Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Preoperative urodynamics ‘has no added value’ in SUI patients

Preoperative urodynamic studies may be unnecessary in many women undergoing primary surgery for stress urinary incontinence, say the authors of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

4 Aug 2014

Updated guidelines for prostate cancer survivorship care published in Journal of Men's Health

Many of the more than 2.5 million men in the U.S. who have received treatment for prostate cancer deal with the often disabling side effects of surgery and radiation and hormonal therapies.

4 Aug 2014

AMP publishes updated position statement on the regulation of LDPs

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global, non-profit organization serving molecular testing professionals and leading education initiatives, discussions, and policy actions central to improving the development and application of molecular diagnostics, today reaffirmed its position that the vast majority of laboratory developed tests (LDTs), or laboratory developed procedures (LDPs)—a term coined by AMP to more appropriately capture the nature of these processes as medical services—should continue operating under the regulation of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments program at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and not be subject to pre-market review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as suggested in the draft guidance notification issued to Congress on July 31, 2014.

4 Aug 2014

onFocus Healthcare signs new contracts to expand customer base for onFocus|epm system

onFocus Healthcare, Inc., the leading provider of healthcare enterprise performance management solutions for the healthcare marketplace, today announced that it has signed a series of new contracts in the first half of 2014, growing the customer base for its onFocus|epm software by 152 hospitals.

4 Aug 2014

PCI agrees to acquire Penn Pharma

Packaging Coordinators, Inc. is pleased to announce it has finalized its agreement to acquire Penn Pharmaceutical Services Limited (Penn Pharma).

4 Aug 2014

Phase 3 ASPIRE clinical trial meets primary endpoint of progression-free survival

Amgen and its subsidiary, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that a planned interim analysis demonstrated that the Phase 3 clinical trial ASPIRE (CArfilzomib, Lenalidomide, and DexamethaSone versus Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone for the treatment of PatIents with Relapsed Multiple MyEloma) met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS).

4 Aug 2014

FDA clears ElMindA's BNA Analysis System for assessment of brain function

ElMindA Ltd. announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company's BNA Analysis System for the assessment of brain function. Brain Network Activity (BNA) combines non-invasive, multi-channel EEG technology with sophisticated signal processing and analysis algorithms to measure patterns of brain networks activated during specific brain processes and deliver both quantitative and qualitative insights into brain functionality.

4 Aug 2014

Shimadzu Medical Systems wins 2014 Best in KLAS award for Digital X-Ray

Shimadzu Medical Systems USA, a subsidiary of Shimadzu Corporation, receives a 2014 Best in KLAS award for Digital X-Ray.

4 Aug 2014

Tecomet signs agreement to acquire Symmetry Medical's OEM Solutions business for $450 million

Tecomet Inc., a Genstar Capital portfolio company and precision contract manufacturer supporting the medical device and aerospace industries, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Symmetry Medical Inc. to acquire its OEM Solutions business segment for $450 million.

4 Aug 2014

First Edition: August 4, 2014

Today's headlines include a variety of health policy stories reflecting developments on the state level.

4 Aug 2014

Nutrition support protocol effective in increasing nutrients provided to critically ill patients

Varying practices and frequent lapses in nutrition delivery can put critically ill patients at greater risk for malnutrition and associated complications, according to an article in the August issue of Critical Care Nurse (CCN).

4 Aug 2014

Research: 'Telephone triage' systems do not reduce overall practice workload

Demand for general practice appointments is rising rapidly, and in an attempt to deal with this, many practices have introduced systems of telephone triage.

4 Aug 2014

People with family incarcerations in their youth are more likely as adults to engage in smoking

New research shows that people who grew up in a household where a member was incarcerated have a 16-percent greater risk of experiencing poor health quality than adults who did not have a family member sent to prison.

4 Aug 2014

New molecular test kit predicts survival outcomes in kidney cancer patients

Researchers and doctors at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) have co-developed the first molecular test kit that can predict treatment and survival outcomes in kidney cancer patients. This breakthrough was recently reported in European Urology, the world's top urology journal.

4 Aug 2014

Research roundup: The effect of expensive cancer therapies; missed hospital handovers; children's mental health needs

Medicare uses more than a dozen different payment systems to set payment rates for the medical items and services the program covers for beneficiaries.

4 Aug 2014

ACA provides opportunities to increase availability of CR programs in workplace

Through financial incentives and an emphasis on proven health outcomes, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides opportunities to increase the availability of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs—including offering CR as part of worksite health programs (WHPs), according to an article in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

4 Aug 2014