About Covid-19
On 4-year anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID a pandemic, a look at the virus by the numbers “Since the pandemic began, more than 1.18 million Americans have died from COVID-19, according to CDC data. The U.S. crossed the 1 million markon May 12, 2022.
During the week of March 2, there were 576 weekly deaths, which is the lowest number recorded since summer 2023 and several times lower than the peak of 25,974 weekly deaths recorded the week ending Jan. 9, 2021.”
About hospitals and healthcare systems
Change Healthcare attack costing hospitals $2B a week: Report “Provider claims to payers have dropped by more than a third in the wake of the Change Healthcare cyber attack, according to a March 13 news release from Kodiak Solutions.
Kodiak's revenue cycle analytics software monitors patient financial transactions from more than 1,850 hospitals and 250,000 physicians nationwide.
The cash flow effects of those delayed claims have ranged from $1.84 billion in the first week to $2.53 billion in the lastest full week when compared with the average weekly estimated cash value of claims from Jan. 1 through Feb. 17, according to the release. Change Healthcare, which processes 1 in 3 healthcare claims in the U.S., was hacked by a ransomware group on Feb. 21.
Through March 9, the total estimated cash flow impact for hospitals reporting data to Kodiak is $6.3 billion in delayed payments, according to the release.”
About pharma
AstraZeneca inks $800M buyout of French biotech to snag phase 3 rare disease drug “AstraZeneca is paying $800 million to expand into rare endocrinology, snagging itself a phase 3 candidate through the acquisition of French biotech Amolyt Pharma. The deal features $250 million in milestones tied to a regulatory event.
Buying Amolyt will give AstraZeneca control of eneboparatide, a PTHR1 agonist that the biotech moved into phase 3 in June. Eneboparatide is designed to produce sustained and stable levels of calcium, which falls to low levels in patients with hypoparathyroidism, while preventing kidney disease and restoring bone turnover.”
Appeals court affirms Arkansas law against drugmakers' 340B contract pharmacy restrictions “A federal appellate court upheld an Arkansas law prohibiting drugmakers from restricting 340B drug discounts for providers using contract pharmacies, potentially setting up other states to pass similar legislation.
The ruling was handed down Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit’s three-judge panel. The judges disagreed with a pharmaceutical industry group’s argument that Arkansas’ 340B Drug Pricing Nondiscrimination Act passed in 2021 is preempted by existing federal law outlining the program, which requires drug manufacturers to sell drugs at a discount to safety-net providers.”
About the public’s health
Maternal mortality in the United States: are the high and rising rates due to changes in obstetrical factors, maternal medical conditions, or maternal mortality surveillance? “The high and rising rates of maternal mortality in the United States are a consequence of changes in maternal mortality surveillance, with reliance on the pregnancy checkbox leading to an increase in misclassified maternal deaths. Identifying maternal deaths by requiring mention of pregnancy among the multiple causes of death shows lower, stable maternal mortality rates and declines in maternal deaths from direct obstetrical causes.”
GE HealthCare launches philanthropic foundation aimed at maternal health “GE HealthCare has set up its own philanthropic arm and given it the goal of helping to bring precision medicine to underserved communities, with a first focus on improving maternal mortality.
The company pointed to a recent report from the United Nations and World Health Organization showing that a person dies every two minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth and that statistics have estimated about 287,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2020.
Incorporated as a separate charitable organization, the GE HealthCare Foundation will also work to address an international shortage of primary care clinicians, nurses and midwife professionals.”
About healthcare IT
The buzz at HIMSS '24? 6 takeaways FYI
Europe one step away from landmark AI rules after lawmakers' vote “The legislation will regulate high-impact, general-purpose AI models and high-risk AI systems which will have to comply with specific transparency obligations and EU copyright laws.
It restricts governments' use of real-time biometric surveillance in public spaces to cases of certain crimes, prevention of genuine threats, such as terrorist attacks, and searches for people suspected of the most serious crimes.”
Microsoft, 16 health systems to operationalize AI under new partner network “Sixteen health systems, Microsoft and other healthcare technology organizations are the latest to band together and hammer out best practices and standards for AI in care.
Calling itself the Trustworthy & Responsible AI Network (TRAIN), the latest provider-tech AI collaboration aims to improve the quality and trustworthiness of novel AI capabilities coming to healthcare.”
About health technology
A Cell-free DNA Blood-Based Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening In the quest for “liquid” biopsies and diagnoses, avoidance of colonoscopy has high priority. The results of this technology show: “In an average-risk screening population, this cfDNA blood-based test had 83% sensitivity for colorectal cancer, 90% specificity for advanced neoplasia…” However, it only had “13% sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions,” meaning it wasn’t that good at early detection.