Hospital News and Research

RSS

Synthetic stool transplant for C. difficile treatment

A synthetic mixture of intestinal bacteria could one day replace stool transplants as a treatment for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). C. difficile is a toxin-producing bacteria that can overpopulate the colon when antibiotics eradicate other, naturally protective bacteria living there.

2 May 2012

Hospital billing collections company seeks dismissal of Minn. lawsuit

The Minn. state attorney general lodged a suit against Accretive Health arguing that it violated privacy laws when an employee lost a laptop computer with medical data of 23,500 patients. In addition, Accretive is also lashing out at publicity about its efforts to get hospital patients to pay their bills.

2 May 2012

REACH Health launches enhanced telemedicine clinical platform

REACH Health, Inc., a leading provider of telemedicine technology solutions for health systems, today announced the launch of its enhanced telemedicine clinical platform, REACH Access.

2 May 2012

HealthClips Rx patient education app now available in iTunes

Milner-Fenwick, Inc. and Preventice, Inc. announced today that the HealthClips Rx patient education app is now available in iTunes. To familiarize health care providers with this interactive patient education model, Milner-Fenwick and Preventice are offering a free, two-week trial to physicians and care providers.

2 May 2012

SCPC accredits Porter Adventist Hospital as Chest Pain Center

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) recently awarded Porter Adventist Hospital full accreditation status as a Chest Pain Center.

2 May 2012

Krames StayWell releases new strategic growth platform for health care organizations

Krames StayWell, the leading health care communications and engagement company, in collaboration with Tea Leaves Health, has announced the release of Krames StayWell Engage 360 a breakthrough strategic growth platform for health care organizations.

2 May 2012

Study into why illusions trick our brains

Barrow Neurological Institute researchers Jorge Otero-Millan, Stephen Macknik, and Susana Martinez-Conde share the recent cover of the Journal of Neuroscience in a compelling study into why illusions trick our brains. Barrow is part of St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

2 May 2012

Ciprofloxacin, TMP-SMX no longer safe for outpatient urinary tract infection

In a surveillance study of over 12 million bacteria, investigators at The George Washington University and Providence Hospital found E. coli antimicrobial resistance to ciprofloxacin, the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial for urinary tract infections in the U.S., increased over five-fold from 2000 to 2010.

2 May 2012

Vessix V2 Renal Denervation System for hypertension receives CE Mark approval

Vessix Vascular, Inc., a developer of novel percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) balloon catheter technology for the treatment of hypertension, announced today that it has received Conformite Europeenne (CE) Mark approval for its V2 Renal Denervation System for the treatment of hypertension.

2 May 2012

Tips for parents to engage their children in discussions about alcohol

During Alcohol Awareness Month, and with prom and graduation season just around the corner, now is a critical time for parents to engage their teens in discussions about alcohol, according to the Health Alliance on Alcohol.

2 May 2012

Seed localization improves satisfaction of breast cancer patients

A cutting-edge procedure called seed localization is improving patient satisfaction at The Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. In patients undergoing lumpectomy for cancers that are small and cannot be felt in the breast, a tiny radioactive seed is guided into the breast and implanted at the site of the tumor.

2 May 2012

Safe amount of vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation

Women who do not receive enough vitamin D during pregnancy and lactation can experience serious health problems for themselves and their baby, but health experts offer conflicting advice on what constitutes a safe amount.

2 May 2012

High-dose glucocorticoids double risk of bacterial infections in children with JIA

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis have higher rates of bacterial infection requiring hospitalization, and use of high-dose steroids significantly increases that risk, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2 May 2012

TeamHealth announces acquisition of Exigence

TeamHealth Holdings Inc. today announced the acquisition of the operations of The Exigence Group and its related entities.

2 May 2012

High-dose steroids increase infection risk in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) have higher rates of hospitalized bacterial infection than children without JIA according to an observational study appearing in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

2 May 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's argument that health law would kill free enterprise; FDA's delay in cutting use of antibiotics in animals

In my column on Sunday, I quoted Mitt Romney's warning last week that President Obama's health reform law could doom the free-enterprise system in the United States. "With Obamacare fully installed," Romney said, "government will come to control half the economy, and we will have effectively ceased to be a free-enterprise society." Could that be true? Would "Obamacare," which relies mostly on free-enterprise health insurance companies, really turn America into a socialist state?

2 May 2012

FDA clears Great Basin’s first C. diff molecular diagnostic test

Great Basin Corporation, a privately-held life sciences company developing sample-to-result molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for its first molecular diagnostic test for Clostridium difficile.

2 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

State regulators on Monday approved third-quarter health insurance rates that will raise premiums an average of just 1.2 percent in the market serving small businesses and individuals, continuing a trend of more modest increases seen over the past three quarters. And several carriers, including Tufts Health Plan of Watertown and Fallon Community Health Plan, based in Worcester, will reduce their rates -- a rarity in Massachusetts health care -- according to data from the state Division of Insurance.

2 May 2012

First Edition: May 1, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports from the presidential campaign trail and from states on issues ranging from Massachusetts' payment reform to Idaho's scope-of-practices issues.

2 May 2012

54% doctors support denying treatment to smokers and the obese until they quit or lose weight

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?” They believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

30 Apr 2012