J&J, Alphabet aim for smarter, smaller, cheaper surgical robot | Reuters
Johnson & Johnson and Alphabet, the tech giant formerly known as Google, have partnered in a new company, Verb Surgical, that plans to "disrupt" robotic surgery by developing smaller, cheaper, more advanced systems than those currently on the market. The prototype is 20% of the size of the current market leader, Intuitive Surgical's DaVinci robot, and is expected to be priced far below the DaVinci system, which can top $2 million.
Can Elizabeth Holmes save her unicorn? | Bloomberg
In October, the Wall Street Journal published the first of a series of investigative pieces suggesting the proprietary blood draw and analysis system developed by lab testing newcomer Theranos might be more smoke and mirrors than revolutionary technology, setting off a wave of scrutiny and negative press the secretive startup had until that point not encountered. Now Theranos CEO Holmes needs to convince the FDA and the industry that the company can live up to its claims.
Still in a crib, yet being given antipsychotics | New York Times
Tens of thousands of children under 2 are being prescribed antipsychotics like Seroquel and Risperdal to address violent or withdrawn behavior, and the numbers of such prescriptions are growing despite the fact the drugs are indicated for adult use and despite there being no research on the safety or effectiveness of use in young children.
Small-scale violations of privacy often cause the most harm | ProPublica
Healthcare providers are required to report personal health information breaches affecting more than 500 individuals to the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, according to HIPAA, but what happens when the breach is a nosey neighbor snooping through a few records at work rather than a distant hacker scooping up data on thousands? Many Americans have learned that the privacy law does little to correct the damage to reputation that such breaches cause victims.
