Morning Break: Hospitals Sue Medicare; Med Schools Diversify; Insys on Deathbed? Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by the MedPage Today staff
2018-12-14 15:24:53
by MedPage Today Staff
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The American Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges sued the Department of Health and Human Services over its reimbursement cuts for visits to off-campus outpatient clinics, claiming the cuts are unlawful and harmful to patients.
A requirement for medical schools to recruit a more diverse student body appears to be working. (NPR)
The FDA gave its blessing to the National Institutes of Health's open-access ClinGen database as a resource for developers of genetic disease-risk tests to use in establishing clinical validity, a key step in winning the agency's approval.
Kids with concussions can go back to school and regular activities sooner than originally thought, according to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. (NPR)
Medical device maker ev3 will pay $17.9 million in fines related to charges that its sales reps promoted the company's Onyx liquid embolization device for dangerous, unapproved uses, the Justice Department announced. Separately, ev3's sister firm Covidien (both are owned by Medtronic) will pay $13 million to settle civil charges that it paid kickbacks to boost sales of its Solitaire thrombectomy device.
The ever-expanding recalls of drugs containing valsartan now include all such products made by Mylan, which previously had recalled only selected lots. (Reuters)
Opioid drugmaker Insys' survival is now in question: it's trying to sell its infamous main product, the fentanyl spray Subsys, so it can reposition itself as a cannabinoid drug producer. (Bloomberg)
No immediate impact is expected from the U.S.-China agreement to crack down on the smuggling of fentanyl into the U.S. (The Washington Post)
Psychiatric patients in some states can complete a psychiatric advance directive to designate someone to speak for them when they're not able to make their own decisions due to their illness. (The New York Times)
The Massachusetts attorney general has approved the merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health in the hopes that it will create some competition for market leader Partners HealthCare. (The Boston Globe)
Obits for President George H.W. Bush, who is being laid to rest this week, applauded his support of the Americans with Disabilities Act but also criticized his response to the HIV/AIDS crisis during his time in office. (Vox, The Washington Blade)
A 2-year-old Florida girl who is fighting cancer needs an extremely rare blood type -- one that's missing a common antigen. (NBC News)
Morning Break is a daily guide to what's new and interesting on the Web for healthcare professionals, powered by the MedPage Today community. Got a tip? Send it to us:MPT_editorial@everydayhealthinc.com