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Humana reports dip in non-COVID-19 Medicare Advantage admissions amid delta surge

The payer also expects outpatient visits to contract, a trend seen in prior waves of the pandemic.

TransMedics wins FDA nod for donor heart preservation system

Approval for the device comes two months after an FDA advisory panel backed the company's liver preservation system and follows the go-ahead for its donor lung technology in 2019.

Hospital telehealth leveling off at one-fifth of medical appointments, research finds

And of the facilities reporting higher virtual volumes, many said they expected telehealth use to decline over the long term, according to the survey from KLAS Research and the Center for Connected Medicine.

Q&A

Bill Gates-backed Vicarious Surgical targets Intuitive, J&J, Medtronic in abdominal robotic surgery

The robotics startup, with investors including BD, wants to grow sales to $1 billion by 2027. CEO and co-founder Adam Sachs told MedTech Dive legacy robot platforms have fallen short in terms of cost and efficiency.    

EU expert panel starts accepting applications to review high-risk IVDs

The incoming IVD regulation, set to go into effect next May, requires certain diagnostics be reviewed by the committee and/or tested by a reference lab.

Q&A

ECRI CEO: FDA, industry must revisit COVID-19 medical device EUAs as shortages ebb

Marcus Schabacker spoke to MedTech Dive about patient safety, cyberattacks in healthcare and risks from the rise of at-home care.

Feds sue UPMC heart surgeon for billing multiple surgeries at same time

The False Claims Act litigation also accuses the health system of ignoring or minimizing complaints by employees and staff.

Abbott, Quest, Quidel scramble to add test capacity as delta variant surges

Quest Diagnostics is adding testing platforms in areas of the U.S. with high demand while manufacturers of at-home coronavirus tests such as Abbott and Quidel are ramping up capacity again after the early summer slump.

Baxter to buy Hillrom for $10.5B in bid to expand connected care portfolio

Wall Street analysts and investors had previously questioned the price and strategic fit of a deal, which was rumored for weeks.

Medicare insolvency still expected by 2026, unchanged by COVID-19, trustees say

The forecast is a bit of a bright spot for the otherwise grim financial prospects of the program, as experts worried COVID-19 would result in the fund that finances Medicare Part A running out of money faster than previously expected.

Philips cleared by FDA to start repairing recalled sleep apnea devices

The company expects repair and replacement programs to be completed in the next 12 months. CEO Frans van Houten said in a Wednesday statement that Philips has increased service capacity and patient outreach.

UPDATED: Sept. 1, 2021 at 10:59 a.m.

Cancer diagnoses stayed low even as initial COVID-19 crisis eased: Quest

Researchers warn cancers may continue to go undetected leading to a wave of patients with advanced stages of disease.

Smoking pot before knee, hip replacements linked with more complications

With marijuana use rising quickly in U.S. adults aged 45 to 64 years, three studies presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting sought to find out if consumption affects outcomes.

Pandemic spurs rise of other infections contracted at healthcare facilities

The largest increase at hospitals from 2019 to 2020 was seen in bloodstream infections associated with central line catheters, according to the CDC.

Top FDA vaccine officials to leave agency as decision on COVID-19 boosters looms

Marion Gruber and Phil Krause, veteran vaccine reviewers, are unexpectedly departing at a critical time. The search for their replacements will begin "imminently," division head Peter Marks said in a letter.

UPDATED: Aug. 31, 2021 at 3:14 p.m.

Zimmer 'smart knee' gets FDA nod as ortho rivalry with Stryker heats up

The orthopaedics device maker, through a collaboration with Canary Medical, becomes the first company to bring an implantable smart device for total knee replacement to the U.S. market.

Abbott's Amulet trial results could lift LAA closure market: analysts

Wall Street analysts were not surprised by the results given the recent FDA approval for Amulet, but agreed that the data was strong enough to boost the left atrial appendage closure products from Abbott and Boston Scientific.

UPDATED: Aug. 31, 2021 at 9:51 a.m.

Baxter in late-stage talks to buy Hillrom for about $10B: WSJ

A Baird analyst said he talked himself into backing a union given Hillrom's connected care push. However, J.P. Morgan analysts argued Baxter has a "tall order" convincing investors it's a "more strategic vs. financial" acquisition.

Outpatient facilities targeted for cyberattacks nearly as often as hospitals, data shows

The number of breaches at healthcare organizations in the first half of this year was up significantly from the first half of last year, and higher than any six-month period since 2018, according to the Critical Insight report.

COVID-19 seems to skew Abbott heart failure monitor study results

The clinical trial of the CardioMEMS implantable sensor in a wider patient population missed its primary goal, but the company is moving forward based on an analysis adjusted for the pandemic.

Boston Scientific's Watchman riskier for women, registry finds

The review of outcomes of nearly 50,000 patients found women are more likely to suffer major adverse events because of bleeding or pericardial effusion requiring drainage.

BD gets emergency FDA nod for smartphone-enabled COVID-19 test

The medtech is launching the product against a backdrop of rising demand for similar diagnostics, as the delta wave spurs a surge in cases nationwide after a pullback in the first part of the year.

Medtechs made it out of Q2 with minimal impact from delta. That could change in Q3.

After procedure-dependent medtechs reported strong elective returns in the first half of 2021, the delta variant is now posing a risk to the industry's recovery as hospitals once again shut down procedures.

Mayo Clinic, Alphabet's Verily partner to build clinical decision support tools

The two plan to initially focus on a set of cardiovascular and cardiometabolic conditions.

Abbott predicted to quickly take share from Boston Scientific's Watchman: survey

The poll of 56 electrophysiologists by SVB Leerink analysts is somewhat more encouraging for Boston Scientific than an earlier survey, but still highlights the threat to the franchise as it loses its monopoly in the space.