Breaches on the rise

Screenshot 2024-12-05 at 5.48.26 AM

2024 was another record year for health data breaches, according to a STAT analysis of records from the federal health department's Office for Civil Rights. As many as 172 million people may have been impacted, and 532 of the 656 breaches reported resulted from hacks and ransomware attacks.

The reports include the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the UnitedHealth Group company that processes claims and prescriptions for a large chunk of providers and insurers. That breach is emblematic of a key problem: With more consolidation, the potential impact of a single breach becomes larger.

Breaches have soared in recent years, and experts told my colleague Katie Palmer that the situation is unlikely to change unless regulators put in clear rules. Such regulation and enforcement of existing rules is in question with an incoming Trump administration.

Read more here and also make sure to watch our excellent new video that clearly explains the challenges facing health care cybersecurity.

Digital therapeutics

Why Orexo abandoned depression DTx

Swedish pharmaceutical company Orexo this week announced it would stop licensing Deprexis, a digital therapeutic for depression, from German manufacturer GAIA. Orexo dove into digital in 2019 but despite a considerable investment, paused its work a couple of years ago after failing to gain commercial traction. CEO Nikolaj Sørensen told me that the move to cull one program reflected a need to focus on its core business areas. The company makes almost all of its money from selling a drug used to treat opioid addiction and still has rights to an app meant to provide psychosocial support to people receiving this treatment.

The irony of it all? Orexo's move comes just a month after Medicare regulators finalized coverage that could have potentially benefitted Deprexis sales down the line.

Year-end health care policy crunch heats up

Lawmakers are scrambling to reach a health care deal ahead of the government funding deadline, including an extension of pandemic-era telehealth policies that expire at the end of the year. The policies expanded what telehealth services were covered for people on Medicare. STAT's Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports that Republican lawmakers offered a package that included a three-year extension for the flexibilities, but it was a non-starter because it included a full repeal for the Biden administration's rule that set minimum staffing requirements in nursing homes.

Many proposals have bipartisan support, control of the Senate will be flipping in January, and key lawmakers will be retiring, so the deal might still get done.

digital health

Industry news

Amazon added virtual physical therapy provider Hinge Health to its landing page connecting people to insurance-covered services for dealing with chronic health conditions. Other providers include Omada and mental health service providers Talkspace and Rula. As Amazon keeps adding partners, I'm curious how many people actually find the care they need through the offering?
Concert Health, which helps health systems provide mental health services in primary care settings, announced a deal with California-based Sutter Health, which provides care to over 3 million patients.
AI clinical notes startup Abridge announced a new deal with Michigan-based Corewell Health. Under the deal 4,000 physicians will begin using Abridge tools.
The Food and Drug Administration this week finalized its guidance on pre-determined change plans for regulated AI medical devices with minor tweaks. The rules provide a way for developers to get approval for modifications in advance without having to submit for clearance for every update.

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What we're reading

Tim Cook wants Apple to literally save your life, Wired
What happened to the digital health unicorns of 2020-2022?, Halle Tecco
AI scribes are mostly rescuing doctors from themselves, STAT
Developing and evaluating large language model–generated emergency medicine handoff notes, JAMA Network Open