Page 78 - Mployee Wellness Programs News Today

What does the future hold with AI and the healthcare ecosystem? Camille Harrison with GuideWell, Florida Blue joins the Payer's Place to share her thoughts.

Investment trends will be a big theme at the HLTH event at the Las Vegas Convention Center October 8-11. In the runup to the conference, investors from Bessemer Venture Partners, Cleveland Clinic Innovations, Third Culture Capital and Intuitive Ventures offered their takes on 2023 investments.

Diana Health, which partners with hospitals to operate a network of maternity practices, closed a $34 million Series B funding round. The startup currently operates three women's health practices in Tennessee. With its new funding, the company plans to open new practices in Tennessee, Florida and one other yet-to-be-announced state.

The Orchard Therapeutics acquisition comes as the biotech’s gene therapy for metachromatic leukodystrophy approaches a March 2024 FDA decision. The ex vivo gene therapy is already commercialized in Europe, marketed as Libmeldy.

Novavax’s updated version of its Covid-19 vaccine is now FDA authorized for use in the U.S., joining the approved shots from Moderna and partners Pfizer and BioNTech. Novavax said its protein-based vaccine will be available in coming days.

A new survey shows that women want more comprehensive medical support, solutions that treat their specific health concerns, access to a doctor who identifies the root cause of their symptoms and better care management services.

San Francisco-based Plenful emerged from stealth on Tuesday. The startup sells a workflow tool that automates manual and administrative workflows for pharmacy technicians. In addition to its launch out of stealth mode, the company also announced that it has closed a $9 million funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and signed contracts with more than 20 customers.

Policymakers must work to increase access to the Medicare Kidney Disease Education Benefit and expand the Medicare annual wellness benefit to include kidney disease screening. These reforms will catch disease at earlier stages and equip patients to better recognize their risk.

Hospitals’ operating margins are still in a worse place than they were before the pandemic, but 2023 is shaping up to be a much more stable year for hospital finance than 2022, according to a new report from Kaufman Hall. Because this year hasn't had any large Covid-19 surges, hospitals have seen less variability in patient volumes. This has helped them allocate their resources more efficiently and decrease their reliance on expensive contract labor.

While it's easy to be consumed by the latest technology and the potential influence it could have, it's important to remember the ultimate role these platforms should play when it comes to improved patient outcomes.