Information technology
California Prison Record System Cost Doubles to $386 Millions | Associated PressA massive project to modernize medical record-keeping for California prison inmates has more than doubled in cost from original estimates to nearly $400 million in just three years, the latest in a long string of computer projects that have befuddled state government.
Silver Linings: Remote rehab -- Telehealth helps seniors recover in rural areas | New Hampshire Union Leader
Whether it be a stroke or cardiac issues or a hip replacement, seniors find themselves often in the care of an occupational or physical therapist. In a state that is rapidly aging and where two-thirds of its residents are living in rural areas, it would seem tele-rehabilitation and other forms of telemedicine would be welcomed.
Medical devices and equipment
Under Trump, Congress likely to pull plug on medical device tax | ReutersWhen Donald Trump takes over as president on Jan. 20, one of the first business tax breaks he delivers is likely to go to the U.S. medical device industry.
Pharmaceuticals
Is Kratom a Deadly Drug or a Life-Saving Medicine? | Bloomberg BusinessweekAdvocates believe the powder helps people kick opioids without risk of addiction. When the DEA tried to criminalize it, they fought back.
Wary Drug Makers Move to Fend Off Further Attacks Under Donald Trump | The New York Times
Many drug makers have already been taking steps in recent weeks to insulate themselves from future attacks. Some have pledged to limit price increases. Others offered plain-spoken critiques of drug pricing. And the industry's two main lobbying groups have pushed ahead with major campaigns intended to win back the narrative.
Physicians
Price Poised To Protect Doctors' Interests At HHS | Kaiser Health NewsIn picking Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services, Donald Trump has chosen an orthopedic surgeon who in his congressional career, has loyally promoted the interests of the medical profession — its freedom and importantly, its financial interests.
Safety, quality and clinical practice
San Antonio became a national leader in mental health care by working together as a community | The Boston GlobeOver the past decade and a half, San Antonio community leaders, government officials, law enforcement, judges, medical institutions, and the county mental health authority have made tremendous strides together in identifying and treating people with mental illness.
Time-Travel Therapy | The Atlantic
Recently, the George G. Glenner Alzheimer's Family Care Centers, a San Diego nonprofit that operates three such facilities, has begun to create a very different sort of daytime space for its patients: a faux town of 24 buildings, arranged around a central green and designed to evoke the era when most of today's dementia patients were young adults. The hope is that visual reminders of their youth will spark memories and conversation.
