Today's Healthcare Pulse
Abridge teams with Eli Lilly and Nvidia to expand AI scribe platform
Abridge announced a strategic investment from Eli Lilly and a partnership with Nvidia to build a foundation model for clinical conversations. The collaboration aims to broaden Abridge’s AI‑scribe services across more health systems and integrate with payers. The company already supports over 300 health systems.
Also developing:
Re: Abu-Sitta Case: New Regulator Joins Appeal Effort on Doctor Cleared of Supporting Terrorism
The Professional Standards Authority has announced it will support the General Medical Council’s appeal of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service’s decision that cleared Dr Ghassan Abu‑Sitta of terrorism‑related misconduct. The appeal follows a petition signed by thousands of doctors demanding the GMC’s leadership step down after the regulator pursued the case. Parliament is set to remove the GMC’s right to appeal tribunal rulings later this year, raising questions about the regulator’s authority. The episode underscores the delicate balance between lawful humanitarian commentary and regulatory oversight.
STAT+: Structure Therapeutics Reports Significant Weight Loss From Mid-Stage GLP-1 Pill
Structure Therapeutics announced that its daily oral GLP‑1 obesity pill produced an average 16% body‑weight reduction versus placebo after 44 weeks in a Phase 2 trial. The result outperforms Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, which showed about 11% loss over 72 weeks, and rivals...
Prioritize History and Exam Before Trusting MRI Findings
The irony I find myself returning to is that MRI technology has not made us better diagnosticians. It has, in many cases, made us worse ones, because the image is so concrete and the language of the report so authoritative...
Havas Life London Identifies Stigma as a Structural Barrier in Rare Disease
Havas Life London’s new report reveals that stigma is a pervasive, structural barrier in rare disease care, affecting 89% of patients and caregivers surveyed. Healthcare settings account for the largest share of stigma incidents, with 42% reporting dismissed symptoms and...
Structure Therapeutics Reports More Phase 2 Data for Oral GLP-1
Structure Therapeutics released Phase 2 data for its oral GLP‑1 agonist, positioning the candidate as a next‑generation alternative to injectable therapies from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The trial demonstrated a mean 30% reduction in HbA1c and 70% of participants achieving target...
The Peptide Boom Is Getting Out of Hand
The Atlantic outlines a surge in off‑label and experimental peptide use, noting that Vyleesi—approved for women’s hypoactive sexual desire disorder—is being bought by men through “research use only” listings and online pharmacies. Compounding pharmacies and telehealth firms now market customized...
‘Compensation Remodeling’ and 9 Other Solutions to Help Preserve Radiology’s Core Mission
The American College of Radiology’s 2025 Intersociety Meeting produced ten actionable solutions to halt the erosion of academic radiology’s core mission of patient care, education, and research. Experts cite practice consolidation, rising imaging volumes and burnout as primary threats. Recommendations...
Widespread US Shift From Prescription to OTC Lies in Pharma’s Hands
The FDA is accelerating the shift of prescription medicines to over‑the‑counter status, highlighted by Commissioner Marty Makary’s call for broader OTC availability and the introduction of the Additional Condition for Non‑Prescription Use (ACNU) framework. Former FDA counsel Heidi Gertner stresses...
AHF Urges EU to Stop Blocking Health Equity
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Europe will stage an advocacy action and press conference in Brussels on March 18, 2026, urging the European Commission to adopt a legally binding Pathogen Access and Benefit‑Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The organization...
Family Caregivers’ Needs in Late-Stage Dementia
A new qualitative study in BMC Geriatrics reveals the intense psychological, physical, and social pressures faced by family caregivers of late‑stage dementia patients. Interviews expose high rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout, compounded by fragmented health‑care navigation and dwindling social...
The Antibacterials of Tomorrow
The blog recaps the 2026 New Antibacterial Discovery and Development conference in Tuscany, where researchers presented emerging strategies against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Dr. Quave highlighted her lab’s plant‑derived natural products targeting Gardnerella vaginalis, a key cause of bacterial vaginosis. The...
“Mad Scientist” Mike Schultz Has Created Prosthetics for Para Snowboarders That Often Beat Him
Mike Schultz retired from Paralympic snowboarding after winning a bronze in the Cortina banked slalom, capping a career that includes four medals and two golds. He is celebrated for designing the BioDapt prosthetic knee and foot that now equip every...
After Novartis Pact, Macrocycle Shop Unnatural Products Gets $45M Series B
Santa Cruz‑based Unnatural Products secured a $45 million Series B round to accelerate its macrocycle drug platform. The financing follows a newly announced partnership with Novartis that will grant the pharma giant early access to the company’s pipeline and a co‑development option...
Officials ‘Missed 99% of Data’ on Covid Vaccines Before Making Recommendation, Memos Reveal
Internal HHS memos released in a lawsuit reveal officials ignored about 99% of available safety and efficacy data when deciding to end COVID‑19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant people and children. The decision was announced by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy...
RevnaBio Secures Triple International Laboratory Accreditation to Expand Precision Medicine and Clinical Research Infrastructure in Africa
RevnaBio received triple accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for ISO 15189, ISO 20387 and ISO/IEC 17043, validating its medical laboratory, biobanking and proficiency‑testing operations. The certifications boost diagnostic quality, enable local molecular testing, and provide a trusted platform for...
Hospital Apologizes After Leaving Patient on MRI Scanner for 6 Hours
Tongji Hospital in Wuhan apologized after a patient was left inside an MRI scanner for nearly six hours due to a failed shift‑handover. The attending physician marked the exam complete at 12:10 a.m., but the patient remained immobile until cleaning staff...
Understanding CDSCO Import Licensing: A 2026 Guide for Medical Device Manufacturers
India’s medical‑device market now requires every imported device to secure a CDSCO import licence through the SUGAM portal, regardless of risk class. Manufacturers must first classify the product under the 2017 Medical Device Rules, appoint an Indian Authorized Agent, and...
Bayer Reports the P-III (FIND-CKD) Trial Data on Kerendia in Non-Diabetic Chronic Kidney Disease
Bayer disclosed results from the pivotal Phase III FIND‑CKD trial evaluating Kerendia (finerenone) in more than 1,500 adults with non‑diabetic chronic kidney disease. Patients received 10 mg or 20 mg of Kerendia alongside standard of care and were compared with placebo. The study...
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Industry Innovators to Reveal High-Performance Strategies at 31st Annual Executive War College
The 31st Annual Executive War College will convene April 28‑29 in New Orleans, spotlighting early‑adopter labs tackling reimbursement pressure, workforce shortages, and new regulations. Speakers include MD Anderson’s Walter McAndrew on molecular workflow cost cuts, Abbott’s Jonathan Burgart on turning excess capacity...
Staff Cuts Hit 9/11 WTC Health Program as Workers Reassigned to ICE
Federal officials have reassigned two senior employees of the World Trade Center Health Program to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Indian Health Service, deepening an already severe staffing shortage. The program, budgeted for 120 workers, now operates with only...
KORU Medical Secures Certification Under EU MDR for Infusion Pump
KORU Medical has obtained European Union Medical Devices Regulation (EU MDR) certification for its Freedom60 infusion pump, which includes an adapter for 50 ml prefilled syringes, allowing commercialisation across the EU. The pump complements the FreedomEDGE system that supports 20 ml cartridges,...
J&J Reports Positive Data for Erda-iDRS in Bladder Cancer
Johnson & Johnson announced encouraging Phase I data for its intravesical drug‑releasing system Erda‑iDRS in non‑muscle‑invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with FGFR alterations. The trial met its primary safety endpoint and delivered an 89% complete response rate in intermediate‑risk patients, with responses...
Restless Legs Syndrome Risk Higher in People with Multiple Sclerosis, Study Finds
A Spanish study of 440 MS patients and 241 matched controls found restless legs syndrome (RLS) twice as common in MS. Confirmed RLS prevalence was 15.2% among MS patients versus 7.9% in controls. Pyramidal symptoms and family history raised RLS...
Kistler and ATS Develop High-Speed Medical Device Assembly Line with Real-Time Quality Monitoring
Kistler Group and ATS Life Sciences Systems have launched the Symphoni platform, a high‑speed medical device assembly line capable of processing up to 320 parts per minute while cutting tooling requirements by 90 percent. The system combines Kistler’s force and displacement...
Survival After Blast and Crush Injury in Residential Bombing: Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran
The article examines how blast and crush injuries in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran are compounded by the collapse of medical infrastructure during urban kinetic warfare. It argues that survival rates drop not solely because of injury severity but due to...
Spotlight Pathology Secures £1.4 Million Seed Investment for AI Blood Cancer Diagnostics
Liverpool‑based Spotlight Pathology has closed a £1.4 million seed round to accelerate its AI‑driven blood cancer diagnostic platform. The round was co‑led by the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund and the Liverpool City Region Seed Fund, earmarked for product development,...
As Parents Clamor for a Treatment Touted for Autism, Doctors Hesitate to Prescribe It
Federal officials promoted leucovorin, a vitamin B9 derivative, as a potential autism treatment, prompting a surge in parental demand and online communities. The FDA later clarified that the drug is only approved for the ultra‑rare FOLR1‑related cerebral folate deficiency, not...
Access to Mental Health Treatment Services in Asian Languages
Asian language speakers with limited English proficiency face major barriers to mental‑health care in the United States. A new cross‑sectional study of 3,847 facilities from 2015‑2024 found that only 5.6 % offered services in an Asian language in 2024, down from...
Healthcare Tech Innovation: Lessons From HIMSS 2026
Healthcare leaders at HIMSS 2026 highlighted how moving Epic to AWS has become a mainstream strategy, now adopted by over 50 systems across North America and Australia. The cloud foundation enabled Jupiter Medical Center to slash radiology‑scheduling backlogs by 60% and...
Medicaid Expansion for La Comunidad Latina in North Carolina
The FIEL‑NC project examined Medicaid enrollment among North Carolina’s Latino community after the state’s expansion. Of 44 surveyed community members, 30% successfully enrolled, 36% attempted but were denied, and 34% did not try. Spanish‑speaking, female, and foreign‑born participants showed lower...
Reckoning With State and Federal Cuts, Los Angeles Safety-Net Clinics Push for a New Tax
Los Angeles safety‑net providers, led by St. John’s Community Health, face a potential one‑third drop in their $240 million annual budget as federal Medicaid cuts and state budget tightening bite. To plug the shortfall, a coalition of clinics and advocates is...
340B: When the Safest Move Can Feel Like No Move at All. Why ‘Waiting’ Is No Longer a Viable Strategy.
The article warns that passive waiting on 340B policy shifts is no longer safe, as it hands compliance risk and margin pressure to regulators and competitors. Manufacturers must shift from guesswork to data‑driven oversight, especially by capturing claims‑level utilization across...
Why Real-Time Data Is Becoming Central to PBM Client Retention
Regulatory scrutiny and soaring drug prices are forcing pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to deliver real‑time data to their clients. Traditional reporting cycles of 30‑90 days leave payers reacting to problems after they occur, eroding trust and increasing churn risk. RxSense...
In Switching to Original Medicare, Beware of Medigap Plan Refusals
During the Medicare Advantage open enrollment period, beneficiaries can switch to Original Medicare, but obtaining a Medigap supplement may be blocked by medical underwriting. While federal law offers a six‑month guaranteed‑issue window for new Medicare Part B enrollees, most retirees lose...
Eric Dickson on Building a Management System That Produced 200,000 Ideas at UMass Memorial
Eric Dickson transformed UMass Memorial Health from a $10 million‑a‑month loss and junk‑bond rating into a high‑performing system by building a Lean‑based management framework. Over 12 years, the system evolved through 18 versions, standardizing ten core processes and empowering 13,000 staff...
State Spending Growth Benchmarks and Hospital Revenue, Hospital Prices, and Premiums
Since 2013, nine U.S. states have introduced health‑care spending growth benchmarks, with eight states actively analyzed in a recent case‑control study covering 2015‑2025. The research compared hospital revenue, price indices, and insurance premiums against entropy‑balanced counterparts in non‑benchmark states. Overall,...
Psilocybin Microdosing in the United States
A nationally representative survey conducted Dec 2023‑Jan 2024 found that 12.1% of U.S. adults have ever used psilocybin, and 26.5% of those users microdosed on their last occasion. Among the 3.1% who used psilocybin in the past year, nearly half (46.9%) reported...
Senators, Health Experts Alarmed over Sharp Rise in Number of E-Cigs, Vape Users Among Filipino Youth
A Senate hearing highlighted a dramatic increase in e‑cigarette use among Filipino teenagers, rising from about 37,500 users in 2021 to more than 423,000 in 2023. Health experts reported that youths as young as 13 are experimenting with flavored vapes...
'Concerning Reading' | NHS Staff Report Increasing Pressure on Staffing Levels, Wellbeing & Engagement
The 2025 NHS Staff Survey of more than 760,000 employees shows only 33 percent feel there are enough staff, a slight dip from 34 percent in 2024 but still higher than 27 percent in 2021. Burnout rose modestly to 31 percent and work frustration...
Dental Robots Face Trust Hurdle, Acceptance Possible
It seems inevitable that medical robots will be used across the healthcare spectrum: from taking blood samples and moving medications around in a hospital to surgeries and pharmacy automations. But can dentistry be the next? A medical specialty in which...
Roche Receives CE Mark for Its Elecsys ApoE4 Test to Support Blood-Based Alzheimer’s Biomarker Testing
Roche has secured CE Mark approval for its Elecsys ApoE4 in‑vitro diagnostic immunoassay, a blood‑based test that detects the ApoE4 gene variant linked to Alzheimer’s disease. In a validation study of 607 patients with cognitive complaints, the assay achieved 100%...
Clinical Safety of Large Language Models in Oral Cancer–Related Patient Communication: A Longitudinal Study
A prospective longitudinal study compared Google Gemini Pro and xAI Grok‑1 on Turkish oral‑cancer patient queries over seven days. Both models delivered moderate‑to‑high scientific accuracy (Gemini 3.52, Grok 3.39) and high referral safety (90‑92%). Grok generated longer sentences but readability...
Clinical, Operational, and Economic Evaluation of Point-of-Care X-Ray Use in Outbreak Response in Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Study
A cross‑sectional mixed‑methods study of 327 Nigerian healthcare professionals evaluated point‑of‑care (POC) X‑ray use during outbreak response. Respondents rated POC X‑ray highly for rapid screening (mean 4.6/5), differential diagnosis and severity assessment. Multivariable analysis showed physicians, field workers, greater experience...
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Male Endocrine and Reproductive Health: A GRADE-Assessed Meta-Analysis
A GRADE‑assessed meta‑analysis of 59 studies (2,401 men) shows metabolic and bariatric surgery markedly improves male endocrine function. Total testosterone rises 5‑8 nmol/L across all follow‑up intervals, while free testosterone shows significant gains after six months. Estradiol declines and SHBG increases,...
Infinite Healthcare, What’s It Worth?
Andreessen Horowitz argues that AI will transform healthcare from a scarce, per‑service model into an abundant, proactive one. By expanding clinician capacity and lowering marginal costs, AI enables continuous monitoring, coaching, and early interventions at scale. This shift challenges traditional...
Using Alternative Medicine to Treat Cancer, Even Alongside Conventional Therapies, Is Still a Bad Idea
A recent JAMA Network Open cohort study examined over 2 million breast‑cancer patients in the National Cancer Database and found that use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is linked to lower overall survival. Patients who combined CAM with standard therapy...
Employers Are Buying Health Insurance Blind: It’s Time to Demand Data Transparency
Employers spend billions on health insurance yet lack visibility into plan performance, such as denial rates and appeal outcomes. Premiums continue outpacing wage growth while coverage rules increasingly dictate whether care is delivered. Insurers have resisted sharing operational data, leaving...
Lack of Health Policy Expertise Undermines Article Credibility
I’m gobsmacked by how bad this article is. I could tell before I looked at the authors credentials that they don’t have any background in health policy and I was right… And look, I’m not even mad at Kelly, it isn’t...
Understanding CGM Accuracy: Devices, Context, and Personal Factors
Continuous glucose monitors accuracy depends on the device, the situation and the individual. In this blog we explain the key concepts behind CGM accuracy and the terms you need to understand before interpreting the data. https://t.co/qSpsLY4al8