Medical Journal October 2025 Digital Edition
October 20, 20251 min
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Advancements in patient financing: Enhancing access to health care services
October 20, 20257 min
BY Katharine Johnston, Director, Audit – Public Sector & Katey Kelly, Manager, Audit – Public Sector, Weaver In the evolving health care landscape, patient financing solutions continue to play a crucial role in enhancing access to essential medical services. Modern patient financing approaches have transformed the health care industry through technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. From addressing financial barriers to improving patient experience, these developments are changing both the industry...
CMS revises the “60-Day” rule
October 20, 20258 min
BY Phuong D. Nguyen, Esq. and Michael R. Alexander, Esq., Brown & Fortunato, P.C. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a Final Rule amending the standards for an “identified overpayment.” As a recap, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “Affordable Care Act”) requires that an overpayment be reported and returned by the later of 60 days after the date the overpayment was identified or...
Supplements for brain health
October 20, 20259 min
BY Samuel Mathis MD, MBA Recently, there has been a lot of media attention regarding supplements and prescription medications for certain neurological conditions and syndromes. This attention may encourage patients to ask questions about supplements that may help their brain health. While these supplements may help in certain situations, there is no quick fix or supplement that will delay or reverse cognitive decline. Let’s review some of the evidence surrounding supplements for brain health...
Let the shutdown be a reminder: Hospitals need long-term certainty from Congress
October 20, 20258 min
By: John Hawkins, President and CEO, THA At the start of this month, the federal government shut down for the first time in nearly seven years. This column is written in advance, and it’s possible that by the time you’re reading this, Democrats and Republicans will have ended their standoff and found at least a short-term funding solution to keep the government open. We at the Texas Hospital Association hope that occurs. But...
Rosanna Moreno named Administrator and Associate Chief Nursing Officer at UTMB Health Angleton Danbury Campus
October 20, 20253 min
UTMB Health is proud to welcome Rosanna Moreno as the new Administrator and Associate Chief Nursing Officer (ACNO) of the Angleton Danbury Campus. Moreno brings a wealth of experience in nursing and executive leadership to her new position. Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Clinical Officer at Kindred Hospital Clear Lake, where she led the organization to earn the Platinum Award for Quality—its highest honor—in 2023 and 2024. Her career...
Cancer-associated nerve injury leads to chronic inflammation and immunotherapy resistance
October 20, 20255 min
Cancer cells can break down the protective covers around nerves, causing nerve injury that triggers chronic inflammation leading to immune exhaustion and eventual resistance to immunotherapy, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study underscores the importance of investigating interactions between cancer and the nervous system – a field known as cancer neuroscience. The results suggest that targeting the signaling pathways involved can reverse this inflammation and improve treatment responses....
Final trial data from ELI-002 cancer immunotherapy vaccine reinforce promising results
October 20, 20251 min
In initial results from the AMPLIFY-201 trial, co-led by Shubham Pant, M.D., an immunotherapy vaccine targeting the lymph nodes showed potential in delaying relapse of KRAS-mutated pancreatic and colorectal cancers for patients who had previously undergone surgery. Long-term final follow-up data of this vaccine, ELI-002 2P, now shows that 17 of 25 patients (68%) had robust T cell responses, which were associated with increased survival. At 24 months, the median recurrence-free survival had not yet been reached for the higher response group – including all of...
Triple combination therapy shows promise for treatment-resistant microsatellite stable BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer
October 20, 20252 min
The BRAF V600E gene mutation makes colorectal cancers (CRCs) more aggressive, leading to poorer survival rates. While some CRCs with high microsatellite instability respond well to immunotherapy, most BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic CRCs are microsatellite stable (MSS) and do not benefit from these treatments. The combination of encorafenib and cetuximab is Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved but has limited duration of response in these patients, which led Van Morris, M.D., and colleagues at MD Anderson to examine the safety and efficacy of adding the anti-PD-1...
Novel sequencing technology links DNA and RNA to provide molecular insights into breast cancer progression
October 20, 20252 min
Breast cancer often starts in the epithelial cells lining the milk ducts and lobules, but there are many subtypes that make it challenging to identify the cancer’s starting point within normal tissue. Researchers led by Nicholas Navin, Ph.D., developed a new single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing technology – called wellDR-seq – to identify ancestral breast cancer cells. By studying the impact of chromosome gains or losses on gene expression, the researchers were able to uncover the molecular...