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Information technology

'It will help us with our product': Emails show how a billionaire's philanthropy boosted his business | STAT

For weeks, biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has been taking to social media to portray himself as a valiant warrior against cancer, unfairly maligned by the press.

Statistics show an increase in state telehealth policies | MedCity News

Since the American Telemedicine Association began reporting on state-by-state telehealth policies, the landscape has changed rapidly. "For the past four years, we've seen an increase in the number of bills introduced at the state level," says Latoya Thomas, director of the ATA's State Policy Resource Center.

Pharmaceuticals

Can we tax away the opioid crisis? | Kaiser Health News

California lawmakers this month will consider legislation that would impose a tax on prescription opioids such as OxyContin and Norco to raise money for addiction treatment and prevention programs.

Pharma companies are seeking a new treatment – for backlash against high drug prices | Market Watch

San Diego–based biotech Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. just got the first U.S. drug approved for adults with the neurological disorder tardive dyskinesia. But those with the disorder — involuntary body movements that are a side effect of antipsychotic medications — will have to wait to find out how much the drug will cost. And it's part of a larger trend among drug makers to tamp down backlash over high prices that could then hit their stock price.

Safety, quality and clinical practice

A transgender learning gap in the emergency room | The New York Times

As an emergency physician, I'm always engaging in a fast-tempo, often awkward, all too stressful dance with strangers. Lately, though, I've noticed a particular gap in my own medical education and training, as well as in that of my colleagues, that's further tripping up our steps: how to provide optimal health care for transgender patients.

Millions of Americans risk hearing loss from jobs and guns | Reuters

Many people are exposed to dangerously loud sounds at work and at play, and most of them don't wear ear plugs or take other steps to prevent hearing loss, a recent U.S. study suggests.