Health Care News and Research

RSS

NPAF's message to White House Summit participants: Policy agreement must triumph over partisan politics

The National Patient Advocate Foundation -- the sister organization to the Patient Advocate Foundation -- a direct patient services organization that assists patients throughout the country – delivered a message to all White House Summit participants that policy agreement must triumph over partisan politics during the bipartisan health care reform meeting.

27 Feb 2010

Cotton thread as core material in 'lab-on-chip' devices to detect kidney failure and diabetes

A discovery by Monash University scientists could see humble cotton thread emerge as a core material in low-cost 'lab-on-chip' devices capable of detecting diseases such as kidney failure and diabetes.

27 Feb 2010

Of the 2.3M inmates, only 1.5M meet DSM IV medical criteria for substance abuse: CASA

Of the 2.3 million inmates crowding our nation's prisons and jails, 1.5 million meet the DSM IV medical criteria for substance abuse or addiction, and another 458,000, while not meeting the strict DSM IV criteria, had histories of substance abuse; were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of their crime; committed their offense to get money to buy drugs; were incarcerated for an alcohol or drug law violation; or shared some combination of these characteristics, according to Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America's Prison Population. Combined these two groups constitute 85 percent of the U.S. prison population.

27 Feb 2010

Electronic prescribing decreases prescription errors

Should doctors around the country use e-prescribing to decrease prescription errors? A study led by physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College found that health care providers using an electronic system to write prescriptions were seven times less likely to make errors than those writing their prescriptions by hand. The study appears today in the online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

27 Feb 2010

Aetna.com: Most visited health insurance website

The recently redesigned Aetna.com is a hit with web surfers, who made it the most visited website among health insurers in the fourth quarter of 2009. In fact, 20 percent of Americans who visited a health insurance website during the quarter visited an Aetna site, according to “The Online Health Insurance Landscape,” an independent online audience measurement of health insurance websites recently released by comScore.

27 Feb 2010

Two Atlanta-based nursing homes and their principals to pay the U.S. and several states $14M

Atlanta-based Mariner Health Care Inc. and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services LLC, as well as their principals, Leonard Grunstein, Murray Forman and Rubin Schron, have agreed to pay the United States and several states $14 million, the Justice Department announced today.

27 Feb 2010

Telemedicine project: Low-income residents in California to receive improved access to dental care

Low-income residents in the San Fernando Valley will receive improved access to dental care, thanks to a new telemedicine project created by the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

27 Feb 2010

3M and PCTS to globally market innovative automated hand hygiene compliance solution

3M and Patient Care Technology Systems, a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering, Inc., today announced that they have signed an agreement to bring a state-of-the-art automated hand hygiene compliance solution to healthcare customers globally.

27 Feb 2010

Blacks less likely to know they have atrial fibrillation or about use of warfarin

A large nationwide study that includes neurologists from Mayo Clinic has found that blacks are substantially less likely than whites to know that they have atrial fibrillation or to use warfarin, the most common treatment for the condition. Atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm, significantly increases risk of stroke. Warfarin is known to reduce that risk.

27 Feb 2010

Health care of Canadians: New long term strategic approach needed

A new poll conducted for the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) shows that while Canadians recognize the urgency of the federal government tackling the deficit in next week's budget, they do not want it to come at the expense of health care.

27 Feb 2010

Furloughs will cost the state more

Dr. Stuart A. Bussey, President of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists (UAPD), praised Judge Frank Roesch's decision on Thursday to grant back pay for time lost to furloughs to doctors who are paid from sources other than the State's general fund. "He looked at the facts we presented and he made the right decision," stated Dr. Bussey.

27 Feb 2010

OTN to demonstrate combined solutions: Polycom's PC-based CMA with its telemedicine tools

As one of the world's largest and most active telemedicine networks, the Ontario Telemedicine Network will faciliate more than 100,000 clinical encounters and distance education opportunities for more than 300,000 people across nearly one thousand sites this year. Secure, reliable and responsive, OTN enables improved access to a variety of clinical programs and services for patients and educational opportunities for health care providers.

27 Feb 2010

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out strong during recession

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out for its strong growth during the 2008-09 recession. This sets it apart from other industries covered in the Winter 2010 edition of The Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Industrial Profile Service - chemicals, plastic and rubber products, non-metallic mineral products, and computer and electronic products, which will take at least a couple of years to return to pre-recession production, revenue and profit levels.

27 Feb 2010

Secretary of Labor: Congress extends unemployment insurance, COBRA safety net programs

It is essential that Congress extend the unemployment insurance and COBRA safety net programs that are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act past their current expiration date of Feb. 28. If Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding of the Extended Benefit program are not extended, 400,000 Americans will lose these vital benefits during the first couple of weeks in March.

27 Feb 2010

Frequent error in medicine occurs nearly one out of three times a patient is referred to specialist: Study

The most frequent error in medicine seems to occur nearly one out of three times a patient is referred to a specialist. A new study found that nearly a third of patients age 65 and older referred to a specialist are not scheduled for appointments and therefore do not receive the treatment their primary care doctor intended.

27 Feb 2010

VA announces two contracts to create polytrauma center that cares for severely injured Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the award of two contracts totaling $41.5 million to create a "polytrauma center" that cares for the most severely injured Veterans and to improve the existing wards at the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center.

27 Feb 2010

Hospital Roundup: Recession takes toll on NY hospital, investigation of heart surgeries in Maryland and California's soaring fees

The New York Times: Harlem's North General hospital may fold. Despite "often successful" efforts by "Harlem's civic, political and religious leaders … to get more money and more state subsidies to keep it going," the hospital may not survive this period of general "economic malaise." The hospital serves many low-income and uninsured patients in addition to middle-income patients. A rehabilitation center operated by a city-run hospital appears to be eyeing its location for an expansion as hospital officials consider restructuring and linking up with partners (Hartocollis, 2/25).

27 Feb 2010

National Alliance for Hispanic Health urges Congress to support health insurance reform bill

"Health is more than insurance coverage, but it is critical that this step be accomplished as we continue our journey towards health care for all," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group. According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than a third (37.1%) of Hispanic workers do not have health insurance.

27 Feb 2010

Midlothian Laboratories donates more than $3M worth of vitamins, nutritional supplements to AmeriCares

Midlothian Laboratories, a division of Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co., Inc., as part of its continuing humanitarian relief efforts, recently donated more than $3 million worth of essential vitamins and nutritional supplements to AmeriCares for people in the developing world living in extreme poverty and suffering from chronic malnutrition.

27 Feb 2010

KHN's Blog Watch: Taking in the health care confab

Kaiser Health News' Blog Watch column details some of yesterday's chatter in the blogosphere. "It was a long day of commentary for many health policy bloggers, who concluded that President Barack Obama signaled his intention to push forward with the current proposals, though who will score the most political points from the seven hour health care summit remains contentious"

27 Feb 2010

Health Care News and Research

NPAF's message to White House Summit participants: Policy agreement must triumph over partisan politics

Cotton thread as core material in 'lab-on-chip' devices to detect kidney failure and diabetes

Of the 2.3M inmates, only 1.5M meet DSM IV medical criteria for substance abuse: CASA

Electronic prescribing decreases prescription errors

Aetna.com: Most visited health insurance website

Two Atlanta-based nursing homes and their principals to pay the U.S. and several states $14M

Telemedicine project: Low-income residents in California to receive improved access to dental care

3M and PCTS to globally market innovative automated hand hygiene compliance solution

Blacks less likely to know they have atrial fibrillation or about use of warfarin

Health care of Canadians: New long term strategic approach needed

Furloughs will cost the state more

OTN to demonstrate combined solutions: Polycom's PC-based CMA with its telemedicine tools

Canada's pharmaceutical products industry stands out strong during recession

Secretary of Labor: Congress extends unemployment insurance, COBRA safety net programs

Frequent error in medicine occurs nearly one out of three times a patient is referred to specialist: Study

VA announces two contracts to create polytrauma center that cares for severely injured Veterans

Hospital Roundup: Recession takes toll on NY hospital, investigation of heart surgeries in Maryland and California's soaring fees

National Alliance for Hispanic Health urges Congress to support health insurance reform bill

Midlothian Laboratories donates more than $3M worth of vitamins, nutritional supplements to AmeriCares

KHN's Blog Watch: Taking in the health care confab

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