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NHLBI awarded four contracts to test new devices to help children with congenital heart defects

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded four contracts totaling $23.6 million to begin preclinical testing of devices to help children born with congenital heart defects or those who develop heart failure.

5 Feb 2010

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

Speaking with Senate Democrats Wednesday, President Obama "suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill, The Washington Post reports.

4 Feb 2010

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

4 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Health care spending is taking an increasingly big bite out of the nation's economy, according to today's headlines.

4 Feb 2010

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

One year after President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit the Mazique Parent Child Center to discuss efforts to identify and enroll children in health coverage and announce new steps the Departments are taking to insure more kids.

4 Feb 2010

State of Michigan keeps lethal hospital infections in check

The state of Michigan, which used a five-step checklist developed at Johns Hopkins to virtually eliminate bloodstream infections in its hospitals' intensive care units , has been able to keep the number of these common, costly and potentially lethal infections near zero — even three years after first adopting the standardized procedures. A report on the work is being published in the February 20 issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal).

4 Feb 2010

Regular physical activity prevents chronic illness: Surgeon General urged to make outdoor time a health priority

National Wildlife Federation (NWF), more than 200 health, conservation, youth, and other organizations, and 16,300 Americans are urging the new surgeon general to make time outdoors a health priority for children.

4 Feb 2010

NAE and IOM join for panel discussion on 'Engineering Innovations in Healthcare'

WHAT:The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will join together for the first time at the regional meeting and panel discussion on "Engineering Innovations in Healthcare" at the University of Miami.

4 Feb 2010

DNA variants in mother and fetus can increase risk of preterm labor

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified DNA variants in mothers and fetuses that appear to increase the risk for preterm labor and delivery.

4 Feb 2010

IBM announces definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems

IBM today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems, a market leader in data integrity software for information sharing among healthcare and government organizations. Initiate's software helps healthcare clients work more intelligently and efficiently with timely access to patient and clinical data. It also enables governments to share information across multiple agencies to better serve citizens.

3 Feb 2010

AtriCure announces definitive agreement with DOJ regarding surgical ablation devices

AtriCure, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATRC), a medical device company and a leader in cardiac surgical ablation systems, today announced that it has executed a definitive agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to resolve the issues raised in the DOJ’s investigation and the related qui tam complaint regarding the marketing of the Company’s surgical ablation devices.

3 Feb 2010

Cognosante and Fox Systems announce merger

Fox Systems, a leader in Medicaid and HIPAA, and Cognosante, a leader in health information interoperability, today announced that the two companies have merged effective January 1, 2010. The combined company will be known as Cognosante, LLC, with Fox Systems operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cognosante.

3 Feb 2010

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Ohio's seven Medicaid managed care plans this month will make changes in the prescription drug plans that cover about 1.5 million people, although many of those beneficiaries will not face increased costs.

3 Feb 2010

ALEC commends Kansas legislators for filing Health Care Freedom Amendment

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — the nation's largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators — congratulates Kansas State Senator Mary Pilcher Cook and Representatives Peggy Mast and Brenda Landwehr for filing the Kansas Health Care Freedom Amendment, which would protect the right of individuals to make their own health care choices.

3 Feb 2010

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Entelos, Inc., a simulation and modeling company focused on human health, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,654,955 entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Assessing Metabolic Substrate Utilization” to the Company. These methods further strengthen the Entelos® Metabolism PhysioLab® platform and leverage insights about human physiology that can lead to improved diagnosis, clinical testing, and personalized treatment across a highly variable patient population.

2 Feb 2010

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today the appointment of 24 new members to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). The PACHA’s chair, Dr. Helene Gayle, was appointed in August 2009.

2 Feb 2010

New online ratings provide patients with easy access to hospital infection rates

Far too many hospitals expose patients to deadly central-line bloodstream infections despite the availability of a simple life-saving checklist proven to prevent hospital acquired infections, says a new investigative article in the March issue of Consumer Reports.

2 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 2, 2010

Today's health policy headlines focus on highlights of President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget request and how it treats health-related programs. Meanwhile, in the background, health reform chatter continues.

2 Feb 2010

Long-term harmful effects of BPA exposure: Cereplast lauds FDA's demand for additional study

Cereplast, Inc., manufacturer of proprietary bio-based sustainable plastics, applauds the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for demanding increased study of the long-term effects of Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure.

2 Feb 2010

Additional components of NDMS activated to help U.S. hospitals provide care to Haiti earthquake survivors

As part of the ongoing medical response to the Haiti earthquake, USAID, the agency coordinating the U.S. Government response, announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has activated additional components of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to help U.S. hospitals provide care to critically ill survivors.

2 Feb 2010

Health and Human Services News and Research

NHLBI awarded four contracts to test new devices to help children with congenital heart defects

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Secretaries to release new report on children’s health insurance

State of Michigan keeps lethal hospital infections in check

Regular physical activity prevents chronic illness: Surgeon General urged to make outdoor time a health priority

NAE and IOM join for panel discussion on 'Engineering Innovations in Healthcare'

DNA variants in mother and fetus can increase risk of preterm labor

IBM announces definitive agreement to acquire Initiate Systems

AtriCure announces definitive agreement with DOJ regarding surgical ablation devices

Cognosante and Fox Systems announce merger

Ohio changes Medicaid drug program, N.C. weighs cuts in Medicaid personal care services

ALEC commends Kansas legislators for filing Health Care Freedom Amendment

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

HHS appoints new members to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

New online ratings provide patients with easy access to hospital infection rates

First Edition: February 2, 2010

Long-term harmful effects of BPA exposure: Cereplast lauds FDA's demand for additional study

Additional components of NDMS activated to help U.S. hospitals provide care to Haiti earthquake survivors

Event guide: 6th Operationalize Expanded Access Programs Summit East eBook

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

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