Good afternoon, readers.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—somewhat more simply known as the USPSTF—is a pretty influential part of the Department of the Health and Human Services (HHS).
The independent panel has the power to advise on exactly what medical services are critical to provide to the general public, or which services doctors should generally be expected to give—and, under the Affordable Care Act, the group’s recommendations could potentially become services which must be covered by insurance for free or minimal out-of-pocket payments.
Well, the USPSTF has a new recommendation for doctors across the country: Screen every adult patient for illicit drug use as part of a crackdown on the opioid crisis.
Drug overdose deaths dropped for the first time since 1990 last year, according to government data. But the opioid overdose epidemic is far from over. And even this latest screening recommendation doesn’t encompass all potential patients, including teenagers.
Read on for the day’s news.
Sy Mukherjee, @the_sy_guy, [email protected]
DIGITAL HEALTH
New Hampshire expands telemedicine access. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu this week signed a bill that could expand telemedicine's availability in the Granite State. One of the biggest road bumps to telemedicine access—across the country—has been restrictions on whether certain public programs such as Medicaid can cover them. The New Hampshire bill would add primary care workers and pediatricians to the list of providers who can bill the state's Medicaid program for telehealth consults, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. (Nhpr)
INDICATIONS
Eli Lilly stock rises on psoriasis drug data. Shares of Eli Lilly rose nearly 2% in Tuesday trading after new clinical data showed its psoriasis drug could be superior to a Johnson & Johnson rival—and also potentially pose a threat to a recently-approved treatment from AbbVie, which absolutely dominates the psoriasis (a common, itchy skin condition) space. (BioPharma Dive)
THE BIG PICTURE
Britain's Brexit problem. We've brought this up a few times—but, with the clock ticking on Brexit, it feels worth mentioning again: A "No-Deal" Brexit could disrupt the U.K. Patients' access to medicines in a major way. In fact, the disruptions could ripple well past Britain, as Reuters reports. (Reuters)
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