Hospitals across the U.S. have begun resorting to unorthodox means of replacing or sanitizing personal protective equipment (PPE) and atypical sourcing of PPE and other supplies needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic, according to a government survey. The Department of Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted the random survey of 323 hospitals […]
Trump uses DPA to boost supplies to certain ventilator manufacturers
President Donald Trump yesterday invoked the Defense Production Act to reduce supply-chain problems for certain manufacturers to produce ventilators. In the executive order, the president gave the secretaries of the departments of Health & Human Services and Homeland Security the power to secure materials for General Electric (NYSE:GE), Hillrom (NYSE:HRC) , Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), ResMed (NYSE:RMD), Philips (NYSE:PHG) and Vyaire Medical. Ventilator […]
AdvaMed: Invoking Defense Production Act could hinder U.S. medtech imports
Forcing manufacturers to repurpose their production lines to make equipment to fight the coronavirus epidemic might actually hurt the U.S. supply of those items, the head of medtech trade group AdvaMed said today. AdvaMed officials have talked with U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn about medtech […]
Everlywell, Nurx to offer at-home COVID-19 tests
Home testing company Everlywell said today that it will launch a home test kit with telehealth diagnosis for COVID-19 on Monday. The Austin, Texas-based company said it will release 30,000 tests immediately and is working with multiple labs to have testing and diagnosis capacity for a quarter of a million people weekly. Consumers who have […]
Hologic gets U.S. funding for coronavirus test kit
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is offering advanced development support to Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) for a molecular diagnostic test for coronavirus (COVID-19). Marlborough, Mass.-based Hologic’s test is the first coronavirus product selected for development through ASPR’s biomedical advanced R&D authority streamlined selection process (BARDA), […]
Senate panel approves HHS nominee Azar
The Senate finance committee has approved president Donald Trump’s nominee for chief of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar. The former drug company executive is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate. If confirmed, Azar will succeed Tom Price, who was forced out after reports from Politico revealed he often used pricey charter […]
Cybersecurity: Email is largest source of healthcare data breaches for 2017
Emails are the top source for data breaches so far this year according to the US Department of Health and Human Services, Modern Healthcare reports. A total of 73 breaches were reported between January 1 and November 30, affecting information related to 573,698 individuals, according to the report. The threat of email breaches is not unknown […]
Report: Former Eli Lilly exec Azar considered front-runner for HHS spot
The Trump administration is giving top consideration to former Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) executive and George W. Bush admin official Alex Azar to operate as head of the Health and Human Services, according to a Politico report. A White House official said that Trump has signed off on Azar, while other officials commented that he had […]
VA head Shulkin under consideration for HHS head
Current US Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin is slated for an interview as a candidate to lead the Dept. of Health and Human Services, replacing recently resigned HHS Secretary Tom Price, according to a Wall Street Journal report. VA Secretary Shulkin, a holdover from the Obama administration, is being considered among several candidates to […]
HHS, FDA finalize reporting rules for ClinicalTrials.gov
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA today released a final rule on results-reporting requirements for ClinicalTrials.gov, expanding registration requirements and providing a defined timeline with requirements for reporting trial results. The new rule provides clarity on statutory language, laying out objective, structure criteria for evaluating whether studies are “applicable clinical […]
