Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

National Marfan Foundation’s annual conference to be held in Chicago

The National Marfan Foundation is gearing up for its 28th Annual conference, held at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, August 2-5. Hosted by Northwestern Medicine- and the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, the four-day conference has something for everyone with Marfan syndrome (MFS) and related disorders, including access to many of the top MFS experts in the world.

31 Jul 2012

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder that usually begins in infancy, with intermittent episodes of paralysis and stiffness, first affecting one side of the body, then the other. Symptoms mysteriously appear and disappear, again and again, and affected children often experience dozens of episodes per week. As they get older, children fall progressively behind their peers in both intellectual abilities and motor skills, and more than half develop epilepsy.

31 Jul 2012

Infant whooping cough concern

The ongoing increase in whooping cough cases has extended to very young babies, reports the Health Protection Agency, prompting further efforts to step up the immunisation programme.

30 Jul 2012

Screening checks in adolescents with hypertension diverge from guidelines

Guideline-recommended diagnostic tests for hypertension complications, such as echocardiograms and renal ultrasonography, are being poorly used in adolescents, a study suggests.

30 Jul 2012

Healthcare-associated pneumonia management could be improved

Although healthcare-associated pneumonia is common among patients treated in internal medicine departments and linked to poor outcomes, rates of testing and adherence to therapeutic guidelines are low, say Spanish investigators.

30 Jul 2012

Bathroom scale performs electrocardiograms

The Instrumentation, Sensors and Interfaces (ISI) Group has developed an intuitive and cost-effective scale, which, as well as measuring weight, also records the electrical activity of the heart from foot and hand contact. The device demonstrates the usefulness of telemedicine, which is particularly appropriate for people who need frequent heart checkups.

30 Jul 2012

Encore Health Resources on list of Best Places to Work in Healthcare

For the third time since its founding just over three years ago, Encore Health Resources has won a place on Modern Healthcare Magazine's prestigious list of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare. Encore, a recognized leader in advanced information technology consulting services and solutions for the Healthcare Industry, earned the award based on survey feedback from its employees nationwide.

30 Jul 2012

GenomeQuest's genomic decision support system achieves HIPAA compliance

GenomeQuest Inc., a global provider of large-scale genomic software applications, today announced that its GQ-Dx genomic decision support system for the production of clinical-grade diagnostic reports from next-generation sequencing (NGS) runs now meets Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security and privacy standards.

30 Jul 2012

Roper enters into definitive agreement to acquire Sunquest Information Systems

Roper Industries, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sunquest Information Systems, Inc., the leading provider of diagnostic and laboratory software solutions to healthcare providers, in an all cash transaction valued at $1.415 billion, including $25 million in cash tax benefits.

30 Jul 2012

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates (HAIs) and costs hospitals millions of additional dollars annually, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

30 Jul 2012

Osiris second quarter biosurgery product revenue increases 43% from previous quarter

Osiris Therapeutics, Inc., the leading stem cell company focused on developing and marketing products to treat medical conditions in inflammatory, cardiovascular, orthopedic and wound healing markets, announced today its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012.

30 Jul 2012

Positive results from Vermillion OVA500 multi-center study for ovarian cancer

Vermillion, Inc., a leading molecular diagnostics company, today announced positive results from a new prospective, multi-center clinical study of its ovarian cancer diagnostic OVA1.

30 Jul 2012

FDA clears Proteus ingestible sensor

Proteus Digital Health, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared its ingestible sensor for marketing as a medical device. The ingestible sensor (formally referred to as the Ingestion Event Marker or IEM) is part of the Proteus digital health feedback system, an integrated, end-to-end personal health management system that is designed to help improve patients' health habits and connections to caregivers.

30 Jul 2012

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Today's headlines include recent reports about both the policies and politics related to the health law's implementation.

30 Jul 2012

Combined approach reduces SSIs by 33% in patients after colorectal procedures

A surgical patient safety program that combines three components-accurate outcome measurement, support of hospital leadership, and engaged frontline providers-reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) by 33 percent in patients who undergo colorectal procedures, according to a new study published in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

30 Jul 2012

Ansell introduces GAMMEX Non-Latex Accelerator-Free Sensitive surgical glove with SENSOPRENE

Ansell Ltd., a global leader in protection solutions, has today introduced a ground-breaking new SENSOPRENE formulation, with the launch of its GAMMEX Non-Latex Accelerator-Free Sensitive surgical glove.

30 Jul 2012

For business organization, the fight against the health law is not over

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at how social and religious issues -- including abortion and contraception -- are fitting in to the current campaign season. Also in the news, how the health law is playing in the North Dakota Senate race and how much money one health care lobbying organization has on hand for campaign contributions.

30 Jul 2012

High in-utero magnetic field levels may increase risk of obese or overweight in childhood

In-utero exposure to relatively high magnetic field levels was associated with a 69 percent increased risk of being obese or overweight during childhood compared to lower in-utero magnetic field levels, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that appears in the current online version of Nature's Scientific Reports.

30 Jul 2012

Scalia renews criticism of Roberts' health law ruling but denies infighting

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is dismissing reports of infighting among court conservatives regarding the health care decision. Appearing today on Fox News Sunday, Scalia also said he did not know if Chief Justice John Roberts changed his mind about the heath care law and decided to provide the key vote to uphold it. "You'll have to ask him," Scalia said.

30 Jul 2012