• California: Ōura has filed confidentially for an IPO after being valued at $11 billion last year. The company, which was founded in Finland in 2013, makes smart rings that track over 50 health metrics continuously, including heart rate, sleep, daily movement activity, and more. So far, Ōura has sold 5.5 million smart rings and is expected to exceed 5 million paid members this quarter. In recent years, Ōura has worked to expand further into the healthcare space by collaborating with major healthcare companies, such as Quest Diagnostics, Resmed, and Dexcom. The company also received FDA authorization last year to study a feature designed to identify signs of high blood pressure. "We've evolved beyond tracking to deliver actionable health intelligence that helps people better understand their bodies and make more informed decisions for their long-term health," said Ōura CEO Tom Hale. "Ōura's continued growth, especially at this scale, not only highlights the strength and durability of our business, but also the size of the preventative health market we are competing for," said David Shuman, chairman of Ōura's board of directors. (Reuter, Med Tech Dive, 5/26; Landi, Fierce Healthcare, 5/26)
• Ohio: The Civica Foundation has received a $3.2 million grant to launch a drug shortage program for rural hospitals. According to the foundation, the new Civica Rural Hospital Program will help rural and critical access hospitals secure access to generic medications that are frequently affected by national drug shortages. The three-year pilot program will support roughly 225 hospitals, which represent close to 7,000 hospital beds, in Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The funding, which was from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, will allow them to join Civica at no cost by covering per-bed membership fees for eligible hospitals. Civica will also waive annual purchase commitments for participating hospitals. (Jeffries, Becker's Hospital Review, 5/21)
• Rhode Island: CVS Health is facing three separate lawsuits from hospitals alleging the company stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the 340B discount program. In the lawsuits, the hospitals claim CVS' third-party administrator flags drug claims as being 340B-eligible weeks after the medications are sold and after insurers have already reimbursed CVS at full network rates. They also claim that CVS' pharmacy benefits managers and its pharmacies then artificially lower how much hospitals are reimbursed, keeping the resulting "spread" as profit. According to the hospitals, CVS diverted roughly $250 million through the "secret pricing scheme" between 2020 and 2025. In a statement, Frier Levitt, the law firm representing the hospitals, said they are seeking "full accountability and recovery" of the 340B funds. So far, CVS has declined to comment on the lawsuits. (Halleman, Healthcare Dive, 5/22)

The rapid adoption of wearable devices gives health care organizations new opportunities to boost patient engagement and improve care management — but leveraging this data isn't without challenges. Here's how to navigate the risks and effectively incorporate wearables-derived data into clinical practice.