Officials examine deaths after plasma donations in Winnipeg
medicalxpress - Canadian health officials are investigating the deaths of two people who donated plasma at private clinics in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
AI Summary: Health officials are investigating the deaths of two people who recently donated plasma at for‑profit clinics in Winnipeg, prompting scrutiny of donation frequency, screening practices and clinic oversight. Regulators are reviewing protocols and collecting evidence as public health teams work to determine whether systemic safety failures or procedural lapses contributed to the fatalities.
FDA Drug Approval Marks a First for a Disease — But It’s Not Autism
Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - Leucovorin is now approved for cerebral folate deficiency months after FDA Commissioner Marty Makary claimed the decades-old generic drug had promise for treating autism. The FDA’s review was based on published literature and real-world evidence.The post …
AI Summary: The FDA has granted traditional approval to leucovorin for cerebral folate deficiency, formalizing a decades‑old generic’s role in a rare metabolic disorder. The decision comes amid earlier agency notes that evidence for autism benefit was weak and debate over expanding use without fresh trial data — cue the policy hot takes.
Fitch upgrades UCHealth’s rating to ‘AA+’
Andrew Cass / beckershospitalreview - Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth’s credit rating was upgraded to “AA+” from “AA” by Fitch. The upgrade reflects the health system’s very strong financial profile, benefiting from its market position in a growing service area and a long track record of robust …
AI Summary: A large NHS evaluation found that an AI system can detect more invasive breast cancers than traditional reading alone, boosting detection by roughly 10%. The technology matched or rivaled radiologists in a major screening dataset, prompting debate about integration, workflow changes, and careful real-world rollout rather than unleashing bots in mammography rooms immediately.
- Mixed trial findings: AI triage not always noninferior. (1)
- NHS trial: AI boosts breast cancer detection by ~10%. (2)
- OTHER: AI in broader cardiac, hematology, imaging, and finance news. (4)
- Researchers and conferences push AI discussion in breast imaging. (2)
- All Other Stories
Mixed trial findings: AI triage not always noninferior.
NHS trial: AI boosts breast cancer detection by ~10%.
OTHER: AI in broader cardiac, hematology, imaging, and finance news.
Researchers and conferences push AI discussion in breast imaging.
All Other Stories
Measles outbreaks could fuel rise in fatal complication, physicians warn
Mackenzie Bean / beckershospitalreview - As measles continues spreading across the U.S. at a pace not seen in decades, physicians are warning about a rare but often fatal neurological complication that can emerge years after initial infection, KFF Health News reported March 13. Subacute sclerosi…
AI Summary: Measles is resurging across the United States at levels not seen in decades, and clinicians warn this spike could drive an increase in a rare but often fatal neurological complication. Public‑health experts point to falling vaccination coverage and gaps in outbreak control as the drivers, urging renewed immunization efforts and vigilance.
AMA: Physicians' use of AI doubled from 2023 to 2026
fiercehealthcare - A survey fielded earlier this year found 81% of doctors use AI in a professional context, with an average of 2.3 use cases per physician. Respondents were largely bullish on the technology's ability to boost clinical care and work efficiency, but still ha…
AI Summary: An AMA survey finds physicians’ professional use of artificial intelligence roughly doubled from 2023 to 2026, with about 81% of doctors now using AI across clinical and administrative tasks. The rapid uptake spotlights workflow integration but raises immediate questions about oversight, training, and legal liability as adoption outpaces policy.
FDA Transparency Push Expands to Monitoring Safety of Vaccines and Other Regulated Products
Frank Vinluan / medcitynews - The FDA said consolidating safety reporting into a single platform, the Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), will increase transparency and reduce costs. But like the legacy systems it replaces, AEMS reports are unverified so causation and frequency of…
AI Summary: The FDA is consolidating multiple safety reporting systems into a single public Adverse Event Monitoring System to centralize reports for drugs, biologics, vaccines, cosmetics and animal products. The move aims to improve transparency, reduce fragmented reporting, and streamline monitoring — a tidy solution if it works as promised.
Gallup poll: One in three Americans cutting back on daily expenses to pay for healthcare
fiercehealthcare - Healthcare affordability remains a significant challenge, with a third of respondents to a new Gallup poll saying they had to cut back on daily living expenses to afford care.
AI Summary: A Gallup poll reports one-third of Americans trimmed everyday spending, borrowed money or skipped essentials to pay medical bills. The findings highlight acute affordability pressures that force families to choose between care and basic needs, underscoring systemic gaps in coverage and cost control while policymakers offer the usual sympathetic nod.
Aetna to pay $117.7M to settle Medicare Advantage upcoding allegations: DOJ
fiercehealthcare - Aetna has agreed to pay $117.7 million to settle allegations that it submitted false or inaccurate diagnoses to juice Medicare Advantage payments.
AI Summary: CVS Health (via its Aetna unit) agreed to a roughly $118 million settlement with the DOJ to resolve False Claims Act allegations that inaccurate diagnosis submissions inflated Medicare Advantage payments. The deal closes a chapter on federal scrutiny of coding practices and aims to avoid years more of litigation and bad headlines.
Leapfrog ordered to remove safety grade for 5 Tenet hospitals
fiercehealthcare - A federal judge said a 2024 methodology update that adjusted the weighting of safety measures inputted for nonparticipating hospitals was "deceptive and unfair" under Florida law. Leapfrog plans to appeal, but said it will be making broader changes in rat…
AI Summary: A federal judge ruled that Leapfrog’s safety grades for five Florida hospitals—primarily Tenet-owned facilities—were based on a methodology the court deemed scientifically unsupported and potentially deceptive. The decision requires Leapfrog to take down those grades, raising fresh questions about the design, transparency and legal defensibility of high-profile hospital safety metrics.
White House autism briefing linked to swift shifts in prescribing patterns
medicalxpress - A White House briefing in September 2025 that raised concerns about acetaminophen use during pregnancy and promoted the drug leucovorin as a potential autism treatment was followed by sharp changes in how doctors prescribed those medications nationwide, a…
AI Summary: A White House briefing warning about acetaminophen in pregnancy and promoting alternate therapies led to an immediate, measurable decline in ER acetaminophen orders for pregnant patients. The episode shows how high‑profile public messaging can swiftly reshape clinical behavior — for better or worse — and raises questions about evidence, communication and unintended consequences.
CART19-BE-02 trial: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond – Resonance
oncodaily - ALRCaN presents “CART19-BE-02 trial: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond—Implementing a Hospital-Based CAR T Program and Integrating It into the Spanish NHS” with Dr. Valentín Ortiz-Maldonado. “Dear friends and colleagues, […]
AI Summary: Bereaved relatives delivered searing final testimonies as the Covid inquiry wound up four years of public hearings, recounting loved ones who died alone and demanding answers. Chair Baroness Heather Hallett defended the process and its roughly £200 million price tag as necessary to finish the work, despite public frustration and political scrutiny.
Telehealth growth hasn’t increased rural behavioral healthcare access: Study
Giles Bruce / beckershospitalreview - The rise in telemedicine over the past several years hasn’t translated to more behavioral healthcare access in rural areas, according to a March 5 study in JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Boston-based Harvard Medical School and Providence, R.I.-based …
AI Summary: A new study finds the rapid expansion of telemedicine did not meaningfully improve access to behavioral health services in rural areas. Persistent barriers—workforce shortages, broadband gaps, and reimbursement limits—keep telehealth from being the miracle fix some hoped for. Turns out, high-speed internet isn’t a therapist.
New FDA bonus pilot to address 'workforce challenges'
Max Bayer / endpoints - A new bonus pilot program meant to reward fast-working FDA reviewers will be funded in part by money from industry user fees, the first details on how Commissioner Marty Makary plans to finance the incentive ...
AI Summary: The FDA has introduced a pilot program offering performance bonuses to expedite regulatory reviews, aiming to tackle reviewer workload and improve timeliness. Funded partly by industry user fees, the initiative seeks to reward faster, high‑quality reviews while balancing independence and efficiency—proof that carrots sometimes replace the endless stick of overtime.
Optum Rx, Caremark making ‘significant progress’ in settlement talks with FTC
Rebecca Pifer Parduhn / healthcaredive - It’s looking increasingly likely that the UnitedHealth and CVS drug middlemen will also make peace with federal regulators, after Cigna agreed to a sweeping settlement in the insulin lawsuit last month.
AI Summary: Federal regulators and two pharmacy benefit managers are reportedly making substantial progress toward resolving an FTC antitrust probe tied to insulin pricing and PBM practices. Negotiations aim to settle allegations without protracted litigation, potentially changing how PBMs operate and how insulin costs are managed for states and patients.
FDA vaccine chief to step down in April
Ella Jeffries / beckershospitalreview - Vinay Prasad, MD, the FDA’s top regulator of vaccines and cell and gene therapies, will step down at the end of April, an agency spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s. Dr. Prasad joined the agency in 2025 on a one-year sabbatical from the University of Calif…
AI Summary: Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top regulator for vaccines and cell and gene therapies, will step down at the end of April amid mounting criticism over controversial decisions that reportedly overrode agency scientists and spooked stakeholders. His exit follows prolonged internal and external disputes about regulatory judgment and leadership style.
Hospitals urge regulators to halt drugmakers’ expanded 340B data policies
Emily Olsen / healthcaredive - The American Hospital Association argues new policies from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk requiring providers to submit more claims data on dispensed 340B drugs is onerous and unlawful.
AI Summary: Hospitals and provider groups are urging federal regulators to halt new drugmaker policies that expand claims-data reporting tied to 340B discounts, calling the requirements unlawful and administratively burdensome. The dispute pits safety-net providers against manufacturers seeking program transparency — a classic tug-of-war with patients’ financial stakes caught in the middle.
RFK Jr. names 2 new members to CDC vaccine panel
Erica Cerutti / beckershospitalreview - HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed two new members to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee Feb. 27, ahead of a rescheduled meeting in mid-March where members are expected to review COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Mr. Kennedy said Sean Downing…
AI Summary: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed two clinicians to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices just weeks before a rescheduled session, installing new voting members ahead of vaccine deliberations. The last‑minute nominations aim to ensure the panel is fully staffed for upcoming guidance discussions.
Parents of gravely ill child refused respite care
bbc - Birmingham Children's Trust refused respite help and suggested training grandparents to help.
AI Summary: Parents of a gravely ill child report being refused respite care, leaving caregivers exhausted and without relief while bureaucratic responses pivot to training relatives. The situation exposes gaps in social and health services for high‑need families and the human cost of systems designed for checkboxes, not real lives.
Health Gorilla Calls Epic Lawsuit ‘Attack on Interoperability’ in Motion to Dismiss
Katie Adams / medcitynews - Health data company Health Gorilla filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from Epic and several healthcare providers alleging inappropriate access to nearly 300,000 patient records. The case highlights ongoing questions about governance and standards for nat…
AI Summary: Health Gorilla has asked a court to toss Epic’s lawsuit accusing the health‑data firm of improper access to electronic health records, calling the suit an “attack on interoperability.” The motion argues Epic and providers are using contract technicalities to stifle data exchange, while courts will decide whether access practices cross legal lines.
Teladoc Health reports slower growth, offers cautious 2026 outlook as it shifts telehealth model
fiercehealthcare - Teladoc Health reported better-than-expected fourth quarter financial results with both revenue and earnings exceeding analysts' expectations, driving a 15% jump in the company's stock Thursday.
AI Summary: Telehealth provider Teladoc reported slower growth and issued a cautious outlook as it shifts its telehealth model, warning of membership headwinds and potential declines in integrated‑care enrollment tied to market dynamics and policy changes. Management signaled strategic recalibration to stabilize long‑term performance.