Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

EHR algorithms can successfully identify patients with undiagnosed hypertension

A new study authored by Northwestern Medicine- researchers found that reviewing electronic health records (EHRs) using algorithms can successfully identify patients with previously undiagnosed hypertension, or high blood pressure, with a high rate of accuracy.

17 Jul 2014

Expert guidance offers recommendations for hand hygiene in healthcare facilities

Expert guidance released today offers updated evidence reviews and recommendations for hand hygiene in healthcare facilities.

17 Jul 2014

GSK begins shipment of flu vaccines to U.S. for the upcoming 2014-15 season

GSK announced today it has begun shipping FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine) doses to U.S. healthcare providers. This is the first shipment of GSK’s U.S. flu vaccine supply for the flu season, following licensing and lot-release approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

17 Jul 2014

Study finds no sign that health law has created crush of Medical demand

The industry study finds that visits to doctors are down slightly over 2013. Another study looks at how nurses could do more in managing chronic illnesses to relieve stress on doctors.

17 Jul 2014

Expert guidance helps prioritize strategies to prevent VAP

Thousands of critically ill patients on life support develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) each year. A new document released today by a consortium of professional organizations helps prioritize strategies to prevent this potentially fatal infection.

17 Jul 2014

California vows to cut Medi-Cal backlog to 350,000

Responding to federal pressure, state officials said they would slash the number of waiting applicants nearly in half over the next six weeks. Kansas, meanwhile, promised to fix its computers so they can communicate with the federal system.

17 Jul 2014

Cases of drug-resistant bacteria have increased fivefold in Southeastern US

Cases of the highly contagious, drug-resistant bacteria, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), have increased fivefold in community hospitals in the Southeastern United States, according to a new study published in the August issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

17 Jul 2014

CBO: Slowed federal health spending yields savings

Federal spending on health care has slowed sharply, partly as a result of the federal health care law, reports the Congressional Budget Office.

17 Jul 2014

More insurers want you to see a doctor virtually

Insurers like WellPoint and Aetna are offering patients the option of e-visits with doctors as a way to cut costs, but some see problems with that, reports Bloomberg. Other media outlets explore the controversy over Sovaldi, an expensive new drug for hepatitis C.

17 Jul 2014

Scientists may be able to entomb malaria parasite in prison

Scientists may be able to entomb the malaria parasite in a prison of its own making, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report July 16 in Nature.

17 Jul 2014

Prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing and prescribing omissions in older adults examined by new study from RCSI

A new study from RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) and Trinity College Dublin, which examined the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) and prescribing omissions in older Irish adults, has found that 14% of people over the age of 65 has been prescribed at least one inappropriate form of medication in their lives and 30% have not been prescribed clinically indicated medications, at least once in their lives. The

16 Jul 2014

Virobay announces closing of expanded Series B second tranche financing

Virobay, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company with a platform of cathepsin protease inhibitors being developed for the treatment of neuropathic pain, autoimmune disease and fibrosis, today announced the closing of an expanded Series B second tranche financing of $8.0 million.

16 Jul 2014

Lilly, Immunocore enter into co-discovery and co-development collaboration to develop cancer therapies

Eli Lilly and Company and Immunocore Limited today announced they have entered into a co-discovery and co-development collaboration to research and potentially develop novel T cell-based cancer therapies.

16 Jul 2014

Rigel initiates Phase 3 clinical program for fostamatinib in patients with ITP

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical program for its oral SYK inhibitor, fostamatinib, in patients with ITP (immune thrombocytopenic purpura).

16 Jul 2014

Verus Healthcare completes 85th acquisition of CPAP business

Verus Healthcare, Inc. recently completed its 85th acquisition of CPAP business within the durable medical equipment (DME) industry.

16 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 16, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about the Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate on federal health care spending.

16 Jul 2014

4 key takeaways for faster, cheaper, more responsive research in healthcare settings

Thousands of studies take place every year in healthcare settings. A report published recently in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine describes how to do many of these studies more rapidly.

16 Jul 2014

ESPGHAN statement provides essential technique for kids with feeding and nutrition problems

Placement of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube has become an "essential" technique for children and young people with a wide range of problems with feeding and nutrition, according to a position statement in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

16 Jul 2014

Health concerns over arsenic in rice-especially for children

Inorganic arsenic in rice and rice-based foods poses health concerns in infants and young children, and steps should be taken to minimize exposure, according to a commentary in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, official journal of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

16 Jul 2014