Hospital News and Research

RSS

Misuse of OTC medicines increases risk for children

Many children are being put at risk by parents over-use of widely available over the counter (OTC) medicines for fever, coughs and colds, says a study from Australia to be presented to the annual conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) today (Monday 30 August).

30 Aug 2010

Shift to health from other sectors may breathe life into firm, city

A Minneapolis Star Tribune business columnist details a crucial choice one engineering firm made for its future Defense or health care. Health care, was Mid-Continent Engineering's answer. The firm has evolved from building parts for ship board Navy computers to high precision pivoting MRI machine arms as part of its strategy to swing from losses to profits, fend off the recession and ensure a lucrative future.

30 Aug 2010

GWAS finds new genetic link between Parkinson's disease and inflammation

A hunt throughout the human genome for variants associated with common, late-onset Parkinson's disease has revealed a new genetic link that implicates the immune system and offers new targets for drug development.

30 Aug 2010

Cigarettes as mood enhancers increase risk of depression

While some teenagers may puff on cigarettes to 'self-medicate' against the blues, scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some adolescents. Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, the findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study based at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre.

27 Aug 2010

Fosun Pharma increases investment in Chindex

Chindex International, Inc., a leading independent American provider of Western healthcare products and services in the People's Republic of China, and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer and distributor of western and Chinese medicine and devices in China, today announced that they have consummated a previously-announced stock sale.

27 Aug 2010

Moody's reports negative outlook for not-for-profit hospitals

News outlets report on hospital issues, including a Moody's report suggesting a negative outlook for not-for-profit hospitals.

27 Aug 2010

Exactech announces acquisition of minimally invasive spine product portfolio from VertiFlex

Exactech, Inc., a developer and producer of bone and joint restoration products for hip, knee, shoulder, spine and biologic materials, announced today the acquisition of several innovative spine product lines and all related technology from VertiFlex, Inc. a leading developer of minimally invasive and motion preserving spinal surgery technologies.

27 Aug 2010

Obama administration touts federal efforts to combat health care fraud

The Los Angeles Times: Obama administration officials at a meeting in Los Angeles Thursday touted their efforts to crack down on health care fraud, "saying quickly expanding criminal enterprises are costing taxpayers billions of dollars each year. ... Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said their agencies were jointly targeting fraud in the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs.

27 Aug 2010

Coke employees protest cancellation of employee health benefits without prior notification

Striking Coke employees and supporters will converge on the Sounders game at Qwest field on Saturday to inform fans about Coke's attack on employee health care. Coke cancelled health care for 500 of its employees without prior notification, after employees went on strike over the Company's refusal to bargain in good faith.

27 Aug 2010

Transcatheter heart valve replacement recipient celebrates 102nd birthday

When Doris Snyder celebrated her 102nd birthday on August 10, she was that much closer to the expected birth of her first great-granddaughter who's due to arrive early September. She is very excited about the milestone, which might not have been possible were it not for a cutting-edge, experimental procedure that replaced one of Doris' heart valves weeks earlier when she was 101. The valve had been rendered useless by aortic valve stenosis—hardening from calcium deposits that restrict the flow of blood from the heart.

27 Aug 2010

Research Roundups: Underinsured children; Hospital progress on electronic records; Federal officlals' work on comparative effectiveness

Underinsurance Among Children In The United States - This study examines the scope of underinsurance, or health insurance that fails to sufficiently meet the needs, of children living in the U.S. Based on information obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, the authors of the study report, "19.3% — or 14.1 million — of all U.S. children (and 22.7% of children with continuous insurance coverage) were underinsured in 2007, exceeding the number of children without any insurance at all during the year (3.4 million) and the number who had insurance during only part of the year (7.6 million)."

27 Aug 2010

Mexican IMSS awards Del Medical $2 million tender for DR radiographic rooms

Del Medical, Inc. today announced they were recently awarded a Mexican tender from IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) for over twenty complete Del Medical DR radiographic rooms valued in excess of $2 million. Each 50kw, floor-mounted tube stand system is equipped with Del's popular EV650 elevating, four-way, float top table and bundled with a DelWorks Medical DR package. Each package includes a 14" x 17" portable flat panel DR detector with DelWorks acquisition and processing software.

27 Aug 2010

Mixed pathologies in brains of elderly account for memory loss and confusion

Most recent studies show that elderly people over the age of 80 often have mixed pathologies in their brains that account for their memory loss and confusion. Very few senior citizens have "pure Alzheimer disease"; therefore, this terminology should be used with caution. It now appears that vascular problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes can shrink the parts of the brain that control memory and can significantly affect at what age elderly people become demented.

27 Aug 2010

World's tallest man undergoes Gamma Knife surgery

Much of Sultan Kosen's eight feet, two-inch stature rose up in an 17-year period starting at age 10, when the benign tumor in his brain's pituitary gland highjacked the organ, causing it to secrete massive amounts of growth hormone, making Mr. Kosen's body grow fast and grow without ceasing. He will need to wait several months to find out if his Gamma Knife® surgery last Thursday at the University of Virginia (UVA, Charlottesville, Va.) has inactivated the tumor and he has reached his final height, but his physicians are optimistic.

27 Aug 2010

Expansion of rapid response systems throughout the Veterans Affairs network can reduce morbidity

Implementing a rapid response team to aid in managing "potentially unstable" patients has led to a sharp reduction in the rate of cardiac arrests at a U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital, reports a study in the September issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

27 Aug 2010

Viking Systems to present Next Generation 3DHD technology at 5th ISHAC

Viking Systems, Inc. announced today that it will present its Next Generation 3DHD technology at the 5th International Symposium on Hybrid Approach to Congenital Heart Disease (ISHAC) from August 31 - September 2, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio.

27 Aug 2010

'Molecular Diagnostics Europe' conference debuts at BIOTECHNICA 2010

BIOTECHNICA, Europe's Leading Exhibition for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, is broadening its portfolio to include a new conference and special display on molecular diagnostics. Produced by the Cambridge Healthtech Institute, a leading organizer of biomedical conferences in the United States, the "Molecular Diagnostics Europe" (MDxEU) conference is making its debut this year. The main focus will be on new methods for molecular diagnostics, particularly with regard to cancer and infectious diseases.

27 Aug 2010

'Neural inertia' may explain brain's resistance to changes in consciousness

Despite the fact that an estimated 25 million patients per year in the U.S. undergo surgeries using general anesthesia, scientists have only been able to hypothesize exactly how anesthetics interact with the central nervous system. They previously thought that the processes of "going under" and waking up from anesthesia affected the brain in the same way.

27 Aug 2010

Thomson Reuters includes coverage in 15 more languages for Micromedex CareNotes patient education system

Thomson Reuters has expanded its Micromedex CareNotes patient education system to include coverage in 15 languages. CareNotes have always been available in English and Spanish, but starting today customers will have access to a core set of CareNotes and DrugNotes in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French (Canadian), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

27 Aug 2010

Few US hospitals meet federal guidelines for 'meaningful use' in adoption of EHRs

Transforming the U.S. health care system from paper-based to electronic-based may improve health care quality and reduce costs, but a new study by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) suggests that goal is far off. The adoption of basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) by U.S. hospitals increased modestly from 8.7% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009, but only 2% of hospitals met the federal "meaningful use" standard needed to qualify for government financial incentives.

27 Aug 2010