
In hospital news —
WJCT News: Wolfson Hospital Gets The Southeast's First Portable MRI For Children
Philipp Aldana well remembers a very ill young patient last year who needed an MRI scan because of "medical deterioration." The patient was so medically fragile that even the trip from the room to the imaging lab was a danger, said Aldana, co-medical director of the Stys Neuroscience Institute at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville. (Scanlan, 5/10)
Bangor Daily News: 2 Bangor Hospitals Receive $18M From Late Bangor Resident’s Estate
Bangor’s two major hospitals will receive $9 million each from the late John Webber’s estate. Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation made the announcement during a news conference at the Cross Insurance Center on Wednesday. The organizations anticipate several million dollars more at a later date, following the estate’s settlement. (Royzman, 5/10)
More health care industry developments —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Medical College Of Wisconsin Cancels Panel Featuring Ron Johnson
The Medical College of Wisconsin last week called off a panel on the "uses and abuses" of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in medicine and science after students and faculty said the subject lacked scientific evidence and flew in the face of the college's values. That decision has triggered speakers on the panel, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson among them, to argue they're the victims of cancel culture and intolerance of contrary thought in academia. (Shastri, 5/10)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Penn Medicine Tried To Make A Malpractice Attorney Take Down His TikTok Videos, And That’s Just The Start Of A Twisted Tale
Representing a man who died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm, attorney Tom Bosworth turned to an unusual platform in April to argue that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was at fault.He went on TikTok, where more than 175,000 followers know him as the blunt-spoken “tommythelawyer.” (Avril, 5/11)
The Washington Post: This Doctor Prescribed Ketamine From His Home. DEA Shut It Down.
A South Carolina doctor who built a nationwide practice prescribing ketamine for patients to use at home notified them Tuesday that federal authorities have ordered him to stop, prompting panic among those who depend on the drug for their mental health. “My privileges to prescribe controlled substances have been suspended until further notice,” Scott Smith of Mount Pleasant, S.C., emailed patients just after 5 p.m., with the subject line “Practice closed immediately per DEA instruction,” according to several messages reviewed by The Washington Post. “I am in quite a bit of a shock about this,” Smith wrote in the email. (Gilbert, 5/10)
KFF Health News: 'An Arm and a Leg': Mental Health ‘Ghost Networks’ — And A Ghostbuster
Many people searching for a therapist or psychiatrist turn to the list of in-network providers offered by their insurance plan. But often, many of the doctors on the list don’t take that insurance plan, aren’t accepting new patients, or simply don’t answer the phone. Researchers and journalists call this phenomenon a “ghost network.” So, who you gonna call when you encounter a ghost network? A ghostbuster. (5/11)
Also —
Stat: Google's Generative AI To Analyze Medical Images — And Talk To Docs
Google’s generative AI system proved it can answer medical exam questions. But now the company is attempting a bigger leap — infusing its model with medical images such as X-rays and mammograms to help it communicate with doctors about data routinely used in patient care. (Ross, 5/10)
