Morning Read: Concierge medicine multiplies

Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of healthcare:

Concierge medicine multiplies: The number of doctors who practice concierge medicine, which involves foregoing insurance and charging higher prices to patients for better service, is small but likely to continue growing. Only about 1,000 doctors in the U.S. have joined the movement, but many physicians who’ve made the switch report that the grass is greener, in terms of both their personal and financial fulfillment. But many complain that concierge medicine creates a “two-tiered” health system of haves and have-nots. “The majority of us think it’s an unethical and ultimately selfish way to practice medicine,” said one internist.

Transparency coming to FDA? Under a proposal that’s being considered, the FDA would start disclosing when products are tested in people, submitted for marketing authorization, withdrawn, or denied approval. If adopted, the changes would shed considerable light on a review process that affects the entire drug and device industries. Let’s see how much industry manages to water this down by the time it becomes law.

Pessimistic about venture returns: “Venture returns have been poor for a decade, and I think risk-adjusted they will be poor for a long time,” says Khosla Ventures partner David Weiden. Going forward, he predicts, the very best firms will continue to perform very well, and the rest won’t.

Healthcare High: Chicago plans to open its first charter high school focused on preparing students for careers in healthcare. The school will emphasize math and science, and students will be able to earn credits by shadowing hospital workers and interning as assistant nurses and in other professions.

Cutting Medicare costs: The New York Times continues its “making sense of the healthcare law” series by explaining how reform aims to cut Medicare costs by $500 billion over 10 years. Most of that amount will come from reducing payment to hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans.

Book recommendation (kind of): “The History and Future of Medical Technology” by Ira Brodsky has caught Medgadget’s eye. According to its clearly unbiased publisher, the book “tells the story behind today’s advanced medical technologies: how they were developed, how they work their magic, and how they are likely to evolve over the next several years.”

Gender bias at Novartis? The pharmaceuticals firm has been ordered by a federal court to pay $250 million for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees. “To Novartis, discrimination is one big joke,” the women’s lawyer told the jury. “There was an old boys’ network at Novartis running rampant.” Yet, the company was somehow named one of Working Mother’s 100 best companies to work for last year.

Dealflow: Connecticut-based Cytogel Pharma raises $2.2 million; Massachusetts’ Arsenal Medical grabs $10 million; Austin, Texas-based Inova Labs takes in $10 million; Neuro Therapeutics Pharma closes a $43 million Series B.

Photo from flickr user Andersedin