Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Face-To-Face Time Again: Doctors Wanting Quality Time With Patients Hail Success Of Remote Virtual Scribes Taking Notes
Boston Globe: Virtual ‘Scribes’ Help Doctors Focus On Patients, Not Note-Taking
Dr. Amy Wheeler set a small tablet computer on the table as she turned to face her patient. Then she did something that’s become increasingly rare for doctors in the digital age: She talked to him without typing or clicking anything. Wheeler didn’t have to take notes, because the microphone on her tablet recorded everything. While she slept that night, a trained doctor working in an office building across the world in Mumbai listened to the recording and typed up a summary. (McCluskey, 10/8)
The Associated Press: Doctors Turn To Thumbs For Diagnosis And Treatment By Text
Dr. Anna Nguyen spoke with none of the five patients she treated on a recent weekday morning. She didn't even leave her dining room. The emergency physician nevertheless helped a pregnant Ohio woman handle hip pain, examined a Michigan man's sore throat and texted a mom whose son became sick during a family trip to Mexico. Welcome to the latest wrinkle in health care convenience: the chat diagnosis. (10/8)
Kaiser Health News: Medicare Fraudsters Now Tap Telemedicine In Medical Equipment Scams
Dean Ernest had been living in a nursing home about a year when his son, John, got a call last winter asking if his father was experiencing back pain and would like a free orthotic brace. The caller said he was with Medicare. John Ernest didn’t believe him, said “no” to the brace and hung up. He didn’t give out his father’s Medicare number. And yet, not just one, but 13 braces arrived soon afterward at Ernest’s house in central Pennsylvania. (Knight, 10/9)
CNBC: One Medical, Backed By Alphabet, Has Hired Banks Ahead Of An IPO
One Medical, a chain of primary care clinics that’s backed by Google’s parent company Alphabet and tries to bring a modern feel to the typical doctor’s office, has hired banks including J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley for its IPO, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, which was valued at about $1.5 billion in a financing round last year, is expected to file its prospectus publicly by the first quarter of 2020 and possibly sooner, said the people, who asked not to be named because the plans are confidential. Representatives from One Medical, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley all declined to comment. (Farr and Sherman, 10/8)
