Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kentucky Medical Group Allegedly Sought Organs From Living Patient
An organ-procurement group in Kentucky pressured its personnel to retrieve organs from a hospital patient who was awake and later left the facility alive, an advocate for overhauling the U.S. organ-transplant system told lawmakers. The allegation, which came during a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday on the U.S. organ-transplant system, was among several made by witnesses who said procurement groups in various states have pushed workers and surgeons to secure organs from patients who were still alive. (Bernstein, 9/11)
On Wednesday, two transplant doctors, one watchdog and a nephrologist-turned-advocate sat before members of Congress to talk about the nation’s troubled organ transplant system. For over two hours the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ran through allegations of inefficiency, inertia, negligence and corruption in the groups charged with coordinating transplants throughout the U.S. New, jaw-dropping claims also came to light. (Cueto, 9/11)
They travelled at night, for what seemed like hours, but it was difficult to tell. Yonas was blindfolded and drowsy from the Xanax he had been given. He wasn’t sure where he was, but he could smell salt in the air when the car stopped. Yonas heard Ali, the other passenger, wind down his window and light a cigarette. The driver sat motionless, breathing heavily. Several minutes passed in silence. Then Yonas heard a pinging noise. Someone’s phone had received a message. (Columb, 9/10)
On the use of AI —
Amid heated discussions on how artificial intelligence should be regulated and who should be involved in health care AI governance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner said that health systems need to take a leading role. (Trang, 9/11)
Americans are already turning to A.I. for health information in large numbers, new research suggests. (Rosenbluth, 9/11)
A trademark dispute in St. Louis —
A St. Louis County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Inc., a local nursing organization, against a three-bed north St. Louis health center using the civil rights advocate’s name. Judge Heather Cunningham ruled on Aug. 30 that the alumni organization for the former Homer G. Phillips nursing school and the newly constructed Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital do not provide the same level of health care services and that someone looking for the organization would not be confused between the two. (Henderson, 9/11)
