OSF Ventures’ new leader will focus investments on alternative care modalities, workforce retention – MedCity News

OSF Ventures’ new leader will focus investments on alternative care modalities, workforce retention – MedCity News

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare was among the first U.S. health systems to establish a dedicated venture capital investment arm, along with Ascension, Kaiser Permanente and Providence. Since its founding in 2015, OSF Ventures has invested in 28 startups, nine of which have successfully exited. Last week, the investment arm gained a new leader. Mayank Taneja became the health system’s vice […]

Court slashes punitive damages in Epic-Tata trade secrets suit

Court slashes punitive damages in Epic-Tata trade secrets suit

A federal district court has further reduced the punitive damages owed Epic Systems in a long-running trade secrets dispute, to $140 million. The court order filed Friday marks the latest chapter in the electronic health records vendor’s legal fight against India-based information-technology services and consulting firm Tata Consultancy Services. In 2016, a jury awarded Epic Systems $940 million, but subsequent […]

Emails show White House intended to nominate anti-abortion judicial candidate on day of SCOTUS ruling

Emails show White House intended to nominate anti-abortion judicial candidate on day of SCOTUS ruling

Emails between the White House and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) office show that President Biden intended to nominate an anti-abortion candidate for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on June 24 — the same day the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision.  The nomination of Chad Meredith to the U.S. District Court for […]

Too Many Pets, Not Enough Vets

Too Many Pets, Not Enough Vets

When Michelle Stokes noticed a necrotic wound on her cat, Jellyfish, last July, she and her husband had to call about 50 vets before finding one that could squeeze them in. The local emergency animal hospital was so backed up that it said the wound—serious but not yet life-threatening—wasn’t really an emergency. Jellyfish didn’t have a regular vet, because Stokes […]

Ransomware attack at payment vendor affects 600 providers

Ransomware attack at payment vendor affects 600 providers

A ransomware attack at Professional Finance Company may have exposed data from patients at about 600 healthcare providers. Greeley, Colorado-based PFC, an accounts receivable management company, discovered the ransomware attack in February, after an unauthorized user accessed and disabled some of the company’s computer systems. PFC disconnected the affected systems and has worked with third-party forensic specialists to investigate the […]

SSM Health acquires academic medical group, deepening ties to St. Louis University

SSM Health acquires academic medical group, deepening ties to St. Louis University

Dive Brief: SSM Health, one of the largest Catholic health systems, has acquired SLUCare Physician Group, the academic medical practice of St. Louis University. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the deal, SSM Health said it will make a “significant investment” in St. Louis University School of Medicine to expand clinical research, medical training and […]

Democratic drug pricing bill removes insulin cost cap amid bipartisan push

Democratic drug pricing bill removes insulin cost cap amid bipartisan push

Senate Democrats’ latest bill to lower prescription drug prices removes a provision to cap patients’ insulin costs at $35 per month, legislation that comes amid a push for a separate bipartisan bill on insulin.   Capping out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month has been a high-profile selling point for Democrats’ economic package and has been touted by President Biden, so […]

Point-of-Care Ultrasound? How Butterfly Network’s Hand-Held Devices Make Scans On-Demand Diagnostics

Point-of-Care Ultrasound? How Butterfly Network’s Hand-Held Devices Make Scans On-Demand Diagnostics

Health Tech BY JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH Butterfly Network (NYSE: $BFLY) is working to make its pocket-sized, smartphone-directed ultrasound as “ubiquitous as the stethoscope” – hoping to give docs and nurses at the point-of-care the ability to easily perform any type of scan and instantly see the results. Dr. John Martin, Butterfly’s Chief Medical Officer, talks us through the technology […]

Widely used hospital gowns show signs of exposing workers to infection

Widely used hospital gowns show signs of exposing workers to infection

Disposable gowns designed to deflect the splatter of bodily fluids, used in thousands of U.S. hospitals, have underperformed in recent and ongoing laboratory tests and may fall short of safety standards, leaving healthcare workers with a greater risk of infection than advertised. A peer-reviewed academic study, published to little notice amid the coronavirus pandemic, found that isolation gowns commonly worn […]

‘Phantom’ provider lists limit Medicaid mental health care access, study finds

‘Phantom’ provider lists limit Medicaid mental health care access, study finds

Dive Brief: Researchers found significant discrepancies between provider directories and the actual availability of providers in a large study examining access to mental health services among Medicaid recipients in Oregon. Directories full of “phantom” providers may prevent patients from obtaining necessary mental health care in a timely manner, the study authors said. The inaccurate listings may be especially harmful for […]