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Information technology

Could this widely used calculator be needlessly driving people to take statins? | Stat

According to the American College of Cardiology, the most influential calculator of the risk of having a heart attack or stroke overestimates the likelihood of those events by 500% or more, and more than 7,000 people access the online tool every day.

City of St. Louis could green light regional prescription drug database | St. Louis Public Radio

The city of St. Louis is one step closer to joining St. Louis County in creating a regional prescription drug database doctors can check to see if their patients have already been prescribed narcotics recently. The Board of Aldermen's Health and Human Services Committee Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would allow the partnership.

How drones could transform healthcare delivery and save lives around the world | GeekWire

The notion of getting your Amazon order whisked quickly to your doorstep by a drone might sound delightfully convenient. But in developing countries facing urgent and deadly healthcare challenges, the advent of cargo-carrying unmanned aerial vehicles could save lives.

Blockchain may be healthcare's answer to interoperability, data security | Healthcare Dive

Developed as a means of tracking international bitcoin transactions over the internet, blockchain technology is starting to send ripples across the healthcare industry with promises of improved data flow between disparate systems and heightened security.

Medical devices and equipment

The remote control that can help Parkinson's patients | Stat

Scientists have figured out a way to use a type of highly selective remote control for the brain to make nerve cell transplants in patients suffering from Parkinson's more efficient, and to minimize side effects.

Pharmaceuticals

Valeant forms internal committee to oversee drug pricing | Reuters

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which has acknowledged mistakes in its drug pricing practices amid U.S. congressional probes, said on Thursday it has formed a new committee to oversee pricing of the company's drugs.

Safety, quality and clinical practice

Study: ICD doesn't require overnight stay | MedPage Today

Same-day discharge after getting an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) might be safe for low-risk patients with primary prevention indications, according to a small randomized trial.