Penn Medicine has partnered with Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drug Company to combat rising medication prices and ongoing drug shortages by purchasing the 100 most frequently dispensed medications from the Cost Plus Marketplace. This initiative, intended to provide more affordable access to essential drugs, comes as Penn Medicine operates 16 retail pharmacies that fill over 1.5 million prescriptions annually. The collaboration represents the third alliance formed with Cost Plus Drugs, joining ScionHealth and Community Health Systems. The Cost Plus Marketplace aims to enhance the availability of medications while CEO Kevin Mahoney noted that savings from eliminating generic medication mark-ups will be reinvested into innovative care solutions, though immediate cost reductions for patients may not be realized at the pharmacy level.

Penn Medicine Partners with Cost Plus to Combat Drug Costs and Shortages Becker's Hospital Review

Amazon is advancing its position in the artificial intelligence sector with the launch of six new foundation models at the AWS re:Invent conference, offering 75% cost reductions and support for over 200 languages. The company also introduced its latest AI chips, Trainium2, which deliver quadrupled performance and a 50% cost savings compared to NVIDIA's offerings, alongside partnerships including one with Apple. Furthermore, Amazon unveiled Project Rainier, an initiative to develop one of the largest distributed AI supercomputing clusters using extensive Trainium chips to achieve significantly enhanced performance levels.

Amazon Unleashes Powerful AI Models and Chips, Slashing Costs by 75% LinkedIn

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published an updated edition of its guidance on measuring cybersecurity performance for government organizations, known as NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-55. This new version, comprising two volumes, assists agencies in assessing the effectiveness of their cybersecurity initiatives. Volume one focuses on identifying and selecting appropriate measures, emphasizing the evaluation of existing security policies, while volume two provides a framework for managing a cybersecurity measurement program that promotes communication among stakeholders. Key updates include enhanced guidance for quantitatively measuring cybersecurity outcomes and an expansion of the intended audience for the guidance.

NIST Unveils Updated Guidance to Enhance Cybersecurity Performance for Agencies GovTech

The HHS Office for Civil Rights has fined Children’s Hospital Colorado $548,265 for multiple violations of HIPAA privacy and security rules. An investigation revealed the hospital's inadequate security measures, including failing to perform a thorough risk analysis and lapses in policies for managing electronic protected health information (ePHI). This enforcement action highlights the critical need for healthcare organizations to strengthen their cybersecurity practices to safeguard patient data from unauthorized access.

HHS Fines Children’s Hospital Colorado Over $548K for HIPAA Violations HHS