Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

NGOs document thousands of cases of Indian women undergoing unnecessary hysterectomies, C-sections

"Thousands of women in India are being given hysterectomies and caesareans that they do not need by doctors and hospitals that can make substantial sums of money out of the operations," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

10 Feb 2013

Research roundup: 'Shared decision making' can reduce costs, improve care; Effects of mental health parity

With shared decision making, patients and their clinicians collaboratively review the risks and benefits of available treatments options while also considering the patients' preferences and values.

10 Feb 2013

Care Investment Trust enters joint venture with affiliates of Calamar

Care Investment Trust Inc., a real estate investment company that invests in healthcare and seniors-related real estate, today announced that effective as of February 1, 2013, it entered into a joint venture with affiliates of Calamar Enterprises, Inc., owned 75% by affiliates of Care and 25% by affiliates of Calamar, for the acquisition of two senior apartment communities from affiliates of Calamar with an aggregate value of $23.3 million.

10 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 8, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to run Medicare and the Catholic bishops' rejection of the Obama administration's contraception plan announced last week.

9 Feb 2013

Certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration

"You are what you eat," the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? Sleep, like nutrition and physical activity, is a critical determinant of health and well-being. With the increasing prevalence of obesity and its consequences, sleep researchers have begun to explore the factors that predispose individuals to weight gain and ultimately obesity.

9 Feb 2013

High prevalence of total knee replacement revealed

Research highlights the growing use of total knee replacement in the USA among patients with osteoarthritis and the associated healthcare burden.

8 Feb 2013

Higher arm reading ‘overestimates true BP’

Using the higher of left and right arm single blood pressure readings taken sequentially leads to an overestimation of patients’ “true” level as determined by ambulatory monitoring, UK researchers warn.

8 Feb 2013

Cantor calls for repeal of medical device tax; Bipartisan Senate bill seeks to end generic drug delays

In a speech, the House majority leader criticized the health law but focused his attention on the overhaul's taxes. Meanwhile, the Senate measure would prohibit companies that make brand-name drugs from paying generic manufacturers to keep their products off the market.

7 Feb 2013

Crothall Healthcare announces acquisition of Coppell

Crothall Healthcare of Wayne, Pennsylvania, announced its acquisition of Coppell, Texas-based CREST Services, a national leader in medical equipment maintenance. The transaction was finalized on December 20, 2012.

7 Feb 2013

Four-step process delivers specific, reliable clinical rules

Dutch researchers have developed a four-step strategy for formulating clinical decision support systems, which they say could help reduce “alert fatigue.”

7 Feb 2013

Telephone physiotherapy reduces treatment delays

Providing an initial physiotherapy assessment by telephone for patients with neuromusculoskeletal problems may help reduce waiting times, say UK researchers.

7 Feb 2013

Innovative drug discovery in Europe supported by Bayer

Bayer HealthCare initiated and will coordinate a newly founded pan-European consortium, named European Lead Factory, which has been launched to enhance early drug discovery addressing the need for innovative drugs. The new five-year project will create an exceptional small molecule library collection allowing drug discovery on innovative and promising targets from pharma companies and academia.

7 Feb 2013

SOS Children's Villages launches new Nursing and Midwife Scholarship program in Ethiopia

SOS Children's Villages, a global organization dedicated to providing family-based care for orphaned and abandoned children, today announced the launch of a brand new Nursing and Midwife Scholarship program in Ethiopia.

6 Feb 2013

Fraser Health selects dbMotion platform to serve people in British Columbia

dbMotion, an innovative provider of connected healthcare solutions, has been selected to implement its interoperability platform across Fraser Health, a 12-hospital integrated delivery network (IDN) serving 1.7 million people in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada.

6 Feb 2013

ECRI Institute PSO identifies key health information technology-related problems

The federal government is spending about $19 billion to encourage hospitals, physician practices, and other healthcare organizations to invest in their health information technology (HIT) infrastructure with the goal of improving patient safety and quality through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.

6 Feb 2013

Genpact announces acquisition of JAWOOD

Genpact Limited, a global leader in business process management and technology services, today announces that it has acquired JAWOOD, a leading provider of business services to the healthcare payer industry.

6 Feb 2013

Roundup: Calif. missing out on millions of dollars because of disagreements, software problems; Mass. finds more problems at compounding pharmacies; Hope for Kan. Medicaid managed care

California's court-run prison health care program is missing out on tens of millions of dollars a year in federal funds because of disagreement with counties and software problems, a new legislative report states. The legislative analyst's office found increasing numbers of prison inmates who, because of their low income status, are eligible for the state's Medicaid program.

6 Feb 2013

Baby boomers not as healthy as previously believed

Despite having a reputation of being the healthiest and most active generation, baby boomers are actually in worse overall health than their parents, according to a new study by researchers at the West Virginia University School of Medicine.

6 Feb 2013

Hospital house calls: A way to cut costs and improve quality?

Meanwhile, a group of experts convened by the National Quality Forum has released its second annual round of recommendations on quality measures to be used in federal health programs.

6 Feb 2013

UCLA study to help reduce high medical costs for children with complex chronic diseases

The number of children with medically complex illness, such as cancer, congenital heart disease or cerebral palsy, is increasing due to advances in pediatric care that have led to increased survival in previously high-mortality conditions. This population, despite representing only 10 percent of children, accounts for a substantial proportion of overall pediatric hospital costs.

6 Feb 2013