SmileDirectClub Customers Lose Support After Abrupt Shutdown
Axios reports on the problems facing people who've bought teeth-alignment systems from SmileDirectClub, which suddenly collapsed. Separately, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries filed a class-action suit against Humana over alleged use of an algorithm to cut off rehabilitation care payments.
Axios:
SmileDirectClub Shutdown Leaves Patients Stranded With No Plan In Sight
The sudden collapse of SmileDirectClub has stranded users of its clear-plastic, removable teeth aligners — in some cases just weeks after they were given a discount for paying up front. Customers experiencing problems with their treatment will not be able to get new aligners, treatment, or other support from the company. (Bomey, 12/12)
On the use of AI —
Stat:
Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Sue Humana Over Algorithm Use
Medicare Advantage beneficiaries on Tuesday filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the health insurance giant Humana illegally used an algorithm to prematurely cut off payment for rehabilitation care after patients suffered serious illnesses and injuries. (Ross and Herman, 12/12)
Axios:
Patients Worry About How Doctors May Be Using AI: Survey
The vast majority of American patients are wary of how their doctor may use generative AI to help treat them, according to a new Wolters Kluwer Health survey. The technology is still in limited use in physician offices — mostly to help with administrative tasks — but one day may help doctors make diagnoses or develop care plans. (Reed, 12/13)
In news about health workers —
Modern Healthcare:
Kaiser Permanente Layoffs Hit 115 IT Employees
Kaiser Permanente has joined the growing number of health systems cutting back their IT teams. The Oakland, California-based health system confirmed it eliminated 115 workers from IT positions last month. Kaiser declined to specify how many IT employees were retained or provide detail about the roles and locations affected. (Turner, 12/12)
CBS News:
Nurses, Staff Members Rally At Seton Medical Center
Nurses and staff members held separate rallies at Seton Medical Center in Daly City on Tuesday morning, calling for decisions to cut jobs to be overturned and for their benefits to be increased. ... "AHMC is the worst operator we've ever seen at Seton," Christina Caradis, a radiologic technologist who has worked at the hospital for 26 years, said in a press release. "They're not able to provide basic needs for the hospital or patients." (12/12)
More health care industry updates —
CBS News:
Hackers Had Access To Patient Information For Months In New York Hospital Cyberattack, Officials Say
A group of New York hospitals and health care centers were targeted in a cyberattack that for two months allowed hackers to access patients' private information, officials said this week. ... HealthAlliance, Inc., the corporate parent of the three facilities, said Monday that it "began mailing notification letters to patients whose information may have been involved in a data security incident." (Czachor, 12/12)
CBS News:
Virtual Reality Surgery Puts North Shore Community College Students In Simulated Operating Rooms
The future of education is here at North Shore Community College where surgical technology students are using virtual reality to learn procedures in simulated operating rooms. "It's game changing for these students. They're so much more prepared to go to clinical," program coordinator, Jennifer Forte told WBZ-TV. She said there's a nationwide critical shortage of surgical technologists and this enhances their program to get more students into the field. (Kincade, 12/12)
Modern Healthcare:
Nemours To Launch Pediatric Hospital-At-Home Program Next Year
Nemours Children’s Health plans to launch a pediatric hospital-at-home program next year, despite questions about how it will be reimbursed for home-based care.The program would provide acute home-based care to patients within a 40-mile radius of the health system’s two hospitals in Wilmington, Delaware, and Orlando, Florida, said Dr. Eric Jackson, chief innovation officer. The care would include remote patient monitoring, telehealth and in-person visits to children with urgent, short-term illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus, Covid-19, bronchitis and influenza. (Eastabrook, 12/12)
KFF Health News:
As Foundation For ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis Cracks, Fallout Spreads
When Angelo Quinto’s family learned that officials blamed his 2020 death on “excited delirium,” a term they had never heard before, they couldn’t believe it. To them, it was obvious the science behind the diagnosis wasn’t real. Quinto, 30, had been pinned on the ground for at least 90 seconds by police in California and stopped breathing. He died three days later. (Rayasam, Hawryluk and Young, 12/13)
