Health Care News and Research

RSS

Insurers seek savings by offering coverage for care in other countries

More insurers are offering networks of doctors overseas and in other countries for their policyholders as a way to save money as lawmakers struggle with how to drive down costs, The Associated Press/USA Today reports.

25 Aug 2009

Insurance industry may benefit from reform, employees attend town halls to counter criticism

Lashed by liberals and threatened with more government regulation, the insurance industry nevertheless rallied its lobbying and grass-roots resources so successfully in the early stages of the healthcare overhaul deliberations that it is poised to reap a financial windfall," The Los Angeles Times reports.

25 Aug 2009

NIAID funds Nanotherapeutic for developing an inhaled version of the injectable antiviral drug

Nanotherapeutics, Inc., today announced that it has been awarded a $30.9 Million, 5-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop an inhaled version of the injectable antiviral drug, cidofovir, for non-invasive, post-exposure prophylaxis and treatment of the Category A bioterrorism agent smallpox (Variola major).

25 Aug 2009

Rising costs and patient loads push some primary care MDs to concierge practices

Some primary care doctors are changing their practices, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: "Faced with rising costs and patient loads, a small but growing number of primary-care doctors are sharply reducing their practice sizes and charging each patient annual fees of about $2,000 in exchange for personalized care.

25 Aug 2009

Comparative effectiveness: Back surgery remains popular despite poor study results

Studies have recently found that vertebroplasty - a type of back surgery in which cement is injected into the spine - isn't effective, but many patients and their doctors insist it works.

25 Aug 2009

Survey reveals that many Americans believe controversial statements about health care reform

Findings from a national survey of Americans by researchers from Indiana University Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research (CHPPR) and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics says that Americans do believe the "myths" about health care reform, confirming that the White House may indeed be losing this battle.

25 Aug 2009

Avacor teams up with HopeCuts and Team Continuum to provide help for cancer patients

Avacor(R )Products LLC (http://www.avacor.com), a leading product line in the hair re-growth industry, has recently teamed up with two charitable organizations, HopeCuts, a division of City of Hope (http://www.cityofhope.org), and Team Continuum (http://www.teamcontinuum.net). Avacor((R)) is teaming up with both charities in an effort to help those fighting cancer as well as to help find new ways to fight this prolific disease.

25 Aug 2009

GOP plan centers on seniors' bill of rights

"In their latest assault on President Obama's health care plans, Republicans are aiming for a vulnerable spot -- the fears of seniors that their care will get worse or more costly," the Boston Globe reports on its Political Intelligence blog.

25 Aug 2009

FRC urges Obama to support the exclusion of abortion coverage from healthcare plans

Over the weekend, the White House released President Obama's weekly video address in which the President falsely stated that abortion coverage is not mandated under his health care reform plan. Last week the President accused FRC and other opponents to his plan of breaking the 9th Commandment.

25 Aug 2009

Reuters examines increasing hunger in Mexico

"More Mexicans are going hungry because of a severe recession that threatens to increase malnutrition and reduce gains in the fight against poverty since the mid-1990s," Reuters reports in a story examining hunger in Mexico.

25 Aug 2009

Kenya allocates $118.1M to buy additional food

Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said Monday that the country's government allocated $118.1 million to buy additional food imports because up to 10 million people are at risk of "severe hunger" due to drought, Bloomberg reports.

25 Aug 2009

Aetna renews contract with WellStar Health System for three years

Aetna (NYSE: AET) and WellStar Health System in Marietta, Ga., announced today they have reached an agreement on a three-year contract renewal.

25 Aug 2009

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to educate AIDS patients on food safety.

25 Aug 2009

National dialysis treatment program under fire; criticized as too costly, risky

Kidney dialysis treatment in the U.S. is costly and has high death rates, but it doesn't have to be that way, USA Today reports: "The vast majority of the more than 350,000 Americans on dialysis are treated in centers, where three treatments a week, three or four hours each, is the norm — not because it's optimal but because that's the way it has been done for nearly four decades.

25 Aug 2009

Health reform fact checks fall short on dispelling angry myths

A fact check of a dozen often-repeated claims by politicos and interest groups finds that the truth appears "to be taking a vacation," CQ Politics reports. Of the 12 claims, CQ concludes that only one is true, six are misleading and five are downright false.

24 Aug 2009

Health care profiles: Kennedy, Daschle and Kratovil

News reports this weekend explored some prominent personalities in health reform, as well as a new one. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., continues to battle brain cancer at home, but his illness has taken on symbolic proportions in the debate.

24 Aug 2009

Activists, consumers and labor groups oppose Whole Foods Chief Executive Officer's efforts to undermine health care reforms

In response to a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed by Whole Foods’ Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, activists, consumers and labor groups around the country have been organizing in opposition to his efforts to undermine meaningful health care reform.

24 Aug 2009

WHO appeals for donated, low-cost H1N1 vaccines

The WHO's flu chief Keiji Fukuda on Saturday called upon wealthy nations and vaccine manufacturers to donate H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines to developing countries, the Associated Press reports.

24 Aug 2009

VeriMed Health Link re-launched by VeriChip Corporation

VeriChip Corporation("VeriChip" or the "Company"), a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that it is re-launching its VeriMed Health Link electronic health records system.

24 Aug 2009

Washington post examines spread of drug-resistant TB in Russia

The Washington Post examines the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Russia where "[p]reliminary surveys have recorded an uptick in infections," which could be the "start of a surge fueled by declining living standards and deteriorating medical care resulting from the country's worst economic slowdown in a decade," experts say.

24 Aug 2009

Health Care News and Research

Insurers seek savings by offering coverage for care in other countries

Insurance industry may benefit from reform, employees attend town halls to counter criticism

NIAID funds Nanotherapeutic for developing an inhaled version of the injectable antiviral drug

Rising costs and patient loads push some primary care MDs to concierge practices

Comparative effectiveness: Back surgery remains popular despite poor study results

Survey reveals that many Americans believe controversial statements about health care reform

Avacor teams up with HopeCuts and Team Continuum to provide help for cancer patients

GOP plan centers on seniors' bill of rights

FRC urges Obama to support the exclusion of abortion coverage from healthcare plans

Reuters examines increasing hunger in Mexico

Kenya allocates $118.1M to buy additional food

Aetna renews contract with WellStar Health System for three years

USDA donates funds for teaching food safety awareness to AIDS patients

National dialysis treatment program under fire; criticized as too costly, risky

Health reform fact checks fall short on dispelling angry myths

Health care profiles: Kennedy, Daschle and Kratovil

Activists, consumers and labor groups oppose Whole Foods Chief Executive Officer's efforts to undermine health care reforms

WHO appeals for donated, low-cost H1N1 vaccines

VeriMed Health Link re-launched by VeriChip Corporation

Washington post examines spread of drug-resistant TB in Russia

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Applications Engineer

Latest News