Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ransomware Attack Forces Closure Of All University Of Mississippi Clinics
A ransomware attack forced the University of Mississippi Medical Center to close all of its roughly three dozen clinics around the state and cancel elective procedures for a second day on Friday, hobbling one of the state’s largest health care providers. University officials warned that the shutdown could continue for days as they try to evaluate the extent of the attack, including whether patients’ sensitive information was compromised, and restore network systems they took down as a precaution. (Bates, 2/21)
OpenLoop Health, which provides telehealth services for digital health companies, is facing a possible class action lawsuit due to an alleged data breach exposing 1.6 million health records. The Des Moines, Iowa-based company is getting sued by two different people, who allege OpenLoop failed to secure their personally identifiable information and protected health information when it was breached by a ransomware group in January. (Famakinwa, 2/20)
More health care industry developments —
The U.S. Justice Department and the state of Ohio filed a lawsuit Friday against OhioHealth accusing the health system of anticompetitive behavior. The federal lawsuit alleges that Columbus-based OhioHealth’s practice of requiring commercial health insurers to include all of its providers in their networks inflates costs for policyholders and patients, hampers price transparency, and disadvantages regional rivals such as the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel Health System, which is part of Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health. (Hudson, 2/20)
4,200 holdout nurses who remained on the picket line announced Feb. 20 a tentative contract agreement with NewYork-Presbyterian, as well as its "overwhelmingly" affirmative ratification vote a day later. The accord comes after 41 days and was characterized as a victory by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). (Muoio, 2/22)
Early lessons are emerging as the digital health sector’s ambient AI focus shifts from clinical documentation to prior authorization. Companies such as Abridge, Suki and Cohere Health say their solutions can do for prior authorization what ambient AI has done for documentation and clinician burnout. The importance of partnerships become an integral part of their efforts in this area. (Famakinwa, 2/20)
