Hospital News and Research

RSS

State roundup: Opposition to Calif. health insurance regulation bill

Supporters of controversial legislation to give state regulators power to approve, deny or modify changes in health insurance rates have returned from their summer recess to find added opposition as they push for its passage before the session wraps up. Gov. Jerry Brown's finance officials came out against Assembly Bill 52 at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this week, raising concerns about the costs of the rate-regulation proposal.

19 Aug 2011

Women being screened too often for cervical cancer

Researchers based at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that many primary care doctors would bring women back for cancer screening annually - while recommendations generally call for a three-year wait after normal tests. This translates to higher costs to women and the healthcare system, as well as a risk of unnecessary treatment for false-positive test results - with very little additional cancer-catching benefit say experts. Lead author Katherine Roland said, “There's really no advantage to annual screening compared to screening every two or three years.”

18 Aug 2011

Flu immunization targets fall short for health workers and pregnant women

According to a new survey despite recent improvements in influenza vaccination rates among U.S. health care personnel, their rates for the 2010-2011 flu season still fell short of national health objectives.

18 Aug 2011

Medical research funding boost in UK

Health researchers in Cambridge have been awarded £114.5m to develop and translate new scientific discoveries into medicines and treatments. The funds come as a part of a five-year £800m investment by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

18 Aug 2011

Medical Connections second quarter revenue decreases 6.8% to $1,779,938

Medical Connections Holdings, Inc. a national provider of healthcare staffing services, announced today its operating results for the second quarter and the first six months of 2011. Revenue for the second quarter of 2011 was $1,779,938, a decrease of 6.8% when compared to the second quarter of 2010.

18 Aug 2011

Pressure-reduction mattresses could help hospitals reduce health care costs

Hospitals could reduce health care costs arising from pressure ulcers, commonly known as bedsores, by investing in pressure-reduction mattresses for elderly patients in emergency departments, according to new research from the University of Toronto.

18 Aug 2011

New leukemia drug in early clinical testing offers some clues for better treatment

While testing a new drug designed to treat chronic leukemia, researchers at Cleveland Clinic discovered new markers that could identify which patients would receive maximum benefit from the treatment.

18 Aug 2011

Herbal supplements may weaken the effect of chemotherapy drugs

Acai berry, cumin, herbal tea, turmeric and long-term use of garlic - all herbal supplements commonly believed to be beneficial to your health - may negatively impact chemotherapy treatment according to a new report presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago this summer.

18 Aug 2011

BIS monitor not superior in preventing intraoperative awareness than other alternatives

Anesthesiology researchers have shown that a device approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the risk that patients will recall their surgery does not lower the risk of the problem, known as intraoperative awareness, any more than a less expensive method.

18 Aug 2011

New process may eliminate need for full genome sequencing for cancer patients

People at risk for a certain form of colon and other types of cancer may soon have a better chance at surviving or even avoiding the diseases, thanks to a new study done by the Intermountain Clinical Genetics Institute at LDS Hospital.

18 Aug 2011

Medicare Advantage plans may be counter-productive for the elderly

In health care, more choice may not always lead to better choices, particularly for the elderly. In a new study, researchers from Harvard Medical School's Department of Health Care Policy found that the large variety of managed care plans offered by the Medicare Advantage program may be counter-productive.

18 Aug 2011

Majority of physicians continue to recommend annual cervical cancer screening

Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have determined that the majority of primary care providers continue to recommend annual cervical cancer screening, and less than 15% would extend the screening interval when using the Papanicolaou test and human papillomavirus (HPV) test together, as some guidelines suggest.

18 Aug 2011

Powder-free gloves linked to reduced latex allergy in health care workers

Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin investigating latex allergy in health care workers have demonstrated the most effective public health strategy to prevent allergic sensitization is by stopping the use of powdered latex gloves.

18 Aug 2011

Positive link between fish oil supplements and cognitive function

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center have found positive associations between fish oil supplements and cognitive functioning as well as differences in brain structure between users and non-users of fish oil supplements.

18 Aug 2011

ACS honors MIT professor with Priestley Medal for controlled-release drug discovery

Robert S. Langer, Sc.D., the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named winner of the 2012 Priestley Medal by the American Chemical Society.

18 Aug 2011

Unexplained hospital factors have impact on radioactive iodine use for thyroid cancer: Study

Where thyroid cancer patients go for care plays a large role in whether they receive radioactive iodine treatment, a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds.

18 Aug 2011

Alcohol before bed hampers sleep: Study

A new small-scale study showed the impact of drinking before going to bed on heart rate and sleep.

18 Aug 2011

Study looks at intraoperative awareness

In some cases a patient might lie on the operating table conscious and aware of the surgeon's knife despite general anesthesia and this is worrisome say experts. One recent innovation is the so-called bispectral index, a monitoring system which measures electrical brain activity to attempt to detect awareness.

18 Aug 2011

Abbott initiates ABSORB BVS device clinical trial in coronary artery disease

Abbott announced today that the first patient in Japan has been treated with the ABSORB bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) as part of the ABSORB EXTEND clinical trial.

18 Aug 2011

While most docs are sued few pay up: Study

A new study revealed that more than three in four US doctors will face a malpractice suit at some point in their careers, but cash is paid in only about 20 percent of cases. The analysis by researchers at several major US medical schools and the RAND Corporation, a non-profit research group, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

18 Aug 2011