Information technology
Amid nation's opioid epidemic, UW Medicine uses telehealth to reach rural areas | Puget Sound Business JournalUW Medicine has launched a new telehealth program to assist rural healthcare providers in treating people with addictions. Originally launched in July, the free teleconference links healthcare workers in rural areas with UW Medicine psychiatrists.
Why not just test them? | The cHealth Blog
In a blog post, Partners Healthcare VP of Connected Health Dr. Joseph Kvedar advocates for providers to begin texting their patients to ensure they take their medications and follow treatment.
Telehealth monitoring decreases missed treatments in new dialysis patients | Nephrology News and Issues
A project, conducted by Renal Ventures Management, found telehealth was an effective strategy to treat patients who were undergoing hemodialysis, but engagement from patients with the technology was a bit low.
Medical devices and equipment
Teva says its hoping to launch EpiPen-like device by 2018 in U.S. | ReutersTeva Pharmaceutical Industries on Friday said it hopes to win U.S. approval by late 2017 or early 2018 for its version of Mylan's EpiPen device to treat severe allergic reactions, a move that could challenge the branded product's overwhelming dominance.
Pharmaceuticals
A push to lower drug prices that hit insurers and employers the hardest | The New York TimesInsurers and employers – who pay the bulk of the cost of drugs – say a big financial shock has come from a largely overlooked source: expensive anti-inflammatory medications like Humira and Enbrel, drugs taken by millions of people for conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. In recent years, the prices of the medications have doubled, making them the costliest drug class in the country by some calculations.
Consumer group questions role of drug costs in California premium hikes | Kaiser Health News
The advocacy group Consumers Union says two large Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers in the state may be exploiting the outrage over high drug prices to artificially inflate their premiums for individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
