Illinois Ruling Means Medical Workers Aren’t Covered By Privacy Law

Capitol News Illinois: Illinois High Court Finds Medical Workers Exempt To Privacy Law 
The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the state’s strongest-in-the-nation biometric information privacy law does have an exemption: health care workers who use fingerprints or similar scans to access things like medication, materials or patient health information. In a unanimous opinion, the justices ruled against a pair of nurses who sued their employers over their use of fingerprint-enabled medication storage – a technology many hospitals have adopted to curb abuse or theft of certain drugs. (Meisel, 11/30)

In other health care industry news —

Stat: Site-Neutral Cuts To Hospital Payments Draw New GOP Opposition
On its face, a minor policy to make sure Medicare pays hospitals the same as physician offices to administer medications has broad, bipartisan support from think tanks, stakeholders, and academics. But Republicans in the House and Senate are divided over the issue, creating a major obstacle to passage anytime soon. (Cohrs, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: High-Needs Medicaid Market Presents Investment Opportunities
A cooling market for Medicare Advantage has some investors seeing opportunities in Medicaid. Investors have long been drawn to Medicare Advantage, but that segment has become crowded, dominated by a handful of big companies and less appealing amid regulatory changes. At the same time, states have invited innovation by creating incentives to attract companies willing to take on high-risk Medicaid beneficiaries. (Hartnett, 11/30)

The CT Mirror: CT Presents Draft Settlement In Prospect-YNHH Hospitals Sale
State officials have presented a draft settlement agreement to parties involved in Yale New Haven Health’s bid to purchase three Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, and hospital executives are exchanging proposals with the state, a spokeswoman for Office of Health Strategy told The Connecticut Mirror. (Carlesso and Altimari, 11/30)

Modern Healthcare: How ChatGPT Has Changed Healthcare In Just 1 Year
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of OpenAI's release of the public version of ChatGPT. The healthcare industry is still buzzing over the technology.  Health tech industry leaders saw the generative artificial intelligence text application as a possible game-changer almost immediately after its release. ... While some decision-makers remain thrilled about using ChatGPT—and generative AI more broadly—in healthcare, others are concerned about its potential to perpetuate racism and advance misinformation. (Perna, 11/30)

Stat: Radiology Is Caught Between AI's Potential And Concern For Patients
Radiology has long led the way in the application of artificial intelligence in medicine. More than three-quarters of AI and machine learning devices authorized by the Food and Drug Administration work with medical images — and that dominance was evident at this year’s meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, where AI vendors gathered to tout their latest offerings. (Palmer, 11/30)

Also —

Axios: New Doctors Just Aren't That Interested In Geriatrics
Doctors specializing in care for older adults are increasingly in demand as the country ages — but America's newer physicians aren't that interested in geriatric medicine. Less than half of 348 post-residency fellowships for geriatric internal medicine filled up in the initial matching process this year, according to new data from the National Resident Matching Program, the nonprofit that oversees placement of physicians in training. (Goldman, 12/1)

Modern Healthcare: 2024 Women Leaders Awards Opens For Nominations
Modern Healthcare is changing its annual awards program honoring the women shaping healthcare in order to spotlight more of these leaders. Beginning in 2024, our flagship Women Leaders awards will celebrate a new class of honorees each year who are helping guide their organizations and the industry. (11/30)