News from other sources

Regulation

America's unprecedented move to limit nicotine in cigarettes | Vox

The FDA wants to regulate how much nicotine cigarettes can contain, thereby making them less addictive.

Genetic tests ordered by doctors race to market, while 'direct-to-consumer' tests hinge on FDA approval | Stat

The FDA said 23andMe must get approval for its genetic tests, but other companies, like Color Genomics and Helix, are off the hook. That's because those companies technically provide the tests only after a doctor has ordered them—though the doctors' involvement in the process can be very hands-off.

Pharmaceuticals

Senators target 'gag clauses' that hide potential savings on prescriptions | The Hill

Currently, pharmacists at some pharmacies aren't allowed to tell customers that paying cash for prescriptions could be cheaper than going through insurance. They're bound by "gag clauses" in contracts with pharmacy benefit managers.

Medical devices

Parachute Health raises $5.5M to digitize 'archaic' medical equipment orders | Mobihealthnews

The New York-based startup wants to give health systems a digital way to order durable medical equipment, a process that's currently dependent on faxes.

In other news

What's behind many mystery ailments? Genetic mutations, study finds | The New York Times

Almost 4% of patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center had genetic variants connected to a disease, scientists found, drawing on data from Vanderbilt's EHR and DNA samples. That means that some cases of diseases thought to be nongenetic are actually caused by genetic mutations.