Healthcare News

RSS

OECD report finds U.S. pays more by far for health care

The U.S. healthcare system is more effective at delivering high costs than quality care, according to a new study that found first-rate treatment for cancer but insufficient primary care for other ailments. The study, released on Wednesday by the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, said Americans pay more than $7,900 per person for healthcare each year -- far more than any other OECD country -- but still die earlier than their peers in the industrialized world.

24 Nov 2011

Guardian International Development Journalism Competition results posted

The Guardian this week posted the results of its 2011 International Development Journalism Competition. "Sixteen finalists -- eight amateur, eight professional -- were sent to the developing world to write a feature on a theme suggested by the non-governmental organization that hosted their trip," the newspaper notes.

24 Nov 2011

Body-conscious Shakespeare: Sensory disturbances in troubled characters

Shakespeare was a master at portraying profound emotional upset in the physical symptoms of his characters, and many modern day doctors would do well to study the Bard to better understand the mind-body connection, concludes an analysis of his works, published in Medical Humanities.

24 Nov 2011

UnitedHealth buying Medicare advantage plan with chronically ill specialty

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the largest U.S. health insurer by sales, said it will buy XLHealth Corp., a provider of managed care for chronically ill Medicare members, to strengthen a growth area likely to gain increasing support from the U.S. government as it trims costs. The purchase price was about $2 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the price wasn't disclosed. … The purchase of XLHealth, with 111,000 members, is the seventh since Jan. 1 involving companies that manage Medicare coverage.

24 Nov 2011

RCHT deploys Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of IT data storage systems

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust (RCHT) has selected Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of their disparate IT data storage systems in order to gain insight into performance and capacity information to proactively manage storage resources.

24 Nov 2011

Examining the effects of trade rules on public health, access to medicines

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Tido von Schoen-Angerer, executive director of the Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Access to Essential Medicines Campaign, examines the interface between trade rules and public health, discussing the implications of the Doha Declaration on public health since its inception 10 years ago, and addresses the question of how "countries balance the need to protect public health against patent rights that lead to high medicine prices and limited access for people in need."

24 Nov 2011

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

When seeking a physician, you should look for one with experience. Right? Maybe not. Research on physicians' decision-making processes has revealed that those who pay attention to failures as well as successes become more adept at selecting the correct treatment.

24 Nov 2011

Four-year project aims to boost kala-azar elimination efforts in India, Bangladesh

In this post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, Elena Pantjushenko, a communications associate for GHTC member OneWorld Health (OWH), profiles a "comprehensive four-year project to boost kala-azar (leishmaniasis) elimination strategies in India and Bangladesh, where the concentration of disease burden is among the world's highest."

24 Nov 2011

Anesthesia drug shortages can have devastating impact on patient care

The United States is facing ongoing shortages of several critical anesthesia medications—shortages with potentially serious effects on patient care and safety, according to a special article in the December issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

24 Nov 2011

Health industry raising alarms about cuts to Medicare after super committee failure

Automatic Medicare cuts triggered by the congressional super committee's failure would hit hospitals harder than any other health industry, according to an analysis from Avalere Health. The report puts hard numbers to across-the-board cuts that stakeholders have mostly viewed in broad, general terms. But Avalere chief executive Dan Mendelson cautioned that the figures also assume the automatic cuts will actually happen - an assumption he's not ready to make.

24 Nov 2011

New Techna Institute at UHN signs first agreement with INO

The new Techna Institute at University Health Network (UHN) has signed its first agreement with INO of Quebec City and Hamilton.

24 Nov 2011

UNICEF report says more than 30M children in East Asia, Pacific lack essential services

"More than 30 million children in seven countries in East Asia and the Pacific are deprived of at least one essential service such as basic health care, safe drinking water or access to education, according to a United Nations study," AlertNet reports.

24 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Blame for super committee mess, Supreme Court recusal is the judges' call

What's clear is that committee Democrats moved awfully far in the name of compromise. They offered more in Medicare cuts than Simpson-Bowles did - or than Obama did with Boehner, for that matter - and accepted less in the way of tax increases than those two proposals. For their part, Republicans moved off their position of complete intransigence on taxes. Then they refused to budge.

24 Nov 2011

Urban legend warns about dangers of snow shoveling

Urban legend warns shoveling snow causes heart attacks, and the legend seems all too accurate, especially for male wintery excavators with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease. However, until recently this warning was based on anecdotal reports.

24 Nov 2011

Relief officials concerned over malnutrition among children in Ethiopian refugee camps despite food aid

Humanitarian aid officials are concerned about high levels of malnutrition among young children at the Dolo Ado refugee camps in southern Ethiopia "despite the free availability of Plumpy'nut, a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition," the Guardian reports.

24 Nov 2011

Video: GOP candidates promise bipartisan cooperation, hedge on solutions for entitlement spending

A Kaiser Health News video highlights the discussion of entitlement spending during Tuesday's Republican presidential debate.

24 Nov 2011

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

Some California hospitals would take a significant and long-lasting hit from Medi-Cal reimbursement cuts recently approved by CMS, according to the California Hospital Association, which this week filed a petition in federal court to put a temporary halt to those reductions. CHA's lawsuit and injunction request are separate from the court action taken earlier this week by the California Medical Association and other provider organizations.

24 Nov 2011

Anesthesia & Analgesia introduces new electronic edition

The editors of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), are pleased to announce the launch of their new Anesthesia & Analgesia for the iPad app.

24 Nov 2011

Obama touts health law before donors; Romney says health law costs nearly the same as defense cuts

The president may not always highlight the health overhaul before the public, but it's a strong talking point at his fundraising events. Meanwhile in the debate Tuesday, former Gov. Mitt Romney, while lamenting scheduled Pentagon cuts, said they are about the same as what the health law will cost.

24 Nov 2011

Deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea spreads through Horn of Africa; Djibouti hit especially hard

"Recurring drought, insufficient hygiene and ongoing regional conflict are driving a deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) across the Horn of Africa, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported" on Tuesday, the U.N. News Centre writes.

24 Nov 2011

Healthcare News

OECD report finds U.S. pays more by far for health care

Guardian International Development Journalism Competition results posted

Body-conscious Shakespeare: Sensory disturbances in troubled characters

UnitedHealth buying Medicare advantage plan with chronically ill specialty

RCHT deploys Watch4net APG to consolidate visibility of IT data storage systems

Examining the effects of trade rules on public health, access to medicines

Physicians can do better if they learn from their failures

Four-year project aims to boost kala-azar elimination efforts in India, Bangladesh

Anesthesia drug shortages can have devastating impact on patient care

Health industry raising alarms about cuts to Medicare after super committee failure

New Techna Institute at UHN signs first agreement with INO

UNICEF report says more than 30M children in East Asia, Pacific lack essential services

Viewpoints: Blame for super committee mess, Supreme Court recusal is the judges' call

Urban legend warns about dangers of snow shoveling

Relief officials concerned over malnutrition among children in Ethiopian refugee camps despite food aid

Video: GOP candidates promise bipartisan cooperation, hedge on solutions for entitlement spending

State roundup: Another Medi-Cal lawsuit; medical homes in Tenn.; Pa. moving forward on exchanges

Anesthesia & Analgesia introduces new electronic edition

Obama touts health law before donors; Romney says health law costs nearly the same as defense cuts

Deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea spreads through Horn of Africa; Djibouti hit especially hard

Obesity, GLP-1s, and metabolic care

Automation in cell-based workflows

Data management challenges in scientific research

Latest News