Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Study examines constitutionality of pharmaceutical gift laws

We've all seen them in the waiting room of the doctor's office-pens, notepads, magnets, and clipboards adorned with the logos of brand-name drugs. These freebies may seem inconsequential, but a large and compelling body of evidence shows that even these small gifts may influence which drug a doctor prescribes.

14 Jun 2012

CalPERS readies nearly 10% rate hike; Blue Shield of Calif. faces lawsuit

California's Public Employees' Retirement System premium increase is more than twice as large as last year's. Meanwhile, the lawsuit against Blue Shield alleges that the insurer is seeking to push customers into new options that offer less coverage.

14 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 14, 2012

Today's headlines include reports about how the pending Supreme Court decision is being viewed by investors, and the latest from the campaign trail.

14 Jun 2012

Insurers, politicians girding for Supreme Court health law decision

Insurance company executives tell news outlets they support the mandate to buy insurance or pay a fine, as Republicans try to refine their post-SCOTUS decision strategy.

14 Jun 2012

Medicare Advantage enrollment goes up as premium costs decline

A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the enrollment increases were also due in part to seniors' reduced access to supplemental coverage as well as greater comfort with managed care.

14 Jun 2012

Health care costs to reach nearly one-fifth of GDP by 2021

New health care cost projections released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services indicate that the nation's health care spending will keep outpacing economic growth despite a recent slowdown.

14 Jun 2012

Romney sees 'consumer' health care in the post-health law landscape

As the country awaits the health law decision and President Barack Obama appears to be playing down campaign talk about the health law, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney took the opposite approach by offering his vision of health care in America when the law is undone.

14 Jun 2012

Senate panel includes funding for implementing health law in spending bill

A Senate Appropriations panel on Tuesday approved a fiscal 2013 spending bill for labor, health and education programs that includes funding to implement provisions of the 2010 health care overhaul, despite Republican objections. The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee approved the draft measure along party lines, 10-7.

14 Jun 2012

Conn. children's hospital, insurer reach accord; San Francisco nurses plan strike

Connecticut Children's Medical Center and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that they have reached a multi-year agreement, ending a two-month dispute that led to uncertainty and confusion for many patients and their families. The hospital and the Connecticut Children's Specialty Group had dropped the insurer April 16 after both sides failed to reach an agreement after a year of negotiations. Under the deal, Anthem will immediately resume covering in-network costs.

14 Jun 2012

JAMA: Wage gap persists for women physician-researchers

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the average salary for women doctor-researchers was 16 percent lower than men, even after accounting for speciality, hours, etc.

14 Jun 2012

Study finds increase in inpatient medical procedures after Mass. health reform implementation

Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health (BUSM, BUSPH), along with the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, have found inpatient medical procedures increased more among non-elderly, lower- and medium- income populations, Hispanics and whites, after health care reform went into effect in Massachusetts.

14 Jun 2012

Call for medical bodies to stop opposing assisted dying supported by BMJ

The BMJ today supports a call for leading UK medical bodies to stop opposing assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

14 Jun 2012

NEJM hails vismodegib as ‘the greatest advance in therapy yet seen’ for advanced BCC

Vismodegib, a new skin cancer drug for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma tested by TGen, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and Mayo Clinic, is hailed as "the greatest advance in therapy yet seen" for advanced basal cell carcinoma in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.

14 Jun 2012

Interactive website improves parental compliance with asthma controller medication use

Asthma is the most common chronic illness in adolescents and children, affecting an estimated seven million children up to the age of 17 in the United States. The burden of asthma on children is substantial: kids with asthma have a three-fold greater risk of school absence than children without asthma, and asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under the age of 15.

14 Jun 2012

Study analyses impact of one-off advice session and ongoing support for patients with T2D

Research led by the University of Leicester concludes that people newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes need ongoing advice from GPs sustained over a number of years rather than a one-off session when they are first diagnosed.

14 Jun 2012

Researchers use brain imaging to uncover susceptibility to psychological stress and trauma

Most people have intense emotional reactions to traumatizing events like road accidents or combat. But some suffer far longer, caught in the grip of long-term debilitating disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Because doctors cannot predict who will develop these disorders, however, early or preventive intervention is not available. Now, a new project led by researchers at Tel Aviv University seeks to identify pre-traumatic subjects - those who are more susceptible to long-standing disorders if exposed to a traumatic incident.

14 Jun 2012

Viewpoints: Puzzling slowdown in health spending; Court decision could help end businesses' fears about health law

Economists will debate the causes of the great slowdown in health-care spending that's now underway for a long time to come. ... And last year, preliminary government estimates released Tuesday showed, health care spending once again grew at just a 3.9 percent rate.

14 Jun 2012

Siemens receives FDA clearance for SOMATOM Perspective CT system

Siemens Healthcare has announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the SOMATOM Perspective – an advanced 128-slice computed tomography (CT) scanner engineered to drive efficiency and reduce costs.

From Siemens Healthineers 14 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 13, 2012

Today's headlines feature reports about new government projections for the nation's health care spending and the latest from the campaign trail.

13 Jun 2012

CMS predicts modest health spending growth, then acceleration

The nation's been enjoying a respite from rising health care costs, but government experts say don't look for it to last. Health care spending will grow faster than the economy for the foreseeable future, says a report Tuesday from Medicare's nonpartisan economic analysts. ... By 2021, health care spending will be growing roughly 2 percentage points faster than the overall economy, about the same rate as the last 30 years.

13 Jun 2012

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Study examines constitutionality of pharmaceutical gift laws

CalPERS readies nearly 10% rate hike; Blue Shield of Calif. faces lawsuit

First Edition: June 14, 2012

Insurers, politicians girding for Supreme Court health law decision

Medicare Advantage enrollment goes up as premium costs decline

Health care costs to reach nearly one-fifth of GDP by 2021

Romney sees 'consumer' health care in the post-health law landscape

Senate panel includes funding for implementing health law in spending bill

Conn. children's hospital, insurer reach accord; San Francisco nurses plan strike

JAMA: Wage gap persists for women physician-researchers

Study finds increase in inpatient medical procedures after Mass. health reform implementation

Call for medical bodies to stop opposing assisted dying supported by BMJ

NEJM hails vismodegib as ‘the greatest advance in therapy yet seen’ for advanced BCC

Interactive website improves parental compliance with asthma controller medication use

Study analyses impact of one-off advice session and ongoing support for patients with T2D

Researchers use brain imaging to uncover susceptibility to psychological stress and trauma

Viewpoints: Puzzling slowdown in health spending; Court decision could help end businesses' fears about health law

Siemens receives FDA clearance for SOMATOM Perspective CT system

First Edition: June 13, 2012

CMS predicts modest health spending growth, then acceleration

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

PhD researcher at LifeArc

Unveiling Hidden Potential: Organoids for Disease Modeling in Neuroscience Research

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