Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
It's Likely Your Medical Data Was Stolen In UnitedHealth Hack
CNBC: UnitedHealth Paid Ransom To Bad Actors, Says Patient Data Compromised
UnitedHealth Group on Monday said it paid ransom to cyberthreat actors to try and protect patient data, following the February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. The company also confirmed that files containing personal information were compromised in the breach. (Capoot, 4/22)
Reuters: Drug Distributor Cardinal Health To Lose UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx Contracts
Cardinal Health said on Monday its contracts with UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx, one of its largest customers, will not be renewed after they expire at the end of June, sending the drug distributor's shares down about 6%. At least two analysts said rival McKesson would get Optum's contracts. McKesson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Sunny, 4/22)
In other health industry news —
Stat: Accreditation Agencies Launch New Telehealth Care Standards
In the early days of the pandemic, as social distancing forced patients out of doctors’ offices, health care organizations scrambled to offer care online. In turn, health care accreditation organizations rushed to tweak their standards, filling a void in best practices for virtual visits. (Palmer, 4/23)
Axios: Hospital Emissions Reporting Proposal Is A "Game Changer"
Hospitals for the first time could be asked to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the federal health department. A new Medicare proposal to collect that data is a "game changer" for hospital efforts to fight climate change, the head of Health and Human Services' climate office told Axios. (Goldman, 4/22)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis Hospital Launches Pediatric Diabetes Mobile Unit
Louis Davenport left his fourth grade class at Independence Elementary on Wednesday and climbed onto a giant motorhome outside his school’s front door, where he now gets his recommended doctor visits for his type 1 diabetes. Inside, a test measuring the average amount of sugar in in his blood over the past three months — known as A1C — revealed his dropped nearly a whole percentage point since his last visit. (Munz, 4/22)
Houston Chronicle: Houston's Memorial Hermann Planning Drone Deliveries Of Meds, Supplies
Memorial Hermann Health System said last week it would work with drone delivery system Zipline to bring specialty prescription and medical supply deliveries directly to patients' homes beginning in 2026. The Houston health care provider said it would be the first in the area to use this system, in which autonomous red-winged aircraft called Zips make deliveries in urban and suburban areas. (Mizan, 4/22)
In news about health workers —
San Francisco Chronicle: Kaiser Nurses Protest Use Of AI That Could Put Patient Safety At Risk
More than 100 Northern California nurses marched outside Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center on Monday to protest what they say is hospitals’ use of unproven artificial intelligence that could put patients at risk. Registered nurses represented by the California Nurses Association who work at Kaiser say Kaiser and other health care systems are rushing to implement AI technology but are not being transparent with nurses about what it’s being used for or how it benefits patients or staff. (Ho, 4/22)
Modern Healthcare: Providence Lawsuit Results In $98M For Employees Alleging Wage Theft
A jury awarded more than $98 million to Providence Health and Services employees in a class action lawsuit over claims the health system illegally denied meal breaks and pay for time worked. King County Superior Court Judge Averil Rothrock, who presided over the case, also ruled Thursday that the health system willfully withheld wages, which under Washington state law could entitle workers to double the amount of damages awarded. (DeSilva, 4/22)
NBC News: Women Are Less Likely To Die When Treated By Female Doctors, Study Suggests
Hospitalized women are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital if they are treated by female doctors, a study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine found. In the study of people ages 65 and older, 8.15% of women treated by female physicians died within 30 days, compared with 8.38% of women treated by male physicians. Although the difference between the two groups seems small, the researchers say erasing the gap could save 5,000 women’s lives each year. (Szabo, 4/22)
The New York Times: Joel Breman, Who Helped Stop An Ebola Outbreak In Africa, Dies At 87
Dr. Joel Breman, a specialist in infectious diseases who was a member of the original team that helped combat the Ebola virus in 1976, died on April 6 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He was 87. His death was confirmed by his son, Matthew, who said his father died of complications from kidney cancer. “We were scared out of our wits,” Dr. Breman, recollecting his pioneer mission, told a National Institutes of Health newsletter in 2014, as a new and even deadlier Ebola outbreak raged that year. (Nossiter, 4/22)
