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Healthcare providers have aggressively climbed onto the virtual care bandwagon since last March, conducting half or more of their patient visits by phone or computer. From mid-March to mid-October, nearly 40% of Medicare beneficiaries received a covered telemedicine service.
Now, with barely a year s worth of experience and few studies to rate outcomes, researchers are asking if virtual care standards whatever they are and patient access to telehealth platforms are good enough. The question will be particularly relevant if payers continue reimbursing at in-person visit rates after the pandemic subsides, as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it was considering in August.
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Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Black Americans
Communities are taking steps to remove obstacles, including distrust of the medical system and unequal access to healthcare By Brian Vines SHARES
HIV/AIDS researcher David Katzenstein dies
The Stanford virologist conducted clinical vaccine trials, which led to the approval of antiretroviral drugs, greatly improving the survival of people living with HIV Feb 4 2021
David Katzenstein was widely praised for his efforts to bring better, cheaper methodologies to bear on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa.
TeachAids
David Katzenstein, MD, professor emeritus of infectious diseases and global health at Stanford Medicine, who spurred advances in diagnosing, treating and preventing AIDS, died Jan. 25 of COVID-19 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was 69.
Katzenstein was a trained virologist, clinician and tireless advocate for global health. He was widely praised for his energetic push to bring better, cheaper methodologies to bear on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in middle- and low-income African countries, where over a 35-year period he spearheaded numerous life-saving projects.
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GenapSys Inc. (GenapSys), the company behind the world’s first highly accurate, affordable, and accessible gene sequencer, today announced it has named Jason Myers as its Chief Executive Officer, effective February 15, 2021. He will also join the GenapSys Board of Directors. Myers will succeed Dr. Hesaam Esfandyarpour, founder and CEO of GenapSys since 2010, who will remain as Chairman.
As a strong leader in the biotech industry with a demonstrated track record of scaling businesses and bringing innovative technologies to market, Myers will help GenapSys continue to innovate and expand the reach of its industry-leading solutions. Myers currently serves as a member of the management team and a Director at Invitae, where he leads oncology strategy development. He joined Invitae in 2020 upon the acquisition of ArcherDX, a company he founded and led as President and Chief Executive Officer.
Feb 5, 2021
Simple, inexpensive, and well-tolerated statins may protect against post-op adhesion-related complications
Statin use at the time of intra-abdominal surgery may reduce the risk of postoperative adhesion-related complications (ARCs) including small-bowel obstructions (SBO), the need for adhesiolysis, and even infertility secondary to adhesions according to results from a recent study published in
“More than 90% of patients develop adhesions after intra-abdominal surgery. Adhesion-related complications (ARCs) occur in up to 5% of patients undergoing these operations and are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality. More than 70% of small-bowel obstructions (SBOs) and 40% of cases of infertility are secondary to adhesions. Future operations in patients with adhesions are associated with inadvertent enterotomy rates of 10% to 20%, resulting in an estimated mortality of 13%,” according to lead author Frank I. Scott, MD, MSCE, of the University of Colorad