A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that pregnant women with type 1 diabetes were at a significantly higher risk for preterm birth even if they met target A1C levels of less than 6.5%, with the risk rising with increasing A1C levels, compared with those without the condition. Researchers analyzed data from linked Swedish national registers and found that higher A1C levels were also associated with risks for hypoglycemia, large gestational age infants, macrosomia, neonatal death, respiratory distress and stillbirth.
Researchers used a cohort of 3,234 patients with overweight or obesity and at risk of diabetes from the Diabetes Prevention Program trial and the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study, mean age of about 50, and found that those who received 850 mg of metformin twice daily had a greater long-term weight loss at years six to 15 than those in the intensive lifestyle intervention and placebo groups. The findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed a lower cumulative diabetes incidence over 15 years among individuals who had an initial weight loss of at least 5%.
Officials at physician services vendor EmCare in Florida have notified 60,000 patients, employees and contractors about a cybersecurity incident that may have exposed their personal information. An unauthorized person was able to access multiple employee email accounts that contained clinical data and demographic information, along with driver's license and Social Security numbers of some individuals, according to an investigation.
HHS is continuing to improve its information security program and practices, according to a report released by the HHS Office of Inspector General. The report also identified several weaknesses, including management of access, configuration, identity and risk; contingency planning; data protections and privacy; incident response; information security continuous monitoring; and security training.
The ONC will award $900,000 during the first year of a four-year contract to a nonprofit organization selected to be the Recognized Coordinating Entity. The entity will develop, implement, upgrade and maintain the ONC Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement's Common Agreement portion; work with the ONC to identify and oversee Qualified Health Information Networks; suggest sustainability strategies to bolster health data exchange; and determine Common Agreement noncompliance.
Take a look at the proposed new or modified ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes discussed recently by the ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance Committee, co-chaired by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Payers and patients are pushing the home care trend -- a trend that has hospitals worried about the revenue losses. John Bodine of Huron Transaction Advisory said providers can get into the mix by building partnerships, diversifying portfolios and starting home care services.
Hartford HealthCare, Trinity College and the University of Connecticut School of Business plan to launch a medical technology and digital health accelerator. Cambridge, England-based Start Codon was formed as a life science accelerator to promote 50 startups, while six startups have been selected by Arizona State University and the Mayo Clinic for the launch of their MedTech Accelerator.
A proposed rule outlining CMS' regulatory priorities for hospice in 2020 includes a 2.7% raise in hospice payment rates, representing a $540 million increase in payments next fiscal year. If the rule becomes final, the hospice payment cap will rise to $22,993.99.
The story of a specialist who used a live video feed to inform a patient that he had a few days left to live led to a lively discussion among health care professionals. "It's not just technology. It is healthcare management that is virulently infected," said one nurse, who recounted her experience receiving a melanoma diagnosis by phone without the chance to ask questions.