Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Insurers' 2015 rate filings set stage for consumer decisions

The Wall Street Journal notes that, as rates for the upcoming season shake out, consumers will make choices between paying higher premiums to stay on their current plans or switching coverage to save cash. Meanwhile, news outlets detail recent reports that analyze these costs, as well as the impact of federal subsidies, and offer regional takes on the rates.

20 Jun 2014

Congress' desire for quick VA fix complicated by costs

Even as Senate and House negotiators are getting ready to try to forge a compromise on their bills, some members are raising concerns about the price tag that would come with an effort to let veterans who can't get timely appointments at the VA go to private doctors or hospitals.

20 Jun 2014

New research reveals gene's role in type 1 diabetes

New research describes details of how a diabetes-related gene functions on a biological pathway that affects the release of insulin. The study authors say that finding drugs that act on that pathway may eventually lead to a new treatment for type 1 diabetes.

20 Jun 2014

Administration opened marketplaces despite technology concerns, GOP senators say

In new report, Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, allege the White House's delayed decisions kept health officials from meeting development deadlines for the online exchanges, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, a GAO official tells a Senate panel that the government has a flawed strategy on tech projects.

20 Jun 2014

Benefits of exchanging health information electronically

In an initiative that will improve patient care, Loyola University Health System has become one of the first health systems in the state to share health information electronically through two record-exchange consortiums.

20 Jun 2014

Clinically relevant mouse model for difficult-to-treat squamous cell lung cancer

Only 15% of patients with squamous cell lung cancer - the second most common lung cancer - survive five years past diagnosis.

20 Jun 2014

Agfa HealthCare Corp. and OnBase by Hyland integrate best-in-class enterprise imaging and enterprise content management technologies to optimize the EHR

Agfa HealthCare Corp. announced today a new collaboration with OnBase to integrate the "gold standards" in enterprise imaging and enterprise content management technologies to showcase the vast potential of a fully integrated, "document + image" electronic health record (EHR).

19 Jun 2014

Now, hospitals can safely contain HCAI with Howorth Air Technology's BioSphere

Howorth Air Technology, known globally for its Exflow ultra clean ventilation canopy, has added a relocatable permanent or semi-permanent “isolation room” to its portfolio of products - BioSphere.

19 Jun 2014

Nicox launches expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene portfolio

Nicox S.A., the international ophthalmic company, and Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today announced that Nicox's subsidiary, Nicox Inc. is launching expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene™ portfolio of laboratory-developed genetic tests in the United States (U.S.).

19 Jun 2014

Citizens urged to sign online petition for improved mental health services in Africa

This week Global Health Action has published "A Declaration on Mental Health in Africa: moving to implementation". The 25 original signatories, all leaders within global and mental health from Africa and other nations, call upon citizens and the mental health care community to add their names to an online petition to show support for the actions outlined.

19 Jun 2014

New research explores massive depopulation of ethnic Tibetan communities in Nepal

Ethnic Tibetan communities in Nepal's highlands are rapidly shrinking as more parents send their children away for a better education and modern careers, a trend that threatens to create a region of graying ghost towns at the top of the world, according to a study that includes Dartmouth College.

19 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 19, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the 2015 insurance premium rates are shaping up across the country and details of consumers' experiences in trying to get their new coverage.

19 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Working for benefits; fears for a pill to prevent HIV; possible Medicaid strategy for Virginia

[Economist Robert] Moffitt noted in an email that "the work incentives in the government safety net have greatly increased over the last 20 years: less welfare payments if you don't work, and much greater government payments if you do."

19 Jun 2014

State highlights: Illinois Medicaid digital shift delayed; N.C. hospitals fight cuts; heroin in New England

Alexian Brothers Health System is suspending its effort to launch a new Medicaid program, blaming the difficulty of connecting physicians using different electronic records systems. The Arlington Heights, Ill.-based health system was spearheading a so-called accountable care entity (ACE) to coordinate the care of about 46,000 patients on Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled. The ACEs are a form of managed care, one of Gov. Pat Quinn's initiatives to focus on preventative treatment to keep patients healthy and reduce health care costs (Schorsch, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

UT Arlington researchers use portable device to map brain activity responses during cognitive activities

UT Arlington researchers have successfully used a portable brain-mapping device to show limited prefrontal cortex activity among student veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when they were asked to recall information from simple memorization tasks.

19 Jun 2014

African American women with invasive breast cancer less likely to receive invasive technique

African American women with early stage, invasive breast cancer were 12 percent less likely than Caucasian women with the same diagnosis to receive a minimally invasive technique, axillary sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, even as the procedure had become the standard of surgical practice, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

19 Jun 2014

Medicare faces cost tension with lawmakers, advocates

More than 130 lawmakers are urging the Obama administration to expand coverage for a lung-cancer test under Medicare that could cost the program billons, calling the screening important for vulnerable seniors. In a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the lawmakers called for a timely decision on coverage for low-dose CT scans for older patients at higher risk of developing lung cancer. ... A CMS spokesman said the agency's decision will be based on whether the test is "reasonable and necessary," without regard to its cost to Medicare (Yen, 6/17).

19 Jun 2014

Feds join whistleblower suit against doctors' company

The Justice Department says in a lawsuit that IPC The Hospitalist Co., which assigns doctors to hospitals in 28 states, bilked Medicare and Medicaid by billing for more expensive care than was provided.

19 Jun 2014

Study demonstrates cost-effectiveness of Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation

In a recent study published in Tobacco Control, researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute have demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation (OMSC), an intervention that includes in-hospital counseling, pharmacotherapy and post-hospital follow-up, compared to usual care among smokers hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

19 Jun 2014

Insurers continue to eye state health exchanges

In a pair of stories, the Associated Press reports on how insurers in New Hampshire and Kentucky that did not participate in the health law's online insurance marketplaces during the first enrollment period are now indicating their interest for the next open season. In addition, news outlets in Oregon and Minnesota report on developments related to state exchanges.

19 Jun 2014

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Insurers' 2015 rate filings set stage for consumer decisions

Congress' desire for quick VA fix complicated by costs

New research reveals gene's role in type 1 diabetes

Administration opened marketplaces despite technology concerns, GOP senators say

Benefits of exchanging health information electronically

Clinically relevant mouse model for difficult-to-treat squamous cell lung cancer

Agfa HealthCare Corp. and OnBase by Hyland integrate best-in-class enterprise imaging and enterprise content management technologies to optimize the EHR

Now, hospitals can safely contain HCAI with Howorth Air Technology's BioSphere

Nicox launches expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene portfolio

Citizens urged to sign online petition for improved mental health services in Africa

New research explores massive depopulation of ethnic Tibetan communities in Nepal

First Edition: June 19, 2014

Viewpoints: Working for benefits; fears for a pill to prevent HIV; possible Medicaid strategy for Virginia

State highlights: Illinois Medicaid digital shift delayed; N.C. hospitals fight cuts; heroin in New England

UT Arlington researchers use portable device to map brain activity responses during cognitive activities

African American women with invasive breast cancer less likely to receive invasive technique

Medicare faces cost tension with lawmakers, advocates

Feds join whistleblower suit against doctors' company

Study demonstrates cost-effectiveness of Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation

Insurers continue to eye state health exchanges

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

Newsletters you may be interested in