Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
More Than Half Of All Health Workers Plan To Switch Jobs In Next Year
Becker's Hospital Review: 55% Of Healthcare Workers Plan To Change Roles Within 1 Year: Survey
More than half of U.S. healthcare workers plan to change roles in the next year, according to a recent survey from Strategic Education. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they plan to search for job openings, interview for new positions or switch roles within a year — either within their current organization (38%) or externally (40%). (Kuchno, 9/15)
More health industry news —
Bloomberg: Memorial Sloan Kettering To Cut Hundreds Of Jobs As Costs Surge
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is planning to cut less than 2% of its workforce as it faces a budget deficit of more than $200 million for the upcoming year. The New York City-based hospital group will eliminate positions over the next two months and has already closed some open job postings in a bid to lower expenses, according to an email sent to MSK employees Monday that was viewed by Bloomberg News. The message didn’t specify which departments would be subject to cuts. MSK employed 21,175 people as of last year. (Brown, 9/15)
Modern Healthcare: Revenue Cycle Services Take On Insurer AI, Administrative Costs
Hospitals and health systems are looking to revenue cycle management companies to help them level the playing field with insurers. Payers have been increasingly using artificial intelligence to speed up their processes, particularly with prior authorization and denials. Meanwhile, most providers handle revenue management functions internally and are behind on adopting AI and other technologies, leaving them outmatched and scrambling to keep up. (DeSilva, 9/15)
San Francisco Chronicle: Why UCSF Doctor Says Easing New CT Radiation Rule Would Be A ‘Setback’
Federal regulators may soon roll back a rule that requires hospitals to track and report the amount of radiation they use in CT scans — but not if the UCSF radiologist who created a key measure in the rule, which is meant to incentivize lower radiation doses, has anything to say about it. Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, who for years has studied the link between CT scans and cancer risk, is leading a campaign urging the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that regulates hospitals, to keep the requirement in place. (Ho, 9/15)
In pharma and tech updates —
Modern Healthcare: Labcorp Acquires BioReference Health Assets For Up To $225M
Labcorp has completed its acquisition of BioReference Health’s oncology diagnostic testing assets for up to $225 million. The independent laboratory company paid $192.5 million at closing and and could pay up to $32.5 million more in an earn-out tied to the assets’ performance, according to a Monday news release. (DeSilva, 9/15)
Stat: Sarepta's Elevidys Faces Accuracy Questions On Its Measurements
The summer has been filled with debates about the safety of Elevidys, Sarepta’s gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Four prominent researchers are now raising a fundamental question about its efficacy: How much gene does the gene therapy actually deliver? In principle, the question should be settled. Since its first trial in 2017, Sarepta has taken muscle biopsies from participants and measured how much microdystrophin— a mini version of the gene broken in Duchenne — is present. (The gene has to be miniaturized to fit inside the virus that delivers it to cells.) (Mast, 9/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Helps Suppress Thoughts About Food, Study Suggests
Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss drug helps patients stop thinking about food, according to a new study. According to results of the study, which were presented at a medical conference in Austria, patients taking Wegovy for weight-loss experienced a substantial drop in so-called “food noise”—unwanted and intrusive thoughts about food—alongside improvements in their mental well-being and lifestyle. (Chopping, 9/16)
Modern Healthcare: Boston Scientific’s Endotak Reliance Recall Prompts FDA Alert
The Food and Drug Administration issued an alert regarding Boston Scientific’s updated recall correction for its Endotak Reliance defibrillation leads. The leads with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-coated coils can develop calcium buildup around the coils, which may stop the device from delivering enough shock during cardiac arrest. The issue is associated with 386 serious injuries and 16 deaths as of July 24, according to the company. (Dubinsky, 9/15)
