Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hospital Tried To Discharge Patients Without Telling Them, Records Show
The Boston Globe: Eleanor Slater Hospital In R.I. Worked To Discharge Patients Without Telling Them Or Their Families
The state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital tried to send ventilator patients to an outside facility without informing the patients or their families, according to interviews and state Department of Health records. The Department of Health surveyed Eleanor Slater in April in response to a complaint and found that it failed to follow its discharge policy earlier this year when it sent documents about a patient to an outside facility without telling the patient. In response, Eleanor Slater strengthened the policy and agreed to report to regulators for six months, according to documents obtained through a records request. (Amaral, 6/2)
Modern Healthcare: Scripps Ransomware Attack Affects At Least 147,000 Patients
San Diego-based Scripps Health on Tuesday said it's notifying an estimated 147,267 patients that their data was stolen by hackers in last month's ransomware attack. A ransomware attack on Scripps' information systems in early May led the health system to take a portion of its network offline, disrupting access to the health system's electronic health record system and other applications for multiple weeks. Scripps' ongoing investigation into the incident revealed that the hackers who accessed the network stole copies of some documents. Documents stolen the breach contained health information and financial information of some patients, according to Scripps. Less than 2.5%—nearly 3,700—of patients had Social Security or driver's license numbers stolen; Scripps will provide free credit monitoring and identity protection services to those patients. (Kim Cohen, 6/2)
Stat: Industry Payments To Doctors Are Associated With Increased Prescribing Of Long-Acting Insulin
Amid ongoing concern over the cost of insulin, a new study finds that payments made by manufacturers to physicians were associated with a larger number of more expensive prescriptions for long-acting versions covered by Medicare. More than 51,800 physicians received industry payments worth $22.3 million in 2016, and they wrote, on average, 135 prescriptions for the diabetes treatment in 2017, compared with 77 prescriptions written by doctors who did not receive payments from insulin makers. The larger number of prescriptions resulted in an average Medicare Part D claim of $300, which was $71 more than claims generated by doctors who did not receive payments. (Silverman, 6/2)
Also —
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Convicted Doctor Lacked Oversight, VA Filing Says
The pathologist convicted of manslaughter in the death of a patient at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks largely supervised himself, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs report issued Wednesday. "Facility leaders failed to promote a culture of accountability," states the report by the department's Office of Inspector General. "The OIG found a culture in which staff did not report serious concerns about Dr. Levy, in part because of a perception that others had reported or they were concerned about reprisal. Any one of these breakdowns could cause harmful results. Occurring together and over an extended period of time, the consequences were devastating, tragic and deadly," according to the report. (Thompson, 6/3)
AP: Former Nursing Home Manager Pleas To Endangering 3 Residents
A man who oversaw a suburban Philadelphia nursing home pleaded no contest Wednesday to endangering three residents who before dying suffered health complications because of inadequate staffing levels, prosecutors said. The defendant, Chaim “Charlie” Steg, 40, of Lakewood, New Jersey, had been regional operations director for the St. Francis Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Darby. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless endangerment. (Scolforo, 6/3)
