Flu news: Georgia keeps its lead

Georgia and Colorado lead the nation in cases of flu this year, and the CDC says the season is just now getting started.

For a while it was just Georgia leading the pack, but now Colorado has “high activity” along with Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Carolina.

Here comes the science: Most of the country is getting hit with the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses, except the South where the A(H3) version is what’s going around.

Good news: Antivirals are working just fine — “All viruses tested show susceptibility to the neuraminidase inhibitors.”

As expected, drugmakers raise prices with the new year

“More than three dozen drugmakers raised the prices on hundreds of medicines in the U.S. on Tuesday.” The current U.S. inflation rate is about 2.3%, while these increases averaged about 6.3%. There was no particular reason for the price hikes — many were for older, generic drugs.

London-based generic drugmaker Hikma “raised the price of pain drug morphine by 10%, anesthetic ketamine by 20%, and blood-pressure medication enalaprilat by 30%.”

“These are small increases that enable us to continue operating a sustainable business that serves hospitals, doctors and patient needs for high quality medications,” said a company spokesman. Hikma took in $495 million in the second quarter of 2018, with a 10.7% profit margin — up more than 39% from the year before.

Depression and adherence

You’re obviously welcome to read all 600 words, but here’s the gist of an article in Healio: People who are depressed tend to have lower rates of diabetes-meds adherence.

Medicare can’t cut 340B payments

No, says a federal judge, the Trump administration can’t cut Medicare payments to 340B hospitals.

Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that the administration illegally reduced Medicare payments to hospitals through the 340B Drug Pricing Program by 30 percent — or about $1.6 billion a year — through a rule took effect in January.

Those hospitals serve a large number of low-income people, and the White House wanted to cut the 340B program, claiming that reducing federal funding would somehow lower costs for patients.

You had me at “endpoint leakage”

When it comes to data security at healthcare facilities, there are three major problems according to a new report:

1. “User authentication deficiencies” — e.g., a common password for everyone, (like “cat” or “password”)
2. “Endpoint leakage” — i.e., employees letting other people use their accounts, or leaving computers unsecured
3. “Excessive user permissions” — e.g., “Sure, you can have access to that.”

Elsewhere: New Yawk edition

A New York law that took effect yesterday requires pharmacies in the Empire State to take back unneeded* medication by offering a way to drop those meds off. Drug makers cover the cost of the program.

* We really hate it when they say “unused” medication, because taking back used meds would be gross

Elsewhere: Big Sky edition

Montana, perhaps taking its cue from Ohio, is looking at prohibiting PBM spread pricing with a bill introduced into the state legislature.