Rounding up some current–and back–stories:
The January season for reports continues with Owlet’s newly released ‘Baby Sleep Report’. This surveyed data was generated via Owlet devices (Dream Sock, Dream Duo, and Dream Sight) from 1.2 million babies over 900 million hours of monitoring in 200 different geographic regions during 2025. The survey purpose was to research sleep patterns, trends, and developments affecting babies monitored from one to 18 months. One major finding was that baby night awakenings, that bane of life for nearly all parents, drop by 55% by about 9 months, and sleep patterns stabilize in the first six months. Other findings summarized in the release:
- 80% of bedtime changes happen in the first six months
- By 6–8 months, babies on average sleep nearly nine hours at a time
- Biggest sleep and pulse rate changes happen in the first two months
- Early high pulse rates are common and usually reflect age-typical patterns
- Pulse rate remains higher during light sleep than deep sleep
The full report is available here.
Doncaster, UK’s MediBioSense will be introducing in March the MBS Infinity Watch, which combines an Android-based smartwatch, smartphone, and medical wearable. We covered MBS and the CEO/founder Simon Beniston back in 2018 (!) when your Editor was doing consulting for an app security company partnering with MBS’ on their first product, VitalPatch. MBS products such as the VitalPatch are distributed in the UK, Europe, Saudi Arabia, South America, and Australia. Mr. Beniston’s latest update is on his LinkedIn post. An earlier update from Business Doncaster, a local publication, was published in October. They also achieved medical certification from the Saudi FDA (SFDA) for VitalPatch after a rigorous two-year (and nine month!) process.
The US House voted on Thursday’s (22 Jan) to send a ‘minibus’ bill containing several long-fought for telehealth extension/expansion provisions to the Senate. A ‘minibus’ combines several funding bills (versus a massive ‘omnibus’) in a multi-bill FY26 funding package released by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this week. With legislation related to the Departments of Labor, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, Defense, and Transportation, it contains key provisions preserving telehealth including those not included in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. They are:
- Extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2027.
- Five-year extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program through September 30, 2030.
- Extension of in-home cardiopulmonary rehabilitation flexibilities through January 1, 2028.
- Enhancements to certain durable medical equipment (DME) requirements under Medicare.
- Requirement that HHS issue guidance within one year on furnishing telehealth services to individuals with limited English proficiency.
- Inclusion of virtual diabetes suppliers in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program through December 31, 2029.
The American Telemedicine Association and ATA Action continue to track and lobby for the extensions. Release 20 Jan, 22 Jan.
Digital health law firm Epstein Becker Green (EBG) announced an update to their free Telemental Health Laws app. The app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play, is a reference for state-specific laws and policies governing telehealth. This year’s issues include shifting Medicare rules, the gray areas of remote prescribing, and escalating compliance requirements. There’s also the continuing drama of the DEA’s kicking the can down the road, extending pandemic-era prescribing flexibilities to the end of the year versus finalizing a permanent framework for remote prescribing of controlled substances. EBG’s page with link to the app
Last, but not least, are the substantial Federal prison terms that teleprescriber Done Global’s two principals will be facing come 25 February–followed by the indictment of the company. Both founder/CEO Ruthia He and clinical president David Brody were convicted of six counts of illegal distribution of Adderall, a controlled substance, via Done’s telehealth operation, and the submission of false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement for Adderall and other stimulants. The cost? $100 million, as well as “clients’ substance abuse, addiction and, in some cases, overdose”. The fraud included deceptive social media, paying nurse practitioners to refill prescriptions without interaction, and auto-refilling. Both He and Brody were convicted by jury in November. The indictments date back to June 2024 [TTA 24 June, 3 July] and was the first Federal prosecution of criminal drug distribution related to telemedicine prescribing by a digital health company. In December, a Federal grand jury also returned an indictment against Done Global and Mindful Mental Wellness P.A. (MMW), a Florida company, for conspiracy to provide Done members with prescriptions for Adderall and other stimulants that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose, in return for a subscription fee. Done Global is charged with prescribing over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants, and fraud of $100 million in revenue. Both trials and indictments are in San Francisco, Federal Northern District of California. Department of Justice releases 19 Nov, 17 Dec 2025.
This is a helpful context across devices, policy, and enforcement. The telehealth extensions alongside the Done Global case underscore how uneven the current landscape still is. It’s a timely reminder of the need for clearer, more consistent guardrails as virtual care continues to scale.