MorningRx: May 5, 2023
WHO ends COVID-19 public health emergency, privacy concerns around mental health apps, and astronomical interest with medical credit cards.
WHO Ends Global Health Emergency for COVID-19
The World Health Organization (WHO) has ended the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for the COVID-19 pandemic, reported NPR. Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, noted that the pandemic has been on a downward trajectory for more than a year, but cautioned that the “painful lessons we have learned cannot go to waste.”
Privacy Concerns Around Mental Health Apps
Researchers at Mozilla found that 40% of the mental health apps reviewed had worse privacy practices this year compared with 2022, according to the LA Times. Conversations around privacy of health data aren’t new, however; researchers have been discussing the topic for years, noting that health data has value even when it’s de-identified.
Medical Credit Cards, Loans Increase Rates of Interest Paid
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimated that between 2018 and 2020, Americans paid more than $1 billion in deferred interested on medical credit cards and through other medical financing options, according to NPR. Interest payments on these credit cards can inflate medical bills by nearly 25%, and the Biden administration has cautioned the public on the risks of these credit cards and loans for their medical bills.
FDA’s Recent Exemptions: What Do They Mean as We Finalize DSCSA Implementation?
October 31st 2024Kala Shankle, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs with the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, and Ilisa Bernstein, President of Bernstein Rx Solutions, LLC, discussed recent developments regarding the Drug Supply Chain Security Act.
