Team-based care model cuts blood pressure in high-risk populations; FDA to convene expert panel on wider access to peptides; Florida nursing assistant sentenced in $11.4M Medicare brace fraud scheme – Morning Medical Update

Team-based care model cuts blood pressure more effectively in low-income patients

The approach, tested at 36 FQHCs in Louisiana and Mississippi, cost approximately $760 per patient.

A coordinated, team-based care strategy reduced systolic blood pressure by more than 15 mmHg in low-income patients with uncontrolled hypertension, compared with about 9 mmHg under enhanced standard care, according to a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The intervention, tested at 36 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) across Louisiana and Mississippi with more than 1,270 participants, combined intensive blood pressure management, clinician feedback, health coaching, medication adherence support and home monitoring. At 18 months, nearly 48% of patients in the intervention group achieved systolic blood pressure below 130mm Hg, compared with 36% in the control group.

Researchers estimated the team-based approach cost roughly $760 per patient — far less than treating the cardiovascular conditions that poorly controlled hypertension can cause. Prior research suggests the observed blood pressure difference could translate to a 10% reduction in cardiovascular events. The authors conclude the model is scalable to other primary care settings serving similar underserved populations.

FDA to convene expert panel on wider access to peptides

The meeting, scheduled for July, will consider whether licensed compounding pharmacies should be allowed to manufacture eight peptides banned from compounding in 2023.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will convene an outside advisory panel on July 23-24 to consider whether licensed compounding pharmacies should be permitted to manufacture more than half a dozen peptides that the agency barred from compounding in 2023, at the time citing concerns about immunogenicity, toxicity and impurity.

The two-day meeting will cover peptides including BPC-157, KPV, TB-500, MOTS-c, emideltide, semax, and epitalon, which have been promoted online for uses ranging from wound healing and weight loss to opioid withdrawal and insomnia, despite limited human safety data. The FDA's move follows public support from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said on a recent podcast that he is a "big fan of peptides" and has used them himself.

Florida nursing assistant sentenced to 9 years in $11.4M Medicare brace fraud scheme

Christian Cruz shipped thousands of unnecessary orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, structuring cash withdrawals to conceal the proceeds.

A Florida nursing assistant was sentenced this week to nine years in prison for his role in an $11.4 million Medicare fraud scheme in which hundreds of beneficiaries were sent orthotic braces they did not need. Christian Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, owned and operated a durable medical equipment (DME) supply company through which he submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare, paying illegal kickbacks to obtain signed doctors' orders and concealing the fact that he shared ownership of the company with a convicted felon — a detail that would have disqualified the business from enrolling in Medicare. Cruz also structured cash withdrawals from his personal bank account in amounts just under the $10,000 federal reporting threshold at multiple South Florida bank branches. A federal jury convicted him in January 2026, and he was also ordered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitution and $724,871 in forfeiture.