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CSI third quarter revenues increase 5% to $21.2 million

Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (CSI), a medical device company developing and commercializing innovative interventional treatment systems for vascular disease, today reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, 2012.

3 May 2012

Women with benign breast biopsies do not need follow-up at six months

Contrary to current guidelines, women with benign breast biopsies do not need follow-up at six months; they may not need close surveillance at all, a new study shows.

3 May 2012

Preterm babies are born at a higher rate in the U.S.

Preterm babies are born at a higher rate in the United States than in 130 other countries of the world, including many poorer nations, according to the just-released report Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth.

3 May 2012

African-Americans with HIV less likely to adhere to ART therapy

African-Americans with HIV are much less likely to adhere to drug therapy than others with the disease, according to a University of Michigan study.

3 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. health cost control bill could save $8B to $34B; Md. weighs hospital rate freeze; Iowa Senate passes a fix for HIV insurance program

As Massachusetts' state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save? A recent report claims employers and employees could see between $8 billion and $34.5 billion in savings over nine years.

3 May 2012

Health Care REIT completes acquisition with Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT

Health Care REIT, Inc. announced today that it has completed the acquisition with Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT of 42 seniors housing and care communities in attractive Canadian markets, which was previously announced on February 15, 2012.

2 May 2012

It's never too late to take control of diabetes

"You could live a normal life." Those were the words that 15-year-old Steve Edelman kept hearing from the nurses when he was hospitalized following his type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 1970. He wondered why they kept repeating this to him.

2 May 2012

Older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in primary care

Large majorities of older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in their primary care, according to a new national survey, "How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience," released today by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a champion for improved geriatric care and longtime partner of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing.

2 May 2012

Blood services workers on strike in Michigan, Ohio

The American Red Cross is viciously attacking its workforce in the Midwest. More than 300 qualified, hardworking unionized blood services workers remain on strike over plans by Red Cross that would destabilize blood supply safety and strip workers of their collective bargaining rights.

2 May 2012

Lower rate of reintubation observed in infants receiving SURFAXIN

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. today announced the presentation of a new pharmacoeconomic analysis demonstrating that the lower rate of reintubation previously reported in infants treated with SURFAXIN, when compared with infants treated with Curosurf® and Survanta®, the current global market leading surfactants, also resulted in a potential hospital cost savings of $160,000 to $252,000 per 100 infants.

2 May 2012

Fish oil may improve outcomes for kidney patients undergoing hemodialysis

Over the past decade, there has been a steady stream of information promoting the health benefits of fish oil capsules. According to Dr. Louise Moist, a Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute, fish oil may also improve outcomes for kidney patients undergoing hemodialysis.

2 May 2012

Diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome triples between 2000 and 2009

About one baby is born every hour addicted to opiate drugs in the United States, according to new research from University of Michigan physicians.

2 May 2012

Study assesses perceived impact of CMS payment policy on hospital infection prevention efforts

The 2008 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to cease additional reimbursement to hospitals for certain healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) has led to enhanced focus on infection prevention and changes in practice by front-line staff, according to a national survey of infection preventionists published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

2 May 2012

Painkillers create quandary for physicians

News outlets report on the hazards -- both in the ER and in maternity wards -- being brought about by painkiller use and abuse.

2 May 2012

3M Health Care honored with Silver Edison Awards

Today, 3M Health Care announced it has been honored with a Silver Edison Award for Quality of Life in the Lifestyle and Social Impact category for its 3M™ Kind Removal Silicone Tape and a Silver Edison Award for Analytic Systems in the Science/Medical category for its Aerobic Procedure for Lactic Acid Bacteria with 3M Petrifilm Aerobic Count Plate. The Edison Awards, established in 1987, recognize the most innovative products in the world.

2 May 2012

MD Anderson, UH Graduate College of Social Work announce new joint venture

The University of Houston (UH) will soon open its doors to the Center for Health Equity & Evaluation Research (CHEER), a new joint venture between the UH Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. CHEER will expand to conduct research at both MD Anderson and the newly opened center at UH GCSW.

2 May 2012

The skills of VA nurses under examination after patient deaths

Earlier this month, a broader review by the VA inspector general of 29 VA facilities found only half had adequately documented that their nurses had the needed skills. ... The April 20 IG report also noted that previous inspections had found nurse competency issues in "dialysis, mental health, long-term care, spinal cord injury, endoscopy procedure areas, the operating room and the cardiac catheterization laboratory and with reusable medical equipment.

2 May 2012

Judge halts Texas ban on Planned Parenthood funding

The federal judge prevented Texas from enforcing the law, which banned Planned Parenthood from the state's health care program for women, until the legal challenge is concluded.

2 May 2012

FDA approves Protalix, Pfizer’s ELELYSO for treatment of type 1 Gaucher disease

Pfizer Inc. and Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. announced today that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ELELYSO (taliglucerase alfa) for injection, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for the long-term treatment of adults with a confirmed diagnosis of type 1 Gaucher disease.

2 May 2012