Precision Medicine

Also called personalized medicine, this evolving field makes use of an individual’s genes, lifestyle, environment and other factors to identify unique disease risks and guide treatment decision-making.
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Longer lives for diabetics come with ‘high price tag’ for healthcare system

Older diabetic patients are living longer as they and their physicians get better at managing the condition, but with longer lifespans comes additional years of incurring higher healthcare expenditures than non-diabetics.

3.2 million more people were uninsured in 2017

The number of Americans without health insurance saw its biggest increase in nine years in 2017, rising 1.3 percentage points from the year prior, representing an estimated 3.2 million more people being uninsured.

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5 recommendations for fatigue management in EMS personnel

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have developed a set of guidelines to combat fatigue in emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in order to reduce medical errors and risk of injury.

$850K gene therapy for blindness is overpriced

According to an analysis from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Research, the price tag for a new medicine which treats a genetic form of childhood blindness should be at least 75 percent lower based on its cost effectiveness.

Type 2 diabetes skin patch controls blood sugar levels in mice

Researchers at the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in Bethesda, Maryland, have developed a biochemical formula using mineralized compounds capable of regulating the blood sugar of type 2 diabetes for multiple days in mice. Findings are published in Nature Communications.

3D-printing technique produces soft structures for tissue regeneration

Researchers from the Imperial College London have developed a 3D-printing technique, paired with cryogenics, capable of recreating biological structures for tissue regeneration and producing replica organs. Findings are published in Scientific Reports.

Centene sued over allegedly ‘fictitious’ provider networks in ACA plans

The largest insurer on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges, St. Louis-based Centene, has been sued over allegedly deceiving customers over how many providers accept its plans, with many reporting they had trouble finding an in-network physician using Centene’s insurance.

School-based telemedicine program reduces asthma symptoms in children

A School-Based Telemedicine Enhanced Asthma Management (SB-TEAM) program was able to improve persistent asthma symptoms in children, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Around the web

HHS has thought through the ways AI can and should become an integral part of healthcare, human services and public health. Last Friday—possibly just days ahead of seating a new secretary—the agency released a detailed plan for getting there from here.

Philips is recalling the software associated with its Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry devices after certain high-risk ECG events were never routed to trained cardiology technicians as intended. The issue, which lasted for two years, has been linked to more than 100 injuries. 

Heart Rhythm Society President Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, MD, detailed a new advocacy group focused on improving EP reimbursements, patient care and access. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu," he said.