Medicalchain, providers of blockchain technology for the secure storage and transfer of electronic health records, have signed a joint work agreement with Mayo Clinic to improve blockchain technology utilization in healthcare.

Researchers have developed a natural language processing algorithm, trained on clinical record data, capable of detecting disease symptoms with high accuracy, according to a study published June 15 in the JMIR Medical Informatics.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic will enter into a five-year agreement that will keep all state-wide Mayo Clinic locations within network through 2023.

The Trump administration appears close to announcing a new health insurance option for small businesses and self-employed individuals that would offer fewer benefits and cost less.

In a June 18 release, HHS announced a ruling against the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston requiring $4.3 million in civil penalties due to three data breaches from 2012 and 2013.

A majority of millennials—individuals between 18 and 34 years old—are willing to let health insurance companies access their social media, provided their premiums could be lowered, according to a survey from MuleSoft Inc.

PricewaterhouseCoopers released its report on medical cost trends, which estimates numbers for 2019. The good news? Cost increases have leveled off—rising 6 percent in 2019. But for employers, these increasing expenditures do not lead to improved productivity. Medical costs continue to jump, while growth in labor productivity should remain near 1.1 percent for 2019—below the average annual increase of 2.3 percent in recent decades.

The shift by insurance companies from reimbursement to fee-for-service has impacted the way physicians and practices are receiving compensation. In a recent survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, researchers noted 25 percent of physicians have “compensation tied to quality and patient experience metrics.”

The combination of wearable monitoring with predictive analytics could hasten identifying acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth.

Previous studies on the impact telehealth tools had on caregiver support showed potential benefits, but evidence of quality is lacking, according to a new systematic review.