Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Covidien launches new HALO ablation catheter to treat Barrett's esophagus

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced the launch of the HALO90 ULTRA Ablation Catheter, the latest addition to the HALO family of catheters for the endoscopic treatment of Barrett's esophagus.

18 May 2012

HTA intends to commence modified ‘Dutch Auction’ tender offer

Healthcare Trust of America, Inc. announced today that it intends to commence a modified "Dutch Auction" tender offer to purchase up to $150 million of its shares of Class A common stock from its stockholders.

18 May 2012

Agfa HealthCare opens state-of-the-art, worldwide R&D facility for clinical imaging IT solutions development

Facility is a center of excellence for the design of innovative solutions that will bring further revolutionary developments for radiology, pathology and healthcare delivery as a whole to image-enable the Electronic Health Record (EHR)

17 May 2012

Some states receive more than $181M in grants to help implement new health care law

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 million in grants to help implement the new health care law. The grants will help states establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

17 May 2012

First Edition: May 17, 2012

Today's headlines includes reports about the deadline set by the federal government regarding the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges.

17 May 2012

Republicans set up election-year showdown on budget

As the Senate prepares to vote today on four separate budget plans -- all of which will likely be rejected -- House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says he will use the next go-round over the debt limit to force Democrats to make deeper cuts to federal health and safety-net programs, including Medicare.

17 May 2012

U.S. bishops make official their opposition to birth control mandate

The Catholic bishops said that, without quick congressional action, their organization will sue the Obama administration for requiring insurance plans to provide birth control to women without a co-pay.

17 May 2012

Increasing Use of Smart Pumps to help drive down “Never Events”

Increased focus on providing optimum patient care in the most cost efficient way is fuelling demand for intelligent infusion devices termed “Smart Pumps.” A report from InMedica, a division of IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE:IHS)), on the global market for infusion pumps found that, despite market saturation in the developed countries, demand for advanced technology is being maintained; infusion pump suppliers must offer technically advanced products at competitive prices to maintain market share.

17 May 2012

For same-sex couples, Medicare, federal health programs problematic

Same-sex couples also face financial trouble with their healthcare when they are seniors. Eligibility for Medicare is based on the number of quarters in which you have paid payroll taxes into the system. At age 65, anyone with a work history of at least 40 quarters can enroll for Medicare Part A (hospitalization) without paying a premium.

17 May 2012

Accretive seeks advice on collection standards from top health care policymakers

Accretive Health, subject of a recent report critical of its billing practices, will convene a panel of top policymakers on collection standards in the industry, it said Tuesday.

17 May 2012

HHS launches Health System Measurement Project

This new online tool will enable consumers to search a variety of federal healthcare data sets to monitor how the health system is performing.

17 May 2012

TRCARC, IBM partner to strengthen HIV prevention effort

IBM is collaborating with the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center (TRCARC) to strengthen HIV prevention effort and to make Bangkok the world's first city to achieve "Zero New HIV Infections" by 2015.

17 May 2012

Colleagues In Care, IBM partner to help improve healthcare delivery in Haiti

IBM today announced it is helping improve healthcare delivery in Haiti through its collaboration with 'Colleagues In Care' Global Health Network.

17 May 2012

ApolloMed net revenue increases 31.2% to $5.1M for fiscal year 2012

Apollo Medical Holdings, Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012.

17 May 2012

CAP, SoftTech Health announce partnership

SoftTech Health LLC of New York announces a partnership with the College of American Pathologists (CAP) to bring state-of-the-art accreditation management tools to clinical laboratories worldwide. Laboratory test results are said to drive the majority of all patient care decision-making, meaning that rigorous quality management (QM) of laboratory services is essential to safe and timely patient care.

17 May 2012

First Edition: May 16, 2012

Today's headlines highlight the growing partisan faultlines regarding budget issues, including spending cuts and entitlement reforms.

16 May 2012

Quality Systems announces acquisition of The Poseidon Group

Quality Systems, Inc., announced today the acquisition of The Poseidon Group, Inc. to support the growth of its NextGen Inpatient Solutions offering, which provides a range of healthcare information technology services to small hospitals.

16 May 2012

Calif. Gov. Brown's revised budget includes substantial Medi-Cal cuts

The ballooning budget deficit in California might mean hospitals and nursing homes will get less state money.

16 May 2012

Reducing off-label antipsychotic use may generate savings with little impact on patient care

Reducing the non-FDA-approved use of antipsychotic drugs may be a way to save money while having little effect on patient care, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study.

16 May 2012

Heritage: Stop subsidies for 'multimillionaire seniors' to shore up Medicare program

A report by the conservative Heritage Foundation recommends making wealthier Medicare beneficiaries pay more to help get the program's "fiscal house in order." Also in the news, The Wall Street Journal reports that a judge who considers cases related to the Social Security Disability Insurance Program -- one of the federal governments most rapidly growing entitlement programs -- was placed on paid leave while complaints about his demeanor are probed.

16 May 2012