The fight against cancer in Florida

Cancer has been Florida's No. 1 killer since 2011. Researchers and doctors in Florida are active on many fronts, from screening to cutting-edge therapies. This in-depth look at cancer in Florida reveals demographics on the sometimes fatal disease in the Sunshine State -- from counties with the highest cancer rates to the 10 most common cancers in Florida. [Source: Florida Trend]

More in the series:
» Acid Test: Cancer tumors and acidity research
» Target Audience: Better cervical cancer screenings in Little Haiti

Florida House readies renewed push on hospital regulations

While the Republican-controlled House is taking aim again at Florida’s certificate-of-need laws, a top state official testified this week that many new hospitals are going through the existing regulatory process with little problem. Florida is one of 35 states that have laws designed to require health-care providers to justify the need for certain types of new facilities and services. [Source: WJXT]

Jury selection starts in $1 billion Florida Medicare fraud case

Jury selection is set to begin in the trial of a health care executive accused of defrauding Medicare of $1 billion, one of the nation's biggest such cases. Jurors chosen beginning Monday will decide the fate of 50-year-old Philip Esformes, who operated a network of 30 nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Florida. [Source: AP]

State board approves more opioid-education providers

A state medical board has agreed to add two more companies to the growing list of vendors authorized to offer a two-hour continuing education course on opioid prescribing. Members of the Board of Medicine on Friday agreed to add NetCe and The Doctor’s Company to the list of providers that can offer the mandated continuing-education course to Florida licensed prescribers, such as doctors and dentists. [Source: WUSF]

Medical marijuana company to bring pot-infused edibles to Florida

The state’s medical marijuana dispensaries have a wide variety of products, but the one that has been missing are edibles. Florida law doesn’t permit the state’s licensed companies to produce edibles; Trulieve has to seek Florida regulatory approvals to sell the edibles at its dispensaries. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Orlando seeks to eliminate new HIV cases by 2030 [Health News Florida]
Florida Department of Health’s HIV/AIDS Coordinator Kara Johnson-Williams says they’re already reducing cases in high-risk populations in Orange County through the highly effective combination of prevention and treatment laid out in the plan.

› All Children’s hires new interim president [Tampa Bay Times]
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has named a new interim president. Tom Kmetz, who retired last year after a decade as president of the Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky., will take over on Feb. 18. Johns Hopkins still plans to conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.

› Scripps Florida scientists' bold strategy could help breast cancer patients [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
Scripps Florida scientist Matthew Disney and his research team in Jupiter have developed a compound that could help make breast cancer patients more receptive to treatment.

› Baptist, Wolfson Children’s Hospital expands on Southbank [Florida Times-Union]
A new seven-story building at Baptist Health’s Southbank complex will expand Wolfson Children’s Hospital while providing a new front entrance for both Wolfson and Baptist Medical Center. Construction is planned for this spring, with completion expected in early 2021.