Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Experts address main barriers to hearing aid use

The main barriers to hearing aid use are being addressed by experts in Nottingham as part of an innovative research project.

25 May 2012

Philips, GE Healthcare applaud FCC for Medical Body Area Networks

GE Healthcare and Royal Philips Electronics applaud the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today for its action allocating protected spectrum for wireless medical devices, called Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs), which could revolutionize the way patients are monitored and help eliminate the restrictive cables that tether patients to hospital beds.

25 May 2012

WSU introduces web-based decision support system to select wheeled mobility devices

A Wayne State University researcher has introduced computer technology that makes it easier for people who need wheelchairs to select one that best suits their needs.

25 May 2012

U.S. military says too many enlistees are overweight; Americans find doing taxes easier than eating right

The military is seeking fitter members, saying overweight recruits could be a threat to national security. Meanwhile, a new survey says Americans find it easier to do their taxes than figure out healthy food options.

25 May 2012

LVRC safe and effective choice for patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema

A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients.

24 May 2012

Halo Healthcare acquires assets of NeoMatrix

Halo Healthcare, Inc. announces it has acquired the assets of NeoMatrix, LLC and has restructured the Company, including engaging a new CEO and management team, appointing a new Board of Directors, and relaunching the HALO diagnostic device for breast cancer risk assessment.

24 May 2012

Mass. safety-net hospitals slated to get $628M to better coordinate care

Safety net hospitals in Massachusetts are slated to get $628 million to help them focus on coordinating care for patients instead of on which tests and treatments will earn them the most pay. In the meantime, two hospitals in North Carolina are settling their differences over transparency and indigent care.

24 May 2012

Strategies, views on the health law's future vary depending on politics

Congressional Republicans continue to appear divided over what their strategy should be if the Supreme Court strikes down all or part of the health law. More immediately, though, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is targeting the measure's device tax as part of the Senate's consideration of a bill that would reauthorize the Food and Drug Administration user fees.

24 May 2012

Tenn. doctors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield agree to bundle payments for knee, hip replacements

In other insurance company news, BlueCross Blue Shield of Illinois will pay $25M to settle coverage denial claims.

24 May 2012

ACE’s Blood Sugar Basics Game Plan kicks off to help people with diabetes

The Blood Sugar Basics Game Plan, developed by the American College of Endocrinology (ACE), with support from Merck, is kicking off to help the nearly 26 million people in the U.S. who have diabetes find new ways to help manage their disease. Th

24 May 2012

Chronic diseases, bloodstream infections on the rise among HIV+ ICU patients

The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive (HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.

24 May 2012

PTH boosts AMPs to fend off infection-causing microbes

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are molecules produced in the skin to fend off infection-causing microbes. Vitamin D has been credited with a role in their production and in the body's overall immune response, but scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say a hormone previously associated only with maintaining calcium homeostasis and bone health is also critical, boosting AMP expression when dietary vitamin D levels are inadequate.

24 May 2012

Report: Employer-based health insurance shows decline

A new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds that employment-based health coverage has taken steps back after a brief uptick.

24 May 2012

Datix, UHC partner to improve patient safety and quality in U.S. hospitals

At the National Patient Safety Foundation Congress beginning today in Washington, D.C., two leaders in their respective healthcare areas have joined forces to improve patient safety.

24 May 2012

Bayer submits regorafenib NDA with FDA for treatment of mCRC

Bayer HealthCare announced today that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for the oral multi-kinase inhibitor regorafenib for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

24 May 2012

Omron introduces new wireless sleep monitoring device

ResMed Inc. today announced the launch of the first product in Japan using technology from its recently acquired company, BiancaMed. The product, launched by BiancaMed partner Omron Healthcare, is a new wireless sleep monitoring device.

From ResMed Corp 24 May 2012

Viewpoints: The promise and perils of prostate screening; Presidential candidates shy away from frank discussion of spending

After an exhaustive process, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has announced its final recommendation on PSA-based prostate cancer screening. It finds that the known harms of screening outweigh the potential benefits for men who have no cancer symptoms. It notes that all screening studies have demonstrated considerable harms associated with screening, but only one major study found evidence that screening saves lives -- and that study has some internal inconsistencies.

24 May 2012

Study shows how streamlined patient pathways may improve efficiency of healthcare delivery

The Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (the Alliance) today released research detailing the care pathways patients receive for three distinct episode types: post-acute, pre-acute and non-post-acute.

23 May 2012

Tri-City Medical Center leading the way with robotically enhanced spine surgery

Tri-City Medical Center, one of just 10 hospitals nationwide performing robotic spine surgery using the Mazor Renaissance guidance system, is now one of the first hospitals worldwide to use an enhancement to that system that allows surgeons to immediately verify the placement of implants, significantly diminishing the need for follow-up procedures.

23 May 2012

Panel of HuCAL Anti-Drug Antibodies to be launched by AbD Serotec

MorphoSys AG (FSE: MOR; Prime Standard Segment, TecDAX) announced today that its division for research and diagnostic antibodies, AbD Serotec, will launch a series of novel anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) to strengthen its position as a leading provider of diagnostic reagents.

23 May 2012