Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rollout Of Electronic Health Records At VA Won't Restart Until Next Summer
Military.com: VA Electronic Health Record Rollout Unlikely To Resume For A Year After Being Derailed By Problems
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday it may resume agency-wide adoption of its new electronic health records system next summer, after it was placed on hold in April due to problems involving patient health and safety and frustration among users. VA officials told members of Congress that introduction of the Oracle Cerner system across 166 additional hospitals could resume in 2024 if the department makes progress on several goals, including a successful rollout in March at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Illinois. (Kime, 9/13)
In other health industry news —
NBC News: Anti-Asian Racism In The Medical Field Is A Common Reality, Yale-Led Survey Finds
Throughout his career in medicine, David Yang, 32, says he’s acutely felt the impacts of his race. A Chinese American emergency medicine fellow at the Yale School of Medicine, Yang said he’s had slurs hurled at him by patients, faced racist comments tying him to Covid, and has been confused with his Asian colleagues. He knew there were others who shared his experience, but he said meaningful research on the subject of anti-Asian racism in the medical field just didn’t exist. So he put forth his own study, and surveyed two dozen medical students. (Venkatraman, 9/13)
St. Louis Public Radio: HSHS St. Elizabeth's Hospital Reboots After Cyber Attack
HSHS hospitals, which operates St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in O’Fallon, Illinois and other locations in south central Illinois, is bringing its technology back online after an attack from cyber criminals resulted in a system-wide outage across its entire network, which also has hospitals in Iowa and Wisconsin. (Fentem, 9/14)
WMFE: Virtual Sitters Enhance Patient Care At Orlando Health
Orlando Health is employing more virtual services to better allocate nursing resources, such as a virtual nursing program starting Tuesday. The pilot program was launched to assist nurses on the floor by gathering information on family and medication history and providing an extra set of eyes. AdventHealth of Central Florida began using a similar virtual nursing program last year. (Pedersen, 9/13)
The Washington Post: The Food Industry Pays ‘Influencer’ Dietitians To Shape Your Eating Habits
As the World Health Organization raised questions this summer about the risks of a popular artificial sweetener, a new hashtag began spreading on the social media accounts of health professionals: #safetyofaspartame. Steph Grasso, a registered dietitian from Oakton, Va., used the hashtag and told her 2.2 million followers on TikTok that the WHO warnings about artificial sweeteners were “clickbait” based on “low-quality science.” (O'Connor, Gilbert and Chavkin, 9/13)
In pharmaceutical industry news —
Stat: FDA Panel Endorses Alnylam’s Heart Drug — After Picking It Apart
A group of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for a debilitating heart disease Wednesday, but only after a day-long debate challenging whether the drug’s modest observed effects were actually meaningful for patients. (Garde, 9/13)
The Boston Globe: Former Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorzky Joins RI Biotech Company
Alex Gorsky, the former CEO and chairman of pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, was named lead director of Neurotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday. ... The Cumberland-based clinical stage biotech company was founded in 2001, and has been focused on developing therapies and implantable devices for chronic eye diseases. The company remains privately held and has less than 50 employees. (Gagosz, 9/13)
Stat: Akili Changes Sales Model For Its ADHD Video Game Treatment
Akili Interactive, which in 2020 made waves by receiving Food and Drug Administration clearance for its video game that improves symptoms of ADHD in children, on Wednesday announced it would reorient its business around selling its products directly to users over the counter, rather than by prescription. (Aguilar, 9/13)
Modern Healthcare: Akili Layoffs Hit 45 People As Company Shifts To Subscription Model
Akili will slash its workforce and stop offering products that require prescriptions, the digital therapeutics vendor announced Wednesday. The company is eliminating 45 jobs, which amounts to 40% of its headcount. Most of those positions are linked to prescription-based offerings, Akili said in a news release. The company laid off 46 employees in January. Akili is moving away from prescription products to reduce its reliance on health insurance coverage, improve patient access and boost profit margins, the company said in the news release. (Perna, 9/13)
