Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
Yes, the Trump administration has turned to Silicon Valley’s giants for various reasons including best practices guidelines during the pandemic, but issues surrounding antitrust laws won’t remain dormant for long, say Justice Department attorneys. Other news on technology reports on suspicious websites offering false promises, privacy issues with tracking people’s movement through smartphones, and higher than normal use of screen time for teens.
Are Vital Home Health Workers Now A Safety Threat?
Hundreds of thousands of health care workers go into homes to provide important services for seniors and disabled people. But with the rising concerns about the danger of the coronavirus pandemic, especially for older people, these health workers could be endangering their patients and themselves.
With Medical Safety Gear Scarce, The Public Is Stepping Up. Here’s Help On Ways To Help.
If you or your company have useful supplies and want to donate them, here are some answers to questions you might be asking.
Opinion writers weigh on these health care issues and others during the pandemic.
Tech Tools Play Role In Keeping People Connected To Doctors, Health Officials And Co-Workers
Smartphones and watches, telehealth and video conferences are already playing a role in reconfigured world where people are staying physically away from each other.
Trump Official Insists Allowing Patients To ‘Own’ Their Medical Data Will Do More Good Than Harm
STAT interviews Don Rucker about the new interoperability rule that would allow patients to download their medical data — a situation critics say opens up major privacy issues. Other news on health information technology looks at recent data breaches affecting 1.4 million people.
Co-Founder Of Juul Leaves Board As It Comes Under Increasing Scrutiny For Role In Teen Vaping
James Monsees helped launch the company in 2007 and expressed pride in the role the company played for helping adults switch from smoking cigarettes. He said he looks forward to spending time with his family. Altria Group Inc., which owns a 35% stake in Juul, said in January it would be expanding and diversifying its board.
Easing Access To Health Records: New Guidelines Finalize Digital Standards
HHS Secretary Alex Azar says that the new federal rule would give patients more control to pull data such as medications, lab test results and vital signs including blood pressure. But the changes are likely to sharpen a debate over privacy.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Stat obtained a copy of the 2016 deal that allowed Google to obtain valuable data stored in health records in order to develop algorithms while also taking precautions to protect data. Health technology news is also on Amazon’s joint venture.
Insurers Steering Patients Toward Clinics They’ve Bought In New Threat To Hospitals, Providers
“It’s very worrisome for hospitals,” said Chas Roades, a health care consultant. “Suddenly, the plan you’re relying on for payment is also competing with you at the front end of the delivery system.” In other news, Walmart takes on CVS and Amazon, and patients are left floundering when insurer drops doctors.
HHS Tries To Ease Electronic Health Records’ Administrative Burden On Clinicians
HHS’ strategy identified four main areas that contribute to administrative burden: clinical documentation; health information technology usability; public health reporting requirements, and federal health IT and EHR reporting requirements. Meanwhile, in face of complaints, HHS officials continue to talk up interoperability rules.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
The findings suggest a growing openness among employers to regulatory approaches for controlling healthcare costs, even though the business community traditionally favored market-based solutions. Other health industry news focuses on accountable care organizations, social determinants, and surprise medical bills.
Once the data leaves the hospitals’ systems it is no longer under the protection of HIPAA. The administration says that the FTC would be in charge of keeping tech companies in check when it comes to scraping up the troves of data, but critics are dubious about the extent to which the agency would be capable of doing that.
Whereas the lowest-earning hospitals dedicated $72.30 of every $100 of net income to charity care, the top earning hospitals devoted just $11.50 to charity care for the uninsured. Other hospital news comes out of North Carolina, Iowa, Florida and California.
Abortion-Rights Supporters Fear Loss Of Access If Adventist Saves Hospital
As community hospitals struggle, they often turn to large religious-based hospital groups to bail them out. But that can limit the types of services they offer, especially reproductive health treatment such as abortion.
Even Governors Who Have Steadfastly Supported Trump Are Raising Concerns About Medicaid Changes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration wrote to CMS that a proposed funding rule that the agency says would increase transparency, integrity and clarity would “cripple” the state’s program. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker also spoke out about the changes.
Although seniors are warned about the Medicare data schemes, a report found that they tend to let their guard down when they think they’re talking to a trusted source like a pharmacist.
