Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Tracks Patients After Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Life After Mechanical Ventilation: Searching For Answers
Emily Damuth and Stephen Trzeciak, critical-care specialists at Cooper University Hospital, would like to be able to tell patients what their lives will be like if they choose to stay on a breathing machine for more than a couple of weeks. There's just one problem: The doctors don't know. Trzeciak said intensive-care unit physicians like him rarely see their patients again once they leave the hospital. What happens after the ICU heroics is a "black box" for them, he said. He and Damuth found that frustrating enough that they led a study that looked at what happens to patients in the United States and other countries who get mechanical ventilation for more than two weeks. (Burling, 5/28)
U.S. News & World Report: Gaming The System
The objective of the Internet-based "Re-Mission 2" games is simple: Kill cancer. The games – six in all – arm players with weapons like "chemo bombs" and antibiotics to fight the leukemia monster, destroy bacteria, rescue healthy cells and annihilate tumors, all while collecting points and conquering levels. And for players who are battling cancer themselves, winning in the virtual world could have profound implications for their health in the real one. Researchers at HopeLab, the California nonprofit that created the game, say teens and kids who play it understand their disease better and show improved adherence to their medications as a result. (Leonard, 5/29)
NBC News: Electronic Medical Records Are Latest Target For Identity Thieves
Despite high-profile hacks that have targeted high-profile retailers like Target and entertainment giant Sony Pictures, security experts are warning of a more prized target for identity thieves: medical records. ... Anthem, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, said in February that hackers accessed a database containing 80 million records, and that Social Security numbers, names, dates of birth and medical insurance identification numbers were at risk. It was followed by Premera Blue Cross, which announced a month later that it, too, was hacked, and health data for as many as 11 million people may have been compromised. (Gosk, 5/28)
