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FDA may set patient safety regulations for health IT

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund: "In the past two years, the agency has received reports of six patient deaths and several dozen injuries linked to malfunctions in the systems, Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in testimony prepared for a government hearing on Thursday. ... The FDA has been studying the issue for several years. Its latest concerns are surfacing as the government ramps up an ambitious plan to spend as much as $27 billion in stimulus money helping doctors and hospitals across the country purchase electronic medical records systems that rely on digital software rather than paper medical charts."

25 Feb 2010

Researchers develop evaluation tool to help guide asymptomatic pancreatic cyst treatment

As a result of improved imaging technology, pancreatic cysts are increasingly diagnosed in asymptomatic individuals who undergo scans for other reasons. And while most of these cysts follow a benign course, a small but significant number are either malignant at the time of diagnosis or have the potential to develop into pancreatic cancer during a patient's lifetime.

25 Feb 2010

Lack of knowledge and awareness impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV

A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) confirmed that 3.5 to 5.3 million people (1-2 % of the U.S. population) have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Despite efforts by federal, state and local government agencies to control and prevent these diseases, they remain a serious public health concern. The major factor impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV is lack of knowledge and awareness among health care providers, social service professionals, members of the public, and policy-makers.

24 Feb 2010

Special issue of NeuroRehabilitation journal devoted to HI-BI published

IOS Press announces publication of a special issue of NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal devoted specifically to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HI-BI), a significant disruption of brain function due to a deficient supply of oxygen to the brain.

24 Feb 2010

Study says lower-cost hospitals don't have lower quality care for certain illnesses

A study Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine found little difference in outcomes between hospitals with longer patient stays and shorter ones, which could make it "possible to lower costs in the U.S. system without hurting patients," Reuters reports.

24 Feb 2010

Study shows hospitals costs vary widely and are not associated with quality of care

The costs that hospitals incur in treating patients vary widely and do not appear to be strongly associated either with the quality of care patients receive or their risk of dying within 30 days, according to a report in the February 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 Feb 2010

DSAEK cornea transplant offers potential long-term benefits

One year post-surgery, patients who underwent Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty experienced greater cell loss overall compared to those who underwent penetrating keratoplasty, according to a new analysis of data collected from the Cornea Donor Study Investigator Group's 2008 Specular Microscopy Ancillary Study.

23 Feb 2010

VA focuses on female veterans' struggles, disability claims backlog

News outlets explore issues at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is seeking to cut a backlog in disability claims and also address the needs of female veterans.

22 Feb 2010

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Modern Healthcare: "Robert Petzel has been sworn in as undersecretary for health at the Veterans Affairs Department, the agency announced.

19 Feb 2010

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

Dr. Robert A. Petzel has taken the oath of office as the Under Secretary for Health within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), stepping up to lead the nation's largest integrated health care system.

19 Feb 2010

Benefits of wartime camaraderie extend far beyond the battlefield: Study of U.S. Civil War veterans

Veterans who served in military units characterized by a strong esprit de corps were much less likely decades later to die of a stroke or heart condition than veterans from less cohesive companies, two UCLA economists have found.

19 Feb 2010

Kaiser Permanente honored as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company for pioneering EHR

Kaiser Permanente has been honored in Fast Company's annual Most Innovative Companies issue as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company in the World for its pioneering electronic health record that is the world's largest civilian electronic health record, and for its health care innovation center that develops the future of health care.

19 Feb 2010

Secretary of Veterans Affairs launches HIT initiative to improve healthcare delivery

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki launched the "Veterans Health IT Innovation Initiative," an employee-based Health Information Technology (HIT) competition to spur VA's transformation into a 21st Century organization that is Veteran-centric, results-oriented, and forward-looking.

19 Feb 2010

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Elderly people with visual disorders that are left untreated are significantly more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia, according to a University of Michigan Health System study.

19 Feb 2010

Easier walking for amputees: Artificial foot that recycles energy

An artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps could make it easier for amputees to walk, its developers say.

18 Feb 2010

Ardiem Medical receives non-exclusive license to make and sell neuromodulation devices

Ardiem Medical Inc. has obtained a non-exclusive license to make and sell neuromodulation devices based on intellectual property developed at Case Western Reserve University's Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center in Cleveland.

17 Feb 2010

Medical journal finds divide between doctors and patients on new mammogram recommendations

News outlets explore confusion about cancer screening guidelines and questions raised about the effects of high tech procedures on health care costs and quality.

17 Feb 2010

Adding daclizumab to standard treatment reduces enlarged brain lesions in patients with relapsing MS

An international team of researchers has found that adding a humanized monoclonal antibody called daclizumab to standard treatment reduces the number of new or enlarged brain lesions in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. This new study was published online Feb. 16, 2010, and in the March edition of the Lancet Neurology.

17 Feb 2010

Combination of daclizumab and interferon beta significantly reduces MS lesion formation

Biogen Idec and Facet Biotech Corporation today announced the publication of Phase 2 data showing that the addition of daclizumab to interferon beta (IFNβ) led to a significant reduction in the number of new or enlarged multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions when compared to IFNβ alone in patients with active relapsing forms of MS.

17 Feb 2010

Hip and knee replacement surgery at specialized hospitals lead to better outcomes for patients

The more specialized a hospital is in orthopedic surgical care, the better the outcomes appear to be for patients undergoing hip and knee replacement surgery, University of Iowa researchers report in a new study of Medicare patients.

16 Feb 2010

Veterans Affairs News and Research

FDA may set patient safety regulations for health IT

Researchers develop evaluation tool to help guide asymptomatic pancreatic cyst treatment

Lack of knowledge and awareness impeding efforts to control HBV and HCV

Special issue of NeuroRehabilitation journal devoted to HI-BI published

Study says lower-cost hospitals don't have lower quality care for certain illnesses

Study shows hospitals costs vary widely and are not associated with quality of care

DSAEK cornea transplant offers potential long-term benefits

VA focuses on female veterans' struggles, disability claims backlog

New VA undersecretary for health sworn in

Petzel takes oath to lead nation's largest integrated health care system

Benefits of wartime camaraderie extend far beyond the battlefield: Study of U.S. Civil War veterans

Kaiser Permanente honored as the fifth Most Innovative Health Care Company for pioneering EHR

Secretary of Veterans Affairs launches HIT initiative to improve healthcare delivery

Study: Elderly people with untreated visual disorders more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease

Easier walking for amputees: Artificial foot that recycles energy

Ardiem Medical receives non-exclusive license to make and sell neuromodulation devices

Medical journal finds divide between doctors and patients on new mammogram recommendations

Adding daclizumab to standard treatment reduces enlarged brain lesions in patients with relapsing MS

Combination of daclizumab and interferon beta significantly reduces MS lesion formation

Hip and knee replacement surgery at specialized hospitals lead to better outcomes for patients

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

Single-cell proteomics: Revealing proteome diversity from cellular heterogeneity to non-canonical biology

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