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As two new antiviral pills for Covid-19 approach emergency authorization, experts are concerned that a lack of public health infrastructure — especially easy access to fast-turnaround testing and quickly filled prescriptions — will prevent them from making a meaningful dent in the pandemic. “We know that these antivirals are going to have a window of opportunity where their effectiveness is optimal, and it can be difficult to get an appointment and get a prescription,” said infectious disease specialist Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. (Palmer, 12/2)

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) announced a major expansion of its landmark Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). The study is reopening to enroll vastly more participants, notably including online enrollment of up to 100,000 individuals with and without a Parkinson's diagnosis. First launched in 2010, PPMI is a critical component of the Foundation's relentless mission to accelerate better treatments, cures and even prevention of the disease. (12/2)

KHN: A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors

After 23 years as a physician assistant, Leslie Clayton remains rankled by one facet of her vocation: its title. Specifically, the word “assistant.” Patients have asked if she’s heading to medical school or in the middle of it. The term confounded even her family, she said: It took years for her parents to understand she did more than take blood pressure and perform similar basic tasks. “There is an assumption that there has to be some sort of direct, hands-on oversight for us to do our work, and that’s not been accurate for decades,” said Clayton, who practices at a clinic in Golden Valley, Minnesota. “We don’t assist. We provide care as part of a team.” (Jordan Rau, 12/3)

The Carlyle Group tells Axios that it has agreed to buy CNSI, a Virginia-based manager of IT systems for state and federal agencies, from Alvarez & Marsal Capital Partners. This is about modernizing how Medicaid agencies process medical claims and manage provider enrollment, while responding more efficiently to legislative and regulatory changes. (Pringle, 12/2)

Two former executives at Immuomedics were charged with insider trading by U.S. authorities in connection with information about late-stage clinical trial results of a promising cancer drug, which later prompted Gilead Sciences (GILD) to buy the company. Usama Malik, who had been chief financial officer, and Lauren Wood, the former chief communications officer, were arrested for purchasing Immunomedic stock shortly before positive trial results were released publicly in April 2020. At the time, the pair was romantically involved and lived together in Washington, D.C., according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey. (Silverman, 12/2)

Quartet Health, a startup that uses analytics to connect patients with mental health solutions that fit their needs and preferences, is teaming up with insurer Independence Health Group to make mental healthcare available to all Independence members, according to a news release Thursday. (Brady, 12/2)

In another sign that digital health investments are rising, Independence Health Group, the Philadelphia area’s largest health insurer, led a $60 million investment in Quartet Health, a New York technology company hired by health plans to connect members with mental health professionals, Independence said Thursday. Independence started working with Quartet, which has big-name venture capital backing from the likes of GV, formerly Google Ventures, in February. But with the investment, Independence chief executive Gregory E. Deavens has now taken a seat on Quartet’s board. (Brubaker, 12/3)

New York-based provider Northwell Health and Playback Health, a software technology company, are collaborating on an engagement platform to help patients better retain their healthcare data. The multi-year agreement will launch Playback's technology at select Northwell Health clinical sites, allowing patients to more easily engage with providers and understand their diagnoses, the companies announced on Tuesday. (Devereaux, 12/2)

Nursing shortages in New York made headlines this fall when Lewis County General Hospital announced it would stop delivering babies for lack of vaccinated nurses in its maternity ward. Then Mount Sinai South Nassau temporarily closed its emergency department in Long Beach last week, blaming the same problem. Such events have shed light on what stakeholders said is a longstanding, statewide shortage of registered nurses and nurse practitioners. The shortage predates the COVID-19 pandemic, they said. (Kaufman, 12/2)

A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled woman in an Arizona long-term health care facility was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, according to prosecutors. Nathan D. Sutherland, formerly a licensed practical nurse who was caring for the woman, was accused of impregnating her in 2018 while she was in a vegetative state at the facility, prosecutors said. She shocked employees by giving birth at the facility in December 2018, with one telling a 911 dispatcher, "We had no idea she was pregnant." (Rose and Boyette, 12/3)