Inside Walmart's health clinics

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:

• Walmart's primary care clinics are struggling with simple tasks;
• August was the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic yet for pregnant people, says the CDC;
• These startups want to make virtual clinical trials a reality, but experts say it won't be the norm anytime soon.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lrosenbaum@insider.com or tweet @leah_rosenbaum. Let's get to it...

Walmart's health clinics are struggling with basic functions like billing, imperiling the company's push to upend care

• Walmart has opened 20 primary-care clinics in three states over the past two years.
• Operational problems have obstructed Walmart Health's ability to improve healthcare, workers say.
• Walmart has struggled with billing insurers and credentialing providers, employees told Insider.

Get the full story>>

CDC issues an 'urgent' warning for pregnant people to get vaccinated as new data show pregnancy almost doubles the risk of death from COVID-19

• The CDC is issuing an urgent health advisory to encourage more vaccinations of pregnant people.
• People who get COVID-19 during pregnancy have a two-fold risk of admission into the ICU and a 70% increased risk of death, according to the CDC.
• In August, 22 pregnant people died from COVID-19, CDC data say.

Get the latest info>>

Startups are raising tens of millions to make clinical trials virtual. But experts say we're still years away.

• The pandemic's telehealth boost has spurred investments in startups making clinical trials virtual.
• The goal is to open trials for experimental medicines to people who can't trek to a medical center.
• These companies and experts agree it'll be years before decentralized clinical trials are the norm.

Read the article now>>

More stories we're reading:

• Claims of anti-vax nurses fueling hospital staff shortages ignore the limited support and lack of mental healthcare for COVID's frontline workers (Insider)
• YouTube is banning all videos of vaccine misinformation on its platform (The New York Times)
• A top psychedelics VC who's evaluated 374 pitches shares the 2 red flags that turn him off every time (Insider)
• A hospital sepsis algorithm might be collecting the wrong type of data (STAT)

- Leah