American Medical Group Association, Talkiatry Team Up To Broaden Access To Mental Health Providers
Under the terms of the deal, the more than 175,000 physicians who are members of the AMGA can virtually connect their patients to Talkiatry's network of more than 800 psychiatrists, Modern Healthcare reports.
The American Medical Group Association announced a deal with Talkiatry under which its member organizations can connect patients to the company’s virtual mental health providers. Patients of AMGA members will have access to Talkiatry’s network of more than 800 psychiatrists whose services are covered by more than 100 insurers, the organizations said Wednesday. Long wait times for behavioral care, high demand for services and a shortage of psychiatrists in the healthcare workforce were driving forces behind the partnership, AMGA and Talkiatry said. (DeSilva, 4/15)
In other developments from the health care industry —
The union for thousands of University of California employees announced Wednesday that they will walk off the job indefinitely beginning May 14 to protest stalled contract negotiations for medical center and campus workers ranging from cafeteria cooks to X-ray technicians. The open-ended strike by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 is intended to pressure UC to improve pay and benefits for 42,000 union members at five medical centers and 10 campuses across California. (Asimov, 4/15)
After abruptly shuttering last month, West Suburban Medical Center announced Wednesday morning that it is taking a step toward reopening by resuming some outpatient services. (Schencker, 4/15)
Your doctor's new prescription might be for a fishing rod, or other goods or services you won't find at a pharmacy. With the rise of "social prescribing," physicians are sending patients to choirs, art studios, walking clubs and lakesides. Overstretched health systems and a worsening loneliness epidemic are forcing a hard look at how social interventions can improve mental and physical health. (Daher, 4/15)
In pharmaceutical industry news —
Since the approval of new Alzheimer’s drugs in recent years, there has been a lingering question: While data indicated that they could modestly slow cognitive decline for some patients, would that effect be meaningful or too slight to make difference? A new review of research spanning a decade, published on Wednesday, concluded that the clinical benefit of these and similar drugs is negligible. But the way the review was conducted spurred heated criticism from many Alzheimer’s experts, including some who had been skeptical of some of them. (Belluck, 4/15)
CAR‑T cell therapy, a cutting‑edge cancer treatment, is showing growing promise far beyond oncology—offering potential relief to people with severe autoimmune diseases who have exhausted other options. “In simple terms, CAR T‑cell therapy is a form of treatment that uses a person’s own immune cells to attack and kill their cancer cells,” Dr. Vinod Balasa, medical director of Valley Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, told Newsweek. “While chemotherapy uses a shotgun approach that can impact normal cells while it kills cancer cells, CAR T‑cell therapy is a targeted treatment.” (Fleur Afshar, 4/14)
Big Pharma is on the prowl for biotech companies, but it’s acting stingy. Deal sizes are smaller, valuations are reasonable and buyers are walking away from megadeals when sellers push too hard on price. (Wainer, 4/13)
Novo Nordisk, the maker of popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, is partnering with OpenAI to deploy the technology across its operations as it looks to keep pace with rapid expansion in the obesity drug market. The Danish company announced in a statement on Tuesday that it would use AI to analyze complex datasets, identify promising drug candidates and reduce the time between research and patient application. (Brams, 4/14)
Doctors and patients across social media are reporting a kind of emotional flattening while on GLP-1 drugs. (Cha, 4/16)
In related news —
Months before his arrest for allegedly attempting to murder the chief executive of OpenAI, Daniel Moreno-Gama suggested “Luigi’ing some tech CEOs” in an internet chat. The Texas college student casually referenced Luigi Mangione, the accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer, during an online conversation with producers of “The Last Invention” podcast, according to screenshots shared with The Wall Street Journal. They wanted to interview him for a series on artificial intelligence. (Elinson, 4/15)
