Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Shortage Of Donated Blood Forces Delayed Surgeries
The Boston Globe: ‘Unprecedented’ Blood Shortage Forces Hospitals To Delay Or Reschedule Surgeries
Hospitals in Massachusetts and around the country are confronting a severe shortage of the donated blood needed for transfusions, prompting some to delay or reschedule surgeries. A surge in demand has collided with a slowdown in blood collection — both trends exacerbated by the pandemic and expected to last for weeks or months. “We haven’t seen anything like this in about 30 or 40 years at least,” said Dr. Vishesh Chhibber, director of transfusion medicine at UMass Memorial Health, where several surgeries scheduled for June 7 had to be postponed for lack of blood. (Freyer and Caldera, 6/17)
In other health care industry news —
San Francisco Chronicle: 400 Sutter Health Jobs Cut In Northern California Amid 'Growing Fiscal Gap,' Sutter Says
Sutter Health, which serves millions of people at 23 Northern California hospitals, cut about 400 positions throughout its network earlier this month, officials confirmed Thursday. The news comes two months after Kaiser Permanente eliminated about 200 jobs across its Northern California region. The job cuts affect non-clinical positions and are not focused on any specific facility, said Emma Dugas, a Sutter spokeswoman. (Mishanec, 6/17)
The Washington Post: He Promised 6 Million N95 Masks And Couldn’t Deliver. Now He’s Going To Prison
Last April, as veterans hospitals struggled to find masks to protect their workers and patients from the coronavirus, a veteran reached out with promises to help. “Unlike most vendors we are commitment [sic] to providing support during this time and are offering a COVID-19 discount to agencies who need large quantities of these items shipped,” Robert Stewart Jr. wrote to a contracting officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs. “I am glad I can help . . . support our men/women in uniform and vets.” In fact, Stewart, 35, had no masks and no ability to get them. On Wednesday, he was sentenced in federal court in Virginia to 21 months in prison for using fraudulently obtained covid-19 relief loans in part on fruitless efforts to deliver. (Weiner, 6/17)
inewsource: San Diego Doctor Faces Negligence Charge Over Diabetes Treatment
A San Diego doctor who was a key figure in a 2018 inewsource investigation into a diabetes treatment some called a scam is facing charges before the state medical board that could result in probation or the loss of his license and ability to practice medicine. The accusation was filed in May against Dr. James Novak and involves two diabetes patients treated at his medical office with the controversial four-hour IV insulin procedure. The treatment was being offered through a Trina Health clinic Novak previously told inewsource he established in August 2016 as part of his Pacific Beach family practice. (Plummer, 6/17)
Stat: Clinicians Open Their Notes To Patients In Grand Experiment In Medical Care
When Glenda Thomas of Framingham, Mass., checked her doctors’ notes online after a recent infusion, she saw something that stuck in her mind. A nurse had written, “She denies recent illness.” To Thomas, it was disconcerting. The notes seemed to imply that she didn’t recognize her own condition, a rare neuromuscular disorder. On the contrary, she understands it well. (Preston, 6/18)
Stat: Gender Bias In Patents May Mean Less Biomedical Innovation For Women
Research has long shown that fewer patents are awarded to women than to men. Now a new study suggests that bias is fueling disparities in biomedical innovation as well. The study, published Thursday in Science, found that female inventors are more likely to come up with biomedical ideas and products that focus on the needs of women whereas male inventors are more inclined to focus on products for men. That, the authors concluded, suggests society may be missing out on medications, devices, and technology that could benefit women’s health. (Lloreda, 6/17)
In corporate news —
Detroit Free Press: Beaumont-Spectrum Merger Like A Marriage, Experts Say. It Might Work
The big business of a hospital merger is not unlike a marriage, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. It can be harmonious and without acrimony for the patients and staff of the health systems that come together. But it also can end badly, with a reduction in services, job losses, hospitals or offices closing, and higher prices because of less competition. In the case of the proposed union between Southfield-based Beaumont Health and Grand Rapids-based Spectrum Health, it's about as good a match as anyone could have wished for, Gordon said. (Jordan Shamus, 6/18)
Axios: Spectrum, Beaumont Hospital Systems Sign Merger Deal
Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health have signed a merger agreement that would combine a health insurance company and 22 hospitals into one tax-exempt system with almost $13 billion in annual revenue. This deal would form the largest hospital system in Michigan, raising new concerns about what would happen to hospital and physician prices if the merger is ultimately approved. (Herman, 6/17)
Modern Healthcare: Ochsner Health Plans To Merge With Rush Health Systems
Fresh off a merger that grew it to a system of 35 acute-care hospitals, Ochsner Health announced Thursday it plans to get even bigger by combining with a seven-hospital system in Mississippi. Rush Health Systems, based in Meridian, Miss., plans to become part of Ochsner, headquarted in New Orleans, La. The two not-for-profit systems described the deal—which they underscored is a merger and not an acquisition—as an expansion of a partnership that's been in place since 2019. They expect the deal to close in mid-2022, at which point Rush will be known as Ochsner Rush Health. (Bannow, 6/17)
Stat: ‘A Lego Kit For Health Care’: Jonathan Bush Launches New Startup Zus
Jonathan Bush is back for another act. On Thursday, the founder and former chief executive officer of medical IT giant athenahealth launched a new startup called Zus. The company, which debuted with $34 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Rock Health and other venture firms, wants to become the common layer digital health companies use to build their tools, view health records, and ultimately treat patients. Zus launches at a pivotal moment for digital health after the recent passage of the federal information blocking rule, which gives patients unprecedented access to health data via apps. (Brodwin, 6/17)
