“The less structure we have on the policy [side], the more uncertainty” around healthcare reform, said industry expert Paul Keckley at MemorialCare’s Health Care Economic Roundtable this month. The healthcare policy analyst is managing editor of The Keckley Report.
Republicans said last month that they won’t attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, at least this year, according to a story by Politico. The party failed to overhaul the health law last year but was able to pass laws repealing the individual mandate and delaying some taxes.
Keckley said he doesn’t anticipate healthcare changes from the White House, except with issues to do with opioids—President Trump declared opioid addiction a national emergency in October.
Panelists also included MemorialCare Chief Executive Barry Arbuckle, Lucy Dunn, president and chief executive of the Orange County Business Council, and Dr. James Leo, chief medical officer at MemorialCare.
Arbuckle said the Fountain Valley-based health system is committed “to focus on what’s right,” despite chaos and uncertainty, and that to do that is to become even more accessible to patients through outpatient center expansion. Those sites, whether additional urgent care locations or ambulatory surgical centers and dialysis centers, are designed to provide care at a lower cost than a traditional hospital setting.
He said the health system is dedicated to outpatient care, even if it means making less money, because it will result in true value-based care.
Technology plays an important role in cost, whether used to improve interoperability in health records; patient management; or communication between patient and doctor. Leo said that while reimbursement policies haven’t caught up with what technologies are able to do—“the extra emailing after work [with patients] is not reimbursed”—it’s important to incorporate them into care.
Speaking of disruptors, while details are scant on a healthcare company planned by Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, Keckley noted that the notion that “healthcare is local” is no longer true.
Dunn, who served a four-year term on the California Transportation Commission, said healthy lifestyles will play a bigger role in healthcare and noted a plan to make Irvine more bike- and pedestrian-friendly.
New Study
Catheter maker Spinal Singularity in San Clemente has launched a clinical feasibility trial of its Connected Catheter, which is designed for adult men with chronic urinary retention and neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction.
The trial is led by West Coast Urology co-founder Dr. Ernest Agatstein in San Clemente. The company plans to expand the study to two additional sites, adding the Arizona Center for Cancer Care and Murrieta-based Tri-Valley Urology.
It raised $3.1 million in seed funding in October.
Another San Clemente-based catheter developer, Reflow Medical, launched a study to explore the use of its Reflow Wingman catheter in patients with chronic peripheral artery disease who suffer from complete or nearly complete blockage of a coronary artery.
The study plans to enroll 85 patients at up to 13 centers across the U.S. and Europe.
Reflow received Food and Drug Administration clearance in September for its catheter to treat blocked coronary arteries.
Board Add
Irvine-based healthcare practice management software developer Kareo appointed former Uber Chief Executive and founder Travis Kalanick and Robert Reid, author and entrepreneur, to its board of directors.
Kareo targets independent medical practices. Its software provides services such as electronic health records management, medical billing services, and physician-patient communication software.
Kalanick and Reid are early investors, according to the company.
Kalanick resigned from Uber in June. He announced this month that he created a fund called 10100—pronounced ten-one-hundred—to invest in real estate, e-commerce and innovation in emerging markets, such as China and India.
Test Approval
Irvine-based Biomerica Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRA) received Mexico’s approval for EZ Detect, its colorectal screening test designed to help identify early warning signs of colorectal cancer. The at-home test detects the presence of blood in stool, which can be an early warning sign of colorectal cancer.
The test doesn’t require handling of stool. The EZ Detect pad is tossed into the toilet, and a change in its color indicates blood in the stool.
The company develops diagnostic products for use at home and in doctor offices, hospitals and clinical laboratories. It focuses primarily on products for gastrointestinal disease and diabetes.
