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One-third of Americans experience Hospital Acquired Infection: Xenex Healthcare survey

Nearly one-third of Americans have experienced a Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) or have a friend or relative who contracted one, according to a new survey from Xenex Healthcare. HAIs (such as C. diff, MRSA, staph infections and pneumonia) are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and while hospitals have stepped up efforts to prevent these deadly infections, more needs to be done.

9 Sep 2010

US Oncology selects PatientPoint's self-service solutions to enhance patient experience

PatientPoint, a provider of multi-channel self-service applications for the healthcare industry, today announced that US Oncology, the leading integrated oncology company supporting more than 1,300 affiliated physicians in 500 locations throughout 39 states, has selected PatientPoint solutions to provide self-service technologies to enhance the patient experience.

9 Sep 2010

Johns Hopkins Children's Center urges new screening program to improve sickle cell trait

The Johns Hopkins Children's Center top pediatrician is urging a "rethink" of a new sickle cell screening program, calling it an enlightened but somewhat rushed step toward improving the health of young people who carry the sickle cell mutation.

9 Sep 2010

Defensive medicine costs much less than 'imagined' by malpractice reformists

The combined cost of malpractice -- and doctors' efforts to avoid it by practicing so-called defensive medicine -- costs about $55.6 billion a year, or 2.4 percent of total health spending, according to a new analysis by "Harvard University's Atul Gawande and co-authors, Bloomberg reports. "The yearly price of so-called defensive medicine -- tests, visits and procedures performed to reduce litigation risk -- is about $45.6 billion, the authors said today in the journal Health Affairs, in a report using 2008 dollars."

9 Sep 2010

Study shows importance of formal education in preventing spread of HIV in Africa

Simply teaching people the facts about how to protect themselves from HIV may not be enough to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa, a new study suggests.

9 Sep 2010

JHN launches network to advance neuroscience care

Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience (JHN) is launching the Jefferson Neuroscience Network (JNN) to promote collaboration among area hospitals to advance neuroscience care throughout the region. Chestnut Hill Hospital is the first hospital to join JNN. Through this collaboration, Jefferson and Chestnut Hill will provide the most sophisticated care and expertise available to patients with time-sensitive neurovascular diseases.

9 Sep 2010

NewCardio publishes Cardio3KG clinical study for acute cardiac diagnosis

NewCardio a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, announced today that a clinical study of the Cardio3KG in acute cardiac diagnosis has been published in the August 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Heart Rhythm, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society.

9 Sep 2010

BC gynecologists initiate campaign to reduce ovarian cancer mortality

Gynecologic oncologists with the Ovarian Cancer Research Program at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) and the BC Cancer Agency have begun an important campaign that will reduce deaths from ovarian cancer.

9 Sep 2010

World Water Week: Urbanization, irrigation, global food security

"Global efforts to improve access to drinking water have been hampered by rapid urbanisation, with the proportion of people in urban areas with access actually declining, according to U.N. figures presented" at the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Agence France-Presse reports.

9 Sep 2010

UK researchers’ new model to describe burden of postmenopausal osteoporosis

An article just published in the scientific journal 'Osteoporosis International' introduces a validated new model that can be used to describe the current and future burden of postmenopausal osteoporosis in different national settings.

9 Sep 2010

Lactic acid fermentation reduces acrylamide formation during production of potatoes and coffee

A small research-based Norwegian company has developed a method to reduce the formation of the carcinogenic compound acrylamide during industrial production of potatoes and coffee. International food giants are paying attention.

9 Sep 2010

Federal appeals court declines to reconsider 'pay-for-delay' on generic drugs

A federal appeals court on Tuesday said it will not revisit its decision to uphold settlements that allow pharmaceutical companies to pay competitors to keep generic versions of their drugs off the market, The Wall Street Journal reports. "In April, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals [in New York] affirmed the legality of a settlement in which Bayer AG, in essence, paid Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., a potential generic competitor, to drop its patent challenge to Cipro, a Bayer antibiotic."

9 Sep 2010

Concerted action on antibiotic resistance discussed at Uppsala meeting

For 70 years the world has mismanaged the common good of antibiotics. The result is a growing global burden of antibiotic resistance, threatening to take health care back to an era where ordinary infections might once again become fatal.

9 Sep 2010

UCLA psychologist explains measure to overcome drug addiction

Millions of Americans suffer from severe addictions that can ruin lives and are extremely difficult to control. Nearly 2 million enter roughly 12,000 addiction treatment programs in the U.S. each year.

9 Sep 2010

Health reform politics: GOP campaigning against law; Dems have mixed strategy

The Associated Press: "Even if Republicans succeed beyond any current predictions and capture both the Senate and the House, they wouldn't have enough GOP votes to overcome President Barack Obama's veto." But, they could exercise the "congressional power of the purse, denying the administration billions of dollars ... Faced with an opposition Congress 'defunding' his health care plan, would Obama make a stand?

9 Sep 2010

Study suggests observing food label guidelines may lead to weight loss

Nutritional science and food marketing has become so sophisticated in recent decades that a trip to the supermarket can require a complete nutritional re-education. The average consumer needs to be on guard against preservatives, added fat, colorings, and calories, false advertising, and sophisticated but misleading labels. Although guidelines for the information of food labels have gotten a bad rap in recent years a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs suggests that observing them may lead to weight loss, especially for women entering their middle years.

9 Sep 2010

C.A.R.E.S. Alliance launches online tools for addressing misuse and abuse of pain medications

The C.A.R.E.S. Alliance, a new patient safety organization, today launched a range of online tools designed to help solve the growing problem of misuse and abuse of opioids by identifying the risks associated with these powerful pain medications. The free resources offered through the C.A.R.E.S. (Collaborating & Acting Responsibly to Ensure Safety) Alliance promote safety in prescribing, dispensing, using, storing and disposing of these commonly abused pain medications.

9 Sep 2010