- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is proposing to expand Medicare coverage for
Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM). ABPM is a non-invasive diagnostic test that uses a device to track blood pressure over 24-hour cycles. Ambulatory monitoring allows blood pressure to be measured over entire days rather than at a single moment in time. ABPM may measure blood pressure more accurately and lead to the diagnosis of high blood pressure (hypertension) in patients who would not otherwise have been identified as having the condition.
- Becker’s Hospital Review tells us about Optum’s list of five costly drugs that are rolling out this year.
- Employee Benefit News reports about a trade association of sixty or so large U.S. employers who are seeking to reshape healthcare in our country. The Employer Health Innovation Roundtable “serves more like a think tank, and in doing so, casts a much wider net [compared to the Haven initiative], bringing together many of the country’s largest employers to embrace tech solutions that aim to better the lives of millions of employees nationwide.” Good luck.
- Speaking of technology, Med City News informs us the Microsoft is shuttering its electronic health record product known as HealthVault this November. This action comes on the heels of Google closing its Google Health service. Med City News explains that
While the end of HealthVault is an admission of failure for the company’s initial forays into health, Microsoft has refocused its efforts in the industry toward the enterprise market.
Reflecting a larger shift at the company away from consumer-facing technologies, Microsoft has instead launched new provider and health plan-focused products meant to allow clinicians to communicate and share notes securely, assist in patient navigation and remove technical barriers to interoperability.