Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Medicaid expansion draws mixed reaction from states

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling making the law's Medicaid expansion optional, some state officials say they will opt out because they cannot afford even 10 percent of the program's costs. Others, though, are moving forward.

4 Jul 2012

New round of polls shows Americans are ready to move on

A mix of early poll results shows that, though the Supreme Court's decision didn't quiet the partisan feelings associated with the health law, many people want the battle over the sweeping overhaul to stop. Additionally, the ruling does not appear to have impacted opinions regarding the race for the White House.

4 Jul 2012

GlaxoSmithKline agrees to plead guilty, pay $3B settlement

Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges and pay $3 billion in total -- with some money going to nearly every state -- for promoting its bestselling antidepressants such as Paxil and Wellbutrin for unapproved uses, failing to report safety data about a top diabetes drug and improperly marketing other drugs.

4 Jul 2012

FDA proposes UDI regulations for most medical devices

Today, in response to requirements in legislation that passed Congress with broad bipartisan support, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed that most medical devices distributed in the United States carry a unique device identifier, or UDI.

4 Jul 2012

For Republicans, undoing the health law could be complicated

GOP leaders face various challenges in their strategy to repeal the health law.

4 Jul 2012

Amid conflicting claims, Romney camp agrees with Obama on tax issue

One of the Republican candidate's top advisers says Romney doesn't think the mandate penalty in the health care law is a tax.

4 Jul 2012

State roundup: Mass. health law success; Penn. Medicaid cut reversed

Massachusetts has the nation's highest rate of residents with health insurance. Visits to emergency rooms are beginning to ease. More residents are getting cancer screenings and more women are making prenatal doctors' visits. Still, one of the biggest challenges for the state lies ahead: reining in spiraling costs.

4 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Coherent GOP plan for health care; Dems need better 'sales pitch' for health law

Hostility toward the Supreme Court has risen sharply since Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. upheld the Obama health care law. People are apparently angry that the court didn't rid them of a law they detest. But that's silly. If Americans want to replace this thing, they should do it themselves. ... Moreover, there are alternatives. Despite what you've read, there is a coherent Republican plan.

4 Jul 2012

UTHealth professor receives ACS grant to improve care and QOL for people with liver cancer

Curtis Wray, M.D., an assistant professor of surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, has been awarded a grant from the American Cancer Society to find ways to improve the care and quality of life for people with liver cancer. Liver cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer in the world and about 750,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2008.

4 Jul 2012

Telemedicine programmes expected to be given momentum by renewed focus on primary healthcare in South Africa

A renewed focus on primary healthcare in South Africa is expected to give momentum to telemedicine programmes, as the Government rolls out the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. Uptake of telemedicine solutions, throughout the continent, is on the rise due to infrastructural developments and the need to extend services to under-served rural areas.

3 Jul 2012

Research highlights three factors that could determine outbreak of pandemic flu

A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza.

3 Jul 2012

Dems say it is time to change the subject, but GOP has different plan

Republicans already are demonstrating their strategy to use the health law decision in the upcoming campaign season. Meanwhile, both parties are raising money on the issue.

3 Jul 2012

Childlessness increases risk of hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders among infertile women

While many small studies have shown a relationship between infertility and psychological distress, reporting a high prevalence of anxiety, mood disorders and depressive symptoms, few have studied the psychological effect of childlessness on a large population basis. Now, based on the largest cohort of women with fertility problems compiled to date, Danish investigators have shown that women who remained childless after their first investigation for infertility had more hospitalisations for psychiatric disorders than women who had at least one child following their investigation.

3 Jul 2012

CBS News: Roberts shifted view on constitutionality of individual mandate

CBS News reports that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. initially sided with conservatives before he changed his mind and formed an alliance with liberals to uphold most of the health care law. Other news outlets scrutinize Roberts's historic decision.

3 Jul 2012

First Edition: July 3, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that continue to delve into the policy-oriented and political repercussions of last week's high court decision on the health law.

3 Jul 2012

What's ahead on the post-SCOTUS decision landscape

After the Supreme Court's decision last week upholding the health law, news outlets analyze what comes next in terms of the law's implementation, the obstacles it faces and its impact on various parts of the health system.

3 Jul 2012

Obama's health law legacy still not settled; Romney faces health policy pressure

An Associated Press analysis points out that if Obama loses in November, he risks losing the law and his legacy. But Romney is also facing pressure.

3 Jul 2012

SunLink sells Memorial Hospital and Convalescent Center in Adel

SunLink Health Systems, Inc. today announced that it completed the sale of its Memorial Hospital of Adel and Memorial Convalescent Center to The Hospital Authority of Tift County, Georgia for approximately $8,350,000.

3 Jul 2012

FairWarning releases first nation-wide Australian Patient Privacy Survey

FairWarning, Inc., the inventor and world's leading supplier of cross-platform healthcare privacy auditing solutions for Electronic Health Records, today released the first nation-wide Australian Patient Privacy Survey that reveals how patient privacy considerations impact the delivery of healthcare.

3 Jul 2012

HHS announces 2012 HPP and PHEP funding

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded more than $971 million to continue improving preparedness and health outcomes for a wide range of public health threats within every state, eight U.S. territories, and four of the nation's largest metropolitan areas.

3 Jul 2012