Tuesday report

David Ermer–Agentic & Generative AI, CDC, CMS, Congress, FDA, Federal employment benefits, Medical / Rx research, Medicare, Mental health care, No Surprises Act, OPM, U.S. Healthcare–

Simplicity is a virtue.

From Washington, DC,

  • The American Hospital Association News reports,
    • “The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing Sept. 15 to discuss more than a dozen legislative proposals regarding Medicare provider payment and healthcare cybersecurity. The AHA provided comments to the subcommittee on bills designed to improve long-term physician payments, including proposals to increase the budget neutrality threshold in the Medicare physician fee schedule and a bill to replace the Merit-based Incentive Payment System with the Data-driven Performance Payment System. The AHA also commented on bills to provide grants for the adoption of cybersecurity best practices, direct the Department of Health and Human Services to create a strategy for rural hospital cybersecurity staff training, and improve obstetric emergency preparedness in rural healthcare settings.” 
       
  • MedPage Today relates,
    • “Chris Klomp, President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy HHS secretary, declared his support for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday, but that wasn’t good enough for one of the Democratic senators on the committee.
    • “Klomp, who currently serves as HHS chief counselor, told Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committee’s ranking member, that “Unquestionably, the MMR vaccine is the single most effective public health tool that we have against measles. It’s 97% effective after two doses [in] preventing transmission, and this is the single best thing that we can do to eradicate” the disease, Klomp said.
    • Chris Klomp, President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy HHS secretary, declared his support for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearingopens in a new tab or windowTuesday, but that wasn’t good enough for one of the Democratic senators on the committee.
    • Klomp, who currently serves as HHS chief counselor, told Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the committee’s ranking member, that “Unquestionably, the MMR vaccine is the single most effective public health tool that we have against measles. It’s 97% effective after two doses [in] preventing transmission, and this is the single best thing that we can do to eradicate” the disease, Klomp said.
    • “Committee chairman Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) took the opposite view. “You have met all of the requirements and standards of this committee in vetting a nominee, and you are completely and well qualified to be deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services,” he told Klomp.” 
  • The Wall Street Journal adds,
    • “Pennsylvania health officials announced Tuesday a fourth measles-associated death, the latest fatality in the commonwealth where recently reported deaths from the vaccine-preventable disease have inflamed politics at the local and national level.
    • “The death follows those of two infants in the state’s Lancaster County in mid-August amid a growing measles outbreak. The state health department’s classification of those deaths spurred a highly politicized debate over vaccinations and sparring between the state’s Democratic governor and the nation’s health secretary.
    • “Over the weekend, a coroner in Pennsylvania’s Jefferson County said a 40-year-old woman there died from complications from measles. The Mifflin County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday said an 18-year-old resident died due to a rare neurological complication from measles. The state health department said it worked with local coroners’ offices to determine both individuals tested positive for measles and the deaths didn’t result from an unrelated cause.
    • “That’s four total measles-associated deaths in our Commonwealth and the first Pennsylvania has seen in 35 years,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapirosaid in a post on social media Tuesday. “These are tragedies, and four families are grieving.”
  • Per a U.S. Census Bureau news release,
    • “The U.S. Census Bureau today announced that real median household income was $87,460 in 2025, the highest on record dating back to 1967.
    • “The official poverty rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 10.2% in 2025. The following 2025 findings were not statistically different from 2024: the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rate in 2025 was 13.1% and in 2025, 26.7 million people (7.9%) were uninsured for the entire year, according to the 2026 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC).
    • ‘These findings come from three Census Bureau reports, “Income in the United States: 2025,” “Poverty in the United States: 2025” and “Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2025.”
  • Beckers Hospital Review tells us,
    • CMS will add four condition tracks to its Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions (ACCESS) model starting in spring 2027, the agency said in a Sept. 15 news release.  
    • Four things to know: 
      • “The expansion adds heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, substance use disorders and tobacco cessation to the model. CMS will also expand support for chronic musculoskeletal pain, extending coverage for certain conditions beyond the model’s initial 12-month care period.
      • “The model already covers hypertension, diabetes, chronic musculoskeletal pain and depression. CMS says 3 out of 4 Medicare beneficiaries qualify for at least one track.
      • “The ACCESS model ties Medicare payments to measurable improvements in patient health rather than paying solely for individual services. Participating organizations can offer virtual care, health coaching, remote monitoring, and connected devices and wearables between regular doctor visits.
      • “There are currently 160 organizations participating in the ACCESS model, and CMS said Medicare will continue to add to the list throughout the model’s 10-year run. The model supports those with traditional Medicare. Medicare Advantage enrollees are not eligible, but CMS said MA plans may offer similar programs.”

From the U.S. Office of Personnel Management front,

  • OPM included the following additions in today’s Federal Register.
    • Rules
      • Reduction in Force; Correction
      • Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions
    • Proposed Rules
      • Promoting Employee Accountability
  • Federal News Network reports,
    • “The fewest number of federal employees submitted their retirement papers in August as compared to the rest of 2026. The Office of Personnel Managements says it received only 7,618 retirement claims last month. This is down from more than 10,000 claims OPM received in July. Additionally, OPM’s backlog of retirement claims is at the lowest of the year at just over 15,400. The average number of days to process a claim for August also dropped considerably: to 70 days for a digital claim, down from 98 days the month before, and to 79 days for all claims, down from 109 days in July. (Federal retirement claims down, as the backlog hit lows for 2026 – OPM)”
  • Kevin Moss, writing in Federal News Network, discusses
    • “Healthcare affordability series part 8: Enrollment flexibility for two-person families can lead to premium savings.”
      • “Most of the time, self-plus-one is cheaper, but there are plans where you’ll save more enrolling as self & family.”
  • Govexec relates,
    • “More ‘Big Balls’-type young feds are what the OPM chief wants 
      • “In an interview on Monday, Scott Kupor also discussed implementing skills-based hiring, which had been a priority of the Biden administration as well.”

From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration front,

  • STAT News relates,
    • “The Food and Drug Administration is opening applications for a pilot program designed to shorten the amount of time it takes for drugmakers to begin testing their products in humans, the agency announced Tuesday. 
    • “The pilot was first announced in June as part of Operation TrialBlazer, the Department of Health and Human Services initiative that pledged to shorten the FDA’s drug approval timelines and help the U.S. compete with the rapidly accelerating biotechnology industries in countries like China and Australia.
    • “Too often, the U.S. pathway can be measured in years, while other countries’ pathways are measured in months,” the department wrote in the TrialBlazer roadmap.”
  • and
    • “Vera Therapeutics said Tuesday that its recently approved drug Trutakna stabilized kidney function and reduced the risk of kidney-related death and other complications in patients with a chronic autoimmune kidney disease, according to final, two-year results from a Phase 3 clinical trial. 
    • “In July, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Trutakna for the treatment of IgA nephropathy, or IgAN, a disease caused by the buildup of immune antibodies in the kidneys. The condition leads to progressive loss of kidney function and potentially organ failure requiring dialysis.
    • “With the final data from the study in hand, Vera said it will seek full approval of the drug from the FDA during the fourth quarter.”
  • Cardiovascular Business tells us,
    • “XCath Robotics has received the FDA’s breakthrough device designation for its Iris surgical robotic system that performs remote robotic-assisted mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke patients.
    • “This represents a significant step forward for the Houston-based medtech company. The FDA’s breakthrough devices drogram helps support the development of medical devices that have the potential to provide more effective treatment for patients with life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating conditions. This provides XCath Robotics with more opportunities to interact with FDA experts and receive support as the company works toward U.S. regulatory approval for the Iris system.
    • “Back in March, the Iris system was used to complete the world’s first telerobotic stroke thrombectomy. Neurosurgeon Vitor Mendes Pereira, MD, chair of advanced neurovascular interventions at the University of Toronto, used the system to perform the historic procedure in Santiago, Panama, while the patient was 120 miles away in Panama City.”

No Surprises Act News

  • The FEHBlog did receive his CMS invitation to join its Independent Dispute Resolution Gateway this morning, and the FEHBlog promptly took CMS up on its offer. The process went smoothly.
  • The Paragon Institute September 15, 2026, Newletter’s kicks off with an article about “Fixing the No Surprises Act’s Broken Arbitration System.”
    • “Congress already required much of this transparency through the NSA’s Advanced Explanation of Benefits provisions, but those requirements have yet to be fully implemented. The administration should finish that work. Once patients have meaningful advance information about networks and prices, there is no justification for a federal arbitration system setting payments for elective care.
    • “For emergency services, a different approach is needed, and Congress has two reasonable options. It could eliminate federal IDR entirely while maintaining the prohibition on balance billing, leaving insurers and providers to settle payment disputes through private arbitration, litigation, or state law.
    • “Alternatively, Congress could retain IDR solely for emergency services but impose meaningful guardrails. Awards should have a reasonable upper limit so arbitration does not continue producing payments wildly disconnected from market prices. Congress should also reform how arbitrators are paid, and if an upper limit is implemented, insurers should face penalties when they fail to pay awards on time.
    • “The administration can make additional improvements now: require arbitrators to explain their decisions, audit firms with unusually high provider win rates or awards, strengthen eligibility reviews, improve arbitrator training, prohibit conflicts of interest and forum shopping, and restore a meaningful filing fee.
    • “The No Surprises Act solved a real problem by protecting patients from bills they could neither anticipate nor avoid. Those protections should remain. But protecting patients from surprise bills does not require a federal arbitration system that rewards providers for staying out of network and raises health care costs for everyone.”

From the fraud, waste, and abuse front,

  • Healthcare Dive reports,
    • “The federal government is once again targeting fraud in durable medical equipment suppliers, publishing a report Monday through the HHS’ Office of the Inspector General that urges regulators to crack down on suspect billing in Medicare Advantage.
    • “The OIG found that, in addition to other issues, MA organizations don’t screen for fraudulent medical equipment suppliers as often when they’re out of network, compared to in-network suppliers.
    • “MA organizations should tighten the screening process for suppliers and the CMS should use its fraud prevention tool more regularly, the OIG said.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

  • The American Hospital Association News reports,
    • “In recognition of Suicide Prevention Month, Susan Szulewski, M.D., president and chief operating officer, McLean Hospital and vice president, Mass General Brigham Behavioral and Mental Health, wrote on the importance of healthcare organizations working to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and create a supportive environment with timely access to care and a clear path forward. READ MORE“
  • Per a CDC news release,
    • “Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ad Council are launching a new round of public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging people to understand their risk of prediabetes and take action to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
    • “Now in its 10th year, the national “Do I Have Prediabetes?” campaign encourages viewers to take a 1-minute prediabetes risk test on DoIHavePrediabetes.org. This year’s “Undo It” PSAs spotlight that while there are many scenarios in life we can’t undo, prediabetes is something that can be reversed. 
    • “Prediabetes is a serious health condition that increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. Because prediabetes often has no symptoms, many people do not know they have it. Research shows that early diagnosis can inspire individuals to adopt healthier habits, including eating better, being active and managing weight, that can reverse prediabetes and delay or prevent type 2 diabetes.
    • ‘If someone receives a high score on the risk test, that person is encouraged to speak to a doctor to confirm a diagnosis of prediabetes with a blood test, then enroll in the National Diabetes Prevention Program.” 
  • Healio tells us,
    • “Development of alcohol use disorder, depression or stress after a traumatic event was a strong predictor of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events for both men and women, researchers reported.
    • “Evaluation of psychiatric predictors of major adverse events may be an important step in the prediction of CV risk after a traumatic event, according to data published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
    • “Experiencing traumatic events can have long-lasting consequences for mental health that can take many forms, but research to date had yet to comprehensively consider these. Indeed, nearly all work on trauma and CVD had focused on PTSD and other stress-related disorders — the quintessential trauma-related mental health disorders — but depression, anxiety and substance use disorders are also common following trauma and are relevant to cardiovascular disease risk,” Jennifer A. Sumner, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Healio. “We wanted to comprehensively investigate different posttraumatic mental health conditions as possible predictors of CVD onset. Also, given sex differences in both posttraumatic psychopathology and CVD, we examined whether links between various psychiatric disorders following trauma and CVD might differ for men vs. women.”
  • Health Day informs us
    • “New research suggests that the blood pressure and heart rate guidelines doctors use to guide emergency treatment in children are misleading in cases of traumatic injury. 
    • “These thresholds for “hemodynamic instability” — the inability of the circulatory system to get blood to organs — may be different for children with traumatic injuries versus healthy children, researchers wrote Sept. 9 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
    • “Recognizing hemodynamic instability is fundamental in trauma care because these vital signs tell us when a child may be at increased risk of death or complications and when we may need to intervene,” explained study senior author Dr. Zain Hashmi. He’s an assistant professor of trauma and acute care surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
    • “Blood pressure and heart rate guidelines are often used by doctors to decide when to start resuscitation treatments, including blood transfusions, Hashmi said in a news release. However, the values used in children were not developed specifically for trauma patients and may not accurately reflect when the risk of death begins to rise in injured children, he added.” 
  • Medscape points out,
    • “A new international consensus statement providing evidence-based guidance on smoking cessation for people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been issued by a multidisciplinary international panel called the DiaSmokeFree Working Group. 
    • “The central message “is that smoking cessation needs to be treated as an integral part of diabetes management rather than as generic lifestyle advice,” statement co-author Riccardo Polosa, MD, PhD, professor of internal medicine at the University of Catania in Catania, Italy, told Medscape Medical News.
    • “There is evidence that this is under-prioritized in diabetes care,” he added. “Clinicians understandably focus on glucose, blood pressure, lipids, and medications, while smoking may receive only brief and mostly ineffective advice.”
  • Today’s issue of NIH’s Research Matters covers the following topics:
    • “Depression may stall development of new neurons 
      • “Researchers found that a part of the brain important for memory struggles to make new neurons in people with depression.
      • “The study sheds light on how the brain is altered in depression and suggests new treatment targets.”
    • GLP-1 drug slows aging in mice 
      • A GLP-1 drug extended lifespan and prevented age-related decline in older female mice.
      • Understanding how calorie restriction and GLP-1 drugs slow aging could lead to new ways to treat age-related diseases.
    • Antibodies may prevent tick-related syndrome 
      • “Researchers identified rare antibodies that may help combat alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that causes allergic reactions to red meat and dairy products.
      • “With further development, the finding could lead to treatments for this tick-related allergic condition.”

From the U.S. healthcare business and artificial intelligence front,

  • Beckers Payer Issues reports,
    • “Aetna’s two-year financial turnaround has taken hold following a leadership overhaul, thousands of ongoing cost management initiatives and a margin recovery plan expected to complete by 2027.
    • “Once you get the fundamentals in place, you start getting credibility, not only with investors, but internally with our employees, and then, in particular, with our members,” Aetna President Steve Nelson said Sept. 9 at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference. “We can be a little more disruptive and innovative. Aetna has a legacy of being innovative in terms of product and clinical programs, and we are getting back to that.”
    • “The insurer has spent the past two years in recovery mode after a period of financial turmoil driven by Medicare Advantage cost pressures, previously unfavorable star ratings and major losses in the ACA business, which it exited for 2026. Mr. Nelson, who also serves as executive vice president at CVS Health, was tapped to lead the insurer in late 2024.”
  • and 
    • “Health Care Service Corp. has completed the rebranding of its Medicare supplement and supplemental health and life products under the HealthSpring name.
    • “The move finishes a transition that began last year, when HCSC shifted the Medicare Advantage and Part D business it acquired from Cigna for $3.3 billion to the HealthSpring brand. 
    • “HealthSpring has more than 3 million members. HCSC said it is the second-largest Medicare supplement carrier by policyholders, with plans available in 48 states and Washington, D.C. Its supplemental health and life products, which include hospital indemnity and dental, vision and hearing benefits, are offered in 49 markets and D.C.”
  • and
    • “The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has tapped Daniel Serrano to serve as CFO.
    • “The president and CEO of the BCBS Association, Kim Keck, announced the update Sept. 14 on LinkedIn. 
    • “With critical capabilities for this moment, including a practitioner’s orientation to data-driven financial management and a strong track record of aligning financial performance with operational outcomes, Dan is a great fit for our organization,” she said.”
  • Fierce Healthcare adds,
    • “Member trust in insurers is on the decline among Gen Z and Millennials, down 10.5% between 2023 and 2026, new research from Accenture found.
    • “This trust gap, according to analysts, could cost $3 billion in future member lifetime value for the largest commercial payers over the next decade. 
    • “When members don’t trust their health plan, they don’t just disengage; they route around it,” said Bracken Flynn, Accenture’s Health industry principal director, in a statement. “Our data shows that younger consumers aren’t asking for less from their insurer. They want more. They’re looking for a partner that helps them navigate care, understand costs, and make confident decisions. The insurers that earn that trust now will define what health coverage means for the next generation.”
    • “During a Sept. 14 AHIP webinar, Flynn said the report—which polled 1,200 consumers—found members trust insurers when they believe the health plan will help them make good healthcare decisions and navigate them to the best care.
    • “That’s across clinical and administrative touchpoints,” Flynn said. “And so it’s a partnership. In practice, it’s a partnership.”
    • “The lack of trust in insurers is causing younger members to turn to artificial intelligence tools, with 62% of respondents saying they have used AI to help choose a health plan.”
  • The American Hospital Association News relates,
    • “A new report from Kaufman Hall prepared for the AHA highlights new insights and data on hospital mergers and acquisitions. An AHA blog accompanying the report is also available.
    • “The report discusses how hospital merger reviews should look beyond the potential impact on commercial insurance prices and consider what proposed transactions mean for all patients, particularly the nearly 60% of hospital patient days attributable to Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries whose payment rates are largely set by government programs. Drawing on analyses of challenged and canceled transactions, the report also finds that hospitals seeking partners often serve more vulnerable communities and face greater financial pressures, and that when proposed deals do not move forward, struggling hospitals can experience significant financial deterioration that threatens services, workforce stability and access to care.
    • “These findings suggest that a more comprehensive analysis of hospital M&A transactions, one that considers impacts on all patients served, broadens the focus to impacts beyond pricing, and considers the consequences if an M&A transaction is not permitted to proceed, would ensure not only competitive but also healthy hospital markets that can continue to provide the fullest possible range of services,” the report says.”
  • AHIP relates,
    • “New data highlighted by Washington Post Intelligence show hospital system consolidation continues to accelerate, with 40 new mergers and acquisitions announced already in the first half of 2026 — nearly as many as throughout all of 2025. 
    • “Clear evidence demonstrates that anticompetitive hospital consolidation leads to higher healthcare costs for patients, families and employers. Hospital spending already makes up the largest share (40%) of insurance premiums, accounting for over $1.6 trillion in spending nationwide.”
  • Beckers Hospital Review adds,
    • “Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health has acquired the nine-story, 235,000 square-foot Fairbourne Building in West Valley City, Utah, and plans to convert it into a medical campus.”
  • and
    • “The nonprofit parent organization of OpenAI — the Open AI Foundation — has given $40 million to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to generate data that can be used to develop more precise, personalized cancer vaccines. 
    • “UNC Lineberger researchers, led by immunologist Benjamin Vincent, MD, and computational biologist Alex Rubinsteyn, PhD, will gather deidentified tumor tissue and immune cell data that will train AI models to identify cancer cell targets for vaccines, according to a Sept. 15 news release from the cancer center. 
    • “Researchers will also conduct clinical trials to compare multiple vaccine formulations for triple-negative breast cancer, the release said.”
  • Cardiovascular Business points out,
    • “U.S. News & Report has published its annual ranking of the top children’s hospitals in the United States, once again producing a separate list for the best hospitals for cardiology and heart surgery. This represents the 20th year that U.S. News.& World Report has compiled these rankings.
    • “For two decades, U.S. News has helped guide families to top-tier pediatric care,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a statement. “Finding the right medical team for a rare diagnosis or complex surgery can be overwhelming, and U.S. News’ annual evaluation of the Best Children’s Hospitals provides a clear starting point for parents and referring pediatricians alike.”
    • “Nearly 200 U.S. facilities were eligible for these rankings. Each one is either a freestanding children’s hospital or a large multidisciplinary pediatric department working within a major medical center.
    • “This latest ranking of the Best Children’s Hospitals for Cardiology and Heart Surgery includes some familiar names at the top. For instance, Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston is No. 1, just like it was in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. 
    • “Meanwhile, Children’s Hospital Colorado and Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. That is where each one landed in the previous year’s ranking as well. 
    • “Going a bit deeper, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia came in at No. 4, and Children’s Health Dallas came in at No. 5.” 
  • MedCity News lets us know,
    • “Virtual solutions for chronic kidney disease (CKD) management don’t slow disease progression, nor do they reduce total healthcare spending, according to a new analysis by the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI).
    • “PHTI is an independent evaluator of digital health solutions. For the analysis, PHTI reviewed more than 5,400 articles and other evidence. The solutions evaluated in the report include DaVita IKC, Evergreen Nephrology, Healthmap Solutions, Interwell Health, Kidneylink, Monogram Health, Somatus and Strive Health. These companies take on financial responsibility for the total cost of care for patients with stage 3–5 CKD, and typically work with Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare’s Kidney Care Choices model.
    • “The assessment focuses on managing chronic kidney disease before patients progress to end-stage kidney disease, including the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant.”
  • Managed Healthcare Executive tells us,
    • “GLP-1s now dominate market momentum, with obesity products surging from near-zero in 2022 to $55B annually and diabetes GLP-1s sustaining double-digit year-over-year growth. 
    • “Independent pharmacies are reassessing dispensing economics, with refusal rates declining to 35% for weight-loss GLP-1s and 8% for diabetes GLP-1s. 
    • “Distribution remains retail-heavy (~80%), but mail fulfillment is increasing, reaching 12.9% of GLP-1 prescriptions as direct-to-consumer channels expand. 
    • “Diabetes category mix is shifting away from insulin, whose sales share has dropped to 9.8% and prescription share to 16%, reflecting GLP-1 substitution dynamics. 
    • “Medicare Part D Bridge uptake appears immediate, with 9,000 paid claims in three days, alongside a large pipeline exploring neuropsychiatric, SUD, cancer-risk, women’s health, and systemic inflammation indications.”
  • The Wall Street Journal informs us,
    • “Legend Names Novartis Executive as CEO
      • “Ingrid Zhang takes the helm of the cancer therapy company, filling a post vacant since its previous CEO abruptly resigned in July.”
  • Per Beckers Health IT,
    • “Oracle has expanded its fiscal 2026 restructuring plan by approximately $700 million, bringing expected costs to roughly $2.8 billion as the company pursues strategic initiatives and operational efficiencies that include adopting and integrating AI across certain functions.
    • “The Sept. 11 Securities and Exchange Commission filing does not specify what actions the additional $700 million will cover or how many employees could be affected. Oracle said restructuring expenses under the broader plan include employee severance, contract termination and other exit costs.
    • “As of Aug. 31, prior to the additional $700 million, Oracle estimated total restructuring costs of up to $2.1 billion.
    • ‘The disclosure comes as Oracle employees across social media reported a recent round of layoffs, including at Oracle Health. Business Insider first reported the layoffs Sept. 14, citing three people affected and an email notification.”
  • and
    • “Mayo Clinic and Thermo Fisher Scientific have launched Precure, a joint venture designed to detect biological signs of disease before patients develop symptoms, according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
    • “Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic, will serve as majority owner of the entity and Thermo Fisher joins as a minority partner. Precure will build one of the world’s largest human multi-omics datasets — integrating proteomic and genomic data with longitudinal clinical information drawn from 1 million biospecimens collected over several years, according to the release.
    • “At Mayo Clinic, we are committed to transforming patient care through innovation,” said Gianrico Farrugia, MD, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. “By harnessing the full potential of multi-omics data, Precure, LLC aims to help us better understand disease before symptoms appear.”
    • “Thermo Fisher will contribute its Olink Explore HT proteomics platform and Orbitrap mass spectrometry technology to the effort. Marc Casper, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s chairman and CEO, said the venture has “the potential to create a step change in how we generate and apply multi-omics data to improve human health.”
    • “Target disease areas include cancer, cardiometabolic conditions, neurological disorders and immune-mediated disease — conditions where biological changes often precede clinical diagnosis by years. Advanced AI and large-scale data analytics will be used to identify patterns across the datasets and translate them into actionable insights.”
  • Per Beckers Clinical Leadership,
    • “The nonprofit parent organization of OpenAI — the Open AI Foundation — has given $40 million to Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to generate data that can be used to develop more precise, personalized cancer vaccines. 
    • “UNC Lineberger researchers, led by immunologist Benjamin Vincent, MD, and computational biologist Alex Rubinsteyn, PhD, will gather deidentified tumor tissue and immune cell data that will train AI models to identify cancer cell targets for vaccines, according to a Sept. 15 news release from the cancer center. 
    • “Researchers will also conduct clinical trials to compare multiple vaccine formulations for triple-negative breast cancer, the release said. 
    • “These efforts aim to create a public, multimodal dataset to “help reach a future where cancer patients can get rapid personalized cancer vaccines when they are diagnosed,” the OpenAI Foundation said in a Sept. 15 news release. 
    • “UNC Lineberger’s $40 million grant is part of a $125 million funding program, called Public Data for Health, established by the foundation.”
  • and
    • “Ambient artificial intelligence handed many physicians their evenings back. For nurses, the same promise is proving harder to keep, and the reason is buried in the flow sheet.
    • “Physician ambient scribes listen to a visit and draft a narrative note when it ends. Nursing documentation does not work like that. It lives in structured flow sheets, entered field by field across a shift, every time a nurse assesses, medicates or turns a patient.
    • “Nursing documentation occurs throughout the entire shift. It’s every time we interact with a patient,” said Stephanie Clements, BSN, RN, senior vice president and chief nurse executive at Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy. “It’s very different than summarizing care at the end of a period.” 
    • “That difference is why early attempts to copy the physician model — record the encounter, generate the note — have not mapped cleanly onto the bedside, and why some nurses have found the tools slower, not faster, at first.
    • “Yet the systems furthest along say the payoff is real when the technology is built for nurses from the get-go.” 

Notable Deaths

  • The New York Times reports
    • “Harold P. Freeman, an influential oncology surgeon whose knowledge of the devastating effects of breast cancer on poor Black women inspired him to create a landmark program at Harlem Hospital Center, helping patients navigate the health care bureaucracy, died on Aug. 11 in Atlanta. He was 93.
    • “His death, at a hospital, was confirmed by his son Neale.
    • “Dr. Freeman’s patient navigation program became a model for hospitals around the world, helping to eliminate barriers to early cancer detection. The program’s success influenced the passage of the federal Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005, which provided $25 million for similar programs across the United States. In 2024, Medicare began providing providers with reimbursement for some navigation services for cancer, heart failure, H.I.V./AIDS and other high-risk conditions.
    • “There are no navigation events or meetings that don’t acknowledge Dr. Freeman’s role in patient navigation,” Dr. Shanthi Sivendran, the interim chief patient officer of the American Cancer Society, said in an interview. “There wasn’t a patient navigation concept before him.”
  • and
    • “The milk truck would pull up to the house, and out would come the groceries — not just milk, but also eggs, cheese, juice, cereal and baby formula. It might have stopped at a rich family’s house, or a poor one. No one could tell the difference, which was precisely the point.
    • “Vermont’s supplemental food program for low-income women, infants and children, the first in the nation to be implemented statewide, began in 1974. It was the brainchild in part of Dr. Anthony Robbins, then one of the country’s youngest state health commissioners, at 33; he had secured a federal grant to made the program possible.
    • “Not only did the program provide much-needed supplies, but it also shielded families from the stigma of receiving public assistance.
    • “The milk truck was stopping at practically every house — high income, low income, whatever,” Donna Bister, a former director of the program, known widely as WIC, said in an interview. The program is now available in all 50 states.” * * *
    • “Dr. Robbins died on July 5 at his home in Rockport, Mass. He was 85. His death, which was not widely reported at the time, was caused by complications of long Covid, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease, his wife, Phyllis Freeman, said.
    • “He was considered to be on the cutting edge of health care,” Madeleine Kunin, a former governor of Vermont, said in an interview. “He was a bright light.”
  • RIP Doctors.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *