Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Patients with spinal cord injury report higher rates of wheelchair breakdowns

Wheelchair-dependent patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are reporting higher rates of wheelchair breakdowns requiring repairs, according to a study in American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (AJPM&R), the official journal of the Association of Academic Physiatrists, AJPM&R is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

3 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. health cost control bill could save $8B to $34B; Md. weighs hospital rate freeze; Iowa Senate passes a fix for HIV insurance program

As Massachusetts' state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save? A recent report claims employers and employees could see between $8 billion and $34.5 billion in savings over nine years.

3 May 2012

Kindred Healthcare first quarter consolidated revenues increase 33% to $1.6 billion

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. today announced its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012. The Company's consolidated financial statements include the operating results of RehabCare Group, Inc. since the closing of the acquisition on June 1, 2011.

2 May 2012

Older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in primary care

Large majorities of older Americans experience significant and troubling gaps in their primary care, according to a new national survey, "How Does It Feel? The Older Adult Health Care Experience," released today by the John A. Hartford Foundation, a champion for improved geriatric care and longtime partner of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University's College of Nursing.

2 May 2012

Lower rate of reintubation observed in infants receiving SURFAXIN

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. today announced the presentation of a new pharmacoeconomic analysis demonstrating that the lower rate of reintubation previously reported in infants treated with SURFAXIN, when compared with infants treated with Curosurf® and Survanta®, the current global market leading surfactants, also resulted in a potential hospital cost savings of $160,000 to $252,000 per 100 infants.

2 May 2012

Novo Nordisk granted exclusive rights to Caisson's heparosan-based drug delivery technology

Caisson Biotech, L.L.C., a biopharmaceutical company with a patented heparosan-based drug delivery technology, announced today that it has entered into a Development and License Agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S, a global healthcare company and leader in diabetes care.

From Novo Nordisk 2 May 2012

Diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome triples between 2000 and 2009

About one baby is born every hour addicted to opiate drugs in the United States, according to new research from University of Michigan physicians.

2 May 2012

Study assesses perceived impact of CMS payment policy on hospital infection prevention efforts

The 2008 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to cease additional reimbursement to hospitals for certain healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) has led to enhanced focus on infection prevention and changes in practice by front-line staff, according to a national survey of infection preventionists published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

2 May 2012

Nelson-Miller announces acquisition of KDM

Nelson-Miller, Inc., a leading manufacturer of membrane switches and product identification components, announced today that it has acquired KDM from CoActive Technologies.

2 May 2012

House Republicans divided over how to 'replace' health law

Ask each of the 242 House Republicans what kind of health policy they'd like to enact instead of President Barack Obama's health care reform law and you might get 242 different answers. Even after three years of railing against Obama's plan, Republicans have coalesced around only a few basic tenets of health policy - let alone a full replacement plan.

2 May 2012

Hospital billing collections company seeks dismissal of Minn. lawsuit

The Minn. state attorney general lodged a suit against Accretive Health arguing that it violated privacy laws when an employee lost a laptop computer with medical data of 23,500 patients. In addition, Accretive is also lashing out at publicity about its efforts to get hospital patients to pay their bills.

2 May 2012

REACH Health launches enhanced telemedicine clinical platform

REACH Health, Inc., a leading provider of telemedicine technology solutions for health systems, today announced the launch of its enhanced telemedicine clinical platform, REACH Access.

2 May 2012

'Mandatory oversight' of potentially dangerous biological research will be necessary

"In the sobering annals of disaster prevention, genetic manipulation of the H5N1 influenza virus is looming as a seminal case," John Steinbruner, director of the Center for International Security Studies at the University of Maryland, writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog," noting that two "laboratory experiments have rendered the highly virulent avian strain transmissible among ferrets, strongly suggesting that it would be transmissible among humans as well."

2 May 2012

SCPC accredits Porter Adventist Hospital as Chest Pain Center

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) recently awarded Porter Adventist Hospital full accreditation status as a Chest Pain Center.

2 May 2012

Amadeus Consulting develops Android version of iBirth

Amadeus Consulting, a custom software development company, recently developed iBirth for Android a mobile application for Lula B, LLC. Created by two mothers in Boulder, Colorado, Lula B wanted an app to help women through the childbirth process to ensure they have the information available for a safe, healthy, and empowering pregnancy.

2 May 2012

Tips for parents to engage their children in discussions about alcohol

During Alcohol Awareness Month, and with prom and graduation season just around the corner, now is a critical time for parents to engage their teens in discussions about alcohol, according to the Health Alliance on Alcohol.

2 May 2012

Okla. high court keeps 'personhood' amendment off Nov. ballot; Minn. Gov. vetoes abortion bill

Sooner state voters won't vote on the controversial proposal to label an embryo a person.

2 May 2012

TeamHealth announces acquisition of Exigence

TeamHealth Holdings Inc. today announced the acquisition of the operations of The Exigence Group and its related entities.

2 May 2012

Covidien acquires Newport Medical

Covidien plc, a leading global provider of healthcare products and recognized innovator in patient monitoring and respiratory care devices, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Newport Medical Instruments, Inc. for an aggregate consideration of approximately $108 million, net of cash and short-term investments acquired.

2 May 2012

FDA clears Great Basin’s first C. diff molecular diagnostic test

Great Basin Corporation, a privately-held life sciences company developing sample-to-result molecular diagnostic solutions, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for its first molecular diagnostic test for Clostridium difficile.

2 May 2012