Each year fewer medical devices are approved by FDA for children which means that pediatricians don’t always have top-notch tools available to address medical challenges in babies and kids. (more…)
Report on Managing Pain
HHS https://www.hhs.gov, Department of Defense (DOD) https://www.defense.gov, Veterans Administration https://www.va.gov (VA) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp convened the “Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force” to address acute and chronic pain in conjunction with the ongoing opioid crisis. (more…)
Settlement Related to Opioids
In March, Purdue Pharma agreed to pay $270 million to the state of Oklahoma as the result of the first state settlement of litigation stemming from the opioid epidemic. Today, there are more than 1,600 additional cases pending across the U.S. As more of these cases head towards possible settlement agreements, public health experts are weighing in on the best use of the funds to respond to the ongoing opioid crisis. (more…)
USDA Investing $68 Million
USDA https://www.usda.gov is investing $68 million to build or improve community facilities and essential services including healthcare for nearly 715,000 rural residents in 13 states and Puerto Rico. The agency is funding 20 projects through the Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program. (more…)
CVS Health Driving Change
CVS https://www.cvshealth.com is attempting to drive change for consumer’s accessing the U.S Healthcare System. Credit Suisse, an international organization, https://www.credit-suisse.com reports in their coverage from CVS, “CVS is a leading pharmacy benefit manager as well as one of the leading national operators of retail pharmacies.” (more…)
Launching a Social Health Network
Kaiser Permanente https://about.kaiserpermanente.org is launching “Thrive Local” a comprehensive far reaching social health network. To accomplish the launch, Kaiser Permanente is partnering with “Unite Us” https://www.uniteus.com, a social care coordination platform, to connect healthcare and social services providers. (more…)
Bill to Help COPD Patients
Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) https://miketompson.house.gov, TJ Cox (D-CA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), and Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), recently introduced the “Better Respiration through Expanded Access to Tele-Health” (BREATHE) Act (H.R 2308). (more…)