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.

Many healthcare organizations lack mobile tech strategy

Thirty percent of healthcare CIOs report that their organizations have no mobile technology strategy, according to a survey by IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology.

NCQA updates medical home standards

New standards for patient centered medical homes focus on behavioral health, care management for high-needs populations and team-based care, among other updates.

FDA proposed rule aims to simplify medical app classification

A proposed rule from the FDA amends the agency's regulations governing classification and reclassification of medical devices to conform to provisions in the FDA Safety and Innovation Act, simplifying the classification process.

Study: Cancer screening order rates unaffected by EHR adoption

Despite hopes and fears about health IT, EHRs and e-reminders did not ameliorate or exacerbate racial differences in cancer screening order rates, according to a study by Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Google launches Android Wear project

Google announced the launch of Android Wear, a project that extends Android to wearables—specifically, watches.

Flip the Clinic goes live

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has flipped the switch on its new project and website, Flip the Clinic.

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Defying expectations, greater insurance coverage is linked to increased ED use

The hope that universal health insurance coverage will move healthcare delivery out of costly care settings like emergency departments (EDs) and into lower-cost primary care settings may not come true unless other barriers to primary care access also are addressed finds a new study.

Study: Bedside sensor reduces length of stay in hospital and ICU

A sensor placed under a hospital bed that continuously monitors a patient’s heart, respiratory rate and movement was shown to significantly reduce patients’ total length of stay in a hospital and intensive care unit.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.