Pharmaceuticals
The pain refugees | Harper's
There is a difference between physician dependence and addiction, some argue, and that difference is key to understanding how opioids can be used safely.
CVS' Caremark customers now have a tool that makes it easier to find less expensive drugs | CNBC
The drugstore's new system will give pharmacists a tool to look for cheaper alternatives and discounts for patients.
Medical devices
Theranos lays off most of its remaining workforce | The Wall Street Journal
To try to stave off bankruptcy a bit longer, Theranos has laid off about 100 employees. About two dozen remain.
Information technology
HHS warns SamSam ransomware is still ravaging healthcare | Health Data Management
Hackers have staged at least eight cyberattacks on healthcare and government using SamSam, a malware that encrypts files and demands ransom in return for decryption.
In other news
Could artificial intelligence get depressed and have hallucinations? | Science
If we can learn about a depressed patient by studying AI algorithms, then does it follow that those algorithms themselves could get "depressed"? "If serotonin is helping solve a more general problem for intelligent systems, then machines might implement a similar function, and if serotonin goes wrong in humans, the equivalent in a machine could also go wrong," said a neuroscientist at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown.
