State Highlights: States Begin To Relax Regulations Around Telemedicine; Spike In Bacterial Disease In Puerto Rico Following Hurricane ‘Extraordinary’

Modern Healthcare: States Expand Telemedicine To Allow Prescribing Of Controlled Substances 
Legislators are beginning to open up new avenues for providers to use telemedicine to prescribe medications, a move that's indicative of growing acceptance of virtual care as a way to improve access. On Sunday, Connecticut became the latest state to allow providers to prescribe controlled substances through telemedicine for treating psychiatric disabilities and substance use disorder. Seven other states have recently passed similar laws allowing the prescription of controlled substances via telemedicine. (Arndt, 7/3)

CNN/Center for Investigative Journalism: Records Suggest Puerto Rico Saw A Leptospirosis 'Outbreak' After Hurricane Maria -- But Officials Won't Call It That
Puerto Rico's own records list so many cases of the bacterial disease leptospirosis that officials should have declared an "epidemic" or an "outbreak" after Hurricane Maria instead of denying that one occurred, according to seven medical experts who reviewed previously unreleased data for CNN and the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI).A Puerto Rico mortality database -- which CNN and CPI sued the island's Demographic Registry to obtain -- lists 26 deaths in the six months after Hurricane Maria that were labeled by clinicians as "caused" by leptospirosis, a bacterial illness known to spread through water and soil, especially in the aftermath of storms. That's more than twice the number of deaths as were listed in Puerto Rico the previous year, according to an analysis of federal records. (Sutter and Pascual, 7/3)

NPR: A Promise To Bail Out Rural Hospitals May Be Risky
The only hospital serving the community of rural Callaway County, Mo. — Fulton Medical Center — was set to shut down last September. When staff arrived one afternoon for a potluck goodbye party, they were met with an unexpected guest, Jorge Perez, a management consultant from Florida. He announced he'd just bought the hospital, and planned to keep it open. When Perez spoke about the takeover four days later to a packed city council chambers in Fulton, Mo., he got a standing ovation. (Margolies and Sable-Smith, 7/3)

The Baltimore Sun: MedStar Union Memorial Fails Preliminary Accreditation Due To Problems With Its Inpatient Dialysis Center 
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital was denied preliminary accreditation by the Joint Commission because of problems with its inpatient dialysis center that posed safety problems for patients. A spokeswoman for the Joint Commission said in an email that a May 18 survey of the hospital, located on East University Parkway, found a condition that “posed a threat to patients or other individuals served.” (Tkacik and McDaniels, 7/3)

Politico Pro: Newsom Tamps Down Expectations For Single Payer In California
Gavin Newsom, favored to be California's next governor, is campaigning on a progressive vision of single-payer health care whose viability could pose a major test ahead of the 2020 elections for Democrats wrangling over how to enshrine universal health coverage. ...He isn't shying away from that goal, which is increasingly popular with the activated progressive wing of the party but is proving a tough sell because of the exorbitant cost. (Colliver and Pradhan, 7/3)

Denver Post: Porter Adventist Suspends Transplant Operations, Forcing 232 Patients To Find Another Hospital
Porter Adventist Hospital has suspended organ transplant procedures for six to 12 months as it reassesses and retools its program with the help of the Florida Hospital Transplant Institute. Porter, which provides kidney, pancreas and liver transplants, is one of three hospital in the region offering organ replacements, along with the University of Colorado Hospital and Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. ISvaldi, 7/3)

San Francisco Chronicle: California’s Mandatory-Vaccination Law Survives Court Test
California did not violate freedom of religion or the right to an education when it required virtually all public and private school students to be vaccinated against contagious illnesses in 2016, a state appeals court says. ...The law was prompted by an outbreak of measles in 2014 that was traced to youngsters at Disneyland who had not been vaccinated. (Egelko, 7/3)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Why Philly Is A Particularly Bad Place To Get Bedbugs
All cities have bedbugs, but Philadelphia is the only one of the 10 most populated municipalities without clear rules for who is responsible or how to report complaints. Attempts to create a policy have gone nowhere because the city has balked at adding bedbug inspections to an already hefty caseload of complaints, and advocates for property owners made it clear they don’t want to be on the hook for expensive exterminations. (Terruso, 7/5)

Kaiser Health News: Texas Clinics Busting Traditional Silos Of Mental And Physical Health Care
Kerstin Taylor fought alcohol and substance abuse problems for two decades. She periodically sought help through addiction and psychiatric treatments to stay sober, but she continued to relapse. That unrelenting roller coaster, and the emotional and mental fallout, left her with little energy or resources to take charge of her overall health. Taylor, 53, has asthma and doctors told her she was at risk of developing diabetes.“I wasn’t doing anything to help myself,” she said about her physical health. (Covington, 7/5)

Tampa Bay Times: This Health Care Startup Closed. Millions In Taxpayer Money Is Gone. Now What?
It’s been two weeks since health care IT company CareSync Inc. shuttered, leaving the patients who used its services in the lurch and nearly 300 employees scrambling for new jobs. The closure came with little warning, just days after a buyer tentatively agreed to purchase the Tampa company. (Denham and Carollo, 7/5)

Arizona Republic: Undercover Testers Find Discrimination At Assisted-Living Facilities
At least 14 operators of assisted-living and nursing facilities in Arizona unlawfully discriminate against prospective residents who are deaf, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the Southwest Fair Housing Council. The suit follows nearly two years of undercover inquiries. Testers enlisted by the non-profit contacted large-scale facilities in the Phoenix and Tucson areas requesting accommodations for a fictional deaf grandfather. (Polletta, 7/4)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Signatures Submitted For Initiative To Improve Dialysis Care In Ohio
Advocates have submitted more than 475,000 signatures to election officials to put an issue on the Nov. 6 ballot that seeks to improve patient care at dialysis clinics. Supporters of the issue need 305,591 signatures from registered voters, according to a news release from the Service Employees International Union District 1199. (Remington, 7/4)

Kansas City Star: Children’s Mercy Patient Data Stolen In Email Phishing Scam
Personal data from more than 60,000 individuals may have been compromised as part of an email phishing scam that targeted Children’s Mercy Hospital employees. The emails sent to employees gave the appearance they were from a trusted source and often contained links to a phony login page on a fake website, the hospital said. (Ryan, 7/3)

Kaiser Health News: Tennessee-Based Pain Management Group To Close Clinics Amid Financial Turmoil
One of the largest pain management groups in the Southeast is closing multiple clinics amid worsening financial troubles and a federal criminal investigation that targeted its former chief executive. This week, Tennessee-based Comprehensive Pain Specialists advised patients and employees about clinic closures, leaving patients scrambling to find new doctors willing to prescribe them opioids, according to a report on WSMV television. (Shulte, 7/3)

Kansas City Star: KU Campus To Go Tobacco-Free On July 1
University of Kansas students and staff can no longer use tobacco or vaping products on school grounds under a new policy pushed by health-conscious students and embraced by administrators looking to stay competitive. State law already banned smoking inside and immediately outside campus buildings. (Bergen, 7/3)