Doctors draw attention to safety issues associated with popular weight-loss drugs
By Daniella Genovese
foxbusiness.com – The demand for highly sought-after weight-loss drugs continues to rise. However, as more patients embrace this trend, doctors are cautioning them about potential side effects.
Anti-obesity medications “exert potent effects throughout the body, particularly the gastrointestinal tract,” according to gastroenterologist and obesity medicine specialist Dr. Christopher McGowan.
Because of these effects, close supervision, monitoring and medical oversight are “critical for all patients,” McGowan told FOX Business.
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Patients want healthcare’s use of AI to be clear
By Andrea Fox
healthcareitnews.com – The ability to change how healthcare providers communicate with patients with artificial intelligence isn’t just about accuracy, transparency, fairness and data model maintenance, it’s figuring out how to meet personalization challenges.
What patients want to know and when adds a larger degree of complexity – one that challenges the healthcare AI industry to consider both expected and unexpected patient points of view, according to panelists Thursday at the HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum.
With the power to contextualize, and allow clinicians freedom from data entry to be more human in their interactions with patients, artificial intelligence can transform patient-physician interactions.
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Humana study: Senior-focused primary care can boost access, improve outcomes
By Paige Minemyer
fiercehealthcare.com – Over the past several years, Humana has made significant strides in growing its senior-focused primary care business, and a new study highlights areas where it’s seeing success in this model.
The study, conducted by the Humana Healthcare Research team along with Harvard researcher J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., digs into data from six senior-focused primary care organizations on more than 421,000 patients who were enrolled in Medicare Advantage coverage in 2021.
It found that patients in these organizations had 17% more primary care visits across the board.
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Almost 1 in 4 U.S. Adults Under 40 Have High Blood Pressure
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
usnews.com – An epidemic of high blood pressure is occurring in young adults and children in the United States, a pair of new studies show.
Nearly a quarter of people ages 18 to 39 have high blood pressure, with readings above the healthy level of 130/80, the first study found.
Blood pressure is even a problem for school-age children, according to the second study. Nearly 14% of children ages 8 to 19 have elevated or high blood pressure, researchers found.
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CMS has received 12K complaints of No Surprises noncompliance; won $1.7M in restitution
By Rebecca Pifer
healthcaredive.com –The recently released report shares data on complaints and enforcement actions taken under the Public Health Service Act, which was amended by No Surprises when the law was passed four years ago to include provisions preventing surprise medical billing. The report also includes enforcements related to the Affordable Care Act and other healthcare legislation.
Of the $4.2 million in restitution paid to consumers and providers from closed complaints, more than $1.7 million was specifically related to No Surprises, per a CMS spokesperson.
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Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
By Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan
kffhealthnews.org – The computer systems run by the consulting giant Deloitte that millions of Americans rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits are prone to errors that can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to update. While states wait for fixes from Deloitte, beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.
Changes needed to fix Deloitte-run eligibility systems often pile on costs to the government that are much higher than the original contracts, which can slow the process of fixing errors.
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As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills
By Melba Newsome
kffhealthnews.org – During the heat dome that blanketed much of the Southeast in June, Stacey Freeman used window units to cool her poorly insulated mobile home in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Over the winter, the 44-year-old mom relied on space heaters.
In both instances, her energy bills reached hundreds of dollars a month.
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