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Foreign national accused of operating fake company that billed Medicare for $90M—and now he’s on the run
Healthcare educators: Want to stabilize nurse staffing for years to come? Stand up for the Nurse Faculty Loan Program
FTC homes in on healthcare
AI-powered CCTA assessments show ‘close agreement’ with IVUS
Former ACA Marketplace enrollee: ‘This is ridiculous—$1,200 and an $8,000 deductible for a healthy person. Really?’
patient experience
More than 80% of clinicians have had to correct AI-supplied misinformation during patient visits: New patient + provider survey

Meanwhile members of Gen Z are twice as likely as other generations to get sneaky about their use of medical AI. 

Fax
CMS leaves the ’80s behind with shift away from snail mail correspondence, fax machines

In a Final Rule revealed last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services outlined its plan to exchange medical records, diagnostic images and clinical notes electronically using secure protocols. Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, any HIPAA-covered entity that interacts with Medicare will have two years to follow CMS into the modern age.

U.S. FDA Sign
Drugmaker’s stock tumbles 20% after FDA issues formal warning to executives

ImmunityBio, the developer of bladder cancer treatment Anktiva, is accused by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of disseminating “false or misleading information” about the drug's efficacy in an advertisement and podcast. The FDA said it’s not the first time it's sent a warning letter to the company’s executives over allegedly inaccurate claims.

market analysis
Consolidation, competition, consumer costs: Healthcare econ experts break it all down, make it make sense

Market forces like competition cannot stem the urge to merge among and between payers and providers, so neither will they staunch the price hikes in premiums. 

busy scooter guy
US doctors scoot toward 100% AI adoption

A new Doximity survey shows 94% of American physicians using AI or at least keen on it. Just as tellingly, the pace of adoption is brisk and accelerating. 

Sutter Health
Sutter Health to scoop up Allina Health, form new $26B nonprofit health system

The two not-for-profit health systems announced the merger on Wednesday. Although the deal won’t be finalized for some time, they teased new investments that will bring 39 hospitals and more than 400 primary and specialty care sites under the banner of a new Sutter Health. 

FDA issues recall of imaging systems
FDA issues emergency alert on surgical stapler reloads after 1 death, 4 injuries

The problem is limited to surgical stapler reloads used by the da Vinci robot, specifically those manufactured by Intuitive Surgical. The FDA said it’s currently investigating why the reloads are leaving incomplete line formations. For now, they need to be pulled from all patient care settings. 

Video interview with Anders Gilberg, MGA, senior vice president, government affairs at Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), explains various value-based payment models the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is experimenting with, but notes out or more than 30 models, only two have actually saved Medicare money.
MGMA outlines path and pitfalls in CMS 2030 value-based care push

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has tested nearly 40 APMs, of which only two turned out to be successful, which does not bode well for meeting a 2030 deadline to transition to value-based payments.
 

Ransomware Cyberattack Data Breach
Data allegedly from UMMC priced at $800K, posted on dark web

Medusa, an infamous ransomware cybercriminal organization, has claimed credit for the February data breach at University of Mississippi Medical Center. In a post on its leak site, the gang is asking for $800,000 for the sale or deletion of the information it said it stole. An ominous ticking clock sets the deadline for March 20. 

Around the web

Cardiovascular Business
Cardiologists use endovascular device for brain aneurysms to treat high-risk heart patients

A multidisciplinary research team has found a new use for a reliable medical device. Multiple heart patients have already benefited for the group’s outside-the-box thinking.