Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medicare Spending, Uptake Remain Low For New Alzheimer's Drugs
Stat: Medicare Spending Far Less Than Expected On New Alzheimer's Drugs
People on Medicare are not getting the recently approved Alzheimer’s medications nearly as much as federal officials anticipated. (Herman, 5/11)
More pharma and tech updates —
Modern Healthcare: Boston Scientific’s Pacemaker Recall Is Most Serious Type: FDA
Recent issues with Boston Scientific Corp. pacemakers are associated with multiple deaths and thousands of serious injuries. The Food and Drug Administration issued a bulletin Thursday classifying the company’s latest recall to correct its pacemakers as Class I, the most serious type. The problem has been associated with four deaths and 2,557 serious injuries as of March 18, according to the company. (Dubinsky, 5/8)
The Guardian: The Emerging Cancer Treatment That’s Exciting Scientists: ‘We’ve Just Scratched The Surface On What’s Possible’
“Game-changer.” That’s how Prof Misty Jenkins, an immunologist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, describes CAR T-cell therapy, an emerging but still costly cancer treatment that supercharges the body’s immune system to fight disease. Late last month, Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill put the treatment in the spotlight, revealing his stage three cancer was in remission after undergoing CAR T-cell therapy as part of a clinical trial in Sydney. He stopped short of describing his remission as a miracle – the success, he said, was “science at its best”. (Ryan, 5/9)
In healthcare industry developments —
MPR News: North Memorial Health Plans Merger With Sanford Health
North Memorial Health plans to merge with Sanford Health to create a single nonprofit health system. This merger marks Sanford Health's expansion from its Sioux Falls base into the Twin Cities market, following a previous deal with Fairview Health Services that fell apart three years ago. (Zurek, 5/8)
Chicago Tribune: West Suburban Owners Face Off In Court Over Hospital's Future
The owners of the now-shuttered West Suburban Medical Center faced off in court Friday over the hospital’s future, amid accusations of mismanagement and questionable fund transfers. (Schencker, 5/8)
Cardinal News: State Moves Toward Closing Hiram Davis Medical Center, But Lawmakers Express Concern About Plan
The Hiram W. Davis Medical Center has been slated for closure since August 2024, but some Virginia lawmakers remain hesitant to support the plan as families raise concerns about where residents with complex medical needs will go. The state-operated medical center in Petersburg provides long-term care for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities. (Schabacker, 5/8)
San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Digitizing Vast Archive Of Ancient Japanese Medicine
More than two centuries ago, when measles broke out in a household in Japan, the residents might hang on their door a woodblock print bearing an image of the “golden boy” – a heroic character with a baby face and muscled arms meant to warn visitors and protect those already afflicted. When the disease had passed, the print usually would be burned. UCSF has one of the few that survived the era. It’s about the size of a modern sheet of loose-leaf paper, the character dyed red — a color meant to ward off evil — and calligraphy printed across the top. (Allday, 5/10)
The Washington Post: Therapy Miniature Horses Play Piano To Comfort Hospital Patients
Victoria Nodiff-Netanel carries a 32-key piano everywhere, including hospitals, schools, police stations and parties. But it’s not for her to play. She has trained her nine miniature horses to run their muzzles along the keyboard, creating tunes that are as tumultuous as they are amusing. Music is one way the mares, part of Nodiff-Netanel’s nonprofit called Mini Therapy Horses, comfort people, especially hospital patients, in Southern California. (Melnick, 5/9)
The New York Times: There Are Ants In This Canadian Hospital. Again
Ants can be a nuisance. Just ask officials at a hospital in Canada who are dealing with an “appearance of ants within the operating room” that has forced them to indefinitely suspend some surgeries there. The ants appeared recently at Carman Memorial Hospital in Carman Manitoba, according to a statement from Southern Health-Santé Sud, the provincial authority that oversees the hospital. (Deb, 5/8)
On healthcare workers —
The Washington Post: Woman, 72, Will Graduate Medical School, Start Residency
Stuck at home while recovering from mono, Dawn Zuidgeest-Craft received a gift at 7 years old that shaped the rest of her life: a microscope. She loved inspecting mealworms and leaves underneath the lens so much that her mother, Paula Wesner, predicted that her daughter would become a doctor. Zuidgeest-Craft pursued a career in health care years later, becoming a nurse practitioner and pediatric educator. She still planned to become a doctor, but she put her goal on hold while she raised two children. Then she remarried and had two more children, delaying her dream again. (Melnick, 5/10)
MPR News: Rural Physician Residency Program At University Of Minnesota Expanded To Staples
The University of Minnesota Medical School is adding a site to its rural family medicine residency program — the only program of its kind in Minnesota. The medical school is partnering with Lakewood Health System to launch a residency in Staples, a small 3,000-person city in west-central Minnesota located across Todd and Wadena counties. Residents will begin with one year of training at North Memorial Health in Minneapolis, followed by two years in Staples. (Work, 5/10)
The Baltimore Sun: National Nurses Week: Burnout, Debt And Shortages Challenge Future Nurses
As nurses continue navigating burnout, staffing shortages and an increasingly complex healthcare system, their role has never been more critical. (Hille, 5/9)
