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OPTOS to acquire ophthalmic instrumentation business from OPKO

OPKO Health, Inc. has agreed to sell its ophthalmic instrumentation business to OPTOS, Inc., a subsidiary of Optos plc, a leading and rapidly growing medical technology company engaged in the design, development, manufacture and marketing of devices to image the retina of the eye. Optos will pay OPKO $17.5 million in cash at closing, plus future royalties.

22 Sep 2011

Overweight older women have less leg power, strength than normal weight women

A new study from the University of New Hampshire finds that the leg strength and power of overweight older women is significantly less than that of normal-weight older women, increasing their risk for disability and loss of independence.

20 Sep 2011

Roundup: Calif. woman's death at nursing home probed; Minn. orders counseling before patients get long-term care

Johnnie Esco died after a 13-day stay at the El Dorado Care Center in Placerville. Her death on March 7, 2008, led to a contentious civil lawsuit, investigations by California's Department of Justice and Department of Public Health – and the exhumation of her body from Arlington National Cemetery. Last week, amid inquiries from The Bee, the state Department of Justice reopened its criminal investigation into Johnnie Esco's treatment at the facility.

20 Sep 2011

VA extends retroactive traumatic injury benefits to Servicemembers

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is extending retroactive traumatic injury benefits to Servicemembers who suffered qualifying injuries during the period Oct. 7, 2001 to Nov. 30, 2005, regardless of the geographic location where the injuries occurred.

17 Sep 2011

CO-OPs, ACOs in the news

Meanwhile, a survey by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions finds that Americans still don't believe the health law is working and have questions about the federal government's priorities.

12 Sep 2011

NIH awards $12.8 million renewal grant for Louisville adult stem cell research project

At the time when Dr. Roberto Bolli received word that he was awarded a $12.8 million grant renewal from the National Institutes of Health for one research project, five patients in another of his clinical trials at the University of Louisville have reached the successful endpoint of their participation.

9 Sep 2011

HHS Secretary tours Alaska health care facilities; judge halts rollback of Ariz. same-sex benefits

Alaska has a message for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: Don't assume that health care delivery reform can work the same way in every state. That's the lesson Sen. Mark Begich says he tried to impart to Sebelius as he toured some of the state's health and early child care centers with her last week. Sebelius went to learn first-hand about the state's health services, the Indian Health Service, and how the health law is being implemented.

8 Sep 2011

Boston hospital names new leader

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston named Dr. Kevin Tabb president and CEO of the 621-bed hospital, effective Oct. 17. Tabb, 47, currently is CMO at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, a 477-bed hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., according to news release from BIDMC. He previously was Stanford Hospital's chief quality and medical information officer. Earlier in his career, he was president of clinical data services for GE Healthcare Information Technologies.

8 Sep 2011

OptiMedica's Catalys Precision Laser System for cataract receives European CE mark

Global ophthalmic company OptiMedica Corp. has announced that it has received CE mark approval to market its Catalys Precision Laser System for cataract surgery in Europe.

7 Sep 2011

Pathology Visions Conference to be held at Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego

Mahul B. Amin, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, will offer his perspectives and expertise on personalized medicine and digital pathology at the 2011 Pathology Visions Conference.

3 Sep 2011

New IDSA/PIDS guidelines can thwart pneumonia in children

Immunizations, including a yearly flu vaccine, are the best way to protect children from life-threatening pneumonia, according to new guidelines from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

2 Sep 2011

Health law legal challenges: Date set for oral arguments in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals

Missouri's health reform lawsuit is heading for oral arguments in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 8th Circuit on Tuesday said oral arguments in the lawsuit, which challenges the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion, will take place in St. Paul, Minn., during the week of Oct. 17.

25 Aug 2011

Roundup: Interim agreement between Planned Parenthood and Ariz. approved; Kan. to release budget plan

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama this week signed off on an agreement between Planned Parenthood and the state that allows most of the 2011 regulations to go into effect while the legal challenge continues.

25 Aug 2011

State roundup: Budgets cause layoffs in Wash., end of Calif. adult day care

For the first time anyone can recall, state government employment has shrunk for two years in a row due to budget cuts, shedding nearly 4,700 full-time jobs since 2009.

24 Aug 2011

CompTIA to offer live healthcare IT training sessions in Los Angeles, Chicago

Training programs designed to help information technology (IT) companies broaden their business skills and knowledge in the emerging areas of healthcare IT and unified communications are available in the coming weeks from CompTIA, the non-profit association for the IT industry.

23 Aug 2011

Optical coherence tomography can distinguish between high and low risk pancreatic cysts

A team of researchers from four Boston-area institutions led by Nicusor Iftimia from Physical Sciences, Inc. has demonstrated for the first time that optical coherence tomography (OCT), a high resolution optical imaging technique that works by bouncing near-infrared laser light off biological tissue, can reliably distinguish between pancreatic cysts that are low-risk and high-risk for becoming malignant.

18 Aug 2011

Registration now open for California Healthcare Institute's 2011 Annual Meeting

CHI-California Healthcare Institute announced today that registration is now open for CHI's 2011 Annual Meeting. CHI's Annual Meeting focuses on the relationship between biomedical innovation and public policy. This year's theme is Shifting Sands: Forces Reshaping the Biomedical Innovation Business Model.

17 Aug 2011

'Super committee' outlook: What's to become of Medicare, Medicaid?

Although President Barack Obama continues to make clear that, in his view, reforming these entitlement programs is necessary to find budget savings, one policy expert says such cuts might have very little impact on deficit spending. Meanwhile, news outlets report on how lobbyists are taking position in an effort to best advance their clients interests to the deficit panel.

17 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 16, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how the influence industry is jockeying for position with the 'super committee' as well as details of how Medicaid payments for prescription drugs stack up against those made by Medicare.

16 Aug 2011

Planned $4 billion cut in nursing home funding is 'lesson in health care complexity'

Federal officials say a plan to cut nearly $4 billion in Medicare funding to nursing homes is just a correction to curb unanticipated overspending. Critics say it's a wrongheaded move that could force staff cuts and lead some homes to close.

10 Aug 2011