“The federal government on Tuesday raided dozens of locations belonging to doctors and medical equipment companies suspected of taking part in a massive telemarketing scam that targeted Medicare recipients and cost taxpayers nearly $1 billion.” | learn more
J&J becomes first drugmaker to add prices to television ads
This will make for an interesting future. I applaud any move that increases visibility into health care prices. | learn more
Blink Health’s plan to shake up the online drug market got messy
The startup that wanted to increase drug price transparency and move transactions online has not had an easy run. From Bloomberg: “The startup’s path has been littered with lawsuits, feuds and defections.” | learn more
EHR ‘gag clauses’ may soon come off
As I peel back more layers of the health care system onion, I really appreciate some of the nuances that this industry has developed. In this case, it seems that a lot of the big Electronic Health Record software vendors have made it a violation of license to share screenshots of their product. That means that people who want to share useful tips to prevent user errors have been prevented from doing so. | learn more
Prescribing food as a specialty drug.
This is so exciting! It seems “obvious” that food is tied to health, but this is the first time I’ve seen the healthcare system treat it that way. “Geisinger Health System’s program of providing free food as a treatment for diabetes — the Fresh Food Farmacy — yields improved outcomes for patients while reducing the cost of care.” | learn more
Amazon pharmacy.
This Nisarg Patel post from last year is an interesting view on how Amazon’s new platform for pharma will avoid the troubled outcome for its long-ago investment in the now-defunct Drugstore.com. |learn more
UnitedHealth is requiring drug rebates get passed to consumers.
This seems like a good thing, but I’m not clear on the implications. Can anyone help me understand? “The new shift will involve employers that begin using UnitedHealth’s pharmacy-benefit manager, OptumRx, including those that are self-insured, which is the vast majority of large companies.” | learn more
How health insurers use cash and gifts to sway which benefits employers choose.
“The insurance industry gives lucrative commissions and bonuses — from six-figure payouts to a chance to bat against Mariano Rivera — to the independent brokers who advise employers. Critics call the payments a ‘classic conflict of interest’ that drive up costs.” | learn more
21 neurotech startups to watch.
A great CB Insights report highlighting Brain-Machine Interfaces, Implantables, and Neuroprosthetics. | learn more
High-tech toilet seat monitors your heart as you sit on it.
“Engineers at Rochester Institute of Technology have designed a high-tech toilet seat that effortlessly flushes out data on the state of your cardiovascular system. The tricked-out porcelain throne measures your blood pressure, blood oxygen level, and the volume of blood your heart pumps per beat (stroke volume)—taking readings every time you sit down to catch up on some reading of your own.” | learn more