DECEMBER 12, 2019
After urging from AMA, Walmart pharmacies will continue to accept paper prescriptions for controlled substances
Fierce Healthcare
Walmart has decided to delay a new policy originally set to begin January 1 that would have required electronic prescriptions for controlled substances at its pharmacies. The American Medical Association (AMA) had raised worries that the planned change could leave patients unable to fill prescriptions for controlled substances at the retailer’s almost 4,600 locations. | READ MORE
Narrow health insurance networks [in Georgia] a danger as open enrollment nears end
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s open enrollment time through Dec. 15 for individual insurance, and Ingrid Shell just signed up. She just isn’t completely sure what she signed up for. Shell got conflicting or uncertain answers from representatives of the insurance company and her nearby hospital about whether the hospital would be in her preferred insurer’s network for 2020. | READ MORE
Despite poor rankings, report finds Georgia making strides in care for mothers, babies
WABE
Georgia continues to rank among the states with the highest rates of maternal mortality, low birth rate, preterm birth and infant mortality. Despite the low rankings in several key categories, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia executive director Elise Blasingame does see progress being made.| READ MORE
Georgia lawmakers consider ways to curb e-cigarette use
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The chairwoman of a state House health panel said she wants Georgia to pull flavored vaping liquids from stores and raise the purchase age to 21 to help keep the smoking product out of the hands of children. | READ MORE
Floyd Medical Center announces partnership with Erlanger to offer telemedicine technology in neurology and stroke care
Northwest Georgia News
Residents in northwest Georgia can now receive world-class neurology and stroke diagnosis closer to home through a new telemedicine partnership between Floyd Medical Center and Erlanger Health System. | READ MORE
Audit finds problems in program that sent $60 million to rural hospitals [in Georgia]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A politically popular program that has diverted millions of state tax dollars to struggling rural hospitals has not always benefited the most needy facilities, a state audit of the program found. | READ MORE
CDC director expresses optimism about ending HIV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday that eradicating HIV is no longer an aspirational goal – it’s doable. | READ MORE
Three sentenced for running illegal Cobb cosmetic surgery clinic
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Cobb County judge has sentenced three people, including one doctor who was barred from practicing medicine and another whose license was suspended following allegations of abuse, convicted of running an illegal cosmetic surgery clinic. | READ MORE
New drugs show rare promise against advanced breast cancer
Associated Press
Doctors on Wednesday reported unusually good results from tests of two experimental drugs in women with an aggressive form of breast cancer that had spread widely and resisted many previous treatments. | READ MORE
Up to 43% of antibiotic prescriptions in the U.S. are unnecessary or improperly written, analysis finds
TIME
The World Health Organization earlier this year called antimicrobial resistance – pathogens’ ability to evade medical interventions – one of the 10 largest threats to global health. In the U.S. alone, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, 35,000 people die each year due to antibiotic-resistant infections. | READ MORE
Physician specialties with the highest salaries and the biggest pay increases in 2019
Fierce Healthcare
Neurosurgeons top the salary list, telemedicine is one of the fastest-growing sectors and primary care physicians are the most in-demand, according to a new study. | READ MORE
Survey finds fragmented system impedes health care in the U.S.
U.S. News & Report
The U.S. health care system is so fragmented that primary care doctors struggle to coordinate patient care as frequently as providers in other high-income countries, a new survey says. | READ MORE
Advertise with MAG: Please contact Tom Kornegay at 678.303.9260 or tkornegay@mag.org if you are interested in running an ad in the Georgia Pulse, which is a weekly compilation of media reports that are related to health care and the medical profession. It is sent to more than 6,000 physicians in Georgia.
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