Image: Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press

Here's The Latest in Health Care:

•  On Tuesday, the House passed a "right-to-try" bill that would allow terminally ill patients to get access to experimental drugs. Advocates for the bill say it would become easier for patients to get experimental drugs that have completed the first phase of clinical trials. Those opposed to the bill say the drugs could potentially shorten patients' lives, doing more harm than good.  Read More

•  Precision medicine is already underway in health care and is saving lives. However, the health care system can get stuck in a tangle of policies and other setbacks. To avoid making a broken system even worse, it is increasingly critical for hospitals to ensure an infrastructure to support these emerging technologies and provide widespread access to patients in all areas.  Read More

•  A few years ago, researchers ran an experiment that had barbers checking their customers' blood pressure and referring customers with high levels to pharmacists, who then met with the patients in the barbershop. The pharmacists would treat the patients with medications and lifestyle changes, updating their physicians but taking the physician out of the patient interaction entirely. After six months, the results showed a drop in blood pressure and a retention of those patients throughout the study and care process.  Read More

•  According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), individual premiums will see a rise by an average of 15% in 2019 due to the repeal of the individual mandate, which penalized individuals for not having insurance. Additionally, the mandate repeal will see a number of uninsured Americans rise by 3 million next year.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, secure messaging, clinical communication, MIPS registry, clinically integrated network, and care navigation software.

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