Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Epicatechin-enriched cocoa shows promise against heart failure, Type 2 diabetes

A small clinical trial led by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine and VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) found that patients with advanced heart failure and type 2 diabetes showed improved mitochondrial structure after three months of treatment with epicatechin-enriched cocoa. Epicatechin is a flavonoid found in dark chocolate.

3 Mar 2012

IFHP releases 2011 Comparative Price Report

The International Federation of Health Plans today released its 2011 Comparative Price Report detailing its annual survey of medical costs per unit. Designed to showcase the variation in healthcare costs around the world, the report examines the costs of medical procedures, tests, scans and treatments in nine countries.

3 Mar 2012

GOP presidential candidates go on attack with charges related to contraception, health reforms and the individual mandate

Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Ron Paul launch new criticisms of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich - not to mention of each other.

2 Mar 2012

Call for Expression of Interest to attend personalised medicine conference

The Call for Expression of Interest to attend or present at the Conference on Personalised Medicine: Better Healthcare in Cyprus in June 2012 is now open. The deadline is 1 April 2012.

2 Mar 2012

Romney: Blunting confusion on support of contraception amendment

The campaign issued a clarification Wednesday after comments made by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney to an Ohio reporter about the contraception-related Senate amendment. Romney's camp clarified his support for the amendment.

2 Mar 2012

Proceeds from Polo Under the Palms in Sarasota to benefit MD Anderson Cancer Center

Polo mallets and palm trees take center stage as Polo Under the Palms returns to Sarasota, Fla., March 24. Proceeds from the second annual competition benefit The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

2 Mar 2012

Detailing health insurance coverage forms - a health law requirement

The Associated Press reports on how consumers can navigate insurance choices while waiting for the more user-friendly summaries called for by the law.

2 Mar 2012

AHRQ grants U-M $2.5M to study long-term health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of newborn screening

University of Michigan researchers will use a $2.5 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study long-term health outcomes and cost-effectiveness of newborn screening.

2 Mar 2012

Funding to mentor next generation of world class healthcare researchers

Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire's School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work are part of a successful bid to secure funding to mentor the next generation of world class healthcare researchers.

2 Mar 2012

Poll: Democrats hold political advantage on contraception, Medicare debates

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation's February poll, opinions tracked more closely with party affiliation than gender. Meanwhile, the public remains skeptical of the health law.

2 Mar 2012

Preliminary results from Genentech's ACTEMRA monotherapy study on RA

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced that preliminary results from the ADACTA (ADalimumab ACTemrA) study showed that patients who received ACTEMRA (tocilizumab) as monotherapy achieved a significantly greater reduction in disease activity after 24 weeks than those given adalimumab monotherapy.

2 Mar 2012

Longer looks: Romney's evolution on abortion; The birth of the HIV epidemic

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney began his political career as a pro-choicer. In the story he tells, he had an epiphany, a flash of insight, and committed himself thereafter to protecting life. But that isn't what happened. The real story of Romney's conversion - a series of tentative, equivocal, and confused shifts, accompanied by a constant rewriting of his past - paints a more accurate picture of who he is.

2 Mar 2012

Senate set for showdown on Obama birth control rule

An amendment by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., which is scheduled for a Senate vote today, would allow employers and insurers to opt out of provisions in Obama's health care law to which they object on religious or moral grounds.

2 Mar 2012

House Subcommittee OKs IPAB repeal

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee voted 17 to 5 to do away with a Medicare cost-cutting panel derided by Republicans as a "rationing board."

2 Mar 2012

Vein illumination improves patient preference and satisfaction with hospitals

AccuVein Inc., the global leader in vein illumination and the creator of the AV300, the world's only hand-held, non-contact vein illumination device, today reported the findings of its study on the impact that vein illumination has on patient preference and overall satisfaction.

2 Mar 2012

Study: Kidney donors at no increased risk of heart disease

There is good news for the 27,000 plus people around the world who donate a kidney each year. A study which followed living kidney donors for 10 years found that they were at no greater risk for heart disease than the healthy general population.

2 Mar 2012

USPI fourth quarter consolidated net revenues increase 5% to $162.0M

United Surgical Partners International, Inc. today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

1 Mar 2012

Metal hip implants need monitoring annually: MHRA issues guidelines

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency advised that patients with certain artificial hips need annual tests to check for metal ions and MRIs if they show symptoms. The new guidelines follow reports from doctors of swelling and tissue damage in some patients with metal-on-metal hip implants. The update applies to those in Britain with a hip replacement with a head diameter of 36 millimetres or more. The MHRA said on Tuesday that around 49,000 UK patients with large-head hip implants out of 65,000 with all-metal hips were in a high-risk category.

1 Mar 2012

Akeso Medical Imaging starts clinical study for proof of concept of imaging device for rheumatoid arthritis disease activity monitoring and control

Akeso Medical Imaging BV, announces today the start of a clinical study with their novel imaging device for assessment of joint inflammation in patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this proof of concept study, Akeso’s imaging device will be compared to other methods to assess disease status, such as the DAS-28 score, Ultrasound and in some cases MRI. The study will be performed at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) in cooperation with Regional Rheumatology Centre Eindhoven (RRC). Seventy subjects will be included; sixty RA patients with varying degrees of inflammation of the joints of hands and wrists at the time of examination and a control group of ten subjects.

1 Mar 2012

Gaining culturally appropriate knowledge can help provide more effective healthcare

Mary E. Jones, MD, MPH, is the child advocacy program director and an essential part of the Loyola University Health System pediatric team. In addition to her extensive knowledge in the medical care of children, her expertise in understanding the signs of child maltreatment help Loyola provide complete care to some of the most at-risk patients.

1 Mar 2012