Information technology
More employers offering telemedicine benefits | Pittsburgh Post-GazetteTelemedicine is increasingly becoming a key health benefit in many employer-sponsored health plans. According to the National Business Group on Health, 48% of surveyed employers offered telemedicine benefits in 2015. So far this year, that number has jumped to 74%.
Health groups oppose Maine CDC push for more control of disease data | Portland Press Herald
A broad range of healthcare organizations are opposing a proposed rule change by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention that would give the state agency wide discretion to keep secret the locations of infectious disease outbreaks.
Medical devices and equipment
Congressman decries Olympus' failure to warn U.S. hospitals about tainted scopes | Kaiser Health NewsA U.S. lawmaker is renewing his push for Congress to toughen requirements on medical device warnings, calling Olympus Corp.'s 2013 decision against issuing a broad alert to U.S. hospitals about scope-related superbug outbreaks “despicable.”
Pharmaceuticals
Promising Alzheimer's treatment flops in new trial, crushing hopes | StatA closely watched treatment for Alzheimer's disease came up short in a late-stage trial, marking the latest setback in a field wracked by years of failure. The drug, from biotech company TauRx, did no better than a sugar pill at improving patients' scores on tests of cognitive and physical function.
Naloxone eases pain of heroin epidemic, but not without consequences | The New York Times
Every day across the country, hundreds, if not thousands, of people who overdose on opioids are being brought back to life with naloxone. Hailed as a miracle drug by many, it carries no health risk; it cannot be abused and, if given mistakenly, to someone who has not overdosed on opioids, does no harm.
Safety, quality and clinical practice
With reference pricing, patients spend less on diagnostic testing | ReutersWhen employers and insurers use reference pricing for diagnostic tests, the average price paid for those tests dips by almost a third, according to a new study.
The mall of the future will offer dinner, movies and a colonoscopy | Bloomberg.com
The Runway at Playa Vista in Los Angeles added common retail attractions like a Whole Foods and a movie theater. But a Cedars-Sinai Health System doctor's office is also slated to move in, offering cardiology and orthopedic outpatient services.