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FDA to end program that hid millions of reports on faulty medical devices

The Food and Drug Administration announced it is shutting down its controversial "alternative summary reporting" program and ending its decades-long practice of allowing medical device makers to conceal millions of reports of harm and malfunctions from the general public.

3 May 2019

Study examines how our brain generates consciousness and loses it during anesthesia

Medically-induced loss of consciousness during anesthesia is associated with a break-down of brain connectivity at the anatomical macro scale - across cortical areas - yet what role brain micro circuitry plays in LOC remains unclear.

2 May 2019

Study: Child and adolescent health improved but maternal mortality worsened in the U.S.

The United States is one of only eight countries in the world where decreases in child and adolescent mortality over a 27-year period haven't also been matched by reductions in maternal mortality, according to a new scientific study.

30 Apr 2019

Will ties to a Catholic hospital system tie doctors’ hands?

As Catholic health care systems across the country expand, the University of California's flagship San Francisco hospital has become the latest arena for an emotional debate: Should the famously progressive medical center increase its treatment space by joining forces with a Catholic-run system that restricts care according to religious doctrine?

29 Apr 2019

Patients caught in middle of fight between health care behemoths

Cancer survivors Evalyn Bodick, 74, and Barbara Marsic, 63, are caught in the crossfire of one of the fiercest health care fights in the country. They fear they are about to lose access to the doctors they say have kept them alive.

26 Apr 2019

Increased out-of-pocket spending threatens universal health coverage in 'missing middle' countries

One in six countries is expected to have substantially high out-of-pocket spending as a proportion of total health expenditures by 2050, according to a new scientific study.

25 Apr 2019

Drug overdoses among adolescents and young adults on the rise

In American adolescents and young adults, death rates from drug poisoning, particularly from opioids, have sharply increased over the last 10 years, according to new research in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

25 Apr 2019

Texting helps improve medication adherence, health outcomes for patients with schizophrenia

Texting patients with schizophrenia and their lay health supporters in a resource-poor community setting is more effective than a free-medicine program alone in improving medication adherence and reducing relapses and re-hospitalizations, according to a study published April 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Wenjie Gong of Central South University in Hunan, China, Dong (Roman) Xu of Sun Yat-sen University Global Health Institute, Guangdong, China and colleagues.

24 Apr 2019

Diagnostic stewardship strategy reduces inappropriate testing

Programming a hospital's electronic health record system to provide information on appropriate use of a costly gastrointestinal panel and to block unnecessary orders reduced inappropriate testing by 46 percent and saved up to $168,000 over 15 months, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

24 Apr 2019

Study: Surgical site infection risk after C-section higher among Medicaid-insured women

The risk of surgical site infection following cesarean delivery is higher among Medicaid-insured women when compared to women who were privately insured, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal for the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

10 Apr 2019

Study estimates economic burden of smoking on cancer treatment

A study released today in JAMA Network Open reported that smoking after a cancer diagnosis is associated with substantial additional costs of cancer treatment.

5 Apr 2019

LINX Reflux Management System reduces medical costs for GERD and other health problems

Treatment with Ethicon’s LINX Reflux Management System reduced medical costs more than laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication, a more invasive anti-reflux surgery, and more than offsets the slightly higher cost of the procedure, according to a new study presented here today at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

From Johnson & Johnson 4 Apr 2019

Researchers explore rate of billed ACP conversations with hospitalized, older patients

As the U.S. population ages, hospitals and health systems around the country have been grappling with how to integrate advance care planning into routine practice.

2 Apr 2019

New Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health launched at Mount Sinai

The Mount Sinai Health System and the Hasso Plattner Institute today announced an affiliation that brings together industry leaders with combined expertise in health care delivery, health sciences, biomedical and digital engineering, machine learning and artificial intelligence to rapidly develop digital health products with real-time predictive and preventive capabilities that empower patients and health care providers, and improve health and health outcomes.

29 Mar 2019

Health systems must reimburse digital health to cope with chronic disease

Health systems must reimburse digital health and integrate it into routine care to cope with chronic disease. That's the main message of a position paper from European cardiology leaders published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.

28 Mar 2019

Device-safety experts to FDA: Make data public

Medical device safety researchers are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to release hundreds of thousands of hidden injury and malfunction reports related to about 100 medical devices.

27 Mar 2019

New rules will ease patients’ access to electronic medical records, Senate panel says

The chairman of the Senate health committee on Tuesday backed new federal regulations to remove roadblocks patients can face in obtaining copies of their electronic medical records.

27 Mar 2019

Rise in cannabis use among Canadian youth preceded legalization

National discussions on cannabis legalization, along with increased access to medical marijuana, may have encouraged more high school students to consume the drug years before it became legal in Canada.

26 Mar 2019

Health plans for state employees use Medicare’s hammer on hospital bills

States. They're just as perplexed as the rest of us over the ever-rising cost of health care premiums.

25 Mar 2019

Research identifies guidelines for prioritizing hepatitis C treatment in U.S. prisons

New research identifies guidelines for prioritizing the treatment of hepatitis C infections in the U.S. prison system, resulting in a significant improvement in health outcomes of incarcerated persons while simultaneously reducing new infections in the society.

22 Mar 2019