Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

New poll finds public support for health law returns to usual split

The latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll found that, after reaching an all-time low, support for the 2010 health law bounced back a bit to the levels shown in previous polls.

1 Dec 2011

GE Healthcare announces interoperable visualization and image management applications at RSNA 2011

Today at RSNA 2011, GE Healthcare announced a leap forward in radiology department workflow with an interoperable suite of advanced visualization and image management applications.

1 Dec 2011

CMS observers say Tavenner will bring changes in style not substance

Although she might not share outgoing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chief Donald Berwick's "visionary zeal," she is expected to share in his agenda. And, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor terms her as "eminently qualified" to take on this role.

1 Dec 2011

Inadequate mask and respirator use put health care workers at risk of 2009 H1N1 infection

Inadequate use of masks or respirators put health care workers at risk of 2009 H1N1 infection during the earliest stages of the 2009 pandemic in the U.S., according to a study published in the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

1 Dec 2011

Reporters examine health care stances of Gingrich, Romney, Bachmann, Santorum

If Republicans are flocking to Newt Gingrich to get away from Mitt Romney's health care problems, they could end up with a nominee with … awfully similar health care problems. Or maybe worse: While Romney signed a state mandate into law, Gingrich once went a step further and advocated a federal one.

1 Dec 2011

States opposing health law are among those receiving federal grants for exchanges

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that nearly $220 million in new grants would be awarded to 13 states bringing the total that have been awarded such assistance to 29. This number includes seven of the states run by GOP governors that are suing the administration to overturn the health law.

1 Dec 2011

Boston Scientific provides new warranty for ICDs and CRT-Ds

Boston Scientific Corporation announced that, along with today's introduction of a new family of INCEPTA and ENERGEN implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds), it is providing an extended warranty for these devices in the U.S. and many international countries of up to 10 years, depending on model.

1 Dec 2011

Ranbaxy receives FDA approval to manufacture and market generic Lipitor

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., today announced that it has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market Atorvastatin and has launched the product in the U.S. market.

1 Dec 2011

State roundup: Wis. physician shortage predicted; CVS blacklisting some Fla. docs; 'Ambitious' Baltimore HIV initiative

The state needs to train or recruit an additional 100 physicians a year through 2030 to meet the projected demand for health care, according to a new Wisconsin Hospital Association report. ... The group says the state must act immediately ... Primary care physicians - doctors who specialize in family and internal medicine and pediatrics - will account for 80 percent of the projected shortage.

1 Dec 2011

UL researchers to develop a medical device to improve detection of delirium

Researchers at the Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick (GEMS) have been awarded €175,000 funding to develop a portable automated device that can be used in any clinical or community setting to allow early diagnosis and treatment of delirium.

30 Nov 2011

With HIV and unaware of it: CDC report

Over the years diagnosis with HIV/AIDS has ceased to become a death sentence. However a new Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) report says only one in four Americans with AIDS has the virus under control with adequate medication. Figures also show that about 16,000 people die from the disease annually, and the number of new infections each year in the U.S. has held steady at about 50,000 in recent years.

30 Nov 2011

Physician practices, pharmacies face barriers to e-prescribing despite benefits

Physician practices and pharmacies generally view electronic prescribing as an important tool to improve patient safety and save time, but both groups face barriers to realizing the technology's full benefit, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

30 Nov 2011

Affymetrix signs definitive agreement to acquire eBioscience

Affymetrix, Inc., today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire eBioscience, Inc., a privately-held San Diego, CA-based company with an industry-leading position in flow cytometry and immunoassay reagents for immunology and oncology research and diagnostics. Under the terms of the agreement, Affymetrix will acquire eBioscience for $330 million in cash subject to certain customary adjustments.

30 Nov 2011

Study focuses on staffing and quality at nation's largest for-profit nursing homes

The nation's largest for-profit nursing homes deliver significantly lower quality of care because they typically have fewer staff nurses than non-profit and government-owned nursing homes.

30 Nov 2011

Tavenner nomination finds support from health care stakeholders

Also in the news, Politico examines Marilyn Tavenner's political giving habits and CNN Money reports on the tenure of Donald Berwick, the exiting Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator.

30 Nov 2011

HHS rejects two MLR waiver requests

The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday delivered the news that health law waiver requests from Indiana and Louisiana had been given the thumbs down, making these two states the third and fourth to have their applications for relief denied outright.

30 Nov 2011

Mayo Clinic becomes FUS Foundation's new Research Award recipient

The Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation has announced that its Research Awards Program is funding a Mayo Clinic study that will be the first to use U.S. commercial database information to compare the costs of three minimally-invasive treatments for symptomatic uterine fibroids, a benign and often debilitating condition that affects more than one in four American women.

30 Nov 2011

RSNA technology can control patient's access to medical images and reports

Patients at three major medical institutions can control the sharing of their medical images and reports with their doctors and medical providers. The RSNA Image Share network was demonstrated today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

30 Nov 2011

Overview of epidemiological situation with regard to MRSA in Germany

In German hospitals, each year 132 000 patients contract infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). For more than a decade, different countries have reported an increasing incidence of MRSA infections in the general population.

30 Nov 2011

Zinc Oxide can potentially cause cancer

A study led by a group of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) researchers has found that a chemical commonly used in consumer products can potentially cause cancer.

30 Nov 2011