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In a change, VA auditor says wait times may have played a role in deaths

In testimony before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin says that delays in getting treatment at some VA centers may have been a factor in the deaths of some veterans.

22 Sep 2014

Dartmouth researchers build smartphone app that reveals mental health of students

Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues have built the first smartphone app that automatically reveals students' mental health, academic performance and behavioral trends. In other words, your smartphone knows your state of mind -- even if you don't -- and how that affects you.

22 Sep 2014

NCH advances cardiovascular service line in northwest suburbs

Northwest Community Healthcare is strengthening cardiovascular care for patients in the northwest suburbs by advancing its cardiovascular service line. NCH has new relationships with cardiothoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons and cardiologists, and, in addition, has announced plans to open a new heart failure clinic this fall in Mount Prospect.

21 Sep 2014

UVA earns national award for enhancing care for heart attack patients

The University of Virginia Health System has earned a national award from the American College of Cardiology for enhancing care for heart attack patients.

21 Sep 2014

Some doctors could face stiff fines because of shifting CMS rules

The physicians, who have already spent millions of dollars to set up electronic health record systems, could now face penalties because of a timing glitch in federal rules.

21 Sep 2014

Obama administration: 7.3 million who picked health exchange plans paid their premiums

That number, which reflects the tally of people who obtained insurance via the health law, fell slightly from the estimated 8 million mark that was released in the spring. It means that at least 700,000 consumers who initially signed up for a health plan let it go.

21 Sep 2014

UVA Center for Telehealth receives 2014 Governor's Technology Award

The University of Virginia Center for Telehealth received a 2014 Governor's Technology Award for making it easier to access high-quality care and health education for patients across Virginia.

21 Sep 2014

Even in N.H., which seeks to make health prices transparent, getting information is difficult

New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that requires disclosure of health care prices. Also, The Miami Herald continues its coverage of the problems Miami-Dade County has in trying to get details about what it spends on health care for workers.

21 Sep 2014

UN approves resolutions to create UNMEER to contain ongoing Ebola outbreak

Nearly six months after the first case of Ebola in West Africa was reported to the World Health Organization, the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council have approved resolutions creating the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response to contain the ongoing outbreak which has sickened more than 5,500 people and killed over 2,500.

21 Sep 2014

Health law, Medicare remain hot topics in campaign commercials

Politico reports that, although the health law and other related issues may not be the flashpoints they were in other recent election years, they still have muscle on the campaign trail.

19 Sep 2014

Demand for $84,000 hepatitis C drug slows

Health care providers may be waiting for other, soon-to-be-released drugs to treat hepatitis C. Also, an Indian pharmaceutical company faces Justice Department questions on pricing data for Medicaid.

19 Sep 2014

Obama orders plan to reduce peril of antibiotic resistance

The measures include incentives to develop new drugs, tighter control of existing ones and better tracking of resistant microbes.

19 Sep 2014

NPS MedicineWise launches new diagnostic approach for fatigue

Fatigue is a common complaint accounting for around 3-7% of all presentations to general practitioners. To help health professionals understand the limitations and appropriate use of diagnostic tests relating to fatigue NPS MedicineWise has launched a new program—Back to basics for fatigue: a diagnostic approach.

19 Sep 2014

New MHA white paper focuses on major role of PAC Provider within ACOs

Managed Health Care Associates, Inc., a leading health care services and technology company focused on the alternate site health care provider marketplace, today announced the release of a new white paper titled, “The Right Care for the Right Cost: Post-Acute and the Triple Aim”.

19 Sep 2014

CDC urges all adults to get flu vaccination

Influenza vaccination coverage estimates show an encouraging upward trend overall, but coverage among healthy 18 to 64 year-olds has yet to top 40 percent, according to new data announced at a news conference held today by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

19 Sep 2014

Viewpoints: Many beneficiaries of health law don't vote; reboot for healthcare.gov

For starters, my strong hunch from my own reporting in the region over the past couple years - including several trips to Kentucky for a new book on McConnell - is that the Democrats' biggest problem in Appalachia and the Upland South is not that the people who are benefitting from Obamacare or would stand to benefit from it if their states fully implemented the law are voting against their own interests, for Republicans.

19 Sep 2014

State highlights: Los Angeles' new mental health program; N.C. considers Medicaid expansion; N.Y. nurses push for more staff

The $756,000 initiative marks one of the county's most significant attempts to find a better way to treat people who have mental illness and wind up in the criminal justice system by offering them transitional housing, medical treatment and job-hunting help. Officials say the pilot program will start in Van Nuys and initially help 50 people at a time, but it is expected to spread throughout the county and could accommodate up to 1,000 people at once (Gerber, 9/17).

19 Sep 2014

Longer looks: Lithium in the water; controlling cancer; recovering from brain injury

There are many kinds of cancer, but treatments have typically combatted them in one way only: by attempting to destroy the cancerous cells. Surgery aims to remove the entire growth from the body; chemotherapy drugs are toxic to the cancer cells; radiation generates toxic molecules that break up the cancer cells' DNA and proteins, causing their demise.

19 Sep 2014

Neuromod Devices receives ISO 13485 certification of Quality Management System

Neuromod Devices, the Irish medical devices company, today announced that it has successfully secured ISO 13485 certification of its Quality Management System.

19 Sep 2014

Amedica releases Valeo II TL silicon nitride interbody fusion devices

Amedica Corporation, a commercial biomaterial company focused on silicon nitride ceramics as a material platform to develop, manufacture and sell novel medical devices, is pleased to announce the release of its second generation silicon nitride transforaminal lumbar (TL) interbody fusion device.

19 Sep 2014