Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

FDA approves new vial size for CSL Behring’s Privigen to treat primary immunodeficiency

CSL Behring today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a 40 g (400 mL) vial size for Privigen, immune globulin intravenous [human].

21 Feb 2013

Special issue highlights new research into HIT projects for quality improvement

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is aiming to become a leader in using health information technology (HIT) to change the way patients experience medical care, to decrease medical mistakes, and to improve health outcomes.

21 Feb 2013

Weekend reading: Why a trip to the ER costs more than a college semester; Searching for the 'stomach share;' Lessons for the U.S. from Rwanda

Routine Care, Unforgettable Bills .... Sean was allowed to see the doctor only after he advanced MD Anderson $7,500 from his credit card. ... The total cost, in advance, for Sean to get his treatment plan and initial doses of chemotherapy was $83,900.

21 Feb 2013

Heart disease awareness still lags in minorities and younger women

The number of women aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, but that knowledge still lags in minorities and younger women, according to a new study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

21 Feb 2013

Quest Diagnostics offers access to a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), the world’s leading diagnostic information services company, and Natera, a leading innovator in prenatal genetic testing, today announced that Quest Diagnostics will offer physicians access to Panorama™, a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera.

From Quest Diagnostics 21 Feb 2013

Administration sets new rule on essential health benefits

The Obama administration has released the final rule on essential health benefits, which sets the parameters for the types of benefits that must be offered by insurers starting in 2014.

21 Feb 2013

States continue mulling Medicaid expansion's costs and benefits

After conducting a review of the two choices California officials are considering for optional Medi-Cal expansion, the state Legislative Analyst's Office yesterday strongly recommended the state-based option, rather than a county-based plan.

21 Feb 2013

Proposals, partisan rhetoric fly in countdown to March 1 spending cuts

News outlets report how spending reductions will impact health care programs. Meanwhile, in hopes of creating momentum toward a compromise, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles on Tuesday unveiled a $2.4 trillion proposal that includes $600 billion in spending reductions to health-care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

21 Feb 2013

Possible Medicare Advantage pay reductions cause insurer stocks to slip

The proposed cuts in federal payments, which are open to comment until March 1, could lead to reduced coverage or fewer options for people who choose to buy these plans.

21 Feb 2013

Push for electronic medical records leads to profits for some companies

The approach came in 2009, in a presentation to doctors by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions of Chicago, a well-connected player in the lucrative business of digital medical records.

21 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: ACOs are doomed to fail; The need to expand Medicaid in Texas; The case against malpractice changes in Iowa

Spurred by the Affordable Care Act, hundreds of pilot programs called Accountable Care Organizations have been launched over the past year, affecting tens of millions on Medicare and many who have commercial health insurance.

21 Feb 2013

New bio-mimicking therapeutics could help treat skin wounds

In "before" and "after" photos from advertisements for wound-healing ointments, bandages and antibiotic creams, we see an injury transformed from an inflamed red gash to smooth and flawless skin. What we don't appreciate is the vital role that our own natural biomolecules play in the healing process, including their contribution to the growth of new cells and the development of new blood vessels that provide nutrients to those cells.

21 Feb 2013

Signaling pathway might determine genetic susceptibility for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading preventable cause of developmental disorders in developed countries. And fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a range of alcohol-related birth defects that includes fetal alcohol syndrome, is thought to affect as many as 1 in 100 children born in the United States.

21 Feb 2013

TecSalud, Methodist International sign formal affiliation agreement

TecSalud of Sistema Tecnológico de Monterrey, which seeks to transform the private medical practice in México, has signed a formal affiliation agreement with Methodist International, the global subsidiary of The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas USA.

21 Feb 2013

Veterans diagnosed with reflux issues often start on high doses of drugs, rarely stop therapy

U.S. veterans diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are frequently prescribed doses of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole (commonly known by brand names such as Prilosec), that are much higher than recommended --- and they are kept on the drug far too long, according to a new Northwestern Medicine- study.

21 Feb 2013

Healthcare Realty revenues increase to $81.3M for three months ended December 31, 2012

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated today announced results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012.

20 Feb 2013

Childhood cancer on the rise across the developing world

Across the developing world, childhood cancer is on the rise, and mortality is high. Once thought of as a rich world disease, cancer is a growing health threat across low-income and middle-income countries (LMCs). A major new Lancet Oncology Series by some of the world’s most eminent cancer experts outlines the biggest challenges to treating childhood cancer in developing nations and proposes strategies to improve care for children and young people.

20 Feb 2013