Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Epic Systems Tool Will Allow Consumers To Compare Pharmacy Prices
Modern Healthcare: Epic Systems To Launch Prescription Marketplace For Drug Prices
A new Epic Systems tool will allow providers and patients to compare medication prices at different pharmacies. Prescription Marketplace will let clinicians see what a pharmacy would charge patients for medications under insurance as well as cash-pay prices, the electronic health record vendor said in a Thursday news release. (Famakinwa, 10/15)
More pharma and tech news —
Modern Healthcare: Prime Therapeutics' Mostafa Kamal Defends Express Scripts Pact
Prime Therapeutics is pivoting to a new rebate model and fighting back against accusations of collusion. The pharmacy benefit manager, which is fourth in market share and owned by 19 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, announced this month it would begin selling a net cost drug pricing model to clients in 2028. Its customers come under these arrangements in 2029. (Tong, 10/15)
Boston Globe: Jury Weighs Dueling Accounts Of Scientist David Sabatini’s Downfall
Was world-renowned molecular biologist David Sabatini a manipulative mentor who coerced a younger colleague into sex and cultivated a hostile work culture at his research lab in Cambridge? Or was he the victim of a spurned former lover and a #MeToo movement gone too far? (Serres, 10/16)
On artificial intelligence in healthcare —
Stat: As White House Shifts Focus Toward AI And Tech, U.S. Science Leaders Defend Role Of The American University
This fall, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where 95% of students are STEM majors, enrolled nearly 500 fewer graduate students — a 20% drop compared to 2024. The reduction is a direct result of a $100 million cut in federal research awards to the institution in that same timespan, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said at the STAT Summit Wednesday in Boston. (Molteni, 10/14)
MedPage Today: Are Med Students Cheating If They Use AI?
Despite assertions to the contrary, students who use artificial intelligence (AI) in medical school assignments or elsewhere are not cheating, according to one professor here at the Association of Health Care Journalists Fall Summit. "AI is not plagiarism," said Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, PhD, who is also vice chair for research and education in computational biomedicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Working with AI "is doable, but it has to be done properly." (Frieden, 10/15)
The Washington Post: With AI Platform, Patients Could Chat With Medical Devices To Improve Health
A new platform driven by artificial intelligence could enable patients to communicate with their medical devices in real time to improve their health, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Medicine. Brian Litt, a professor of neurology, neurosurgery and bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, knew that neurological signals that can precede epileptic seizures could be detected by implanted devices — but not immediately communicated to the patient. (Svrluga, 10/14)
