Telehealth received a much-needed boost from the COVID-19 pandemic, but normal reality has settled in and a number of telehealth bills have surfaced in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) advised other members of the House that a recent extension of temporary Medicare telehealth coverage added $2 billion to Medicare spending, a fact which he said forces legislators to ensure that “whatever we move out of committee is paid for.”
As Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) first-quarter revenue missed Wall Street estimates for medical devices on April 16, CEO Joaquin Duato noted that the company will continue to look for major M&A plays to boost long-term growth in the wake of its recently reported $13.1 billion buy of Shockwave Medical Inc.
The U.S. FDA granted fast track designation to Telix Pharmaceutical Ltd.’s TLX101-CDx for glioma imaging as the firm prepares to file its NDA in the first half of 2024, a Telix spokesperson told BioWorld.
With the recent hack of Change Healthcare back in the news, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives took up the subject of cybersecurity, which included only a couple of mentions of medical devices. However, witnesses at the hearing emphasized the role of the federal government in thwarting foreign cybersecurity threats against health care facilities, with John Riggi of the American Hospital Association stating, “we need the [federal] government to go after bad actors overseas.”
Vomaris Inc. introduced its U.S. FDA-cleared Powerheal bioelectric bandage for over-the-counter use following studies showing a shocking 99.99% reduction in bacteria present in wounds covered with the bandage even without the use of antibiotics. The bandage’s electrical energy also stimulates cell movement, cutting healing time in half, a study found.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Keith Berman, formerly the CEO of Los Angeles-based Decision Diagnostics Corp., has received a prison sentence of seven years for misrepresenting the company’s developmental test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the inpatient draft for fiscal 2025, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed an accountable care model for beneficiaries on fee-for-service care, one which is designed to provide the coordination of care ordinarily seen only in accountable care organizations.
Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings introduced a glial fibrillary acidic protein blood-based test available commercially in the U.S. for the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries. The test, which the company said was the first of its kind, is designed to assess the presence and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, glioblastoma and traumatic brain injury.
The University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute’s director of Physics, Perry Johnson, has filed for protection of a method for patient posture and alignment using mixed reality (MixR) visualization.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed a few significant changes to the new technology add-on program for the fiscal year 2025 inpatient prospective payment system, including a boost in NTAP rates for gene therapy services.