Drug price spikes continue to far outnumber cost cuts

Gourmet on a tray

Northwell Health hired a Michelin-starred chef to transform the menus of its 23 New York-area hospitals in the past year, which potentially speeds patient recovery and ultimately saves the hospital system money (due to patients returning fewer meals) the New York Times reports. It also has heightened patient and staff morale, chefs say. Hospitals have historically been challenged with small food budgets and with devising clinically appropriate meals for patients with various illnesses, but Northwell’s increased emphasis on satisfying meals means these cooks are now stretching different muscles. At chef Bruno Tison’s suggestion, hospital cooks are now engaging in creative cooking competitions, and are cooking from scratch with organic ingredients. Northwell keeps its eye on the importance of food outside of the hospitals, too. One of its locations, LIJ Valley Stream, started a “food pharmacy” that puts bags of healthy groceries into the hands of low-income patients, which not only improves food access but also helps those with chronic disease follow necessary meal plans.

Diabetes is more prevalent than we think

More than 30 percent of American adults who have diabetes don’t realize it, Bloomberg suggests. The publication cites data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showing that approximately one in seven respondents indicated they suffered from the disease between 2013 and 2016. At the same time, “the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes [is] at 9.7 percent and the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes at 4.3 percent,” the publication states. 

Drug prices continue to rise

An Associated Press examination of brand-name prescription drug prices shows prices are on the rise with far more cost increases than cuts, the news service reports. Although there weren’t as many increases as in the past and the spikes were not as steep as in previous years, there were still 96 price hikes for every cut in the first seven month of this year, the AP said.

From the electric scooter to the ED

Many view accidents from electric scooters as a growing public safety crisis, the Washington Post says. Injured riders continue to “pour in to emergency departments across the country,” the publication says, citing a 161 percent increase in scooter-involved emergency visits over the last year at University of Utah Health’s Salt Lake City hospital, which is concurrent with the timing of these scooters becoming more locally available.

Emergency physicians in 12 cities across the country are seeing a sharp rise in scooter accidents, the Post says. 

And in seven cities, physicians are regularly treating severe injuries — such as head traumas — from scooters malfunctioning or flipping over on uneven surfaces, or from riders being hit by cars or crashing with pedestrians, the publication said.