Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Heart Monitoring Patent Ruling Threatens US Apple Watch Sales
Stat: Apple Watch Hit With Import Ban But Suspended For Now
In the latest twist in a battle between Apple and medical device company AliveCor, the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a ban preventing Apple from importing all watches that use the hotly contested heart monitoring technology, but said the enforcement of that order will be suspended until appeals over the patents in question have played out. (Aguilar, 12/22)
Reuters: Apple Watches Violate AliveCor Patents But Import Ban On Hold -U.S. ITC
AliveCor accused Apple last year of infringing three patents related to its KardiaBand, an Apple Watch accessory that monitors a user's heart rate, detects irregularities and performs an ECG to identify heart problems like atrial fibrillation. ... Apple Watch Series 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 have ECG technology. Apple introduced its most recent Series 8 in September. (Brittain, 12/22)
In other health industry news —
Stat: How New Health Data Rules Could Hold Providers Accountable
Last year, medical records opened up to patients. This year, they’re opening up to the nation. Before the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, electronic health care record vendors will have to provide tools to easily pull big batches of patient data from their systems. (Palmer, 12/23)
Crain's New York Business: Humana's SeniorBridge To Close All NY Locations, Lays Off Workers
Humana at Home, doing business as SeniorBridge, has filed with the state to close sites in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, in Westchester and on Long Island and lay off 1,005 workers. According to the filing which is dated earlier this month, the home care business’s New York locations will close on Jan. 27 and employees will be laid off on March 6. SeniorBridge cited economic reasons for the layoffs. (Neber, 12/22)
KHN: KHN-NPR’s ‘Bill Of The Month’ At 5: A Treasury Of Solutions For Confounding Medical Bills
In 2022, readers shared more than 1,000 personal stories of medical billing problems, contributing one patient at a time to an ongoing portrait of the rippling financial consequences of becoming sick or injured in the United States. Many of the submissions received during the fifth year of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month” investigative series conveyed the same message: I want to tell my story so what happened to me won’t happen to anyone else. (12/23)
