Health Care News and Research

RSS

Advocates urge Representatives to support Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act

On March 30-31, 2010, advocates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico called their Representatives in Congress, urging them to support the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act (H.R. 1189) during the annual Congressional Butt-In.

1 Apr 2010

KKR announces investment in Ambea

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. today announced that KKR has joined Triton in its investment in Ambea, a leading healthcare and care company in the Nordic Region and one of the largest European healthcare service providers.

1 Apr 2010

U.S. lays out goals for role in Haiti recovery

As donors from more than 100 countries gather at the U.N. in New York Wednesday to discuss the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged Haiti, Cheryl Mills, an advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, said that the U.S. "will be focusing on agriculture, energy, health and security. Also (on) support to the government in holding elections," Agence France-Presse reports (3/30).

1 Apr 2010

Revive releases results of fourth annual National Payor Survey of hospital executives

Revive, a national public relations firm specializing in Health Care and Healthy Living, today released the results of its fourth annual National Payor Survey of hospital executives. The only one of its kind in the country, the survey targeted hospital leaders in the industry who negotiate managed care contracts with national health insurance companies - CEOs, CFOs, and directors of managed care. Participants represent 24% of hospitals in the U.S., up from 18% last year.

1 Apr 2010

Health Policy Experts to comment on topics related to health insurance reform

As the debate over healthcare insurance reform continues, faculty members of The George Washington University Medical Center are available to comment on topics regarding health insurance reform, including: general policy/political analysis, Medicare, Medicaid, compliance, community health centers, state health reform, affordability, finance and health technology information.

1 Apr 2010

With corporations already claiming pain from overhaul, business lobby prepares to fight back

A week after the health overhaul cleared Congress, a business lobby that opposed the plan is now regrouping to shape its implementation and exact political retribution on supporters, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is planning a broad effort to blunt the health overhaul by trying to shape its regulatory language and spending heavily to unseat vulnerable Democrats who voted for it."

1 Apr 2010

VA may expand list of Gulf War illnesses

The Army Times/Veterans Today: "In a boost for veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and those who have served in recent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Veterans Affairs Department has proposed changes to its list of illnesses that are presumed connected to service to include nine infectious diseases."

1 Apr 2010

Pfizer admits paying $35 million to doctors over last 6 months

Pfizer among other large pharmaceutical companies recently disclosed payments to doctors and other medical professionals for consulting and speaking on its behalf and also some sponsorship of clinical trials. On Wednesday in an announcement the company spokesperson revealed that they had paid a whopping $20 million to 4,500 doctors and other medical professionals in the last six months of 2009. Pfizer also accepted that they paid $15.3 million to 250 academic medical centers and other research groups for clinical trials in the same period. This disclosure is only about payments made within the US.

1 Apr 2010

Some states reject health reform lawsuits as others prepare to join fray

In Georgia, "the Democratic attorney general has rejected" the idea of lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of the recently enacted federal health overhaul "as 'frivolous' and 'a waste of taxpayer money.' Now ... [31] Republicans in the state legislature signed a resolution Tuesday calling for the impeachment of the attorney general, Thurbert Baker." Mr. Baker is planning to run for governor, a race "expected to be closely fought, to succeed Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, who is prevented by law from seeking a third term."

1 Apr 2010

Red Hill Studios, UCSF awarded two grants to develop computer-based physical therapy games

Red Hill Studios, a California-based serious games developer, in partnership with the UCSF School of Nursing, has been awarded two grants totaling $1.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue development, production and testing of computer-based physical therapy games for patients with Parkinson's disease and cerebral palsy.

1 Apr 2010

Newsweek examines challenges associated wtih U.S. food aid program

Newsweek examines how the U.S. farm bill influences food aid by tracking the efforts of U.S. entrepreneur Navyn Salem as she worked to launch a nonprofit capable of providing ready-to-use therapeutic (RUTF) food aid known as Plumpy'nut - "a squeezable package of fortified peanut-butter-based paste … used to feed severely malnourished children and pregnant or lactating women" - to NGOs that contract with USAID.

1 Apr 2010

Same-sex couples often pay more for health coverage

MarketWatch reports on higher health care costs for same-sex couples. "Even in states where same-sex marriages are legal, employers may exclude partners from coverage.

1 Apr 2010

Chi's management team to complete acquisition from Carilion Clinic

Chi Solutions, Inc. (Chi), a nationally recognized healthcare consultancy focused on diagnostic outreach program management, Lean Six Sigma, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, and operations improvement, announced today that its management team will complete the acquisition of the company from Carilion Clinic on April 1, 2010.

1 Apr 2010

Neurologist develops SAGE tool to diagnose memory disorders

A self-administered test to screen for early dementia could help speed the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of memory disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. It could also provide health care providers and caregivers an earlier indication of life-changing events that could lie ahead.

1 Apr 2010

Providing direct access to imaging test results may improve patient satisfaction, but increase anxiety as well

Providing patients with direct access to their imaging test results could improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. However, physicians are concerned that it could lead to increased patient anxiety and unrealistic demands on physician time, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org).

1 Apr 2010

U.N. releases report on poverty in Afghanistan

A new U.N. report (.pdf) finds that "the majority of Afghans live in dire poverty, despite an estimated $35 billion in aid being poured into the country between 2002 to 2009," the Associated Press reports (3/30).

1 Apr 2010

New health care reform law includes patient safety provisions

While most of the attention surrounding the landmark health care reform measure just signed into law has focused on how it expands access to affordable insurance coverage, it also enacts important initiatives that will improve patient safety, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

1 Apr 2010

Also in Global Health News: HIV/AIDS in Central Asia; Nigeria MDGs; Aid transparency; Maternal health in Peru

Aljazerra.net reports on the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout Central Asia along drug routes in the region. The piece examines the lack of information available to the people of Central Asia about HIV prevention strategies and a recent effort among a group of Muslim imams in Tajikistan to educate people about the disease (Andersen, 3/31).

1 Apr 2010

Family planning, access to safe, legal abortion key to maternal, child health, U.S. Sec. of State says

Following a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from G8 countries in Quebec on Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "appeared at odds … with [Canadian] Prime Minister Stephen Harper's G8 initiative on maternal and child health, saying family planning, contraception and access to legal, safe abortions were vital elements of maternal health care," Canwest News Service/Ottawa Citizen report (O'Neill, 3/31).

1 Apr 2010

KPCB doubles iFund to $200M of venture capital for Apple's iPhone OS family of products

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers today announced the doubling of its iFund to $200 million of venture capital for applications for Apple's revolutionary iPhone OS family of products, including iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Established in 2008 as a $100 million investment pool, the original iFund is now fully committed across 14 companies.

1 Apr 2010

Health Care News and Research

Advocates urge Representatives to support Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment Act

KKR announces investment in Ambea

U.S. lays out goals for role in Haiti recovery

Revive releases results of fourth annual National Payor Survey of hospital executives

Health Policy Experts to comment on topics related to health insurance reform

With corporations already claiming pain from overhaul, business lobby prepares to fight back

VA may expand list of Gulf War illnesses

Pfizer admits paying $35 million to doctors over last 6 months

Some states reject health reform lawsuits as others prepare to join fray

Red Hill Studios, UCSF awarded two grants to develop computer-based physical therapy games

Newsweek examines challenges associated wtih U.S. food aid program

Same-sex couples often pay more for health coverage

Chi's management team to complete acquisition from Carilion Clinic

Neurologist develops SAGE tool to diagnose memory disorders

Providing direct access to imaging test results may improve patient satisfaction, but increase anxiety as well

U.N. releases report on poverty in Afghanistan

New health care reform law includes patient safety provisions

Also in Global Health News: HIV/AIDS in Central Asia; Nigeria MDGs; Aid transparency; Maternal health in Peru

Family planning, access to safe, legal abortion key to maternal, child health, U.S. Sec. of State says

KPCB doubles iFund to $200M of venture capital for Apple's iPhone OS family of products

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

How microplastics and bacteria interact to drive antibiotic resistance

Latest News