Cold water has been tossed on the idea that CVS Health would break up the company and sell off health or pharmacy benefits from assets that provide medical care. In his first earnings call following a quarterly earnings report, CEO David Joyner gave no indication any company breakup was in the cards. In fact, Joyner committed to forging ahead to improve the diversified portfolio of businesses CVS has that include drugstores and an array of outpatient services and primary care clinics; the Caremark pharmacy benefit management company and Aetna.
Rising costs and increased competition have led to a wave of hospital mergers over the past decade. Now, only five of New Hampshire's hospitals remain unaffiliated with larger healthcare organizations. While some smaller hospitals have merged with Dartmouth Health — the largest health care system in the state — others have merged with nearby New Hampshire hospitals or looked south to Massachusetts.
The WHO will convene a meeting of its Emergency Committee next week to determine whether mpox remains a global health crisis. In August, the disease which continues to spread in Africa was classified by the U.N. health body as a public health emergency of international concern, which represents the highest form of alert. This followed the spread of a new variant of the virus, called clade Ib, in parts of the continent.
Roughly 1 in 6 American adults are thought to have diabetes, including undiagnosed cases, up from 10% at the turn of the century, CDC data show. Even as the U.S. pays more attention to metabolic diseases and is consumed with diabetes and anti-obesity drugs, the burden of the disease is growing and complicating care in an already taxed health care system.
Using peptides and a snippet of the large molecules in plastics, Northwestern University materials scientists have developed materials made of tiny, flexible nano-sized ribbons that can be charged just like a battery to store energy or record digital information. Highly energy efficient, biocompatible, and made from sustainable materials, the systems could give rise to new types of ultralight electronic devices while reducing the environmental impact of electronic manufacturing and disposal.
An Eastern Carolina hospital has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing for Washington Regional Medical Center shows a list of $4.1 million debts owed to creditors. CEO Frank Avignone says the filing is simply restructuring of the hospital's finances and the hospital will continue daily operations uninterrupted.