Choosing a provider is one of the most critical and often complex decisions individuals make about their or their family’s healthcare. Thanks to the Internet and unprecedented access to information, individuals can be much more informed when it comes to finding and choosing the right provider, but it can be overwhelming and inefficient to comb through online search results and […]
Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News As life-preserving medical technology advanced in the second half of the 20th century, doctors and families were faced with a thorny decision, one with weighty legal and moral implications: How should we define when life ends? Cardiopulmonary bypass machines could keep the blood pumping and ventilators could maintain breathing long after a patient’s natural ability […]
By GEORGE HALVORSON Former Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson has written on THCB on and off over the years, most notably with his proposal for Medicare Advantage for All post-COVID. He wrote a piece in Health Affairs last year arguing with the stance of Medicare Advantage of Don Berwick and Rick Gilfillan (Here’s their piece pt1, pt2). We also published his criticism (Part 1. Part 2. Part 3) of Medpac’s analysis of […]
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has landed its home health company. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Signify Health (NYSE: SGFY) for “a total transaction value of approximately $8 billion.” The health care giant’s interest in Signify had been widely reported leading up to the deal. Strategically, CVS believes that […]
CVS Health will acquire home health provider Signify Health for about $8 billion cash, the two companies announced Monday. Terms of the definitive agreement call for the healthcare giant to pay $30.50 a share for Signify Health, the nation’s largest home health risk assessment provider. Amazon, UnitedHealth Group and Option Care Health were also reportedly interested in Signify Health. Snapping up […]
As an immigrant child from a war-torn nation, medicine was not the path I would have chosen to contribute to social justice. During medical school, I realized that the science of medicine could change the course of pathologies that are inherited at least partly due to socioeconomic factors—and as a physician, I could right a wrong. When I began my […]
Persistent COVID-19 symptoms could be keeping millions of Americans out of the workforce. Economists and policymakers have struggled to figure out why a much lower percentage of working-age adults are in the labor force than before the pandemic. The number of Americans either employed or looking for work eclipsed its pre-pandemic level in August, according to Labor Department data released […]
Hospitals rely heavily on medical devices and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices to deliver high-quality patient care and improve outcomes. With an average of 10-15 medical devices per bed in a U.S. hospital, a 1,000-bed hospital could have up to 15,000 medical devices to manage. Unfortunately, with the proliferation of medical devices and IoMT comes an ever-increasing attack surface. Cyberattacks on […]
Pregnancy complications — such as preterm labor, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes — can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences for mothers and their newborns. However, only 20% of pregnancy complications can be identified by the standard risk assessment most OB/GYNs use, according to personalized pregnancy care startup Mirvie. Mirvie is working to solve that problem by developing diagnostic tools to […]
When I heard that my patient was back in the ICU, my heart sank. But I wasn’t surprised. Her paycheck usually runs short at the end of the month, so her insulin does too. As she stretches her supply, her blood sugar climbs. Soon the insatiable thirst and constant urination follow. And once her keto acids build up, her stomach […]