Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospital Deals With Drugmakers To Mine Patients' Genetic Data Raise Privacy Concerns
The Wall Street Journal: DNA Data Shared In Ways Patients May Find Surprising
Deals between drugmakers and hospital systems to mine the genetic profiles of hospital patients are triggering concerns over the control of valuable genetic data. Drugmakers have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars for access to patient information because of the data’s potential to help unlock disease insights and discover new drugs. They are striking deals to sequence patients’ genetic code, including with hospital systems like Geisinger in Pennsylvania, Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. (Evans, 8/12)
Modern Healthcare: Religious Rules Continue To Roil Deals Between Religious And Secular Hospitals
Earlier this year, CEO Chris Thomas and the board at Community Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., were deep in merger talks with Centura Health, a 17-hospital system that’s a partnership between Catholic Health Initiatives and Adventist Health System. But some community residents and board members of the 60-bed hospital raised objections to Community coming under the Catholic Church’s Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, or ERDs .... Hospital leaders across the country are facing these types of quandaries as Catholic and non-Catholic healthcare systems increasingly consider merging or partnering to gain scale and survive in the rapidly consolidating healthcare market. (Meyer, 8/10)
More industry news is reported on hospitals and health systems in Ohio, New Hampshire, Florida and New York —
The Star Tribune: Why Is An Ohio Hospital Getting False Alerts From A Medtronic Heart Monitor?
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center employs eight nurses whose only job is to read the electronic transmissions flowing from thousands of implanted heart devices living in their patients' chests. Like health-data workers across the U.S., the nurses at the Columbus, Ohio, medical center scan the transmissions every day for signs of problems like atrial fibrillation. Lately, though, the team was drowning in bad data thrown off by a popular implantable heart monitor, Medtronic's industry-leading Reveal Linq implantable loop recorder. (Carlson, 8/12)
NH Times Union: IVF Procedures Will Be Offered At Expanded Fertility Center In Bedford
The state’s first freestanding fertility center and in vitro fertilization laboratory is expected to open its doors next year in Bedford. The new center will be an expansion of the existing Boston IVF satellite office at 18 Constitution Drive in Bedford, but will offer a full-service array of fertility tests and treatments. ...The expansion of the Bedford site was warranted after the approval of SB279, a state law that now requires group insurance plans to cover the diagnosis and treatment of fertility-related conditions for patients, according to Wright. (Houghton, 8/12)
Tampa Bay Times: St. Anthony's Hospital To Build $152 Million 90-Bed Patient Tower
St. Anthony's Hospital is about to undergo a $152 million renovation, which will significantly expand the number of patient beds and services the St. Petersburg hospital has to offer. The hospital, which is owned by Tampa Bay-based BayCare,will add a new 90-bed patient tower featuring all private rooms. The expansion will also relocate several hospital services, including cardiology, inpatient dialysis, pre-admission testing for surgical patients, new educational classrooms, a new electrical plant and an expanded loading dock. The hospital's cafeteria and kitchen will be moved to the first floor for better access to visitors, according to a news release. (Griffin, 8/12)
New Hampshire Union Leader: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health CEO Named To National Hospital Board
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health CEO and President Joanne M. Conroy, MD, is one of seven people who have been named to the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees. Her three-year term begins Jan. 1. The board of trustees is the highest policy-making body of the AHA and has ultimate authority for the governance and management of its direction and finances. (8/12)
USA Today & Westchester Journal News: Woman Wins $55.9M Malpractice Verdict After Botched Spinal Surgery
A jury awarded $55.9 million to a Pomona woman and her husband after a medical malpractice trial over allegations that a botched spinal surgery left her a quadriplegic. The woman, Patricia Jones, was 56 when she underwent surgery in 2009, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, after complaining of pain and tingling in her arms, hands and neck, said her lawyer, Evan Torgan. (Brum, 8/12)
