Investigation: Native American Health Service Complacent In Sex Abuse Case
Legal efforts by The Wall Street Journal unearthed an internal investigation by U.S. Indian Health Service hospitals into complaints about a pedophile doctor. USA Today reports on a man found with a 4-inch spike of cement in his heart following previous spinal surgery.
The Wall Street Journal:
Indian Health Service Repeatedly ‘Did Nothing’ To Stop Pediatrician From Sexually Abusing Patients
Top health officials knew of complaints about a pedophile doctor abusing Native American boys at U.S. Indian Health Service hospitals years earlier than the agency has previously acknowledged, according to an internal investigation the agency released Tuesday after a legal effort by The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co. The report shows that lawyers at the Department of Health and Human Services, which supervises the Indian Health Service, were notified of allegations against the doctor as early as 2009, and concludes that top regional officials also suspected him of abusing patients. (Weaver and Frosch, 10/5)
USA Today:
Cement Found In Man's Heart Following Spinal Surgery
After two days of chest pain and shortness of breath, a man went to the emergency room. It's not an uncommon story. This man, however, had a 4-inch piece of cement piercing his heart and right lung, according to a report published Saturday in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine. The 56-year-old man had undergone surgery of another kind, known as kyphoplasty, just a week before. The procedure treats injury to the spine by injecting a special type of cement into damaged vertebrae, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. (Avery, 10/5)
In corporate news —
Stat:
Carbon Health Pushes Further Into Home Care With Remote Monitoring Buy
On a buying streak, hybrid care company Carbon Health on Tuesday purchased Alertive Healthcare, a remote monitoring startup whose connected devices include blood pressure cuffs, electrocardiograms, and pulse oximeters. The purchase strengthens the company’s home care portfolio and marks its second acquisition of a virtual care startup after its June purchase of digital diabetes clinic Steady Health. Financial terms were not disclosed for either deal. (Brodwin, 10/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Intermountain And SSM Health Launch App Marketplace
Three not-for-profit health systems—Intermountain Healthcare, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and SSM Health—on Tuesday launched a company that they say will make it easier for hospitals to quickly deploy vetted digital health tools. The not-for-profit company, dubbed Graphite Health, will host a marketplace of digital health apps—similar to popular app stores—that the company reviews and certifies. The marketplace, which essentially serves as a central repository of health apps, will use a standard data language, so that developers can create tools they know hospitals will be able to implement, according to the company. (Kim Cohen, 10/5)
Modern Healthcare:
Startups Are Banking On Small Businesses' Desire To Ditch Insurers
Digital startups that help small- and medium-sized businesses pay for their employees benefits are cashing in on companies' desire to drop their insurers. On Monday, Firefly Health raised a $40 million Series B round, bringing total venture investment in the Watertown, Massachusetts startup to $52 million. The company will use the cash to launch a virtual health plan for small- to medium-sized companies January 1. Firefly is targeting businesses with up to 2,500 employees that aim to transition to self-insured operations, as opposed to contracting with a health insurer to pay for their benefits. The startup is focused on employers in Maine, Massachusetts and Ohio, but plans to eventually expand its "virtual Kaiser" model nationwide, co-founder Dr. Andy Ellner said. (Tepper, 10/5)
AP:
U Of Tennessee Health Center Lands $3.2M For Lab Upgrade
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has landed $3.2 million in federal money to upgrade a laboratory used for research on infectious diseases. In a news release, the Memphis campus says the the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded the money for equipment and infrastructure improvements at the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. (10/6)
Also —
The Wall Street Journal:
Why It’s So Hard To Find A Therapist Who Takes Insurance
Finding a therapist who takes insurance was tough before the pandemic. Now, therapists and patients say, an increase in the need for mental-health care is making the search even harder. When Molly Pratt, a 30-year-old math teacher in Boston, was dealing with depression a few years ago, she says she called several nearby therapists, but they didn’t accept her insurance plan. She tried a few listed as in-network on her insurer’s website. One didn’t call back. Another said she no longer took Ms. Pratt’s insurance. And a third didn’t have room in her schedule. (Petersen, 10/5)
