US healthcare system

The US Food and Drug Administration has released draft guidance for surgical robots, setting out proposed recommendations for devices used in robotic-assisted surgery. The guidance, reported by MedTech Dive, gives manufacturers and healthcare providers a framework to review. Stakeholders can weigh in before the agency finalizes its position.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidance for cardiovascular surgical robots, outlining the agency's current thinking on the development and review of robotic systems used in cardiac and vascular procedures. The document gives manufacturers and clinicians a framework to follow, and a public comment period typically allows stakeholders to give feedback before the guidance is finalized.

The US Supreme Court has heard arguments concerning the future of a prison healthcare system, a case that could determine how medical care for incarcerated people is run and funded. Reports from the proceedings focus on what the ruling may mean for prison conditions and inmates' constitutional right to adequate medical treatment.

A Bloomberg opinion piece argues that universal public health insurance is the answer to the United States' ongoing healthcare crisis. The article contends that millions of Americans face unaffordable care and gaps in coverage, and that a publicly funded universal system would address these failures. The argument feeds into a long-running American debate over single-payer healthcare versus the current mixed public-private model.

Technology firm Leidos has won a $129 million blanket purchase agreement to support electronic health records systems for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Under the deal, Leidos will provide technical and operational support for medical record systems used across ICE detention facilities. The contract adds to Leidos' large federal health IT portfolio and comes as immigration detention conditions and detainee medical care remain under scrutiny.