Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Community Hospital Grand Junction chooses SIS Solution to replace legacy perioperative system

Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, announced today that Community Hospital Grand Junction has selected the SIS Solution to replace its legacy perioperative system.

18 Sep 2012

FDA clears Meridian Bioscience’s new illumigene Group A Strep test

Meridian Bioscience, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio today announced that it has received FDA clearance for a new molecular diagnostic test for Group A Streptococcus on the illumigene platform.

18 Sep 2012

Vitamin E may prevent cancer in patients with Cowden Syndrome

Cleveland Clinic researchers have discovered that vitamin E may prevent cancer in patients with an under-recognized genetic disorder.

18 Sep 2012

Healthcare costs could total more than household assets for elderly at end of life

For more than 25% of elderly US citizens, healthcare costs incurred during the last 5 years of life will amount to more than their total household assets, show data reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

17 Sep 2012

Mo. college files its own lawsuit over contraception mandate

A Missouri Christian college is joining the fight against the health law's mandate that insurance plans cover contraception by filing its own lawsuit.

17 Sep 2012

VTT, GE Healthcare enter collaboration for AD research

Scientists from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland have recently discovered a serum biochemical signature which predicts progression to Alzheimer's disease months or even years before the first symptoms of the disease occur. The goal of the new collaboration between VTT and GE Healthcare is to validate this biomarker in a large patient cohort as well as to discover novel biomarker candidates.

17 Sep 2012

Medicare, health overhaul playing key role on the campaign trail

The Associated Press offers an issue breakdown regarding the health law positions taken by President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney while The Washington Post examines new studies that detail how Romney's Medicare proposals might impact seniors.

17 Sep 2012

Democrats confident that Medicare issue will help them win in November

News outlets are reporting that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that the Republican plans for Medicare are driving votes to Democratic candidates.

17 Sep 2012

Consumer Genetics Conference to take place from October 3-5

Advancements in sequencing and diagnostics technology are the underlying elements driving the genomic revolution. With the free-falling cost of sequencing, richer reference data and improved interpretation methods, the use of personal genomics is beginning to take greater root in clinical practice.

15 Sep 2012

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia earns spot on InformationWeek 500 list

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia achieved high rankings in the annual information technology (IT) rankings announced this week by the industry publication InformationWeek. The Hospital ranked among both the top 10 innovators in the healthcare industry, and on the list of Top 20 Great Ideas, for defining and streamlining clinicians' access to electronic health records, while keeping those records secure.

15 Sep 2012

Why are health care costs increasing at a slower rate?

Health care spending increased by just 3.9 percent in 2010 and 3.8 percent in 2009. And within Medicare, the spending slowdown has been even more dramatic: Instead of the program's average 6 percent annual increase per beneficiary in recent years, 2010's rate was 0.2 percent. In 2011, it was 2.8 percent.

15 Sep 2012

Medicare policies continue to claim campaign trail attention

The presidential and vice presidential candidates compare and contrast their plans, and some fact checkers set to work on sorting out what they are saying.

15 Sep 2012

Biomedical scientists identify set of genes essential for A. baumannii gram-negative bacteria

Biomedical scientists collaborating on translational research at two Buffalo institutions are reporting the discovery of a novel, and heretofore unrecognized, set of genes essential for the growth of potentially lethal, drug-resistant bacteria.

15 Sep 2012

Research roundup: Patients' experiences at safety-net hospitals

Each week KHN reporter Ankita Rao compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.

15 Sep 2012

Spending measure passes House with Ryan's support

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., returned to the chamber Thursday for the first time since he became the GOP vice presidential candidate, casting his vote for a measure that raised spending above the levels in his own budget. Republicans hailed him, while Democrats released a video highlighting his proposal to overhaul Medicare as a fixed subsidy program.

15 Sep 2012

Court denies Maine Medicaid lawsuit, says to give CMS time to rule on cuts

A federal appeals court rejected a Maine lawsuit Thursday and said the state -- which wants to cut 30,000 from its Medicaid rolls -- needs to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services time to review its request.

15 Sep 2012

Physicians Endoscopy announces acquisition of minority interest in Illinois ASC

Physicians Endoscopy, LLC (PE) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a minority interest in the Digestive Disease Endoscopy Center (DDEC) located in Normal, Illinois. DDEC is a joint venture partnership between five physicians, BroMenn Physicians Management Corporation and Physicians Endoscopy.

15 Sep 2012

Study assesses hand contamination of healthcare workers after disinfection procedures

New research demonstrates that daily cleaning of high-touch surfaces in isolation rooms of patients with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) significantly reduces the rate of the pathogens on the hands of healthcare personnel.

15 Sep 2012

Doctors can be ‘conscientious’ providers of abortion

Exercising conscience in healthcare is usually defined as refusing to provide contested services, like abortion. But in an article to be published Sept. 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine, a University of Michigan faculty member says doctors can be "conscientious" providers of abortion.

15 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: While health care demand rises, medical schools turn away thousands; Jeb Bush on state-based Medicaid changes

Despite high unemployment, there is one bright spot in the economy: while nearly all other sectors shrank during the recession, jobs in health care increased by more than 1.2 million, with most paying salaries of over $60,000. And demand for those workers will keep improving. ... But for American health workers, this is hardly good news. Despite a labor shortage, our crowded medical professional schools are turning away hundreds of thousands of qualified applicants; to fill the gap, we are importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.

15 Sep 2012