Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Heath Care and Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care announced plans to merge systems which are already the largest in their respective states into a 27-hospital system with around $11 billion in annual revenue.

Once considered a futuristic technology on the distant horizon, 3D printing of medical devices, medications and human tissue is quickly becoming a promising reality. Patients have already benefitted from 3D printed medical products through access to personalized devices and innovative drugs that have led to significant health improvements. But the FDA is now preparing for a significant wave of new technologies that are nearly certain to transform medical practice. We're working to provide a more comprehensive regulatory pathway that keeps pace with those advances, and helps facilitate efficient access to safe and effective innovations that are based on these technologies.

Facility fees are charged for nearly every visit to an emergency room (ER), with departments arguing they’re necessary to keep their doors open. Between 2009 and 2015, ERs across the country increasingly used higher intensity codes for ER visits, leading to an 89 percent increase in facility fees.

The rumored acquisition of health insurance giant Aetna by CVS was officially announced on Dec. 3, with the companies calling the $69 billion deal a “unique opportunity to redefine access to high-quality care in lower cost, local settings whether in the community, at home, or through digital tools.” Unlike Aetna's abandoned merger with Humana, analysts predicted it may actually deliver on promised benefits for patient care.

Allowing patients to write or add notes to their medical health records could keep patients more engaged in their care while also improving relationships with their physicians and reducing physician workload, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers have developed accurate, personalized prosthetic implants for the middle ear using CT scans and 3D printing, according to a study presented at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, told Reuters the agency is considering several options to limit Medicare and Medicaid’s costs for covering breakthrough medical treatments with very high price tags.

An overall stable outlook for the healthcare sector in 2018 the latest report from Fitch Ratings came with a warning that individual companies will likely see a greater number of credit downgrades, while the industry as a whole could soon face disruption by “outside forces.”