Health Care News and Research

RSS

New Department of Neurosurgery for UNC School of Medicine

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine is establishing a new Department of Neurosurgery, effective July 1, 2010.

22 Apr 2010

Stopping smoking may be harder than quitting heroin

An addiction is an addiction and it may be tougher to quit smoking cigarettes compared to beating a heroin addiction. An Australian study found that many long term smokers have tried to quit 7.4 times but are still unable to do so. Sydney GP Raymond Seidler actually feels that people do not realize that quitting smoking is just as bad as kicking heroin out of your life.

22 Apr 2010

Senate Democrats seek legislation to regulate insurer rate hikes

The New York Times: "Fearing that health insurance premiums may shoot up in the next few years, Senate Democrats laid a foundation on Tuesday for federal regulation of rates, four weeks after President Obama signed a law intended to rein in soaring health costs." Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced legislation that would allow the federal health secretary to block "any rate increase found to be unreasonable," an authority that would be shared with some state insurance officials.

22 Apr 2010

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans interpreted for practical use by health care professionals

The first formal U.S. government recommendations on physical activity, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, were published in 2008. Now, those guidelines have been interpreted for practical use by health care professionals in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, published by SAGE.

22 Apr 2010

Obama puts health care on 'back burner'

The Washington Post: President Barack Obama seems to have put health care on the back burner as he focuses on financial reform and nuclear proliferation.

22 Apr 2010

Berwick may face difficult confirmation in Senate

News outlets continue to report on Donald Berwick, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

22 Apr 2010

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver writes: "The new health care law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated, according to state and industry officials and an examination of Medicaid spending data" (Weaver, 4/20).

22 Apr 2010

Alaska is 20th state to join health reform lawsuit; Okla. and La. consider signing on

Alaska Republican Gov. Sean Parnell has said he will make Alaska the 20th state to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health reform law, The Anchorage Daily News/McClatchy report.

21 Apr 2010

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Abbott today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

21 Apr 2010

Identity Force releases Spring 2010 National Survey of Hospital Compliance Executives

Identity Force today released its Spring 2010 National Survey of Hospital Compliance Executives. More than 200 compliance executives from AHA member hospitals in 43 states indicated data breaches and medical identity theft continue to grow despite new regulations like the Red Flag Rules and the HITECH Act, designed to protect against the theft and loss of personal information.

21 Apr 2010

Early tracheotomy does not reduce risk of VAP in mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients

Adult ICU patients who received tracheotomy 6 to 8 days vs. 13 to 15 days after mechanical ventilation did not have a significant reduction in the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA.

21 Apr 2010

Drugmakers raised prices last year in anticipation of new health law, Eli Lilly reports financial hit

"Drug companies sharply raised prices last year, ahead of increased rebates they must pay to Medicaid and other expenses tied to the federal health overhaul passed last month. Prices for brand-name pharmaceuticals rose 9.1% last year, the biggest increase in at least a decade, according to pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Inc."

21 Apr 2010

MMRC Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative presented at AACR 2010

An analysis of 38 myeloma tumor genomes surveyed through extensive next-generation sequencing by the Broad Institute has revealed intriguing recurrent mutations that point to important cellular pathways which contribute to multiple myeloma. These data were revealed during an oral presentation entitled "First Impressions of the Multiple Myeloma Genome" by Todd R. Golub, MD, Director of the Cancer Program at the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute.

21 Apr 2010

Hospital mortality rates make poor diagnostic tests for quality of care

Mortality rates are a poor measure of the quality of hospital care and should not be a trigger for public inquiries such as the investigation at the Mid Staffordshire hospital, argue experts in a paper published on bmj.com today.

21 Apr 2010

Physicians, patients sign online petition to stop Medicare Meltdown

Medicare, the foundation of America's health system, is crumbling and needs permanent repair. Yet Congress just passed major health system reform legislation without solving the Medicare problem.

21 Apr 2010

New survey shows 82% of patients select OTC products recommended by their pharmacist

According to the most recent Pharmacy Today Over-the-Counter Product Survey conducted by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), pharmacists believe that 82 percent of consumers purchase over-the-counter products that were recommended by their pharmacist.

21 Apr 2010

Gene test predicts statins' effectiveness in reducing risk of colorectal cancer

A genetic test can help determine in which patients cholesterol-lowering statin drugs might have the most benefit in also reducing the risk of colorectal cancer, a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

21 Apr 2010

Health Care News and Research

New Department of Neurosurgery for UNC School of Medicine

Stopping smoking may be harder than quitting heroin

Senate Democrats seek legislation to regulate insurer rate hikes

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans interpreted for practical use by health care professionals

Obama puts health care on 'back burner'

Berwick may face difficult confirmation in Senate

State's Medicaid funds tapped for federal health overhaul

Alaska is 20th state to join health reform lawsuit; Okla. and La. consider signing on

Abbott's first-quarter worldwide pharmaceutical sales increases by 12.9%

Identity Force releases Spring 2010 National Survey of Hospital Compliance Executives

Early tracheotomy does not reduce risk of VAP in mechanically ventilated adult ICU patients

Drugmakers raised prices last year in anticipation of new health law, Eli Lilly reports financial hit

MMRC Multiple Myeloma Genomics Initiative presented at AACR 2010

Hospital mortality rates make poor diagnostic tests for quality of care

Physicians, patients sign online petition to stop Medicare Meltdown

New survey shows 82% of patients select OTC products recommended by their pharmacist

Gene test predicts statins' effectiveness in reducing risk of colorectal cancer

Henry Ford Health System President to discuss practical strategies for success at educational symposium

Regence takes action to prevent gap in health care coverage

Proteus Biomedical's wireless personal health device receives FDA marketing clearance

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

Latest News