Tag: Daily

The Adderall Shortage

The Adderall Shortage

MedCity News

The current Adderall shortage is of serious concern to both patients who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and clinicians. This shortage cannot be quickly alleviated by a simple increase in the amount of medication manufactured, unless the upper limit to the amount of Adderall’s active ingredient that can be manufactured in a given year is raised by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The limit has been imposed because the active ingredient can be abused as a recreational drug. It is necessary to control the supply of any medication with abuse liability, but this must be achieved without compromising the legitimate…

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Is Interoperability Tech Worth the Investment? Experts Say Yes for 3 Reasons

Is Interoperability Tech Worth the Investment? Experts Say Yes for 3 Reasons

MedCity News

Editor’s note: This story is based on discussions at Abarca Forward, a conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, hosted by Abarca, a pharmacy benefit manager. MedCity News’ Editor-in-Chief Arundhati Parmar and Senior Reporter Katie Adams were invited to attend and speak at the conference. All travel and related expenses for the team were covered by Abarca. However, company officials had no input in editorial coverage. 
In order for the U.S. healthcare system to operate smoothly, various stakeholders must cooperate with one another and share data seamlessly. But this notion is far from being achieved — the industry is still seriously plagued by…

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How to Rein in Unpredictability During High-Traffic Respiratory Illness Season

How to Rein in Unpredictability During High-Traffic Respiratory Illness Season

MedCity News

‘Tripledemic’ concerns have been on the rise with the collision of flu, Covid-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) wreaking havoc in clinics and hospitals. Yet staff are expected to provide smooth, fast, and effective care journeys for all, no matter the volume of patients. We know, however, that everything doesn’t always go as planned when patient traffic explodes. Bottlenecks like long wait times and limited appointment options inevitably skyrocket, and staff bear the brunt of patients who (understandably) want to be seen immediately, in conjunction with staff members intermittently being out sick themselves.
Living in an environment of extreme health unpredictability affects…

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Moderna Flu Vax Prompts Response to More Common Strains, But Misses in Influenza B

Moderna Flu Vax Prompts Response to More Common Strains, But Misses in Influenza B

MedCity News

A Moderna messenger RNA vaccine for influenza now has preliminary data from a pivotal study showing the shot prompted a strong immune response to the more common strains of the virus but fell short against less common strains.
The results reported Thursday are from one of two pivotal studies for the Moderna vaccine, mRNA-1010, which is assessing the shot for safety and immune response. A separate Phase 3 study is evaluating the shot for efficacy. Results from that study could come as early as next month. Moderna’s vaccine encodes hemagglutinin, a protein on the surface of the influenza virus that is also…

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Talkspace Launches New Mental Health Portal for Employers

Talkspace Launches New Mental Health Portal for Employers

MedCity News

Virtual behavioral health provider Talkspace unveiled a new product Thursday that provides employers with access to a library of mental health resources that they can share with employees.
New York City-based Talkspace serves employers, payers and consumers, and provides self-guided mental health programs, therapy and psychiatry. Its new product, Talkspace Engage, aims to help employers promote their mental health benefits to their employees, a challenge that many companies struggle with, said Erin Boyd, chief growth officer of enterprise at Talkspace. “One resounding common theme that we heard among [employers] was that, ‘I don’t know how to get people to use these benefits…

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RTLS & AI: Solving the Riddle of Healthcare Inefficiency

RTLS & AI: Solving the Riddle of Healthcare Inefficiency

Healthcare IT Today

The following is a guest article by Steven Manifold, CMO at Ubisense.
Many healthcare systems around the world are overburdened. Some face the lingering effects of COVID-19, while others lack funding and staff. Healthcare providers are increasingly turning to technology to help shoulder these burdens, but are fancy tech deployments really the cure or just another placebo?   
RTLS
RTLS (Real-time Location Systems) are not new technologies, but they remain uncommon in most healthcare settings. Popular in automotive, aerospace, and general manufacturing and logistics industries, they have paved the way towards smarter, more efficient industrial practices while contributing to the much vaulted “Industry 4.0” revolution….

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Health Transformation Alliance Teams up With Cognoa for Autism Diagnostic Device

Health Transformation Alliance Teams up With Cognoa for Autism Diagnostic Device

MedCity News

The Health Transformation Alliance (HTA), a group of nearly 60 large employers, announced Thursday it is partnering with pediatric behavioral health company Cognoa for its diagnostic device for autism.
HTA is a cooperative of self-insured employers, including Walgreens, CocaCola, Verizon and American Express. Palo Alto, California-based Cognoa, meanwhile, is a developer of AI-based technologies for early diagnosis of children with developmental and behavioral health conditions. Its Canvas Dx product is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and assists healthcare providers in diagnosing autism spectrum disorder for children ages 18 months through 72 months. The product is the first of its sort…

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Cell Therapy Biotech Talaris Ends Two Kidney Transplant Trials, Restructures

Cell Therapy Biotech Talaris Ends Two Kidney Transplant Trials, Restructures

MedCity News

Talaris Therapeutics aimed to transform solid organ transplants with a cell therapy that replaces anti-rejection drugs patients need for the rest of their lives. But after clinical trial setbacks, the biotech has decided to end two kidney transplant studies. Although a separate test of its experimental therapy is continuing in a rare autoimmune condition, Talaris has commenced a restructuring plan that it said could culminate in a merger or sale of the company.
The restructuring announced Thursday will lead to the layoff of about one-third of Talaris’s staff. As of the end of the third quarter of 2022, the Louisville, Kentucky-based biotech…

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3 Conditions that Must be Met to Make Interoperability a Reality

3 Conditions that Must be Met to Make Interoperability a Reality

MedCity News

The term “interoperability” holds different meanings for different people. While we all would agree that the primary goal of interoperability is to make sharing data easier in order to improve outcomes and lower costs, there are varying perceptions about what that looks like. FHIR has been great at giving us a common set of protocols and standards to work from, but how we connect and how data actually gets shared are still open challenges.
In a truly interoperable healthcare ecosystem, I strongly believe data wouldn’t need to be requested, aggregated, and validated each time it’s needed. And it wouldn’t be limited to specific…

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TBD Health Raises $4.4M Seed Round to Expand its Hybrid Sexual Healthcare Offerings Nationally

TBD Health Raises $4.4M Seed Round to Expand its Hybrid Sexual Healthcare Offerings Nationally

Healthcare IT Today

As Reproductive Rights are Defunded and Debated Nationally, TBD Health Aims to Democratize Access to Inclusive Sexual Care
TBD Health, a sexual healthcare provider revolutionizing the medical landscape through unparalleled digital and in-person clinical care, today announced a $4.4 million seed round led by Tusk Venture Partners, with participation from Springdale Ventures, Human Ventures, Expansion VC, Starbloom Capital, Hyphen Capital, and The Community Fund along with several strategic angels. With this new financing, TBD Health is expanding to all 50 states, democratizing access to its sexual healthcare offerings, consisting of at-home STD testing and emergency contraception available via telehealth or in-person in its Las…

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