Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Dentists concerned about gaps in health law coverage; Mass. effort for small business insurance hampered by federal law

The federal overhaul requires dental care for children but advocates say the mechanism for that will often be complicated. Meanwhile, in a different article about the complications of implementing the health law, the Boston Globe examines efforts by small businesses to buy insurance.

16 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: Bowles and Simpson urge Obama to seek Medicare savings; Health care industry helps stabilize the economy

The president deserves credit for putting forward Medicare savings in his budget and offering further entitlement savings in the negotiations, but he and his fellow Democrats must be willing to do more to reform our entitlement programs.

16 Feb 2013

Research roundup: Conflict of interest in Medicaid drug purchasing; Examining Medigap policies; Electronic medical records and hospital quality

The authors of this study assert that the decisions about which drugs are selected for state Medicaid reimbursement programs "should be based on available evidence and free of conflicts of interests (COIs)."

15 Feb 2013

Opaque procedure pricing barrier to healthcare reforms

US investigators report great difficulty in obtaining price information for total hip arthroplasty from healthcare providers, with many institutions and physicians unable to provide reasonable price estimates.

15 Feb 2013

Substance use common in young mental health patients

Young people using mental healthcare services have a high frequency of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use, Australian study results show.

15 Feb 2013

Substance use common in young mental health patients

Young people using mental healthcare services have a high frequency of alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use, Australian study results show.

15 Feb 2013

Potency of vitamin D pills ‘often at variance with labeling’

A survey of over-the-counter vitamin D tablets in the USA has revealed very wide variations in pill potency, with different tablets containing as little as 9% or as much as 146% of the stated dose.

15 Feb 2013

Epic Wound Care enters beta test agreement with Ryan Network for UEEC's hemostatic gauze

United Health Products, Inc.'s www.unitedhealthproductsinc.com wholly owned subsidiary, Epic Wound Care, Inc., which develops and markets products and technologies in the healthcare sector, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a beta test agreement with the distinguished Ryan Network for UEEC's hemostatic gauze. The gauze is registered and branded in the USA under the trademark HemoStyp.

15 Feb 2013

IOM proposes state, FDA actions to stop growth of counterfeit drugs

The Institute of Medicine Wednesday urged a series regulatory changes to help protect the public against buying fake or poorly made drugs.

15 Feb 2013

Weekend reading: What your doctor should tell you, new stages of grief

Dr. Jim Dougher climbs into his white SUV, plugs the address of his next patient into the GPS, and he's off. The SUV is well stocked: He has a large Tupperware bin in the back full of bandages and wound cleaning supplies; he has a variation on the old-time doctor's bag with a stethoscope and blood-pressure cuff; and he has a dedicated cellular wifi hotspot and a laptop that can communicate with HealthCare Partner's electronic medical record.

15 Feb 2013

House GOP chairman seeks permanent solution to Medicare doc pay problem

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told physicians this week that he hopes to send "doc fix" legislation to the House floor this summer. Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., plans hearings for President Barack Obama's pick to head the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

15 Feb 2013

Illinois is 3rd state approved to run insurance market in partnership with feds

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Wednesday to announce the state had become the third to receive conditional approval to run a health insurance exchange in partnership with the federal government. Other states are also taking steps to develop their exchanges -- or, at least, mulling what to do next.

15 Feb 2013

Treasury pick says he will work to reduce Medicare spending, but offers few specifics

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's references in his State of the Union address to modest changes to Medicare continue to generate examination.

15 Feb 2013

Cardinal Health announces plans to acquire AssuraMed

Cardinal Health today announced plans to acquire privately held AssuraMed, a leading provider of medical supplies to patients in the home, for $2.07 billion, or $1.94 billion, net of the present value of tax benefits.

15 Feb 2013

Castle Biosciences launches MyUvealMelanoma website

Castle Biosciences Inc., a leading developer of prognostic tests for rare cancers, announced today the launch of MyUvealMelanoma.com, a website created to educate newly diagnosed patients, their families and healthcare providers about the most common form of eye cancer. MyUvealMelanoma tells the story of this disease, its treatment and the importance of prognostic testing, through the experience of patients who recently faced this devastating diagnosis first-hand.

15 Feb 2013

Viewpoints: FDA needs more power to regulate compounding pharmacies; Time to revamp military benefits, including health

Traditionally, the licensing and control of pharmacies has been left to the states, but their performance has been uneven. The federal role has been thrown into question in recent years by lawsuits. ... compounding pharmacies are not generally required to inform the FDA that they are in business nor to register with the FDA or disclose what products they are making.

15 Feb 2013

Health care staff can use QPID's intelligence engine to gain better insights from EHRs

QPID Inc. launched today, delivering a new health record intelligence platform and web-based applications that enable health care institutions and clinicians to gain better insights from any Electronic Health Record (EHR).

15 Feb 2013

SunLink second quarter consolidated net revenues decrease 4.0% to $27,850,000

SunLink Health Systems, Inc. today announced net earnings for its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2012 of $3,935,000, or $0.42 per fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $935,000, or a loss of $0.10 per fully diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

14 Feb 2013

Collaborative home-based palliative care for heart failure successful in UK

A collaborative home-based palliative care service for patients with advanced congestive heart failure could increase their chances of dying in their place of choice, show UK study results.

14 Feb 2013

Defensive medicine under attack

Around one-eighth of all requests for tests and procedures by gastroenterologists are attributable to the practice of defensive medicine, Italian research shows.

14 Feb 2013