Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospitals Say They Could Be Forced To Close Unless Regulators Speed Up Merger Reviews
Modern Healthcare: State Hospital Merger Reviews Slow Deals As Closures Loom
Hospitals are warning they may have to close unless state regulators speed up increasingly rigorous reviews of their efforts to be acquired. (Kacik, 7/22)
Belleville News-Democrat: State Approves New $231 Million Hospital To Replace Touchette In Cahokia Heights
SIHF Healthcare has received state approval to build a new $231 million hospital to replace Touchette Regional Hospital in Cahokia Heights. (Cortes, 7/22)
WUSF: AdventHealth Plans To Build Hospital In Rapidly Growing The Villages Region
AdventHealth is planning to build an 80-bed hospital in The Villages, expanding acute-care services in one of the nation's fastest-growing metropolitan areas as the retirement community and its surrounding workforce continue to grow. (Mayer, 7/23)
Fox News: Michelin Star Chef Overhauls Hospital Meals With 'Food Is Medicine' Menu
"Hospital food" has long been synonymous with packaged, ultraprocessed meals — despite the fact that hospitals are meant to promote healing. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., Michelin-star chef Geoffrey Zakarian shared his initiative to improve what is served in U.S. hospitals, following the concept that "food is medicine." For the last three years, Zakarian said he’s been working on changing hospital food — most notably at Tampa General, which is a $4 billion nonprofit, 1,000-bed public hospital. (Stabile and Quill, 7/22)
On AI in healthcare —
Becker's Hospital Review: Man Sues OpenAI For Unlicensed Practice Of Medicine
A lawsuit filed July 21 claims that ChatGPT offered inaccurate medical guidance to a Florida man that resulted in delayed care for a pulmonary embolism last year. The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence, unlicensed practice of medicine, defective product design and other claims. It is among the first to allege that a chatbot’s health advice caused physical injury to a user seeking guidance about a medical condition, according to The New York Times, and the plaintiff has asked the court to stop ChatGPT Health from operating until independent evaluators verify its safety. (Gamble, 7/22)
Bloomberg: Samsung Debuts AI-Powered Health Assistant, Joining Packed Market
Samsung Electronics Co. is rolling out a new AI-powered assistant that acts as a virtual health companion, joining a growing number of tech companies using chatbots to deliver personalized wellness insights to its users. (Kelly, 7/21)
In pharma and tech developments —
CBS News: Antihistamine Recall Across The U.S. Triggered By Heartburn Drug Contamination Risk, FDA Says
A generic version of the brand-name allergy medication Zyrtec is under recall across the U.S. due to potential cross-contamination with a heartburn drug, according to the Food and Drug Administration. (Cerullo, 7/22)
MedPage Today: FDA Greenlights Next-Generation ROS1 Inhibitor For Lung Cancer
The FDA approved zidesamtinib (Jideytro) for previously treated adults with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), drugmaker GSK announced Wednesday. (Bassett, 7/22)
Stat: Retinal Implant To Restore Some Vision Loss Has Sights Set On U.S.
Europeans can now receive a device that can partially restore their vision loss. Americans may not have to wait long to get it, either. (Broderick, 7/22)
MedPage Today: New Study Links GLP-1s To Hair Loss
Adults with type 2 diabetes who used a GLP-1 receptor agonist had an increased risk of clinically recorded hair loss, data from a target trial emulation suggested. (Monaco, 7/22)
The Wall Street Journal: Dassault Systemes To Buy ArisGlobal For Up To $2 Billion
Dassault Systemes said it agreed to buy Nordic Capital’s ArisGlobal, a U.S. supplier of software to the life-sciences industry, for up to $2 billion, seeking to bolster its artificial-intelligence offering. French software company Dassault Systemes said Thursday that it is buying ArisGlobal for about $1.8 billion in cash at closing and up to $200 million in additional payments linked to AI-related revenue targets. (Calatayud, 7/23)
