1. Physician shot at El Paso VA clinic
A shooting at a Veterans Affairs clinic in El Paso, Texas, around 3:10 p.m. on Tuesday resulted in the deaths of a physician and the gunman after he fatally shot himself, according to The Washington Post. The FBI will lead the investigation of the shooting, beginning with interviews of hundreds of potential witnesses. The commanding general has since declared all other VA patients and staff safe and the incident under control.
2. Flu season on track to be one of the worst since 2008
An average of 4 percent of Americans reported having the flu in December 2014, one of the highest rates of flu in the U.S. in seven years, according to Gallup. The highest flu rate was January 2013, when an average of 4.7 percent of Americans reported having the flu. Since flu seasons typically peak in January or February, this flu season could be one of the worst since Gallup started measuring rates of the flu in 2008. The survey also found the groups most likely to report having the flu are Hispanics, lower-income Americans and middle-aged adults.
3. FDA grants waiver for 15-minute flu test
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted a Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments waiver to allow a nucleic acid-based influenza test to be used in physician offices, emergency departments, health department clinics and other healthcare facilities. Before the waiver, the Alere i Influenza A & B test, which is manufactured by Alere Scarborough in Scarborough, Maine, was only available for use in certain laboratories. The test uses a nasal swab sample, can provide results in as little as 15 minutes and has demonstrated high accuracy.
4. HHS submits meaningful use stage 3 proposed rule
The Office of Management and Budget received HHS’ proposed rule establishing policies for stage 3 of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. According to the proposed rule, filed Dec. 31, 2014, “stage 3 will focus on improving healthcare outcomes and further advance interoperability.” The proposed rule outlines criteria for demonstrating meaningful use under the EHR incentive program, and it includes changes to the reporting period, timelines and meaningful use structure.
5. Beaumont Health announces appointment of John Fox as CEO
Royal Oak, Mich.-based Beaumont Health announced the appointment of John T. Fox, MBA, as president and CEO, beginning in March. Mr. Fox currently serves as CEO of Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare. As the newly created system’s CEO, Mr. Fox will be responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership for the system, which was officially formed in September 2014 through a merger between Beaumont Health System, Oakwood Healthcare in Southgate, Mich., and Botsford Health Care in Farmington, Mich. Mr. Fox will succeed Gene Michalski.
6. Orlando Health names David Strong CEO
Orlando (Fla.) Health named David W. Strong, MHA, president and CEO after more than a year without a permanent leader, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Sherrie Sitarik, Orlando Health’s most recent CEO, stepped down in September 2013. Mr. Strong is leaving his post as president of Raleigh, N.C.-based Rex Healthcare and CEO for system affiliations at the University of North Carolina Health Care System in Chapel Hill to take the job. His tenure at Orlando Health begins in early April.
7. ProMedica seeks Supreme Court review of St. Luke’s deal
Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica Health System has appealed the ruling that blocked its acquisition of Maumee, Ohio-based St. Luke’s Hospital to the U.S. Supreme Court. ProMedica and St. Luke’s merged in August 2010, and the combined system became Lucas County, Ohio’s dominant hospital provider controlling more than 50 percent of the market for primary and secondary services and more than 80 percent of the market for obstetrical services. The FTC challenged the merger five months after its completion, and subsequently an administrative law judge concluded the merger could adversely affect competition in Lucas County. ProMedica was ordered to divest St. Luke’s. ProMedica’s appeal to the Supreme Court comes after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld the FTC’s order.
8. Harvard faces backlash from home-grown healthcare ideas
Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., has shifted some of the increasing costs of healthcare to its employees, sparking outrage among faculty, according to The New York Times. The university partially cited the adjusted health benefits to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Harvard employees used to pay part of the insurance premium and low out-of-pocket costs for healthcare. Now, the employer-sponsored plan will require employees to pay deductibles of $250 per individual and $750 per family, in addition to copayments.
9. Epic, IBM form advisory group in run for Department of Defense contract
Even before the Department of Defense selects the winning bid for its commercial EHR contract, Epic Systems and IBM — who have entered a joint bid with Impact Advisors —assembled an advisory group to help inform best practices and suggestions for the contract, according to a Federal Times report. Epic and IBM announced their plan to partner on a bid in June, proposing using Epic’s EHR with IBM’s system integration, operations and change management solutions and expertise. In August, Impact Advisors joined the bid.
10. Experimental Ebola vaccine by Johnson & Johnson begins trials
Johnson & Johnson began trials of its experimental Ebola vaccine, making it the third vaccine currently in clinical development, according to Fortune. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is different from the two others because it involves two separate shots. The first injection stimulates the immune system, and the second injection — a booster shot — is administered a few weeks later. The booster is created by Bavarian Nordic in Denmark. The first in-human testing of the new vaccine will be conducted at Oxford (England) University on 72 healthy volunteers who will get different regimens combining the vaccine components or placebo.
11. Medtronic shareholders OK Covidien acquisition
Medtronic shareholders voted to approve the Covidien acquisition Jan. 7. Shareholders owning approximately 95.66 percent of the shares voted at the meeting. The company will file the final vote results on a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Covidien shareholders also approved the transaction, and both companies expect the deal to close in the last week of January or early February. The transaction is still subject to approval by the High Court of Ireland.
12. Noridian now covers MIS SI joint fusion
Medicare Administrative Contractor Noridian Healthcare Solutions now covers minimally invasive sacroiliac joint fusion surgery. The MAC began coverage Jan. 1, the same day a new Category I CPT Code became available for the procedure. Noridian covers 9 million Medicare beneficiaries, who now have access to minimally invasive SI joint fusion coverage. Now that Noridian announced coverage, three of the eight Medicare Administrative Contractors cover MIS SI joint fusion.
13. Florida ASC offers free eye surgery to patients in need
Jeffrey Levenson, MD, with the help of Riverside Park Surgery Center in Jacksonville, Fla., gave the gift of sight to a handful of residents, according to the Jacksonville Daily Record. Dr. Levenson provided free cataract surgeries to six patients and the surgery center offered up its materials and surgery room space.
