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It got a lot easier for patients with opioid addiction to get their medication remotely during the pandemic — and now addiction doctors and telehealth companies are pushing Congress to make those flexibilities permanent. Before Covid-19, patients had to see a doctor in person for prescriptions to help them with their addictions, like buprenorphine. Now, at least temporarily, they can get them via telehealth appointments. Experts say loosening the rules helped eliminate longstanding barriers to addiction care, like a lack of transportation or a shortage of clinicians who prescribe medically assisted treatment, especially in rural communities. But the changes are temporary, tied to the state of “emergency” associated with the pandemic — and proponents want them made permanent. (Marquardt, 3/7)

Amazon and Teladoc have pitched a new feature letting millions of consumers call doctors directly from their smart speakers as a way to get more people to seek health care. But despite voice-assistant Alexa’s ubiquity, it’s not yet clear if the partnership will meaningfully address long standing social and economic barriers to health that underserved groups face, like lack of insurance, lack of established relationships with providers, or distrust in the health care system, experts tell STAT. (Ravindranath, 3/7)

A data breach at Ascension Michigan may have exposed some patients' Social Security numbers and other health information. The health system said an unauthorized individual inappropriately accessed patient information in its electronic health record between Oct. 15, 2015, and Sept. 8, 2021. It became aware of suspicious activity in the electronic health record and immediately began an investigation. On Nov. 30, after an extensive review, the health system said,  it determined how long the person accessed patient information. The user's access was immediately ended. (Hall, 3/4)

A Purdue University researcher has landed a $1 million grant to boost his work on a rapid test for detecting African swine fever. The funding for Mohit Verma, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, was included in the U.S. Farm Bill to help enhance the nation’s ability to develop rapid tests for high-consequence diseases, the Journal & Courier reported. (3/6)

KHN: Patients Divided Over Alzheimer’s Drug: Is It A ‘Risk I’m Willing To Take’ Or Just A ‘Magic Pill’? 

If you listen to the nation’s largest Alzheimer’s disease advocacy organizations, you might think everyone living with Alzheimer’s wants unfettered access to Aduhelm, a controversial new treatment. But you’d be wrong. Opinions about Aduhelm (also known as aducanumab) in the dementia community are diverse, ranging from “we want the government to cover this drug” to “we’re concerned about this medication and think it should be studied further.” (Graham, 3/7)

A grandmother, two great aunts and a cousin. That’s how many people have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Dr. Jason Willis’ family. The MD Anderson Cancer Center oncologist has seen the pain it can inflict both inside and outside the clinical setting. And as someone who is biracial, with a Hispanic mother and Black father, he is deeply familiar with the increased risk among people of color. “It’s striking to see not only the rates of early onset colon cancer increase over the past several years, but also this disparity,” he said. “ Certainly as a Black man that jumps out to me.” (Gill, 3/5)

When Crystal Ortner was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, her doctors decided to tackle it with an extremely aggressive chemotherapy regimen that included six drugs, along with numerous surgeries. During her initial round of treatment, Ortner experienced septic shock, causing her doctors to cease chemotherapy for a period of time because her body was too weak to handle it. Later, she said, her extreme side effects while on chemotherapy — constant vomiting, nausea, an overall feeling of complete debilitation — felt like “going to hell and back.” ... Research has long shown that women are more likely than men to have severe reactions to chemotherapy treatments. At the same time, emerging evidence suggests that women also experience greater toxicity with targeted therapies and immunotherapies, which aim in part to mitigate the inherent toxicities of chemotherapy. (Banks, 3/7)