In August 2019, Jessica McGlory got a call that her father had had a double heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in Chicago.

As his health declined, McGlory became his caregiver and healthcare proxy. But she said she never got the opportunity to discuss her father’s end-of-life care or his wishes.

“I thought it was going to be an opportunity to really focus on my loved one, but instead, [I] had to focus on everything else and really didn’t get the support [I] expected from the hospice,” she told Healthcare Brew. Hospice is palliative care that typically includes counseling, physical care, medicine, and equipment for patients with terminal illnesses.

There are about 1.5 million patients in hospice care, according to the CDC’s most recent data from 2020, and 5,200 agencies—70.4% of which are for-profit enterprises. Having private equity and for-profit ownership in the industry has raised concerns about exploitation and care quality.

Two years later, despite having no previous experience in healthcare, McGlory decided to take action. In 2022, she launched Guaranteed, a New York-based hybrid end-of-life care startup that works to support people with terminal illness as well as their loved ones and caregivers.

Keep reading here.—CM

Working in healthcare feels a lot like running a triathlon…every single shift. It’s no coincidence that foot and back pain seem to be a common complaint from nurses, doctors, and healthcare pros alike.

Luckily, that’s where HOKA’s Bondi SR steps into the picture. These slip-resistant, ultra-grippy shoes are constructed with a water-resistant leather upper that’ll shield your feet during the toughest shifts.

Besides being one of HOKA’s most cushioned shoes, the Bondi SR is where fashion meets function. Everyone in the hospital and lab will likely be asking where you copped ’em.

Give your feet a break.

Medicaid spending on GLP-1 drugs has grown rapidly in recent years, according to a study published on November 4 by health policy research firm KFF.

Medicaid GLP-1 prescriptions rose 400% and gross spending rose more than 500% from 2019 to 2023, according to KFF’s analysis. Before rebates, spending on GLP-1s accounted for more than $900 per prescription in 2023.

Spending has picked up even further in the last couple years as new players including Wegovy and Mounjaro came to market, with the number of Medicaid prescriptions and gross spending on GLP-1s both almost doubling between 2022 and 2023, the researchers found.

“Many state Medicaid programs are considering covering obesity drugs in the future but are concerned about the cost implications,” the study’s authors wrote.

Keep reading here.—MA

As generative artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly popular, more healthcare companies are popping up or starting programs internally. It can be a bit difficult to keep track of them all, with Deloitte reporting in October 2023 that 75% of “leading healthcare companies” are experimenting with generative AI.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone put together a list of AI deals and announcements? Funny you say that, dearest gentle reader, because that’s exactly what we did.

Welcome to the first edition of AI 411, a monthly roundup of some of the AI announcements that we’ve come across.

HCA Healthcare/Commure. The largest health system in the US announced on October 23 a new and exclusive partnership with health tech company Commure to develop and implement ambient AI for its 2,400 sites. Ambient listening devices and programs take notes for clinicians to streamline the documentation process.

The collaboration comes after Commure acquired healthcare ambient AI company Augmedix in July for $139 million to “improve Commure’s health AI operating system,” the company’s CEO Tanay Tandon wrote in a blog post at the time.

Keep reading here.—CM