From the policy world
ONC report outlines industry-wide interoperability issues
An annual report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to Congress found that while electronic health record adoption has soared, the information those records track isn't getting shared. "Electronic health information is not yet sufficiently standardized to allow seamless interoperability, as it is still inconsistently expressed through technical and medical vocabulary, structure, and format," the report reads. That limits "the potential uses of the information to improve health and care."
CMS has unveiled a new kind of ACO
Responding to some feedback—and some dropouts from the Pioneer program—CMS last week announced that it would roll out a new "pre-paid shared savings" model intended to help new ACOs form in underserved areas and existing ACOs move into arrangements that bring more financial risk.
Supreme Court makes significant ruling on Texas abortion law
The Supreme Court last week issued a stay on parts of a Texas antiabortion-rights law, allowing more than a dozen abortion facilities in the state to reopen while court challenges continue.
Will the ACA lead to overcrowded emergency departments? UCLA study says no
One of the biggest fears from the Affordable Care Act is that the law's coverage expansion will end up swamping providers and hospital EDs, as newly insured individuals rush to get overdue health care. And early findings from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment bore that out: Researchers determined that when uninsured people got covered by Medicaid, there was a notable uptick in utilization.
But a new UCLA study on early Medicaid expansion in California suggests that's not always the case; yes, there's a short-term surge for these patients given pent-up demand, but their rate of using the ED levels off within a year.
On health care innovation
Google partners with Scripps on a 'talk to a doctor now' feature
This is an intriguing innovation: If you're in certain California or Massachusetts markets, searching for a medical symptom on Google (say, "food poisoning") will prompt users with an option to "talk with a doctor now."
Walmart ups its plans: 17 primary-care clinics by the end of 2014
Walmart had said it planned to open about a dozen primary-care clinics by the end of the year, but the strategy appears to be going well; the giant retailer said last week that it's increased its target to 17 clinics.
No link—we haven't written on this yet. (One of the stories that got put off because of the Ebola coverage.) But you can read some background on Walmart's other health moves: The plan behind Walmart's primary-care clinic strategy and their stated goal to be "the #1 health care provider in the industry."
Clinical news
Researchers create 'Alzheimer's in a petri dish'
A fascinating breakthrough that could accelerate drug tests: Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have grown "Alzheimer's in a dish" from embryonic stem cells. According to the study's lead researcher, the new discovery will allow scientists to "test hundreds of thousands of drugs in a matter of months."
Cell therapy brings leukemia patients from near death to remission
Another interesting finding from researchers at University of Pennsylvania Health System and CHOP concerns research into acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The therapy's designed to genetically trick a patient's immune system into attacking leukemia cells—and early trials suggest it's working, researchers report in NEJM.
On Wall Street
HCA sees a bigger 2014 than originally expected
In a preview of its Q4 earnings, HCA last week said that it's having a stronger 2014 than expected, thanks largely to a volumes uptick. (Same-facility admissions increased 2.8% year-over-year in Q3, for instance.) For-profit hospital stocks are having a banner year, overall.