Healthcare Blogs and Articles
Healthcare Blogs and Articles
Healthcare Pulse
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Bariatric patients frequently fall short of protein recommendations, with up to 64% not meeting the minimum 60‑100 g daily intake. This shortfall leads to significant muscle loss—up to 25% of pre‑operative lean mass in the first year—and associated complications such as fatigue, poor wound healing, and increased sarcopenia risk. Protein needs vary by procedure; malabsorptive surgeries like duodenal switch may require 90‑100 g per day, while restrictive surgeries still demand at least 60 g. Clinicians can improve outcomes by offering individualized, practical protein plans, high‑quality supplements, and continuous monitoring beyond the immediate postoperative period.
CMS released a FY 2027 hospice wage index and payment rate update proposing a 2.4% increase that would add roughly $785 million in Medicare payments. The rule arrives days after the Operation Never Say Die arrests, which uncovered a $60 million fraud ring...
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has linked internal‑medicine board exam scores to Medicare claims data in research studies without informing or obtaining consent from the physicians involved. By merging exam performance with National Provider Identifier and claims information,...
UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and the US DARPA conducted AI‑enabled battlefield medical triage trials, testing whether AI can be aligned with individual medics' ethical preferences. Simulated mass‑casualty scenarios in October 2025 let participants evaluate AI decisions without knowing...
A new PLOS Medicine analysis of 27.8 million Medicare beneficiaries found that long‑term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) raises Alzheimer’s disease risk by about 8.5 % per incremental increase. The study shows the majority of the risk stems from direct brain...
California’s pandemic‑era unemployment insurance (UI) program paid roughly $20 billion in fraudulent claims, while state auditors estimate the overall fraud rate at about 7.6‑7.9%, translating to more than $1 billion lost. Parallel investigations reveal Medi‑Cal schemes siphoning at least $178 million and an...
![Why Hospital Systems Fail to Notice the Human Behind the Bill [PODCAST]](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://kevinmd.com/wp-content/uploads/ea65fd1d-d282-4c46-a750-620a3c3bb42f.jpeg)
Patient advocate Eric Goldfarb recounts his 88‑year‑old father’s hospital stay, where a weekend discharge, fragmented handoffs, and a bogus pregnancy‑test charge exposed deep communication gaps. Despite multiple revenue‑integrity reviews, the charge remained approved, illustrating how scripted processes can override common...
The late‑March FDA Group news roll highlights mounting political pressure on HHS officials after a POLITICO MAHA poll showed mixed support for President Trump’s health agenda, while the agency grapples with internal turnover that could impede reform. FDA leadership announced...
A prospective, multicenter FDA IDE trial compared the Total Posterior Spine (TOPS) facet arthroplasty system with traditional transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) in 249 patients with single‑level grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis. At 24 months, TOPS achieved an 85% composite clinical success rate...
Spacelabs Healthcare has signed an agreement with DEPTH Health to integrate its Rothman Index into DEPTH’s Real‑Time Advisor for Clinical Expert Routing (RACER) platform. The Rothman Index aggregates 26 clinical data points into a 200‑point risk score that updates continuously,...
The newsletter featured a subscriber‑driven discussion on practical steps doctors’ offices can take to demonstrate thoughtful patient care. Contributors highlighted tangible improvements such as clear signage, comfortable waiting rooms, transparent pricing, staff communication training, and digital check‑in tools. The dialogue...
A seemingly minor dry cough can dominate daily life for families providing home health care, interrupting sleep, meals, and conversations. Because the symptom often disappears in the clinical setting, physicians may underestimate its impact, leaving caregivers to manage endless adjustments...
The sacroiliac (SI) joint is responsible for roughly 15‑30% of chronic low‑back pain and is frequently misdiagnosed. Physicians use a stepwise approach—patient history, a cluster of provocation tests, selective imaging, and a diagnostic injection—to pinpoint the joint with about 91%...
Dr. Robert Malone, a co‑inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, quit the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) alleging internal sabotage. He claims that a person personally appointed by RFK Jr. to oversee ACIP operations acted as a mole, undermining Secretary...
The Canadian government has assumed direct control of the Vaccine Impact Assistance Program, moving it from the private consultancy OXARO to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The program, a no‑fault scheme, compensates individuals with serious, permanent injuries linked to...
For decades the medical establishment blamed stress for stomach ulcers, dismissing any bacterial cause. Dr. Barry Marshall, alongside pathologist Robin Warren, identified Helicobacter pylori as the culprit but faced widespread skepticism. To force acceptance, Marshall deliberately ingested a culture of...
A multicenter retrospective review of 904 adult spinal deformity patients found that height, not weight, independently predicts proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) after surgery. The risk rises with stature, peaking near 179 cm, and then plateaus. Weight and the height‑weight interaction showed...
Physicians warn that leucovorin, a folate derivative, is being hyped as an autism cure after political endorsements, despite lacking robust clinical evidence. Small studies suggest modest language gains, but no large randomized trials have confirmed efficacy and reported side effects...
Corvus Pharmaceuticals announced soquelitinib (CPI‑818), an oral covalent inhibitor that irreversibly engages ITK at Cys442 while sparing the related kinase RLK. The selectivity addresses the broader off‑target activity seen with earlier covalent ITK agents such as ibrutinib. Soquelitinib is currently...
Ascent Health Services, a Swiss‑registered group purchasing organization created by Cigna’s Express Scripts in 2019, channels billions of dollars in manufacturer‑paid fees that should be passed through as rebates. The GPO’s offshore structure lets Cigna and its partners keep these...
ZS CEO Pratap Khedkar warns pharma must move from isolated AI pilots to scalable, high‑impact use cases such as clinical trials, commercialization, and supply‑chain intelligence. He cites a new ZS‑Healthcare Leadership Council report showing the sector is transitioning toward targeted...
A century ago the U.S. government rejected warnings about leaded gasoline, allowing its use for five decades and causing widespread lead poisoning. The resulting health crisis lowered children’s IQ, caused millions of premature deaths, and cost hundreds of billions of...
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded in 1991 that evidence was insufficient to determine whether the pertussis (DTaP) vaccine causes autism, a finding reiterated by a 2012 CDC/HRSA review. The only study suggesting a link was excluded for lacking an...
Medvi, a two‑person GLP‑1 telehealth brand, posted $401 million in 2025 revenue and is on track for $1.8 billion in 2026, delivering a 16.2% net margin. The company built its consumer‑facing platform using AI tools for under $20,000, while outsourcing all clinical...
Researchers propose that atrial fibrillation and heart failure share a common molecular origin: reduced expression of the transcription factor TBX5. Mouse models lacking TBX5 in the atria develop arrhythmias and gene‑expression patterns that closely resemble heart‑failure signatures. Human atrial tissue...
The healthcare AI market is facing a sharp correction, with Series B funding dropping 84% from its 2021 peak and 95% of enterprise pilots failing to show ROI. Most failures stem from demo‑centric tools that cannot survive fragmented clinical data environments....
Johns Hopkins researchers have created an intranasal DNA vaccine that fuses the relMtb and Mip3α genes to target drug‑tolerant tuberculosis persisters. In mouse models the vaccine accelerated bacterial clearance, lowered lung inflammation and prevented relapse when combined with standard therapy....
Innate Pharma announced that senior executives will hold one‑on‑one investor meetings at the Kempen Life Sciences Conference in Amsterdam on April 15‑16, 2026. The biotech firm will use the event to showcase its pipeline, including the Nectin‑4 ADC IPH4502, the...
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Secretary of Health and Human Services, is steering U.S. vaccine policy toward skepticism, threatening the two pillars that have protected children for decades: parental trust and reliable access. He is considering regulatory changes that could...
Vedanta Biosciences announced that the independent Data Monitoring Committee has completed the first prespecified interim analysis of its Phase 3 RESTORATiVE303 trial and recommended the study continue unchanged. The interim data showed efficacy surpassing the futility threshold with no new safety...
Pulse Biosciences (Nasdaq: PLSE) will present at the 25th Annual Needham Virtual Healthcare Conference on April 16, 2026, at 9:30 am ET. The company will showcase its proprietary nPulse™ platform, which uses nanosecond pulsed field ablation (nsPFA™) to treat atrial fibrillation and...
SV Health Investors (SVHI) announced the acquisition of EpiVax, a Providence‑based bioanalytical CRO that specializes in immunogenicity risk assessments for pharma and biotech firms. The deal adds a proven scientific platform, including the ISPRI predictive software and cell‑based assays, to...
Dr. Shiv K. Goel left his role as medical director at a San Antonio hospital to launch Prime Vitality, a functional, integrative practice. He faced steep financial pressures, overhead worries, and professional isolation during the first year. A breakthrough patient...
Boston University, leading the AI for Alzheimer’s Disease (AI4AD) consortium, is coordinating 11 research institutes to apply machine learning to massive genomic, biomarker and cognitive datasets. The team is building the PreSiBO database, which tags predictor, signature, biomarker and outcome...
President Trump has announced 100% tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products that lack a Most‑Favored Nation (MFN) agreement with his administration. The tariffs will take effect in 120 days for large firms and 180 days for smaller ones, while imports from...
On March 31, 2026 a 59.8 MB source‑map file unintentionally exposed Anthropic’s Claude Code TypeScript codebase, revealing roughly 512,000 lines of production‑grade AI agent logic. The leak showcases a three‑layer skeptical memory system, a coordinator mode for multi‑agent orchestration, the AutoDream consolidation...
Pfizer announced it is halting development of its updated COVID‑19 vaccine candidates, ending ongoing Phase 2/3 trials that targeted newer variants. The decision follows mixed efficacy data and waning commercial demand as the pandemic recedes. Pfizer will redirect resources toward...
Pharma and biotech companies continued extensive workforce reductions in early 2026, with Takeda alone eliminating 634 U.S. positions as part of a $1.2 billion annual savings plan, while Amgen, GSK, and Merck KGaA also announced cuts ranging from dozens to several...
Leadership turnover continues across major federal health agencies under the Trump administration, creating uncertainty around drug‑approval timelines, pricing policies, and public‑health initiatives. Shionogi announced a roughly $2 billion deal to acquire worldwide rights to Radicava, bolstering its neurology portfolio and gaining...
President Donald Trump told a White House Easter audience that the federal government cannot continue funding Medicare, Medicaid, or daycare because escalating military costs from the Iran war are draining the budget. He suggested that states should assume responsibility for...
Consumer expectations have shifted to hour‑level delivery, prompting big‑box retailers to add pharmaceutical cold‑chain shipments to their last‑mile services. This introduces stringent temperature, security, and compliance requirements that differ sharply from general‑merchandise fulfillment. Companies must blend rapid order processing with...
An investigation by the Good Law Project revealed that Health Secretary Wes Streeting halted the NHS puberty‑blocker trial in February 2026 after receiving a letter from Professor Jacob George, who was later removed for anti‑trans bias. The correspondence was tied...
A multi‑institution team led by Michigan State University unveiled GPS, a machine‑learning platform that predicts how a compound will alter gene expression from its chemical structure. Trained on millions of transcriptomic measurements across more than 70 cell lines, GPS screened...
Pfizer and BioNTech have halted a large U.S. clinical trial of an updated COVID‑19 booster after failing to enroll enough healthy adults aged 50‑64. The study required tens of thousands of participants, but recruitment stalled amid a sharp decline in...
Bayer’s oral factor XIa inhibitor asundexian (BAY 2433334) has delivered positive Phase 3 data in the OCEANIC‑STROKE trial, positioning it as a potential first‑in‑class therapy for secondary stroke prevention. The drug aims to block pathological clot formation while minimizing the bleeding complications common...
Shionogi completed a $2.5 billion acquisition of global rights to Radicava from Tanabe Pharma, adding an approved ALS treatment to its portfolio. The deal transfers all intellectual property, sales rights and the existing commercial team, delivering an estimated $700 million in annual...
Research by Thames Valley Air Ambulance and St John Ambulance shows that one in three women in the UK who suffer out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest receive no CPR before emergency crews arrive. About 33% of men report hesitancy to perform chest compressions...
Hiring home health aides through an agency costs more than direct hiring, but offers structured recruitment, wage transparency, and employee benefits. First Light Home Care in suburban Boston screens hundreds of candidates and hires only about 3%, paying caregivers $19‑$24...
The FTC and DOJ are overhauling antitrust review in healthcare, shifting focus from traditional market‑share and price analysis to how vertically integrated systems control patient flow. Updated Hart‑Scott‑Rodino filing rules now demand explanations of ecosystem design, strategic intent, and internal...
The blog post stages a fictional, off‑the‑record interview with a figure named Kennedy, who claims to be coordinating a campaign to erode confidence in vaccines and medical regulators. The dialogue suggests a long‑term strategy to “soften up” opposition, manipulate public...
