Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

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

Roundup: Mass. premium increases muted; Iowa cuts payment to charity after fraud probe; Ga. asks EMS providers to save scarce drugs

State regulators on Monday approved third-quarter health insurance rates that will raise premiums an average of just 1.2 percent in the market serving small businesses and individuals, continuing a trend of more modest increases seen over the past three quarters. And several carriers, including Tufts Health Plan of Watertown and Fallon Community Health Plan, based in Worcester, will reduce their rates -- a rarity in Massachusetts health care -- according to data from the state Division of Insurance.

2 May 2012

54% doctors support denying treatment to smokers and the obese until they quit or lose weight

Doctors.net.uk, a professional networking site, found that 593 (54%) of the 1,096 doctors who took part in the self-selecting survey answered yes when asked: “Should the NHS be allowed to refuse non-emergency treatments to patients unless they lose weight or stop smoking?” They believe unhealthy behaviour can make procedures less likely to work, and that the service is not obliged to devote scarce resources to them.

30 Apr 2012

Uncomfortably high rates of maternal deaths during childbirth raise concerns: Study

According to latest figures more than a 100 mothers have died in childbirth in London in the last five years. This is twice the rate in the rest of the country. There were 11 deaths in 2005-6, compared with 29 in 2010-11. Births in London have soared by 27 per cent in the last decade from 106,000 in 2001 to 134,000 in 2011, but numbers of midwives and doctors have not kept pace.

30 Apr 2012

Some parts of health law expected to take hold regardless of court decision

Many experts believe state-level health exchanges are here to stay. However, Politico reports that some state officials worry that if the individual mandate is struck down, healthy people could avoid buying policies and premiums for everyone else could skyrocket, putting them in a bind.

30 Apr 2012

Hospitals seek to cut costs, compete smartly

In Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and Kansas, hospitals are trying to be strategic to beat marketplace challenges.

30 Apr 2012

Hospital collection co. says Minn. Attorney General 'grossly' distorted its work

Accretive says it is seeking to address concerns. The Minnesota probe suggested the company may have thwarted state and federal rules to get payments from patients even as they were seeking hospital care.

30 Apr 2012

House passes student loan plan that siphons health law's prevention trust fund

The student loan issue has become a politically charged showdown with the health law in the middle of the controversy.

30 Apr 2012

Ryan's Medicare plan moves him into the headlines

The New York Times reports on how the budget plan advanced Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has become the GOP's marching orders. In related news, the Medicare component of the Republican budget blueprint overhaul drew in-depth scrutiny during a House hearing last week.

30 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Entitlement 'train wrecks' approaching; Collecting for health bills at the hospital

The evidence has been clear for a long time now regarding the future of those twin financial train wrecks known as Social Security and Medicare. We have known for decades that without significant reform both are on a path toward insolvency.

30 Apr 2012

GE Capital provides $7.5M in senior secured credit facilities to PharmAthene

GE Capital, Healthcare Financial Services announced today that it was sole lender and administrative agent on $7.5 million in senior secured credit facilities for PharmAthene, consisting of a $2.5 million term loan and a $5 million revolving line of credit.

30 Apr 2012