Editor's Note The US House of Representatives may vote this week on The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. Introduced September 8, the proposed act aims to boost healthcare pricing transparency so consumers can make more informed decisions. Key elements include: Hospitals, payers, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), and other facilities would…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new concept paper on the department’s strategy regarding cybersecurity for the healthcare sector, a December 6 HHS press release reports. The paper details four pillars for action:  publishing new voluntary healthcare-specific cybersecurity performance goals working with Congress…

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Editor's Note A new wearable monitoring device system from researchers at the University of Arizona aims to make digital health access more equitable. These research findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 4.  The new device can reportedly send health data up to…

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Editor's Note The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety notice on November 30 regarding quality concerns related to several Chinese manufacturers of syringes. The FDA is evaluating these devices for potential problems, including leaks, breakages, and the presence of particles in the syringes.  According to the safety…

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Editor's Note In California, 20% of patients who have died were still being shown as alive with a serious illness in their medical records, leading to wasteful outreach and strain on hospital workers’ time, MedicalXpress December 4 reports. The findings were originally published in JAMA Internal Medicine.  Due to a…

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Editor's Note The Biden Administration will issue a “Presidential Determination” that will expand the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in order to boost the domestic supply chain for essential medicines, a November 27 HHS press release reports.  The measure will include new investment in domestic…

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Editor's Note Functional ultrasound has been shown to be a promising alternative to brain-machine-interface (BMI) devices to read neural activity and assist people with paralysis. These findings were published by Nature Neuroscience on November 30.  BMIs typically require invasive surgical procedures to implant the electrodes into the brain. While these…

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Editor's Note In this original investigation published by JAMA Network on October 31, researchers have found that using virtual reality (VR) technology to give patients familiarity with the surgical setting and surgical tools prior to a procedure can help to reduce their anxiety. The study included 74 patients, ages 18…

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Editor's Note Researchers from the University of Waterloo have devised a new, noninvasive method for detecting early stage breast cancer in just 2 minutes using very low electro-magnetic frequencies. The findings were first published in August in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.  The research team discovered that very low electro-magnetic…

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Editor's Note A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has shown to accurately identify invasive breast cancer patients who are likely to be long-term survivors and could benefit from reduced chemotherapy, according to a new study. The findings were published in Nature Medicine on November 27.  Researchers from Northwestern University collaborated…

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