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Sepsis is a fast-moving, life-threatening condition that occurs when the body overreacts to an infection, sometimes causing permanent organ damage and death. A new study, published yesterday in JAMA, identified sepsis in 1.3% of hospitalized US children ages one month to 17 years old. The study, which included data from nearly four million admissions from 2016 through 2023, found that 10% of children with sepsis died while in the hospital. (Szabo, 3/23)

Health systems are managing more of their scheduling, coding and billing operations internally as they look to reduce costs and boost revenue. Many providers aim to use artificial intelligence and electronic health record technology to manage more revenue cycle functions themselves. Health system financial leaders expect long-term cost savings and revenue gains will more than cover the upfront capital required for that transition. If they prove successful, it could undercut vendors and the private equity firms backing them. (Kacik, 3/23)

The Trump administration's suspension of certain immigrants' work authorization renewals is sidelining possibly thousands of foreign-born doctors, some of the affected physicians tell Axios. The policy could worsen access to care in a health system already facing physician shortages. (Goldman, 3/24)

The US Supreme Court cleared the way for a multibillion-dollar racketeering lawsuit that accuses Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. of marketing the Actos diabetes drug without disclosing its link to bladder cancer. In a one-line order Monday, the high court refused to consider the companies’ contention that the case shouldn’t go forward as a class action on behalf of tens of thousands of insurers and other so-called third-party payers who covered the cost of Actos prescriptions. (Stohr, 2/23)

The Supreme Court will soon hear a case that could restrict which legal claims people can bring against chemical companies like Bayer, which produces the popular weedkiller Roundup. Bayer purchased Roundup’s previous manufacturer, St. Louis-based Monsanto, in 2018. The companies have paid out billions of dollars to settle lawsuits that claim exposure to glyphosate, a key ingredient in Roundup, led to plaintiffs’ cancer. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to take up an appeal of one such case: Monsanto v. Durnell. (Marks, 3/23)

A nationwide shortage of stimulant medications used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be rooted less in prescribing practices or federal production quotas than in global supply chain disruptions, according to an analysis published late last week in JAMA Health Forum. The study, led by researchers from Yale University, examined potential causes of the US stimulant shortage in 2022 and 2023, when many patients reported difficulty filling their prescriptions. (Bergeson, 3/23)

An experimental Lyme disease vaccine from Pfizer didn’t conclusively succeed in a large study, raising questions about the shot’s prospects. While the shot was more than 70% effective at preventing the tick-borne disease in the trial, not enough people contracted the disease for the findings to be conclusive. Pfizer is pushing ahead with its plans to seek regulatory approval anyway, saying the study hit a different statistical measure and the shot showed “meaningful efficacy.” (Loftus and Cheah, 3/23)

Whether they’re using weekly shots or daily pills, more Americans than ever are turning to anti-obesity drugs to lose weight and boost health. About 1 in 8 U.S. adults say they are taking a GLP-1 drug, according to a recent survey by the health research group KFF. (Aleccia, 3/23)