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Partners HealthCare offers $40 million to control health insurance costs in Massachusetts; Neb. Gov. signs new abortion law

Partners HealthCare, whose Boston teaching hospitals have been blamed for helping to drive up medical spending, is offering $40 million toward reducing double-digit health insurance rate increases for small businesses, part of a broader package that will be unveiled today by Senate President Therese Murray.

15 Apr 2010

Optovue founds "Eye-Give" non-profit foundation

Optovue, a pioneer in fourier/spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), has founded "Eye-Give," a non-profit foundation for the purposes of donating technology and funding to sight saving charities and organizations around the world.

13 Apr 2010

OptiMedica releases new details on femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery

OptiMedica Corp., a global ophthalmic device company, has released new details regarding the development of its proprietary femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery. The new system, which combines OptiMedica's breakthrough pattern scanning technology, an ultra-fast laser and integrated Optical Coherence Tomography imaging, is designed to dramatically improve the complex cataract procedure by replacing its most technically demanding and manual steps.

12 Apr 2010

Cancer research at Georgia Tech: Report

Cancer treatment typically involves surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy or biological therapy. An oncologist may use one therapy or a combination of methods, depending on the type and location of the cancer, whether the disease has spread, the patient's age and general health, and other factors.

3 Apr 2010

Physicians face pressures from increased patient loads, looming payment cuts

Two provisions of the new health overhaul law "may accelerate a trend" of doctors leaving their profession. It points to parts of the legislation that would ask physicians to accept new administrative chores and standards, although some of them might result in better reimbursement rates from insurers and the government.

1 Apr 2010

MGH to create registry of patients who had OCT of coronary arteries

Massachusetts General Hospital, together with a coalition of 20 international sites in five countries, will create the world's largest registry of patients who have had optical coherence tomography of the coronary arteries.

26 Mar 2010

ELCA's 49-page draft social statement on genetics

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America released March 18 a 49-page draft social statement on genetics, a framework for discussion on a variety of current topics in the field including certain advances in medicine, reproductive cloning, human embryonic stem cells, and animal and plant genetic engineering.

20 Mar 2010

bioMerieux introduces FDA cleared chromID VRE for detecting Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis

bioMerieux – a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics – today announced the launch of the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared chromID™ VRE, a simple and cost-effective solution in the struggle against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). chromID VRE is the first to receive an FDA 510(k) clearance for the qualitative detection of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis showing acquired resistance to vancomycin in stool specimens.

12 Mar 2010

Cardiologists to highlight capabilities of InfraReDx' LipiScan Coronary Imaging System at ACC.10 and i2 Summit

InfraReDx, Inc., an innovative medical device company focused on developing novel diagnostic imaging technologies to accurately identify and characterize diseased intracoronary tissues, today announced that the Company's LipiScan™ Coronary Imaging System will be highlighted in multiple sessions during the 59th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

11 Mar 2010

Edifecs presents educational session about HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 migration at HIMSS 2010

Edifecs, Inc., the proven leader in HIPAA 5010 and Healthcare Channel Modernization solutions, was invited to present an educational session about HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 migration by the HIMSS Medical Banking Project.

6 Mar 2010

Health reform fact check: Republicans have used reconciliation, Obama bill will bring down health costs

Several news organization have "fact checks" on the reconciliation procedure and health reform provisions.

6 Mar 2010

Stentys receives CE Marking for its self-expanding and disconnectable stent

Medical device pioneer Stentys announced today that it has received CE Marking for its self-expanding and disconnectable stent to treat acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

5 Mar 2010

ProUroScan prostate imaging system 510(k) application: Inclement weather delays FDA processing

ProUroCare Medical, Inc., a provider of proprietary medical imaging products, indicates that the Food and Drug Administration has informed the industry that the processing of 510(k) applications, which includes the ProUroScan™ prostate imaging system, has been delayed because of the inclement weather in February that impacted the Washington, D.C. area.

26 Feb 2010

AMA calls for fix to Medicare's doctor payments

With a sizable cut to Medicare physician payments taking effect in just one week, the American Medical Association is seeking clarity from Congress on its plan of action to stop the 21.2% reduction.

23 Feb 2010

Cappella promotes serial IVUS analysis & Sideguard 3.25 device at Rome JIM

Cappella, Inc. (Cappella), a medical device company developing dynamic solutions for the treatment of coronary bifurcation disease, promoted their serial IVUS analysis & Sideguard® 3.25 device during the Joint Interventional Meeting (JIM) in Rome. Gary S. Mintz, MD, Cardiovascular Research Foundation, New York, USA presented "Positive Vessel Remodeling Using Sideguard in Coronary Bifurcations" during the New Technologies 1 Symposium.

20 Feb 2010

Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mich., Arizona plan Medicaid cuts; N.C.'s prison health costs

The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: Louisiana "Gov. Bobby Jindal will present his 2010-11 budget request Friday, which is expected to call for cuts to health care, education and other areas of state government as his administration outlines plans for plugging a $1 billion shortfall. ... The general-fund growth is not nearly enough to offset a loss of about $650 million in federal health-care financing, the rising cost of state pensions, automatic pay raises for state workers and inflation in health-care programs."

15 Feb 2010

Judge schedules next phase of LightLab Imaging's damages trial against Volcano and Axsun Technologies

LightLab Imaging, Inc., pioneer and leader in the development of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for coronary artery applications, today reported that Trial Judge Margaret Hinkle has set March 22 for the commencement of the next phase of an ongoing trial to address damages LightLab Imaging is claiming against Volcano Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, Axsun Technologies, Inc.

10 Feb 2010

President's fiscal year 2011 budget: FDA requests $4.03 billion for promoting and protecting public health

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting $4.03 billion to promote and protect public health as part of the President's fiscal year 2011 budget - a 23 percent increase over the agency's current $3.28 billion budget.

2 Feb 2010

Palliative care program may complement patients' ongoing care with symptom management and support

Georgia Sue Huston knew she was really sick. Every time the 82-year-old woman tried to turn over in her bed in the coronary care unit at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, she’d panic because she couldn’t get enough air and because it hurt so much.

28 Jan 2010

New screening technique identifies early signs of cancer

A new technique to catch cancer early has taken an important step forward thanks to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). NPL's 'phantoms' will ensure an exciting new screening technique can be relied upon by hospitals to identify early signs of cancer.

27 Jan 2010