Real Word Data Proves Effectiveness of Remdesivir; Weill Cornell Launches $1.5B Precision Medicine Campaign

June 22, 2021 - Real-world data shows that Gilead’s remdesivir reduces the risk of mortality for COVID-19 patients. Precision medicine is set for advancement at Weill Cornell Medicine with the launch of a billion-dollar campaign. Meanwhile, the SCOTUS ACA decision has experts anticipating future challenges.

SCOTUS Decision on Affordable Care Act Surprises Critics

Since the Supreme Court dismissed California v Texas on June 17, payers and healthcare leaders have vocalized their support for the decision, their readiness to continue building on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and their expectations about the impact that this decision could have on ongoing and future litigation.

For many experts in the healthcare industry, the result was unsurprising because the decision did not address the constitutionality of the individual mandate or the law in its entirety, this may not be the last legal contest that the law will face.

“It was not necessarily clear that the Supreme Court was going to dismiss the case on standing grounds as they have done, but any of the options they had sort of was going to result in the same outcome and the same sort of preservation of status quo for the healthcare industry,” argues Michael Kolber, partner at Manatt Health. READ MORE

Why the Digital Front Door Improves Patient Experience

The digital front door isn’t just unlocked; it’s opening wide, and healthcare organizations that want to remain competitive need to figure out how to make it an entrance to a wholly connected patient journey.

It’s not as though organizations are ignoring digital transformation — many clinicians recognize and advocate for the importance of virtual patient engagement — but they are hamstrung by competing patient demands and hospital capital.

“Healthcare is being heavily impacted by technology. The doctor is still a very important central part of that universe, but so are patients. So are care-seeking consumers. All of them should be empowered by technology that facilitates that relationship and takes it to a different level,” says Mutaz Shegewi, IDC Health Insights research director. READ MORE

Real-World Data Confirms Remdesivir’s Effectiveness

Gilead recently announced that its COVID-19 treatment, remdesivir, lowered the risk for mortality compared with matched controls in patients hospitalized with the virus.

The three real-world data analyses analyzed included 98,654 patients. Two of the studies observed treatment trends and outcomes in the US, while the third analysis compared clinical outcomes in patients receiving a 10-day treatment course of remdesivir in the global SIMPLE-Severe study with patients receiving standard of care in a real-world cohort study.

FDA approved remdesivir as the first COVID-19 treatment in October 2020 for use in patients 12 years of age or older infected with the coronavirus. READ MORE

Weill Cornell Medicine Targets $1.5B to Advance Precision Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine announced its $1.5 billion “We’re Changing Medicine” campaign, which intends to advance biomedical innovations in areas such as precision medicine, artificial intelligence, genomics, and machine learning. The campaign has already received more than $750 million so far from existing benefactors.

The academic medical center will invest in an updated biomedical research facility at the Belfer Research Building and in the development of groundbreaking technologies in data science, artificial intelligence, and genomics. The research aims to shed light on disease origins and the development of precision medicine treatments.

Additionally, a $160 million gift established a scholarship for medical students that will provide recipients with debt-free education, and a $55 million gift enabled the construction of a new residence hall. READ MORE

Banner Health Launches Digital Health Program to Support Providers

As providers become more comfortable with prescribing connected health services, healthcare organizations are creating their own formularies and giving their doctors a menu of preferred mHealth apps, devices, and solutions.

The latest to do this is Banner Health, which rolled out a digital health program last month on its Cerner electronic health record platform. In doing so, the Phoenix-based, 30-hospital health system is looking to create the infrastructure for a hybrid healthcare strategy that includes a robust remote patient monitoring platform.

“Our patients want a higher level of access,” particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Jeff Johnson, Banner’s vice president of innovation and clinical health. Clinicians, as well, want a “higher level of connectivity” with their patients, allowing them to collaborate on care outside the hospital or clinic and in the home, where more care actually happens these days. READ MORE

Missouri Struggles with High Rates of Nursing Shortages

Rural counties are experiencing increasing rates of nursing shortages and higher percentages of older nurses, largely due to geographical disparities that metropolitan counties do not encounter, according to a study from the University of Missouri.

The study looked at 136,000 licensed nurses in Missouri and found that 31 percent of all nurses in the state were older than 54. This percentage was greater in rural counties compared to urban counties, with some rural counties seeing more than half of their nurses on the older side.

“Out of the 114 total counties in Missouri, 97 are designated as health care professional shortage areas, and a majority of these counties are rural,” Anne Heyen, assistant teaching professor in the MU Sinclair School of nursing, said in a public statement.

With a high number of older nurses making up the hospital workforce in rural counties, turning the focus to the recruitment of incoming nurses is critical. READ MORE