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Researchers trace source of latest cholera pandemic

Researchers have used next generation sequencing to trace the source and explain the spread of the latest (seventh) cholera pandemic. They have also highlighted the impact of the acquisition of resistance to antibiotics on shaping outbreaks and show resistance was first acquired around 1982.

25 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: Perry's health record, Medicare spending slows, postal service's health plan controversy

And now for some good news: Medicare spending growth has been slowing noticeably. ... some evidence suggests it may be a shift toward value in the health-care sector. Various hospital executives have told me they have already begun to prepare for less generous reimbursement from Medicare as the new federal health-care-reform law takes effect.

25 Aug 2011

ICU patients with MRSA infection may face 50% increased risk of death

Does the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, cause more deaths in hospitals than the bacteria that are sensitive to common antibiotics? Opinions have been varied, but now a worldwide study at, among others, Linköping University in Sweden, indicates that the mortality rate can be 50 % higher for intensive care patients infected with MRSA.

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

Health costs watch dog established

An organization that would independently determine the efficient price of services in hospitals will be announced by the Australian federal government as consumer concern about the rising cost of healthcare deepens.

24 Aug 2011

Physio-Control announces commercial availability of ReadyLink 12-Lead ECG device

Physio-Control, Inc., a global leader in emergency medical solutions and wholly‐owned subsidiary of Medtronic, Inc.,, today announced commercial availability of the ReadyLink™ 12-Lead ECG device, a new, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k)-cleared solution designed to improve care for heart attack patients and expand regional STEMI systems.

From Medtronic 24 Aug 2011

GetWellNetwork doing well with hospitals

In other health IT news, a study found that Google-type word searches of hospital medical records are better at detecting patient safety issues than searches using numerical billing codes.

24 Aug 2011

Masimo SEDLine brain function monitor receives CE Mark

Masimo announced today that it has received CE Mark for its SEDLine brain function monitor — expanding access to and availability of SEDLine's advanced neuromonitoring technology to hospitals and clinicians across Europe. The

24 Aug 2011

Awarepoint secures $27 million in Series F financing

Awarepoint Corporation, the leading provider of real-time location system (RTLS) solutions for healthcare, announced today that it has secured $27 million in Series F financing. New investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) led the round of financing, which also included participation from new investor Top Tier Capital Partners, and existing investors Cardinal Partners, Venrock, and Jafco Ventures.

24 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 24, 2011

In today's headlines, Medicare tries bundled payments and HHS signals that it may give states a second chance to avoid a federally-run health insurance exchange.

24 Aug 2011

Scientists aim to tackle Hawaii's liver cancer problem with improved detection

Two scientists from the University of Hawaii Cancer Center and The Queen's Medical Center have received a five-year $2.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop novel methods that can better detect liver cancer through the joint analysis of gene expression and imaging data of the liver.

24 Aug 2011

Streamlining esophagectomy reduces hospital stay, cost associated with surgery

Thoracic surgeons at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have found that by altering the pre- and post-surgical care of a patient in need of an esophagectomy they are able to reduce the length of hospital stay by more than two-thirds and have a significant impact on the overall costs.

24 Aug 2011

Repeat HPV testing would reduce unnecessary treatment for women

Doing the human papillomavirus (HPV) test twice with a short interval between tests would reduce the number of women having unnecessary treatment, new research shows.

24 Aug 2011

U.S. DoD announces $2.3M in grants for lupus research

The Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) congratulates Trine Jorgensen, Ph.D., Assistant Staff, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and I-Cheng Ho, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Physician, Brigham and Women's Hospital, for being selected to receive research grants totaling $2.3 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Congressionally Directed Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program.

24 Aug 2011

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta acquires Toshiba's Aplio MX ultrasound system

To improve clinical performance in fetal echocardiography with advanced imaging applications, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has acquired Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Aplio MX ultrasound system for the Children's Sibley Heart Center fetal echo program.

24 Aug 2011

Health Quest Systems selects RayStation for advanced treatments

RaySearch Laboratories AB has received an order for its RayStation treatment planning system from Health Quest Systems, Inc., headquartered in LaGrange, New York.

24 Aug 2011

People admitted to hospital for mental illness more likely to experience control intervention

The use of control interventions, including physical and mechanical restraints, acute control medications and seclusion, is intended to be a method of last resort in Ontario care facilities, including hospitals.

24 Aug 2011

Toddlers sensitive to house dust mites at higher risk of developing asthma

Wheezy toddlers who have a sensitivity to house dust mites are more at risk of developing asthma by the age of 12, a University of Melbourne led study has shown.

24 Aug 2011

Georgia company charges hospitals with balance billing

A Valdosta-based company told state lawmakers Monday that hospitals are unjustifiably harassing its employees over medical bills. The problem involves balance billing, a practice whereby a medical provider sends a patient a bill for charges beyond what is paid by a health plan.

24 Aug 2011

Afghan patients treated at U.S. military hospitals often carry MDR bacteria

Afghan patients treated at a U.S. military hospital in Afghanistan often carry multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, according to a report in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

24 Aug 2011