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What We're Reading: CRISPR Shows No Side Effects; Fatal Fungus in Nursing Homes; Walmart Healthcare "Super Center"
A CRISPR therapy for a man with HIV has resulted in no side effects but is ineffective; nursing facilities are a breeding ground for drug-resistant germs; Walmart has opened its first “Walmart Health” center, offering a variety of health services.
Mixed Results of CRISPR Treatment Show No Side Effects
Nursing Homes Harbor Fatal Fungus
A man with HIV who was treated with CRISPR 19 months ago is still doing well, reported STAT News, making him the longest-followed individual ever to be treated with the gene-editing tool. The findings were reported in the The New England Journal of Medicine this week, and the patient’s survival, without side effects, offers some assurance that CRISPR-based treatment might be safe. However, the findings also revealed that the treatment fell short of its goal of eliminating HIV from the cells of the man, who has received treatment or his HIV/AIDS, as well for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Drug-resistant germs, including Candida auris, are impacting hundreds of ill patients in skilled nursing facilities, reported The New York Times. Since C. auris arrived in the United States 4 years ago, nearly 800 people have been infected, with half of patients succumbing to the infection within 90 days. While most drug-resistant infections like C. auris have been attributed to medication overuse in humans and livestock, public health experts say that nursing facilities and long-term hospitals are a “dangerously weak” link in the healthcare system due to poor care and low staffing.
Walmart Opens First Healthcare “Super Center”
Walmart has opened its first “Walmart Health” center, a 10,000 square-foot center that will offer a variety of primary medical services, dental and orthopedic care, and behavioral health services, putting “key health services under one roof.” The first center opened in Dallas, Georgia, and another center is set to open in Calhoun, Georgia, later this year. The new model is expected to eventually be replicated in other markets, according to Forbes. Walmart has yet to say if a national rollout is in the cards, but Sean Slovenski, senior vice president and president of Walmart Health and Wellness, said the new centers are a serious strategy and “not a dabble.”
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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