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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Houston hospital closing after hurricane damage

East Houston Regional Medical Center will permanently close after the facility was flooded with six feet of water in flooding when Hurricane Harvey struck the area in August.

Anthem’s ER policy called ‘dangerous,' ‘unfair to patients’

In an effort to steer patients toward less expensive sites of care, Anthem has instituted policies in several states that if an emergency room visit is determined to be unnecessary, they may end up footing the bill—something 34-year-old Allison Wrenne learned the hard way.

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ACA enrollment surges in first few days

The first few days of open enrollment on the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges saw more than 600,000 people sign up for coverage, up 79 percent from last year and setting a new record start for enrollment on Healthcare.gov.

TelePsy eHealth Platform Innovates with Chat and Video

The TelePsy eHealth platform provides mental health professionals and general practitioners with digital tools to support them in the diagnostics, evaluation and treatment of their service users. Thanks to an integration with the secure Alterdesk Messenger, TelePsy can now offer its users chat and video call functionalities. “It is one of the biggest functional updates we have had in years”, says Marco Essed, CEO of TelePsy.

Amboss Launches Comprehensive medical study and review platform in United States

AMBOSS, a breakthrough medical study platform, today introduced its comprehensive test preparation and in-depth study tools for NBME® Subject Examinations (e.g., Shelf Exams) and USMLE™ Step 2 CK. More than 200,000 medical students and physicians worldwide rely on the AMBOSS platform for test preparation, in-depth studying, and as a clinical companion. AMBOSS is the only digital resource that includes more than 2,000 exam questions that are integrated with 15,000+ medical library topics. Specific Shelf Exam preparation is available for medicine, surgery, pediatrics, clinical neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, and psychiatry rotations.

Aetna CEO interested in more personalized care

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said the future of his company will be tailored towards a more individualized version of healthcare, calling his interest in an Apple-style business model for the industry “a real deal.” One deal he wouldn’t talk about, however, was the rumored purchase of Aetna by CVS.

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Online platform improved mental health in mood, anxiety disorder patients

Accessing an online cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program could improve the quality of life of patients with mood and anxiety disorders, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Why hospitals are moving away from keeping patients in beds

Basic elements of hospital design—such as patient rooms, hallways and how many operating rooms a facility has versus childbirth facilities—will be challenged in the coming years, wrote Neel Shah, MD, MPP, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.

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.