Medical Journal September 2022 Digital Edition
September 21, 20221 min
Post Views: 1,495
Healthcare employers navigating staff uncertainty and adjustments as economic challenges linger
September 21, 202212 min
BY Lariza Hebert, Associate, and A. Kevin Troutman, Partner, Fisher Phillips A Flash Survey on Economic Uncertainty[i] conducted by Fisher Phillips LLP analyzing the views of employers during the country’s economic volatility showed that only 13% of employers plan on shrinking their workforce, but among that 13% segment, healthcare was one of the top three most likely industries to reduce employee headcount. Based on responses received from employers in the industry, healthcare employers are...
Texas legal challenge to EMTALA guidance results in injunction win
September 21, 20228 min
BY Rossanna J. Howard and Beth Anne Jackson, Brown & Fortunato On July 11, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Secretary, Xavier Becerra, issued a general guidance memo titled “Reinforcement of EMTALA Obligations specific to Patients who are Pregnant or are Experiencing Pregnancy Loss” and a separate letter to health care providers addressing their obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), collectively referred to here...
Pricing for survival
September 21, 20228 min
BY Katie Dahler, National Life Sciences Leader, KPMG As demand for pharmaceutical cost containment intensifies, novel drug-pricing approaches are critical. First, an unprecedented number of blockbuster drugs came off patent over the last decade, and manufacturers were not able to pump out new drug innovations fast enough to replace them. The result was that sales and profit growth for most major pharmaceutical companies fell from double digits to low single digits. Although many...
Is chronotherapy right for you and your heart?
September 21, 20226 min
BY Victor S. Sierpina, MD is the WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor of Family Medicine at UTMB-Health and the John Sealy School of Medicine Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. -Simone Weil I first heard about chronotherapy from Dr. Keith Block, integrative oncology who practices in Chicago. He has long used portable delivery systems for chemotherapy that are timed to coincide with the body’s circadian...
Time for more progress on knocking down roadblocks to care
September 21, 20228 min
BY John Hawkins, President/CEO, Texas Hospital Association As health care continues to sit at the front of the public consciousness – as it has since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – patients and providers alike continue to find themselves characters in a story as persistent as it is frustrating. Generally, it goes something like this: Patients seek needed care. Hospitals and other providers pursue the required steps to deliver that care and...
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital welcomes cardiologist Dr. Felix Thomas
September 21, 20222 min
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital is pleased to welcome cardiologist Felix Thomas, M.D., to Houston Methodist Cardiology Associates at Sugar Land. Thomas specializes in preventative cardiology, coronary artery disease, cholesterol management, structural heart disease, cardiomyopathy, stress testing, cardiac imaging, and cardiac arrhythmias. He is board-certified in internal medicine and holds echocardiography, cardiac CT, and nuclear cardiology licenses. “I am excited to join Houston Methodist Cardiology Associates at Sugar Land,” said Thomas. “I look...
Houston Methodist welcomes oncologist Andrew Johnsrud, M.D
September 21, 20222 min
Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital is pleased to welcome board-certified hematologist-oncologist Andrew Johnsrud, M.D., to Houston Methodist Oncology Partners at Sugar Land. Johnsrud is a graduate of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Following his residency, Johnsrud completed a hematology-oncology fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a blood and marrow transplantation/cellular therapy...
MD Anderson and Radiopharm Theranostics launch joint venture to develop novel radiopharmaceuticals
September 21, 20224 min
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Radiopharm Theranostics announced the launch of Radiopharm Ventures, LLC, a joint venture created to develop novel radiopharmaceutical therapeutic products for cancer. Radiopharm Ventures brings together MD Anderson’s innovative and proprietary technologies in antigen discovery and molecular imaging with Radiopharm’s expertise in developing radiopharmaceutical products. The joint venture will focus initially on developing at least four therapeutic products based on MD Anderson intellectual property. “Radiopharmaceuticals continue to...
Adding targeted therapy improves chemotherapy responses in small cell lung cancer models
September 20, 20221 min
Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) have limited therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. Alkylating-based chemotherapy — which causes DNA damage to prevent cell division — initially improves survival in SCLC but has toxic side effects and cancers eventually develop resistance. Newer platinum-based chemotherapy has lower toxicity, but cancers still become resistant. In a new study, Pawel Mazur, Ph.D., and colleagues performed pharmacologic and proteomics screens to identify the protein methyltransferase SMYD3 and its new substrate RNF113A as previously unrecognized mediators...