Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Military's New Health Records System Requires Patients To Have Credit Card
Military.com: You Now Need A Credit Card In Most Cases To Get Access To DoD, VA Benefits Websites
Andrew Langer was pretty sure his daughter was on the wrong website when she tried to apply for new credentials to access Tricare, the military health program, from their home near Fort Eustis, Virginia. As part of the online validation process for the Defense Department's MHS Genesis electronic health records system, Langer's daughter was told she would need to furnish the last eight digits of a credit card and undergo a "soft" credit check to gain access. (Kime, 4/13)
In other health care developments —
Stat: Express Scripts Launches New Pricing Plan Amid Scrutiny Of PBMs
Amid increasing scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers, Express Scripts is launching a new pricing plan that is designed to provide a clearer view on what its clients are paying for prescription medicines. (Silverman and Wilkerson, 4/13)
Stat: Group Studying Ambulance Surprise Bills Will Meet — 4 Months Late
The federal committee in charge of finding ways to stop surprise billing from ground ambulances and health insurers will officially meet for the first time on May 2 and 3, the federal government said Thursday. The 17-person committee was supposed to meet in January, but the meeting was postponed. A rescheduling for March also never came to pass. (Herman, 4/13)
The Lund Report: Legacy Reverses Course On Closure Of Gresham Birth Center
Legacy Health will reopen the maternity unit at its Gresham-based hospital weeks after closing it over the objections of lawmakers, community members and state health officials. Bahaa Wanly, president of Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, announced in an email to staff on Tuesday that “Legacy will welcome pregnant patients at the Mount Hood Family Birth Center within the next 90 days.” In a public statement, Portland-based Legacy did not explicitly explain its reversal of course from the March 19 closure of the facility. But it did note that the state had denied its application for approval of its plan to close the center— a condition of the hospital’s license. (Thomas, 4/12)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Tower Adds To Layoffs By Penn Medicine, Rothman, And Crozer
Tower Health told employees Thursday that it was laying off 45 people and eliminating an additional 55 positions that are either vacant or will be soon as people retire or leave voluntarily. The announced cuts add to a string of relatively small Philadelphia-area health-care layoffs, as the industry attempts to adapt to higher costs for wages, pharmaceuticals, and other supplies that have not been fully offset by increases in government and private insurance payments. (Brubaker, 4/13)
AP: Doctor Acquitted In 14 Patient Deaths Sues Health System
An Ohio doctor acquitted in the deaths of 14 patients who died after they were given painkillers has filed a lawsuit against a national Catholic health system that operates the hospital where he worked in the intensive care unit. William Husel claims malicious prosecution and names Trinity Health Corp. in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. He is seeking a jury trial and at least $20 million in damages. (4/13)
Stat: Why Many Home Health Aides Struggle With Mental Health
On most days around 2pm, home health aide Duane Crichlow can be found in an apartment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, playing catch with his client — a man in his 30s with a developmental disability who is quick to give Crichlow hugs and kisses. If it’s nice outside, Crichlow will walk his client, who is nonverbal and in a wheelchair half the time, down three flights of stairs, hauling the wheelchair back and forth separately. (Ryder, 4/14)
On health care technology —
Stat: Google Will Let Health Care Customers Test Its Generative AI Model
Accelerating medicine’s AI race, Google is releasing a version of its generative language model to health care customers who will begin testing its ability to perform specific tasks in medical and research settings, STAT has learned. (Ross, 4/13)
Stat: AI Researchers Have A Plan To Fix Flawed Algorithms
There are a lot of ways that artificial intelligence can go awry in health and medicine. A new article, published Thursday by a team of researchers in the journal Science, argues that these kinds of problems can only be averted if AI research uses more detailed performance metrics to root out bias and improve accuracy. (Trang, 4/13)
Modern Healthcare: Salesforce Health Cloud Expands At-Home Capabilities
Salesforce is targeting home health with its latest healthcare software capabilities, the San Francisco-based company said Thursday morning. (Turner, 4/13)
