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Free pedometers from Humana for spectators at the Utah Championship in Sandy

Have you ever wondered how many steps you take during a round of golf? You can find out for sure — and maybe even win a prize — during the Nationwide Tour’s Utah Championship, thanks to a promotion from Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), the official health benefits company of the PGA TOUR.

9 Sep 2009

Humana Military announces the URAC re-accreditation for its Case Management Program

Humana Military Healthcare Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), recently received re-accreditation for its Case Management Program from URAC, a Washington, D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the industry.

9 Sep 2009

European Dynamic Annuloplasty Activation study completes patient enrollment

MiCardia (MiCardia Corporation, Irvine, California) today announced the completion of enrollment in its European “DYANA” (Dynamic Annuloplasty Activation) study, designed to support submission for CE mark of the firm’s Dynaplasty technology in Europe.

9 Sep 2009

Nutrisystem D program helps overweight type 2 diabetic people lose weight

Results from a clinical study conducted at the Temple University School of Medicine and published today in the journal Postgraduate Medicine(1), show that a pre-packaged, portion controlled meal plan helped overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes lose significantly more weight and reduce their A1C test scores (a 90-day measure of blood sugar control) by almost a full point greater than those following a standard hospital-based diabetes support and education program, according to the findings.

9 Sep 2009

Regular usage of CGM devices help manage diabetes

The latest data from groundbreaking human clinical trials of the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) show that the primary determinant of improvements in achieving better diabetes control is regular use of monitors - six days per week or more - rather than the age of patients, and that benefits continue well past the time when people with type 1 diabetes begin using the devices - including experiencing fewer low blood sugar emergencies.

9 Sep 2009

Research study examines the depression rate in chronic kidney disease patients

One in five patients with chronic kidney disease is depressed, even before beginning long-term dialysis therapy or developing end-stage renal disease, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.

9 Sep 2009

New procedure for transapical valve replacement minimizes trauma and blood loss

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the world leader in the science of heart valves, announced today the first successful clinical use of its new lower-profile Ascendra 2 transapical delivery system, designed to benefit both patients and physicians by minimizing trauma and blood loss, and facilitating transcatheter heart valve delivery and deployment.

9 Sep 2009

Adverse impact of drinking during pregnancy highlighted by health department

In recognition of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health today reminded women about the serious implications of drinking while pregnant.

9 Sep 2009

USA Today's 24-hour emergency room visit

A team of USA Today reporters spent a full, 24-hour day in the emergency room at University of Virginia Medical Center in late August. "The key elements of today's debate on health care converge in the ER, from the cutting-edge quality of the U.S. system to the millions of uninsured people who show up for care," according to the report. A key reform goal is covering an estimated 46 million uninsured Americans. But the task is expensive, and in many cases, born by ERs under the current system.

8 Sep 2009

Pharos Innovations' RPM technology enables healthcare cost reduction

Pharos Innovations announced today that results of the Henry Ford Health System Patient-Centered Team Care program show a 36% reduction in expected all-cause hospital admissions for enrolled heart failure patients after six months of enrollment and a return of 2.3:1 vs. program costs.

8 Sep 2009

Exposure to air pollution can cause heart attack

It's well known that measures such as exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking can help reduce high blood pressure, but researchers at the University of Michigan Health System have determined the very air we breathe can be an invisible catalyst to heart disease.

8 Sep 2009

RONA MS Bike Tour organized for the benefit of the Quebec Division of the MS Society a huge success

The 20th edition of the RONA MS Bike Tour, organized for the benefit of the Quebec Division of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, ended last weekend in a glow of unbelievable generosity. Together, the 1,500 cyclists raised $1,450,000, which will fund research and services for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their families. Participants got together in the Victoriaville area on August 22 and 23, and in the Levis region on August 29 and 30.

8 Sep 2009

Newly established McClay Foundation to encourage healthcare research in Northern Ireland

Speaking last week Sir Allen McClay, Chairman of the Almac Group, formally announced the establishment of the McClay Foundation, a charitable trust, one of the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.

8 Sep 2009

Harmless shard from childhood virus shell may halt biological process

A harmless shard from the shell of a common childhood virus may halt a biological process that kills a significant percentage of battlefield casualties, heart attack victims and oxygen-deprived newborns, according to research presented Sunday, September 6, 2009, at the 12th European meeting on complement in human disease in Budapest, Hungary.

7 Sep 2009

PPA bus tour raises awareness of patient assistance programs

The "Help is Here Express" bus tour will be stopping in Kentucky throughout the week of September 8 - 11 at various cities in order to help uninsured and financially-struggling Kentuckians access information on programs that provide prescription medicines for free or nearly free.

5 Sep 2009

U.N. calls on Israel to ease Gaza embargo to enable water, sanitation service repairs

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories Maxwell Gaylard "urged Israel to ease its embargo of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and allow in materials urgently needed to repair water and sanitation services," Agence France-Presse reports.

5 Sep 2009

Many high health costs remain mysterious, including the cost of reform

Health care's high costs are a main reason lawmakers are taking on health reform, but it's also a challenge to identify and target the many reasons care is so expensive. NPR takes a look at medical devices, like plastic tubes and scalpels, that boast surprisingly big price tags. A $2,000 dollar metal stent must be tiny and flexible, a $60 plastic catheter must bend in exactly the right way and "the market is still sorting itself out" on the appropriate price of relatively new specialty scalpels used for heart surgery (Joffe-Walt 9/4).

5 Sep 2009

Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller to campaign for Stemcyte

StemCyte, Inc., one of the world's preeminent cord blood banks, today announced that Shannon Miller, a 7-time Olympic Medalist and 9-time World Medalist, has signed an endorsement partnership agreement and will appear in a series of advertising and public awareness campaigns for the company.

5 Sep 2009

MSMC's revenue bonds affirmed as BB+ by Fitch Ratings

Fitch Ratings affirmed the 'BB+' rating on approximately $260 million of the City of Miami Beach Health Facilities Authority Hospital Revenue Bonds, series 1998, 2001A and 2004 issued on behalf of Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida (MSMC). The Rating Outlook is revised to Stable from Negative.

5 Sep 2009

Insomnia increases blood pressure

Can't sleep at night? A new study published in the journal Sleep has found that people who suffer from insomnia have heightened nighttime blood pressure, which can lead to cardiac problems. The investigation, which measured the 24-hour blood pressure of insomniacs compared to sound sleepers, was conducted by researchers from the Universit- de Montr-al, its affiliated H-pital du Sacr--C-ur de Montr-al Sleep Disorders Centre and the Universit- Laval.

5 Sep 2009