Patient Care

This page includes news coverage of various aspects of patient healthcare, including new technology innovations, what is working, what is not, personalized medicine and remote and telemedicine delivery. Find specific news in the areas of Care Delivery, Digital Transformation, Precision Medicine, Remote Monitoring and Telehealth.

Patient dies when surgical blade is left inside him, spurring $1M malpractice lawsuit
The family of Jeffrey Alan Fulcher, 58, sued the Medical University of South Carolina after the father of three died six days after undergoing a minimally invasive procedure to remove part of his esophagus. The state, on behalf of the hospital, settled the case out of court.
AI dramatically improves the detection of severe heart attacks
Researchers put an advanced AI model to the test, using it to evaluate the ECG results of more than 1,000 patients. It performed quite well.
CMS’ AI program to add prior authorizations to traditional Medicare; new bill aims to stop it
President Donald Trump’s administration argues that their “WISeR” model will eliminate unnecessary testing and save Medicare money. But eight Democrats opposing it think it will only bring Medicare Advantage chaos to Part A and Part B.
UnitedHealthcare bucks Medicare, ends reimbursement for most RPM services
Starting in 2026, patients covered by UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage and commercial plans will not have care reimbursed for instances of remote patient monitoring unless they have diagnosed heart failure or are pregnant and experiencing hypertension. The shift stands at odds with traditional Medicare, which added new claims codes for providers to use next year.
Healthcare AI today: Billions for AI-based biotech, fast ROI or else, AI for imprisoned patients, more
The Zuckerbergs have many billions to give away. They want to shower a lot of it on researchers using AI to cure diseases.

Report: 44% of adults in the U.S. are uninsured or underinsured

According to an analysis from the Commonwealth Fund, millions of patients are skipping necessary care and struggling to pay mounting medical debt.

Medtronic has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its new InPen smartphone app and announced the launch of its new Smart MDI system. Smart MDI was designed to provide real-time insights for users on multiple daily injection (MDI) therapy. It includes the InPen smart insulin pen, the InPen app and Medtronic’s disposable, all-in-one Simplera continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval back in August.

Medtronic receives key FDA clearance, launches new diabetes system

Medtronic designed its new Smart MDI system to provide real-time insights to users on multiple daily injection therapy.

Compensation for U.S. cardiologists is up across the board, according to a recent survey published by MedAxiom, an American College of Cardiology company. The report identified similar trends for cardiovascular surgeons, highlighting the country’s high demand for all heart specialists in 2024 and beyond.

Q&A: MedAxiom CEO explores key trends in cardiologist, cardiovascular surgeon compensation

Compensation for heart specialists continues to climb. What does this say about cardiology as a whole? Could private equity's rising influence bring about change? We spoke to MedAxiom CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, a veteran cardiologist himself, to learn more.

artificial intelligence AI in healthcare

Industry Watcher’s Digest

An influential industry group, AdvaMed, really likes President-Elect Trump’s choice of Dr. Oz for CMS administrator.

5 ways to let AI raise patient satisfaction, elevate provider performance

It’s been years since AI proponents started promising big returns on healthcare providers’ investments in the technology. The results have yet to catch up with the pitches. What’s the holdup?

SCAI celebrated William W. O'Neill, MD, and Cindy L. Grines, MD, two veteran interventional cardiologists who played key roles guiding the development of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as a treatment for ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients.

Cardiologists reflect on developing primary PCI in face of criticism and pushback

SCAI celebrated cardiologists William W. O'Neill, MD, and Cindy L. Grines, MD, for the important roles they played in the development of primary PCI. “It was challenging,” Grines explained. “We had the pharmaceutical industry that was anti-primary angioplasty and we had a lot of our own colleagues that were anti-primary angioplasty."

How TAVR valve choice impacts outcomes when treating type 1 bicuspid AS

Self-expanding and balloon-expandable TAVR valves are associated with comparable success rates and one-year outcomes when treating type 1 bicuspid aortic stenosis. However, each valve type comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Asante Medical facing $488M in lawsuits after fentanyl diversion linked to 16 deaths

The nurse responsible has been charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault. Her criminal trial begins Dec. 30.

Patient Care

Patient dies when surgical blade is left inside him, spurring $1M malpractice lawsuit

AI dramatically improves the detection of severe heart attacks

CMS’ AI program to add prior authorizations to traditional Medicare; new bill aims to stop it

UnitedHealthcare bucks Medicare, ends reimbursement for most RPM services

Healthcare AI today: Billions for AI-based biotech, fast ROI or else, AI for imprisoned patients, more