Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Navigating the health law's new insurance options

In some states, the task of helping consumers find their way through the health law's new online insurance marketplace has fallen to "navigators." In general, though, news outlets report on the strategies and public outreach efforts underway in locations across the country.

1 Oct 2013

Concerns about technical snags on marketplace opening day

Advocates and foes of health law acknowledge that technical glitches could create some problems.

1 Oct 2013

FDA approves Brintellix drug to treat depressive disorder in adults

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Brintellix (vortioxetine) to treat adults with major depressive disorder.

1 Oct 2013

Huntsman investigator receives $1.5M to focus on c-KIT gene's role in melanoma

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator Matt VanBrocklin, Ph.D., more than $1.5 million over the next five years to continue studying the role of a gene called c-KIT in the origin and growth of melanoma, a devastating and sometimes deadly skin cancer.

1 Oct 2013

New AARP survey takes harder look at issues facing caregivers in NYC

Across New York state, over 4 million people are providing unpaid care for a relative or spouse who is ill, frail or elderly. The value of this care is over $32 billion dollars. In New York City the group is at a breaking point, stressed out and financially strained with a looming demographic shift adding another problem, today's caregivers may not have someone to care for them.

30 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 30, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the readiness of the health law's online marketplaces and other key provisions the day before their Oct. 1 launch date even as the looming government shutdown becomes more of a reality.

30 Sep 2013

A*STAR, NSC and NTU to expand skin research in Singapore

Singapore is committing close to S$100 million to skin research, with the announcement of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore. A collaboration between the Agency for Science Technology and Research, National Skin Centre and Nanyang Technological University, the SRIS will harness the expertise of scientists, clinicians and engineers to foster and conduct high impact, inter-disciplinary skin research designed to translate into improved health outcomes and quality of life.

30 Sep 2013

In campaign-style speech, Obama defended the health law, refused to back down in the face of GOP efforts to roll it back

In his Thursday appearance at a suburban Maryland community college, President Barack Obama dismissed as "crazy" the arguments being advanced by the overhaul's opponents and accused some GOP lawmakers of attempting "blackmail" to stop its implementation.

30 Sep 2013

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals submits Zalviso NDA to FDA

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain, today announced that it submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Zalviso (sufentanil sublingual microtablet system).

30 Sep 2013

Innovative packaging design aids convergence in the pharmaceutical industry

PCI, a global supplier of pharmaceutical commercial packaging solutions and clinical trials services, announces the availability of a white paper detailing how it’s innovative packaging design aids convergence in the pharmaceutical industry.

30 Sep 2013

Technical glitches delay online signups for small business and Spanish speakers

The Obama administration acknowledged glitches Thursday that will delay online enrollment for small businesses and Spanish-language speakers in the 34 states that elected to not set up their own insurance marketplaces. The postponements amount to a few weeks in the six-month open enrollment period and will not affect the Jan. 1 start date for coverage.

30 Sep 2013

Sunshine Health to participate as Qualified Health Plan in Florida Health Insurance Marketplace

Sunshine State Health Plan announced today that it has received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate as a Qualified Health Plan in the Florida Health Insurance Marketplace in three South Florida counties, where it will offer a line of products branded as Ambetter from Sunshine Health.

30 Sep 2013

Minimally invasive treatments for lumbar spinal stenosis: an interview with James Corbett, President & Chief Executive Officer of Vertos Medical

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a degenerative, age-related narrowing of the lower spinal canal that causes pressure on the nerves, leading to pain and reduced mobility. Symptoms include pain, numbness, or tingling in the lower back, legs, or buttocks, which limits your ability to stand or walk.

30 Sep 2013

Viewpoints: Gerson says no compromises make for 'bad politics;' Democrats are getting a pass; Manchin signals a break in Democratic ranks

We are seeing that an anti-compromise ideology can make for bad politics. In our system, Obamacare will not be overturned by one house of Congress. A tea-party shutdown strategy - if implemented - would make securing the other house and the presidency less likely for Republicans. And the political energy consumed by Cruz and crew has not been available to promote incremental limits on Obamacare that might have aided GOP political prospects (Michael Gerson, 9/26).

30 Sep 2013

Government shutdown increasingly likely; health law continues to be flashpoint

The Senate is expected to approve on Friday a continuing resolution that provides funding to keep the federal government operating but strips out language passed by the House that would defund the health law. This move will set up heightened conflict with the House, where some conservative Republicans are standing firm in their pledge to oppose any measure that does not further their goal of dismantling Obamacare. In the background, the countdown to a government shutdown continues.

30 Sep 2013

AMGEN announces additional results from talimogene laherparepvec Phase 3 trial

AMGEN today announced additional results from a pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating talimogene laherparepvec in patients with unresected stage IIIB, IIIC or IV melanoma compared to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF).

30 Sep 2013

House votes to delay health law, repeal medical device tax

Senate Democrats say they cannot accept the provisions in House GOP's newest bill to fund the government. Without agreement between Senate and House, the government could shut down Tuesday.

30 Sep 2013

Health expenditure link to cancer survival in Europe

The more an EU national government spends on health, the fewer the deaths after a cancer diagnosis in that country, according to new research to be presented to the 2013 European Cancer Congress today (Sunday) and published simultaneously in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology.

30 Sep 2013

Diabetic patients at greater risk of breast, colon cancer

Diabetes is linked to an increased risk of developing cancer, and now researchers have performed a unique meta-analysis that excludes all other causes of death and found that diabetic patients not only have an increased risk of developing breast and colon cancer but an even higher risk of dying from them.

30 Sep 2013

Patients treated by ID physicians less likely to die in hospital

In a first-of-its-kind study to evaluate the impact of a medical specialty on patient outcomes, researchers found that hospitalized patients with severe infections such as meningitis and Clostridium difficile are significantly less likely to die if they receive care from an infectious diseases specialist. The study, which analyzed nearly 130,000 Medicare patient cases, is now available online and will be published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Sep 2013