A study in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology found that patients with stage 4 chronic kidney disease, regardless of their diabetes status, who received dapagliflozin experienced the same reductions in the risk for kidney function decline, kidney failure and death, as those with mild to moderate CKD who received the drug. The findings also showed that the rate of serious adverse events were the same between those treated with dapagliflozin and those treated with placebo.
A study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology found that patients with type 2 diabetes who received 2 mg of once-weekly injectable semaglutide for 40 weeks had a 2.1% mean decrease in A1C, while those who received 1 mg of the same drug had a 1.9% mean decrease in A1C. The double dose of weekly semaglutide was also associated with greater weight loss, and there were no significant differences in the rate of serious adverse events between the doses.
Children with type 1 diabetes who had access to telemedicine saw a health care professional twice as frequently and had their blood glucose levels recorded more often last year than children lacking telemedicine access, according to a study in Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics. "Our study showed that children who have a chronic disease such as type 1 diabetes, which requires regular and continuous monitoring by health professionals, are more easily accessed through telemedicine," said principal investigator Valeria Hirschler.
The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative distributed remaining assets to six organizations and closed shop after supporting health IT innovation since 2005. Public charities that received final MaEHC grants include the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, which will design and validate a prototype for EHR-integrated prior authorization.
New Jersey-based CarePoint Health opened a new Healthcare Innovation Center on the Bayonne Medical Center campus to bring together inventors, vendors, investors and startups improving patient care with novel applications, approaches and technology.
The FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health needs more staff and funding to fulfill the center's public health mission, Director Jeffrey Shuren said. The CDRH's budget has remained relatively stagnant for years, pay has not kept up with private sector salaries and more resources are needed if some of the innovative approaches adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic are to continue, Shuren says.
Merck will use Evidation Health's research platform in a study of whether data from smartphones and wearable devices can be used as endpoints for Alzheimer's disease drug trials. Merck will recruit older people with and without diagnosed cognitive decline and compare data collected from smartphones and wearables to find differences that point to Alzheimer's disease.
Google Cloud says its new Healthcare Data Engine harmonizes data from medical records and claims, clinical trials, and research for query and analysis in a secure, compliant environment. Google says the platform can map 90% of Health Level 7 version 2 messages to Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standards in EHRs.
Rising drug prices have spurred some companies to come up with new solutions to make health care and treatment more affordable for Americans. The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. buys generic medications directly from pharmaceutical makers and sells them near cost; BetterMed makes zero-interest loans to help consumers pay for drugs and medical needs; and GoodRx offers discounts on prescriptions and care.
Patients' ability to connect to the Internet and use digital health tools a "sixth vital sign" that health professionals should be alert to, as it may affect whether patients can receive needed care, according to a commentary in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology. Digital health technologies can make a major difference in patient outcomes across a wide range of medical conditions, write Dr. David Klonoff of the Diabetes Research Institute at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center and colleagues.