Bursting the Bubble of Over-Inflated U.S. Insulin Prices Still Leaves Behind a Very Broken U.S. Prescription Drug " Market "
This report pulls back the curtain on the drivers of spiking prices. It ' s a perfect example of why we ought to continue pushing for bipartisan legislation and oversight to address this problem. " " This investigation makes clear that consumers are the only ones losing out in America ' s broken drug pricing system, since every part of the pharmaceutical supply chain benefits from higher list prices. Insulin manufacturers lit the fuse on skyrocketing prices by matching each other ’s price increases step for step rather than competing to lower them, while PBM ' s, acting as middlemen for insurers, fanned the flames t...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 22, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2023 insulin prices PBM USC Source Type: blogs

Bardavon Health Innovations Offering First-of-its-Kind Safety Intelligence Suite to Protect the Labor Workforce
Bardavon has acquired the injury prevention company, Preventure, to expand its service line focused on personalized solutions that protect against musculoskeletal injuries Bardavon Health Innovations is furthering their mission of supporting the health and mobility of every worker – everywhere, by launching a complete Safety Intelligence Suite for employers and insurers. By expanding Bardavon’s continuum of care to cover injury prevention in the workplace, employers can now take advantage of a complete, end-to-end musculoskeletal solution. Over the last 10 years, an average of 30.1% of all injury types involving days...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 21, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT AI Artificial Intelligence Bardavon Bardavon Health Innovations Health IT Acquisitions Healthcare M&A Labor Workforce Matt Condon MSD Musculoskeletal Care Musculoskeletal Injuries Preventure Safe Source Type: blogs

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 25: The RFC, Continued
George Selgin(This is the second installment of a three-part essay. The first part ishere.)Big Engines that Couldn ' tAlthough Hoover ' s Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was " more largely a banker ' s loan bank than anything else " (Ebersole 1933, 477), financial institutions were never the only firms eligible for its support. Railroads were an important exception from the start, though they were so mainly because financial institutions, commercial banks, and insurance companies especially, were railroads ' main investors. Thanks to New York and other state regulatory authorities ' inclusion of many railroad bond...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - March 20, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: George Selgin Source Type: blogs

Bonus Features – March 19, 2023 – Info for 81% of physicians is inconsistent in major health plan provider directories, 48% of health systems using AI for workforce management, and more
This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job. News and Research A paper from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and HiLabs found inconsistencies for 81% of physicians examined across 5 large national health insurers. Along with the challenge of inaccuracy, resea...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 19, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: AI/Machine Learning Ambulatory Analytics/Big Data Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System ADP Amazon AWS Avaneer Health Basset Healthcare Network Brightside Health Bristol Advanced Illness Management Caribou REward Source Type: blogs

Podcast Episode Recommendation: Our Curious Amalgam Podcast Episode 212
 My followers may be forgiven for their lack of awareness, but on October 23, 2022, the man who lead the PBM known as Express Scripts (owned by commercial healthcare insurance company Cigna since 2018) named George Paz died at relatively young age of 67. Mr. Paz began at Express Scripts in 1998 as CFO. By 2003, he was president and by 2005, CEO. Paz retired as CEO in 2016, although he remained chairman until Express Scripts was acquired by Cigna in December 2018. The local newspaper, theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch published his obituaryHERE). While he was an admired business leader in St. Louis, one of the things his comp...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 16, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2023 episode Express Scripts George Paz PBM podcast USC Source Type: blogs

How to Improve Customer Experience in Healthcare with AI
Conclusion The healthcare industry is based on the fundamental assumption that all humans are entitled to medical care. However, your business still needs to operate efficiently and cost-effectively. The advancement of AI and machine learning give healthcare organizations the potential to modernize in ways that drive business efficiency, with a human touch. Exceptional customer experience has become a key competitive advantage in healthcare that can greatly benefit from the adoption of AI/ML. Healthcare organizations should act quickly to enhance the customer journey with AI. This article explores certain challenges faced ...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 16, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration AI/Machine Learning Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System AI Use Cases Artificial Intelligence customer experience Customer Experience Challenges Customer Experienc Source Type: blogs

The Insulin-PBM Rebate Kickback Scheme Appears to Coming to an End
Last year, on March 3, 2022, in what I believe was a fantastic accomplishment relatively early in Aaron Kowalski ' s tenure as CEO, the JDRF and Civica, Inc. (via the company ' s CivicaScript operating unit) jointly announced Civica ' s intention to commercialize biosimilars of the three bestselling insulin analogues at an affordable price of $30/vial or $55/box of five insulin pens. The Civica press release can be seen athttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220303005321/en/Civica-to-Manufacture-and-Distribute-Affordable-Insulin/ and a concurrent press release from JDRF can be seen athttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 14, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Eli Lilly and Company 2023 Civica CivicaRx CivicaScript drug prices FTC insulin insulin prices JDRF Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk Pharma Source Type: blogs

The Insulin-PBM Rebate Kickback Scheme Appears to Be Coming to an End
Last year, on March 3, 2022, in what I believe was a fantastic accomplishment relatively early in Aaron Kowalski ' s tenure as CEO, the JDRF and Civica, Inc. (via the company ' s CivicaScript operating unit) jointly announced Civica ' s intention to commercialize biosimilars of the three bestselling insulin analogues at an affordable price of $30/vial or $55/box of five insulin pens. The Civica press release can be seen athttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220303005321/en/Civica-to-Manufacture-and-Distribute-Affordable-Insulin/ and a concurrent press release from JDRF can be seen athttps://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 14, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Eli Lilly and Company 2023 Civica CivicaRx CivicaScript drug prices FTC insulin insulin prices JDRF Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk Pharma Source Type: blogs

Technology of Digitized Patient Intake Forms
This article has shown the techniques used by one company to make it simple. (Source: EMR and HIPAA)
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 14, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andy Oram Tags: Administration Ambulatory Communication and Patient Experience EMR-EHR Health IT Company Healthcare IT Cam Holt Forms Healthcare APIs Healthcare Forms Healthcare Intake Healthcare Waiting Room Patient Intake patient registration Source Type: blogs

Podcast Episode Recommendation: Politico Pulse Check, Episode 398
My followers may recall that I have previously shared a particular podcast (the episode I sharedhttps://blog.sstrumello.com/2023/01/podcast-episode-recommendation-politico.html was about Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company), specifically a podcast known as Politico Pulse Check. For a quick refresher, Politico describes its Pulse Check podcast this way: " Politico Pulse Check delivers the latest news in healthcare with sharp policy analysis and a dose of real-world perspective " . In other words, " Pulse Check " is about healthcare and healthcare policy emanating from Washington, DC.Anyway, on February 23, 2023, Politico Puls...
Source: Scott's Web Log - March 13, 2023 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2023 Congress PBM ' Pharmacy Benefit Managers politico rebate reform Source Type: blogs

Why we don't get what we pay for
Before I take up the subject of this post, a note about commenting. I wish I could publish more comments but most of them are ridiculous or off topic. For example, I wrote a post about Kanye West. He was the subject of the post. It was about him. And I get a comment to the effect of Why won ' t I talk about Black antisemitism? WTF? I post about the high cost of health care in the U.S. and I get a comment about total federal revenues and the federal budget deficit. BTW, obviously federal revenues will generally increase over time because the economy and the population grow. Also you have to adjust for inflation. But that ' ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - March 10, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs

Mental Health and Wellbeing Platform, Spectrum.Life Raises a Further €5 million
Spectrum.Life, a leading provider of mental health and wellbeing services for insurers, employers, employees, and students is pleased to announce the successful completion of a €5 million raise, resulting in a total of €9 million raised for the company. The round, again led by Act Venture Capital, included strong participation from existing and new investors. This investment comes at a time when alternative and new approaches to mental health provision are of critical importance as traditional channels are increasingly overburdened and waiting lists in the sector continue to grow. Spectrum.Life has set itself apart fro...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 27, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT ACT ACT Venture Capital Clinical Efficacy Debbie Rennick Digital Health EAP Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Holistic Care mental health Mental Wellbeing Spectrum.Life Source Type: blogs

Last in Line: Hospitals Brace for a Chilly 2023
BY JEFF GOLDSMITH As they emerge from the COVID pandemic, US hospitals have a terrible case of Long COVID.  They experienced the worst financial performance in 2022 in this analyst’s 47 year memory.  As the nation recovers from the worst inflation in forty years, hospitals will find themselves locked in conflict with health insurers over contract renewals that would reset their rates to the actual delivered cost of care.  “Last in line” in the US battle with inflation, hospitals will be exposed to public criticism when they attempt to recover from pandemic-induced financial losses.  Hospital payment rates f...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 23, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy The Business of Health Care Clinician Shortage COVID-19 Inflation Jeff Goldsmith Long Covid National Health Service Source Type: blogs

AIOps Improving Service Assurance for the Healthcare Industry
The following is a guest article by Chris Menier, President of VIA AIOPS at Vitria Technology. For healthcare providers and payers, improving the experience of members and patients requires replacing disconnected legacy systems with agile infrastructure and applications. Clinicians, technicians, and administrators can be more efficient and effective. Digital transformation of systems and platforms is changing the way hospitals and clinics are serving patients and the way insurers are acquiring and servicing members. Cloud and 5G is the powerful business platform for digital transformation and critical to adopting new techn...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 23, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: AI/Machine Learning Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops 5G AIOps Artificial Intelligence Augmented Reality Chris Menier Dan Schneider DevOps Digital Transformation Healthcare Sce Source Type: blogs

AIOps Improving Service Assurance for the Healthcare Industry
The following is a guest article by Chris Menier, President of VIA AIOPS at Vitria Technology. For healthcare providers and payers, improving the experience of members and patients requires replacing disconnected legacy systems with agile infrastructure and applications. Clinicians, technicians, and administrators can be more efficient and effective. Digital transformation of systems and platforms is changing the way hospitals and clinics are serving patients and the way insurers are acquiring and servicing members. Cloud and 5G is the powerful business platform for digital transformation and critical to adopting new techn...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 21, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: AI/Machine Learning Health IT Company Healthcare IT Hospital - Health System IT Infrastructure and Dev Ops 5G AIOps Artificial Intelligence Augmented Reality Chris Menier Dan Schneider DevOps Digital Transformation Healthcare Sce Source Type: blogs