Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Viewpoints: CHIP funding needed; GOP's flawed plan to make 'the pill' OTC; millennials' health issues

Federal financing for a beneficial health insurance program for low-income children, known as the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP, will run out next year unless Congress agrees to extend it. Bills are pending in both the House and the Senate to extend financing for four years, to 2019. Congress should approve the extension in the lame-duck session after the midterm elections so that families and state officials will know what the future holds. The program needs to be maintained amid uncertainty as to whether other good coverage will be available for these children (9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Nurses who work longer shifts more likely to report poor quality of care

Results of a survey of more than 30,000 nurses across Europe show that nurses who work longer shifts and more overtime are more likely to rate the standard of care delivered on their ward as poor, give a negative rating of their hospitals safety and omit necessary patient care.

23 Sep 2014

Two recent GAO reports help GOP refocus health law opposition

Lifted by a pair of federal audits that found major flaws with the law's implementation, Republicans see their first chance in months to launch a serious attack against the law. ... One report by the independent Government Accountability Office found that some insurers were ignoring federal rules that prevented women from paying for abortions through their subsidized plans – one of the most divisive pieces of the law. A second GAO report found security weaknesses in healthcare.gov, the website for the federal exchange. GOP lawmakers and activists say the reports lend legitimacy to their opposition of the law, even if they are no longer talking about a repeal (Ferris, 9/21).

23 Sep 2014

Oxabact now recognized as potential treatment for Short Bowel Syndrome

SBS is a highly disabling malabsorptive condition. SBS is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, reduced quality of life and high healthcare costs.

23 Sep 2014

Premium rate reviews saved $1 billion for consumers, HHS says

The health law mandated that state regulators review health insurance increases of 10 percent or more.

23 Sep 2014

Soledad Senga honored with AHA's Lifestyle Change Award

Brown & Toland Physicians, a leading network of independent doctors, honored Soledad Senga on Friday with the Lifestyle Change Award at the annual American Heart Association San Francisco Heart Walk kick-off at Justin Herman Plaza.

23 Sep 2014

New Medicaid enrollees pleased with coverage, but note they still face obstacles

Focus-group research finds that people who received Medicaid coverage under the health law's expansion are generally happy but find roadblocks to getting care, The Washington Post reports.

23 Sep 2014

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announces acquisition of The Benfield Group

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. today announced the acquisition of the healthcare consulting firm, The Benfield Group. Headquartered in St. Louis, the firm also has offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.

23 Sep 2014

Propanc, Southridge Partners enter into equity purchase agreement

Propanc Health Group Corporation, an emerging healthcare company that focuses on the development of new and proprietary treatments for cancer patients, is pleased to announce it has executed an equity purchase agreement (the "EPA") with Southridge Partners II, L.P., an institutional investor, in the amount of $5 million, which will create significant growth capital for Propanc, enabling the execution of its business plan, on favorable terms.

23 Sep 2014

Leidos awarded NMLC contract to provide services in support of HIV/AIDS prevention programs

Leidos, a national security, health, and engineering solutions company, was awarded a prime contract by the Naval Medical Logistics Command to provide services in support of the Naval Health Research Center's, Department of Defense, HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP).

23 Sep 2014

Feds vow improved, but not perfect, HealthCare.gov

Officials running the federal health insurance website hope to resolve glitches before open enrollment begins Nov. 15, but warn consumers not to expect a seamless experience. Meanwhile, the unusually low enrollment in Obamacare plans in Iowa and South Dakota stemmed from one insurer's business decisions.

22 Sep 2014

Validic continues to expand global digital health ecosystem

Validic, the healthcare industry's leading technology platform for accessing digital health data, announced today the addition of several new clients and integration partners, as they continue to expand and grow their global digital health ecosystem.

22 Sep 2014

Amgen seeks FDA approval for leukemia drug blinatumomab

Amgen today announced submission of a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval for its investigational bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) antibody construct, blinatumomab.

22 Sep 2014

TxCell to provide update on immunotherapy products at Société Générale Healthcare & Biotechnology Conference

TxCell SA, a biotechnology company developing innovative, personalized cell-based immunotherapies using antigen specific regulatory T-cells (Ag-Tregs) for severe chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, announces today that it will participate at the Société Générale Healthcare & Biotechnology Conference.

22 Sep 2014

ITM wins grant to develop new model to combat sleeping sickness

The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation provides the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp with a 3-year project grant worth nearly 5 million dollars to develop a new model to fight sleeping sickness.

22 Sep 2014

Neogen's first quarter net income increases 13%

Neogen Corporation announced today that net income for the first quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended Aug. 31, was $8,883,000 — a 13% increase compared to net income of $7,839,000 in the first quarter of last year.

22 Sep 2014

Olympus signs agreement with Brainlab to become exclusive U.S. distributor of Kick Navigation

Olympus, a global technology leader in designing and delivering innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, among other core businesses, announced today it has reached a deal with Munich-based Brainlab to be the exclusive U.S. distributor of Kick Navigation.

From Evident Corporation - Life Sciences 22 Sep 2014

Researchers test novel robotic system to improve prostate cancer biopsies

A novel robotic system that can operate inside the bore of an MRI scanner is currently being tested as part of a biomedical research partnership program at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston with the aim of determining if the robot, in conjunction with real-time MRI images, can make prostate cancer biopsies faster, more accurate, less costly, and less discomforting for the patient.

22 Sep 2014

Dry roasted peanuts more likely to trigger allergy risk

Dry roasted peanuts are more likely to trigger an allergy to peanuts than raw peanuts, suggests an Oxford University study involving mice.

22 Sep 2014

Falcon Physician certified for Meaningful Use Stage 2

Falcon Physician, a provider of electronic health record (EHR) software to nephrologists and a subsidiary of DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading provider of kidney care and health care services, announced that it has successfully completed the rigorous requirements needed to become certified for Meaningful Use Stage 2.

22 Sep 2014