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Information technology

A lack of healthcare in rural Nebraska is prompting a new push by lawmakers to expand telehealth services. Two bills introduced last week would encourage more providers to adopt the technology, which allows doctors and patients to connect remotely through the internet or by phone.

Medical devices and equipment

The Arizona attorney general is prepping for a lawsuit against Theranos, alleging consumer fraud by the embattled blood-testing startup. The office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is looking to hire an outside firm to take legal action against Theranos and its subsidiaries according to a bidding contract filed Jan. 4.

Pharmaceuticals

Investors in large U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech companies are counting on strong dividends, reasonable stock valuations and new products to help ride out a storm of political uncertainty as the incoming Trump administration dives into healthcare policy.

Cory Booker gets heat for opposing drug imports from Canada | STAT

Cory Booker, the New Jersey Senator assumed to be angling for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, found himself in trouble with progressives Thursday after he voted against a measure to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada.

Safety, quality and clinical practice

As lawmakers prepare for a showdown over health insurance legislation, a new report finds that for rural Americans, a lack of coverage is just one of many reasons they are more vulnerable to early death than their urban counterparts.

A Nevada woman dies of a superbug resistant to every available antibiotic in the U.S. | STAT

Public health officials from Nevada are reporting on a case of a woman who died in Reno in September from an incurable infection. Testing showed the superbug that had spread throughout her system could fend off 26 different antibiotics.