July, 2024

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STAT+: Mount Sinai mounted aggressive campaign to stifle debate over revelations about its controversial brain research

STAT

Mount Sinai, a leading hospital network in New York City, has mounted an extraordinary behind-the-scenes campaign to blunt the fallout over revelations about its controversial research project in which brain biopsies are taken from patients undergoing deep brain stimulation, STAT has learned. That has included not only enlisting its own patients to defend the research but also seeking to stop a professional society of neurosurgeons from issuing a statement that could have jeopardized the researc

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Could pharma’s blockbuster immunotherapies work in dogs?

PharmaVoice

Vetigenics believes it’s found a way to make pricey antibody-based technologies more accessible for animals.

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Discovering My Path: My Journey as a Pharmacy Student at the University of Findlay

Pharmacy Is Right For Me

Hey there, future pharmacists! I’m Shelby, a student pharmacist at the University of Findlay (UF), and I’m here to share my journey with you. If you’re thinking about a career in pharmacy or just curious about what it’s like, you’re in the right place! Falling in Love with Findlay My adventure started the summer before my senior year of high school at Findlay’s Summer Pharmacy Camp.

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Study suggests targeting amyloid beta production could be promising in AD

Pharma Times

The neurodegenerative disease is currently the most common cause of dementia

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Navigating Payroll Compliance: Future-Proofing Payroll in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape

Speaker: Jennifer Hill

Payroll compliance is a cornerstone of business success, yet for small and midsize businesses, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of federal, state, and local regulations. Mistakes can lead to costly penalties and operational disruptions, making it essential to adopt advanced solutions that ensure accuracy and efficiency.

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Vision loss and high cholesterol identified as risk factors for dementia

STAT

Untreated vision loss and high LDL cholesterol have been added as two new potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia in a report released Wednesday by the Lancet Commission. These new additions join 12 other risk factors outlined by the commission, affiliated with University College London, in previous reports on dementia prevention, intervention, and care in 2017 and 2020.

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STAT+: In a big step for liquid biopsy, FDA approves a blood test for colorectal cancer

STAT

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a blood test intended to detect colon cancer, a product many experts hope will help catch cases of the disease early enough so that they can be more easily treated. The test, called Shield and made by Guardant Health, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based biotech firm, comes with a drawback: It is not as good as a colonoscopy and other tests at detecting precancerous or early stage cancers.

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Bird flu snapshot: Upstart manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to start early vaccine work

STAT

Bird flu snapshot: This is the latest installment in a series of regular updates on the H5N1 flu outbreak in dairy cows that STAT is publishing on Monday mornings. To read future updates, you can also subscribe to STAT’s Morning Rounds newsletter. A network of nascent vaccine manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries will soon start preliminary work to develop messenger RNA vaccines targeting the H5N1 bird flu virus, an effort that could speed production during a pandemic, should

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STAT+: How UnitedHealth harnesses its physician empire to squeeze profits out of patients

STAT

UnitedHealth Group started out as a small, Minnesota health insurance company and has since morphed into a modern-day Standard Oil, exerting unmatched dominance over health care in the United States. It’s no secret that UnitedHealth is a colossus: It’s the country’s largest health insurer and the fourth-largest company of any type by revenue, just behind Apple.

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STAT+: Express Scripts overcharged postal workers by $45 million, audit says

STAT

Express Scripts, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country, overcharged U.S. Postal Service employees by a whopping $45 million for their prescription drugs during a recent five-year period, according to a federal audit. The findings are likely to intensify scrutiny of the controversial role played by PBMs in the opaque pharmaceutical pricing system.

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Bird flu that infected 6 Colorado poultry workers is closely related to the virus in cows

STAT

Bird flu snapshot: This is the latest installment in a series of regular updates on H5N1 avian flu that STAT is publishing on Monday mornings. To read future updates, you can also subscribe to STAT’s Morning Rounds newsletter. Public health experts who’ve been following the surprising spillover of H5N1 bird flu into America’s dairy cattle herds now have all eyes on Colorado, waiting to see if a cluster of human cases there might balloon into something bigger.

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From Diagnosis to Delivery: How AI is Revolutionizing the Patient Experience

Speaker: Simran Kaur, Founder & CEO at Tattva Health Inc.

The healthcare landscape is being revolutionized by AI and cutting-edge digital technologies, reshaping how patients receive care and interact with providers. In this webinar led by Simran Kaur, we will explore how AI-driven solutions are enhancing patient communication, improving care quality, and empowering preventive and predictive medicine. You'll also learn how AI is streamlining healthcare processes, helping providers offer more efficient, personalized care and enabling faster, data-driven

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Vaccination slashes risk of long Covid, says large study tracing cases through Delta and Omicron variants

STAT

Vaccination lowers the chance of developing long Covid, according to a large new study that also found that the risk of serious complications has diminished but not disappeared as new coronavirus variants emerged. The study, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine , compared the health records of more than 440,000 Veterans Affairs patients who were infected with Covid-19 with records of more than 4 million uninfected people.

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As GLP-1 sales surge, insulin users fear Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly will move on without them

STAT

Around the world, patients suddenly can’t find enough of the insulins made by companies they have long relied on to do so. In the U.S., Novo Nordisk’s recent decision to discontinue a product has left patients with fewer options. At the same time, patients are encountering shortages of other products from Novo and Eli Lilly. For months, pharmacies have been running out of vials of certain insulins that patients use to fill the pumps they wear on their body.

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Wastewater surveillance group funded by Google founder, Bloomberg sheds dozens of testing sites

STAT

WastewaterSCAN, one of the United States’ largest private entities that provide real-time data on pathogens in wastewater, has stopped collecting data from 43 facilities due to “resource constraints,” according to emails the company sent to staff overseeing these sites. The group — based at Stanford University, in partnership with Emory University — had been collecting samples from 194 sites in 41 states and the District of Columbia, a swath including 39 millio

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At an Iowa county fair, a tradition carries on despite bird flu anxiety in the dairy barn

STAT

DECORAH, Iowa — It was livestock check-in day at the Winneshiek County Fair, and the dairy barn was consumed with a kind of pre-prom anxiety. A cow named Daiquiri was lumbering back from the milking parlor, adjusting to a new schedule that would have her “mammary system” bulging for showtime. Kennedy was getting a fresh shave, tufts of udder-fuzz drifting to the floor, revealing her resplendent venation.

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Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide

Managing HR tasks like payroll, compliance, and employee data can overwhelm small businesses. That’s where a Human Capital Management (HCM) solution comes in. Our eBook, Why Every Small Business Needs an HCM Solution: A Comprehensive Guide , shows how an HCM system automates tedious processes, ensuring your business stays compliant and efficient. You’ll learn how to simplify payroll, eliminate costly errors, and empower your employees with self-service tools.

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USDA maintains bird flu can be eliminated from dairy cows, even as doubts mount among experts

STAT

Facing increasing doubts that the U.S. can control the outbreak of avian influenza among dairy cattle, federal officials reiterated on Tuesday that they believe the country can still eliminate the H5N1 virus from dairy cows, even as it continues to spread to new herds. “All the signs that we have are, with good biosecurity, with good farmer participation, we will be able to eliminate this,” Eric Deeble, the acting senior adviser for the H5N1 response at the U.S.

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Opinion: Functional neurological disorder is not an appropriate diagnosis for people with long Covid

STAT

Long Covid — the name adopted for cases of prolonged symptoms after an acute bout of Covid-19 — is an umbrella diagnosis covering a broad range of clinical presentations and abnormal biological processes. Researchers haven’t yet identified a single or defining cause for some of the most debilitating symptoms associated with long Covid, which parallel those routinely seen in other post-acute infection syndromes.

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Bird flu snapshot: As the number of infected dairy herds mount, so too does pessimism about driving H5N1 out of cows

STAT

Bird flu snapshot: This is the latest installment in a series of regular updates on the H5N1 flu outbreak in dairy cows that STAT is publishing on Monday mornings. To read future updates, you can also subscribe to STAT’s Morning Rounds newsletter. There are more human cases of H5N1 bird flu infection, and another state has joined the list of those with infected dairy cow herds.

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STAT+: Jeff Shuren, medical devices head at FDA, to leave the agency

STAT

Jeffrey Shuren, longtime chief regulator of medical devices at the Food and Drug Administration, announced to staff on Tuesday that he is leaving the agency, according to six sources and an email reviewed by STAT. Shuren, who spent 28 years at the agency, started his FDA career in the Commissioner’s Office in 1998. He became director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health in 2009 and has served in that position ever since.

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Position Your Pharmacy for Expansion

Speaker: Chris Antypas and Josh Halladay

Access to limited distribution drugs and payer contracts are key to pharmacy expansion. But how do you prepare your operations to take the next step? Meaningful data: Collect and share clinical data regarding outcomes, utilization, and more Reporting: Limited distribution models require efficient tracking and reporting systems Workflows: Align workflows with specific pharma and payer contractual requirements For in-depth, expert insights on pharmacy expansion, watch this webinar from Inovalon.

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Alcohol is driving a half-dozen types of cancer in the U.S., study finds

STAT

Alcohol has long been classified as a cancer-causing substance, but a study out Thursday gives a clearer sense of just how many cancer cases and deaths may be driven by drinking.  Researchers from the American Cancer Society and International Agency for Research on Cancer estimate 40% of all cancer cases in the United States in people 30 and up were due to “potentially modifiable risk factors,” including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, consumption of processed meat, vi

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Opinion: Doctors ‘overprescribing’ opioids isn’t the cause of the overdose epidemic — and it never was

STAT

A key part of the federal government’s narrative about the epidemic of addiction and overdose deaths in the U.S. has been that it is driven by doctors and other clinicians overprescribing opioid painkillers. That story line is false — and was never true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has traditionally relied on death certificate data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics for its data on overdose deaths, organized as Underlying Cause of Death data us

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Opinion: Preparing schools for the H5N1 bird flu they’re likely to face

STAT

As Covid-19 swept across the United States, schools were among the most highly affected public spaces. To prepare for a potential H5N1 avian influenza jump to humans, schools need to be preparing for the scenario now before a sustained transmission event occurs. The response to Covid-19, which first appeared in the U.S. in early 2020, has been scrutinized by numerous case studies, after-action reports , and Congressional fact-finding hearings.

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Medicaid is paying millions for salty, fat-laden ‘medically tailored’ cheeseburgers and sandwiches

STAT

WASHINGTON – They’re marketed as healthy, “dietitian-approved” meals and delivered directly to the homes of people seriously ill from cancer, diabetes, or heart disease: a Jimmy Dean frozen sausage breakfast sandwich, biscuits and gravy, a cheeseburger. These are among the offerings sold by an Idaho-based company, Homestyle Direct, which is paid millions of dollars each year by taxpayer-funded state Medicaid programs to deliver what the company calls medically tailore

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Best Practices to Streamline Compensation Management: A Foundation for Growth

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

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STAT+: CVS and its PBM agree to pay $45 million to Illinois for failing to pass drug rebates

STAT

CVS Caremark, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country, agreed to pay at least $45 million to the state of Illinois to settle allegations that rebates were not passed through during a recent four-year period, according to a document obtained by STAT. At issue is a complicated, behind-the-scenes relationship between the PBM and several related entities — in particular, a so-called group purchasing organization — that allegedly obscured rebates paid by drug manufac

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The untold story of the Human Genome Project: How one man’s DNA became a pillar of genetics

STAT

STAT is co-publishing this investigation by Undark. They numbered 20 in all — 10 men and 10 women who came to a sprawling medical campus in downtown Buffalo, N.Y., to volunteer for what a news report had billed as “the world’s biggest science project.

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Opinion: To get a fair deal on Wegovy, buying Novo Nordisk might not be Medicare’s worst option

STAT

Medicare and Medicaid are facing a familiar quandary: how to provide coverage for new weight loss drugs with price tags that could effectively bankrupt the federal government’s health care budget while simultaneously ensuring continuous coverage for all other health care services used by millions of Americans. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in March 2024 that it would cover Wegovy (semaglutide), a new and expensive weight loss medication, for beneficiaries with c

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Could cow vaccines help halt the spread of bird flu in U.S. herds? Experts are divided

STAT

With the number of U.S. dairy herds infected with H5N1 bird flu rising almost daily, fears are growing that the dangerous virus cannot be driven out of this species. That belief is amplifying calls for the development of flu shots for cows. Multiple animal vaccine manufacturers are reportedly at work trying to develop such products. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is eagerly encouraging the effort, detailing in a notice last week what kinds of evidence would be needed to win licensing app

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Enhance Healthcare Efficiency With Top Payroll & HCM Services

Running a healthcare facility requires precision and care, not just for patients but also for your staff. Our guide, "A Buyer’s Guide to Payroll & HCM Services," helps healthcare providers choose the best provider. Efficient payroll management ensures timely, accurate payments, critical for maintaining staff morale and trust. Compliance support helps navigate complex healthcare regulations and avoid costly fines.

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Opinion: EcoHealth Alliance: Covid’s anti-science mob extracting its pound of flesh

STAT

Imagine this post-9/11 scenario: A New York City fire company is forced to shut down and lay off its firefighters because some Americans believe a bizarre conspiracy theory that this fire company brought down the World Trade Center towers. A Covid-19 version of this freakish tale is happening today. Instead of a fire company, the conspiracy gang is targeting an important, successful, decades-old nonprofit organization that researches viral epidemics and tries to predict and forestall future 

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STAT+: Troubled for-profit chains are stealthily operating dozens of psychiatric hospitals under nonprofits’ names

STAT

Come quickly, the Columbus Police sergeant urged, patients are in danger. The psychiatric hospital on the city’s east side may need to be shut down, he warned Ohio regulators. The officer, a 27-year veteran of the department, knew that sending the February letter was an unusual thing to do, but meetings with hospital leaders had gone nowhere, and he was at his wit’s end.

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New study sparks debate about whether H5N1 virus in cows is adapted to better infect humans

STAT

A study published Monday provides new evidence that the H5N1 virus currently causing an outbreak of bird flu in U.S. dairy cattle may be adapted to better infecting humans than other circulating strains of the virus, a result that is already courting controversy among the world’s leading flu researchers. Across the globe, different influenza viruses are constantly circulating in many different kinds of animals.

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STAT+: FTC report finds PBMs profit at the expense of patients and independent pharmacies

STAT

In stark terms, the Federal Trade Commission found in a report released Tuesday that pharmacy benefit managers — the opaque middlemen in the pharmaceutical supply chain — wield such “enormous power” that these companies can affect the ability of many Americans to access and afford their medicines. The agency noted that the three largest PBMs processed nearly 80% of the roughly 6.6 billion prescriptions dispensed by U.S. pharmacies in 2023.

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5 Reasons to Upgrade Your Pharmacy Management Software

Are you still using workarounds to manage your daily operations? To achieve peak performance, it's time to explore other options for specialty and infusion pharmacy software. Streamline pharmacy operations and improve clinical performance with automated processing, real-time data exchange, and electronic decision support. Download this helpful infographic to: Drive efficiency and patient adherence from referral receipt to delivery and ongoing care – all with our Pharmacy Cloud.