Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Nipro Diagnostics, NextGen enter agreement for TRUEresult blood glucose monitoring system

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today it has entered into an agreement with Nipro Diagnostics, Inc. to integrate its TRUEresult blood glucose monitoring system into the NextGen Ambulatory EHR.

30 Aug 2012

George Washington University SPHHS launches Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition

Today the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) announced the launch of the Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition, a multi-sector group of advocates and experts dedicated to raising awareness and advancing public policies to improve the health of children who suffer from asthma.

30 Aug 2012

ALK signs agreement to supply PRE-PEN to HealthTrust member facilities

ALK is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with HealthTrust Purchasing Group, LP to supply PRE-PEN (benzylpenicilloyl polylysine injection USP) the only FDA approved skin test for the diagnosis of penicillin allergy, to HealthTrust member facilities, including 1,400 acute care facilities, 10,600 ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices and alternate care sites.

30 Aug 2012

Long-term cardiac impact of Japan quake revealed

The earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of eastern Japan in 2011 led to a significantly increased weekly occurrence of cardiovascular disease in the months after the event, study findings show.

29 Aug 2012

Childhood coagulation marker levels distinct from adulthood

Levels of key coagulation markers significantly vary with age in children, research reveals, potentially affecting the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric thrombotic and hemorrhagic disease.

29 Aug 2012

Physicians’ emotional, institutional barriers prolong medical futility at end of life

The most common reasons that clinicians give to explain medically futile treatment at the end of life are emotional difficulties, such as a fear of talking about death, and institutional barriers, such as hospital departments expecting them to “do everything possible,” report German researchers.

29 Aug 2012

Consumers, employers reconsider insurance costs

Individuals and businesses are weighing the pros and cons of buying health coverage as a result of the advent of high-deductible policies, as well as the provisions of the health law set to take effect in 2014.

29 Aug 2012

Anova Cancer Care to participate in CyberKnife research study

Anova Cancer Care has been chosen to participate in a landmark national prostate cancer study. The goal of the two-year study is to determine the best treatments for prostate cancer. The study will look specifically at prostate cancer radiosurgery.

29 Aug 2012

As GOP convention picks up, health issues draw attention

News outlets report on how the most conservative Republicans are uniting around Mitt Romney, even as he appears more open to embracing the Massachusetts health law he signed while that state's governor.

29 Aug 2012

Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality receives Moore Foundation grant

Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality has received an $8.9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the first award given as part of an ambitious new $500 million, 10-year program designed to eliminate all preventable harms that patients experience in the hospital.

29 Aug 2012

Exchange planning takes hold in states -- each with different flavor

Vermont, the District of Columbia and Connecticut are among those planning health law-mandated marketplaces where consumers and small businesses can buy insurance -- each with its own twist.

29 Aug 2012

HealthPartners receives Acclaim Award from American Medical Group Association

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) today announced that the recipient of the 2012 AMGA Acclaim Award is HealthPartners for "Triple Aim 2.0: Designing Culture to Support Better Health, Better Experience at a Lower Cost," an inventive and patient-centered approach to align the Institute of Medicine's Aims to identify and drive performance improvement, innovation, and culture throughout the organization.

29 Aug 2012

Boehner predicts GOP victory, but not a mandate to overhaul Medicare

At a lunch with reporters, Mr. Boehner said that the nation's dire fiscal position, driven by health care spending, would confront Washington next year "regardless of who wins the election." But he was cautious about predicting a mandate for the House Republican plan to end the government guarantee for Medicare, replacing the program with fixed contributions that older Americans would use to buy private health insurance or pay into the government plan.

29 Aug 2012

GAO: States vary in how they document long-term care eligibility

States vary in how they document financial eligibility for Medicaid long-term-care coverage and no state had adopted an electronic asset verification system as of late 2011, the Government Accountability Office said.

29 Aug 2012

Penn physician develops VALUE framework for teaching-hospitals, residency programs

Despite the national consensus on the need to improve the value of health care while reducing unnecessary spending, teaching hospitals often struggle to design curricula to train future physicians to deliver such care to their patients.

29 Aug 2012

Viewpoints: Adding a middle man to Medicare; Circumcision wars; Who is an extremist on abortion?

Bear in mind that health expenses will still have to be mainly paid for by some kind of insurance; that's in the nature of medical care, with its high but unpredictable cost. So what we're doing here is replacing government insurance with a program that gives people money to buy private insurance - that is, adding an extra layer of middlemen.

29 Aug 2012

VA report shows improvement in gender disparities in 12 out of 14 HEDIS measures

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a report that shows improvement in gender disparities in 12 out of 14 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures in VA since 2008.

29 Aug 2012

Wellness Center USA closes PSI acquisition

Wellness Center USA, Inc., a Schaumburg IL based healthcare and nutraceutical company, reported the closing of its Psoria-Shield Inc. (PSI) acquisition. PSI is a Tampa, FL based developer and manufacturer of UltraViolet (UV) phototherapy devices for the treatment of skin diseases.

29 Aug 2012

State roundup: Ohio sets plan for people on both Medicaid and Medicare; Minn. asks feds for money-saving Medicaid changes

Ohio is one step closer to implementing changes aimed at better coordinating medical care for some of the state's sickest and most expensive patients. Gov. John Kasich's administration wants to streamline the way health care is delivered to Ohioans enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare. The state submitted a plan this spring to the federal government to better coordinate care for almost 114,000 so-called "dual-eligible" individuals living in seven urban regions.

28 Aug 2012

Obama, Romney trade more Medicare barbs

President Barack Obama went on the Medicare attack, using his weekly address to challenge Republican charges that he cut Medicare. Obama also launched a new ad saying that the Romney-Ryan ticket would end Medicare as it exists today. But the Romney campaign has Medicare messages of its own.

28 Aug 2012