Portfolio News

Study finds slight rebound in patient volumes in May, but physicians still in danger financially

A study published recently by the Commonwealth Fund shows that although visits to ambulatory care practices have rebounded slightly, physicians are still facing major obstacles to get their practices back to pre-pandemic levels. The Commonwealth Fund data released April 23 shows that the number of visits to outpatient physician practices declined by nearly 60 percent as of March 29, 2020, compared with pre-COVID-19 levels. But a new update showed that the number of visits rebounded slightly to below 30 percent as of May 10. Although the rebound...

Aetion Launches Research Collaboration with FDA to Advance Understanding of COVID-19

Aetion has signed a research collaboration agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use real-world data to advance the understanding of and response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The research will support the FDA’s objectives to explore the natural history of the disease, as well as treatment and diagnostic patterns, by facilitating the use of relevant, novel data sources and analyzing these data according to well-established principles. Aetion and the FDA will identify and analyze fit-for-purpose data sources to characterize COVID-19 patient populations and their medication...

Hims & Hers, Vault Health now sell FDA-authorized home COVID-19 tests via telehealth

Less than a week ago, the FDA authorized a home-collected saliva test for COVID-19. Now that test is available through telehealth companies Hims & Hers and Vault Health. Hims & Hers has greatly expanded its telehealth offerings over the past few months to meet the demand for telehealth primary care services. It has also expanded its mental health offerings. In order to qualify for a COVID-19 saliva test, Hims & Hers customers will need to enter their symptoms, travel history, and other relevant information into an...

U.S. Sees Dramatic Drop in Routine Testing Amid Pandemic

A new report from Komodo Health shows that diagnostic testing for cancer and other conditions has declined across the U.S. since mid-March following regional lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic. Komodo Health analyzed billing records of 320 million patients from March 19 through April 20 and found that cervical cancer screenings have dropped by 68 percent, cholesterol tests have fallen by 67 percent, and diabetes detection testing was down 65 percent nationally. The greatest reductions happened in areas that have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. A1c tests,...

GRAIL to Participate in BofA Securities 2020 Health Care Conference

GRAIL has announced that two of its executives will be speaking at the BofA Securities 2020 Health Care Conference. Hans Bishop, Chief Executive Officer; and Joshua Ofman, MD, MSHS, Chief Medical Officer and External Affairs, will provide an overview of the company at the virtual conference, which will take place Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at 5 p.m. ET. GRAIL is coming off a very good year. In March, the company announced that validation data for its multi-cancer early detection test were published in Annals of Oncology. The...