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NCQA reports two new findings on nation's health care

The new State of Health Care Quality report from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has two new findings about the nation's health care.

13 Oct 2010

Boyden reports 35% increase in demand for Senior R & D Managers in Life Sciences sector

Fresh hiring decisions are being made at senior management levels, due to CEOs' bold moves to reshape businesses to the more permanent competitive reality, according to the quarterly Boyden Executive Outlook, released today by Boyden Global Executive Search.

12 Oct 2010

Agilent introduces new microarray platform to study genetic basis of developmental disorders

Agilent Technologies Inc. today introduced the SurePrint G3 Human CGH+SNP microarray platform, an innovative system for simultaneous analysis of chromosomal copy number changes and copy-neutral aberrations. The system allows researchers to study the genetic basis of developmental disorders as well as many cancers.

12 Oct 2010

Health Robotics enters distribution agreements with Newico and Apta Medica for 7 new European countries

Health Robotics today announced that it recently signed exclusive distribution agreements for its CytoCare, i.v.STATION, and i.v.SOFT world-leading technologies in seven new European countries with regional industry leaders Newico and Apta Medica, rapidly continuing on its worldwide quest to pervasively provide safe and cost-effective Intravenous (IV) Admixture Compounding Automation to hospitals all over the world.

11 Oct 2010

NCQA recertifies Lilly's online Health Education Answers program

Lilly's Health Education Answers program, an interactive online health and wellness tool, has received Health Information Product Recertification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

11 Oct 2010

SRA International receives award of task order to continue support for TCGA

SRA International, Inc., a leading provider of technology and strategic consulting services and solutions to government organizations and commercial clients, today announced the award of a task order as a contractor to the National Institutes of Health to continue bioinformatics support of the Data Coordinating Center for The Cancer Genome Atlas.

8 Oct 2010

Bruker closes acquisition of instruments businesses with Veeco

Bruker Corporation today announced the closing of its acquisition of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and the Optical Industrial Metrology (OIM) instruments businesses from Veeco Instruments, Inc. for $229.4 million in cash.

8 Oct 2010

Laureate Pharma secures $20 million financing to enhance business

Laureate Pharma, Inc., a full-service contract development and manufacturing organization today announced that it has secured $20 million in debt and equity financing to enhance and grow its business.

7 Oct 2010

FEHBP premium costs to increase next year, just not as much as this year

The Washington Post reports that the price federal employees pay for health insurance next year won't go up as much as it did this year, but that the 7.2 percent increase for 2011 is "much greater than inflation or any pay increase or cost of living adjustment they might get."

6 Oct 2010

Data shows Take Care Clinics’ quality of care exceeds national benchmarks

Take Care Health Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walgreens and the nation's largest and most comprehensive manager of convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness centers, today announced that an analysis of de-identified data collected through the company's electronic medical record (EMR) system by the Jefferson School of Population Health showed that the quality of care delivered in Take Care Clinics for treatment of pharyngitis (inflammation of the throat) and upper respiratory infections (URI) meets or exceeds the quality of the care delivered in other settings.

5 Oct 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

With open enrollment season now underway, consumers with employer-based health insurance can take advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to switch plans. To help consumers compare health insurance plans, Consumer Reports Health is today publishing rankings of 227 HMOs and Point of Service (POS) plans.

5 Oct 2010

Cost-effective ways for early detection of 'lazy eye'

Amblyopia, known as "lazy eye," is a major cause of vision problems in children and a common cause of blindness in people aged 20 to 70 in developed countries. In amblyopia the person's stronger eye is favored and his/her weaker eye gradually loses visual power as a result. When the condition is detected and treated before age 7, more than 75 percent of children achieve 20/30 vision or better, the Amblyopia Treatment Study reports.

4 Oct 2010

BBPS tool can assess colon cleanliness during colonoscopy

Boston Medical Center (BMC) doctors have proven the reliability of the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS), a tool that assesses the cleanliness of the colon during colonoscopies. This study, published in the October 2010 issue of the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, demonstrates the scale's accuracy and could become an international standardized tool to rate colon cleanliness during colonoscopy.

4 Oct 2010

First nationwide Safe Medication Disposal Program launched

Walgreens has launched the first ongoing, nationwide Safe Medication Disposal Program, a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unused or expired medications.

1 Oct 2010

Lawmaker proposes trust fund for veterans' growing health costs

"A new study estimates that health costs for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans could top $900 billion, and [Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.] wants to set up a trust fund to make sure the bill will be paid," The Associated Press reports.

1 Oct 2010

ACGME approves graduated standards for duty hours for residents training in accredited teaching institutions

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Board of Directors has approved a set of requirements that are a comprehensive approach to patient care, quality improvement, supervision, professionalism, transitions in care, and resident well-being. Included are graduated standards for duty hours for the nation's 111,000 residents training in ACGME accredited teaching institutions. The new standards will go into effect in July 2011.

30 Sep 2010

New RTCA Cardio Instrument monitors real-time cardiomyocyte beating and cellular events

Roche announced today that it had launched the RTCA Cardio Instrument, the latest member of the xCELLigence product family. The RTCA Cardio Instrument is a medium throughput cell analyzer that utilizes impedance readings to monitor cardiac beating and cellular events in real time.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 29 Sep 2010

Cintas’s new white paper offers EVS tips to reduce hospital-acquired infections

Cintas Corporation today announced the availability of a new white paper that offers Environmental Service Directors (EVS) tips to improve the handling of cleaning materials to reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

28 Sep 2010

Key pathway used by malaria parasite to infect human cells identified

Development of an effective vaccine for malaria is a step closer following identification of a key pathway used by the malaria parasite to infect human cells. The discovery, by researchers at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, provides a new vaccine target through which infection with the deadly disease could be prevented.

24 Sep 2010

Efforts to reduce worker exposure to hazards during disaster response, cleanup

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is awarding $36 million in grants to 20 organizations that develop safety and health training for workers involved in hazardous waste operations and transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities, and chemical emergency response. These training programs can receive annual funding for up to five years.

24 Sep 2010