Liver Transplant System Is Less Accessible To Native Americans: Study
Native Americans are less likely than other racial groups to earn a place on the liver transplant list, according to an analysis of transplant data by the Markup and The Washington Post. Separately, scrutiny of rising private equity roles in home health care; a cyberattack at Lurie Children's Hospital; a lawsuit for nurse meal breaks in San Francisco; and more.
The Washington Post:
A Death Sentence: Native Americans Have Least Access To Liver Transplant System
Native Americans are far less likely than other racial groups to gain a spot on the national liver transplant list, despite having the highest rate of death from liver disease, according to an analysis of four years of transplant data by the Markup and The Washington Post. Compared to their total number of deaths from liver disease, White people gain a spot on the transplant list almost three times more often than Native Americans, the data shows. Had transplant rates been equal, nearly 1,000 additional Native people would have received liver transplants between 2018 and 2021. (Gilbertson and Tanen, 2/8)
In other health industry news —
Stateline.org:
Private Equity’s Growing Footprint In Home Health Care Draws Scrutiny
Help at Home employed nearly 800 caregivers scattered across every county in Alabama, helping 1,100 older and disabled clients with activities such as bathing, housework and meal preparation. And then suddenly, it was gone. (Vollers, 2/8)
Crain's Chicago Business:
Lurie Children's Hospital Cyberattack Done By 'Criminal Threat'
Officials at Lurie Children's Hospital on Feb. 8 confirmed the cybersecurity issue that has taken its network down since Jan. 31 is the work of a "known criminal threat actor." The Streeterville children's hospital is going into its second week without phone, internet services or access to many electronic health records. Dr. Marcelo Malakooti, chief medical officer at Lurie's, said in a statement that the hospital took its network offline "in an effort to protect the information of our patients, workforce and organization at large." (Asplund, 2/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Molina Healthcare Reports Higher Medicare Advantage Costs
Molina Healthcare missed its profitability target for Medicare Advantage last year because medical costs spiked, executives said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday. This makes Molina Healthcare the latest insurance carrier to report ballooning Medicare Advantage expenses during the closing months of 2023, following sector leaders UnitedHealth Group and Humana and others such as Aetna parent company CVS Health and Centene. Molina priced for higher spending and expects to achieve “mid-single digit profitability” in its Medicare business this year, CEO Joseph Zubretsky said. (Tepper, 2/8)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Children's, Froedtert & MCW Launch Neuroscience Institute In Milwaukee
A new neuroscience institute has launched in Milwaukee, with a focus on caring for people of all ages with neurological issues and advancing neurosciences through clinical trials and research. ... “WINS combines the strengths of all our partners to deliver complete, life span care for disorders of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system,” said Dr. Shekar Kurpad, founding director of WINS and professor and chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in a press release issued Wednesday. (Volpenhein, 2/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Yale Medicine Standardizes 'Care Paths' To Improve Health Equity
Yale Medicine is undertaking a comprehensive effort to standardize healthcare practices and aims to close disparity gaps across its patient population. Through its "care path" initiative, the New Haven, Connecticut-based academic health system tracks each step of the treatment continuum to eliminate disparities, present providers with the latest clinical guidelines within minutes and ensure compliance, said Dr. Deborah Rhodes, enterprise chief quality officer for Yale Medicine, Northeast Medical Group and the Yale New Haven Health System. Hartnett, 2/8)
Modern Healthcare:
Amedisys To Offer In-Home Testing To Reduce Hospitalizations
Home health provider Amedisys said Thursday it will begin offering in-home molecular testing to patients that will help quickly identify urine, respiratory and wound infection pathogens. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company is providing advanced molecular testing through a partnership with Patients Choice Laboratories.The process delivers rapid and precise results that can result in quicker treatment interventions and prevent hospitalizations, Barbara Andazola, Amedisys vice president of Clinical Practice, Strategy and Programs, said in a press release. (Eastabrook, 2/8)
NBC News:
Robotic Device Burned A Woman’s Small Intestine During Surgery, Lawsuit Alleges
A robotic device burned and tore a woman’s small intestine while she was undergoing surgery for colon cancer, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed this week in Florida. ... The suit alleges that Intuitive Surgical knew the robot had insulation problems that might cause electricity to leak out and burn internal organs but didn’t disclose that risk to the Sultzers or the public. (Bendix, 2/9)
On health workers —
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Nurses Demand Meal And Rest Breaks In New Lawsuit Against City
San Francisco fails to provide nurses at city hospitals with meal and rest breaks or the compensation required by law for missed breaks, three nurses say in a proposed class-action suit seeking damages for their 2,200 colleagues. State law entitles workers to 30-minute meal breaks after every five hours of work and 10-minute rest breaks after four hours, and to an hour of additional pay for each day that a break is not provided. A law that took effect in January 2023 extended the requirement to government health care agencies, which had previously been exempted. (Egelko, 2/8)
AP:
Anthony Fauci Will Reflect On His Long Government Career In 'On Call,' To Be Published In June
Dr. Anthony Fauci has a memoir coming out in June, a look back at his long career as an infectious disease expert and the many outbreaks he contended with, from HIV/AIDS to the COVID-19 pandemic that made him famous. Viking announced Thursday that Fauci’s “On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service” will be published in June 18. (Italie, 2/8)
Stat:
Padmanee Sharma Of MD Anderson At Center Of Lawsuit Over Credit
Three years ago, Jamie Lin, an early-career nephrologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, made findings that could potentially help both save the kidneys of cancer patients and propel her career as a physician-scientist hoping to one day run her own lab. It was a promising start, but that’s when Lin says one of the Texas institute’s most powerful researchers interfered. (Chen and Wosen, 2/8)
