- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Same-Day Surgery Center Risks; Uber Starts Medical Rides; Immortality for Sale
An investigation into same-day surgery centers uncovered deadly risks for patients; Uber is launching a medical ride sharing service; the immortality market is attracting cash as well as plenty of skeptics.
Investigation Uncovers Deadly Risks at Surgery Centers
More than 260 patients have died since 2013 after 1-day procedures at surgery centers, according to an investigation by Kaiser Health News and the USA TODAY Network. Some died after routine operations, such as colonoscopies and tonsillectomies, while others died after more risky surgeries, like those performed on or near the spine. The investigation examined autopsy records, legal filings and more than 12,000 state and Medicare inspection records, and reporters interviewed dozens of doctors, health policy experts and patients.
Uber Launches Medical Ride Sharing Service
Immortality Market Attracts Cash, Skepticism
Uber is launching Uber Health, which will allow healthcare providers to schedule rides for patients, the Washington Post reported. No smartphone is necessary. It’s unclear if the service will work to help patients get to their appointments; a study published last month found that a service offering free Lyft rides in Philadelphia didn't decrease the number of missed appointments, compared to a group of people not offered the service. Transfusions of “young blood” into aging people possibly willing to pay big money for it in the hopes of living longer is the latest in a line of business opportunities aimed at the dubious immortality market, according to Stat News. Among the players are a Florida physician, Google’s parent company, a startup called Celularity, and a company called Elysium Health.
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.
Read More
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.
Listen
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.
Listen
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.
Read More
