Here are seven updates.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals increases drug price by 2,700%+ in 1 year
Valeant Pharmaceuticals increased the price of its Calcium EDTA, a drug to treat lead poisoning, by more than 2,700 percent in one year. Prior to Valeant acquiring the drug in 2013, the drug carried a list price of $950. However, in January 2014, Valeant increased the drug's price to $7,116.
Saratoga Schenectady Endoscopy Center to use $16.3M construction loan to expand to 10 procedure rooms
Ballston, N.Y.-based Saratoga Schenectady Endoscopy Center secured a $16.3 million loan from KeyBank. The surgery center's providers are performing between 800 and 900 colonoscopy and endoscopy procedures monthly. Based on this influx of cases, the center needed to expand its facility from four procedure rooms to 10 rooms. The new facility is slated to open in summer 2017.
HRSA offers $16M grant to enhance rural healthcare
HHS' Health Resources & Services Administration jumpstarted a $16 million grant program intended to enhance telehealth and quality improvement efforts in rural healthcare facilities. Specifically the program will support healthcare for veterans.
East Loop Surgery Center donates $18k in equipment to provide nursing students firsthand surgical experience
Odessa, Texas-based East Loop Surgery Center gave the Nursing Simulation Center at the Odessa-based University of Texas of the Permian Basin a more than $18,000 equipment donation. Through the donation, nursing students can get firsthand experience using equipment for procedures, including outpatient surgery.
Arkansas Urology to build $6M outpatient center
Arkansas Urology is going to begin work on a new outpatient surgery center in Little Rock, Ark. The center will offer all outpatient procedures Arkansas Urology currently performs, and it will add several new procedures to treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, overactive bladder and prostate cancer.
Mylan won't have to pay CMS higher rates for 6 months, Medicaid to lose unknown amount
After Mylan settled a case where it was accused of purposefully misclassifying its EpiPens to overcharge Medicaid, it is being allowed a six month grace period to continue paying the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services its current, wrongly-classified rate. The grace period will cost Medicaid an unknown amount. Neither Mylan nor the federal government is elaborating on the terms of the grace period deal.
AmSurg creates training program to certify staff in scope reprocessing
AmSurg launched a program in March focused on improving patient safety during scope reprocessing. The program requires staff who reprocess endoscopes between gastroenterology procedures to complete rigorous training and demonstrate a detailed understanding of the highly technical steps associated with the process.
More health news:
AmSurg creates training program to certify staff in scope reprocessing: 4 notes
Valeant Pharmaceuticals increases drug price by 2,700%+ in 1 year — 6 insights
Anthem & Cigna walk a different line to regulatory approval than Aetna & Humana; but will this make a difference in the end?