Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Consensus panel calls for specialized nutrition therapy to manage obesity

A newly published consensus report prepared by a panel of clinical experts, with sponsorship from Nestle Health Science, reveals that there are opportunities to do more to manage the impact of obesity on the delivery of critical care, particularly in the area of nutrition therapy.

15 Sep 2011

Debt panel sets to work amidst challenging economic picture

As the CBO director spoke at the panel's opening act and provided a bleak impression of the economic forces the 12 members will confront, Republicans and Democrats on the 'super committee' appear to be toeing the usual party lines, with GOP members focusing on entitlement programs and government health care spending, and Democrats pressing for higher tax revenue.

15 Sep 2011

Roundup: Major Mass. health system, insurer near reimbursement deal; HHS funds Planned Parenthood in N.H.; 10 Iowa towns to get healthy

Partners HealthCare System Inc. is close to reaching an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts that could provide relief to tens of thousands of insurance customers by slowing the rate of their premium increases, potentially by nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.

15 Sep 2011

Natural killer white blood cells caught on film

Scientists reveal in more detail than ever before how white blood cells kill diseased tissue using deadly granules, in research published today in PLoS Biology.

14 Sep 2011

Patient – clinician tensions avoidable: Interdisciplinary approach needed to improve patient outcomes

A leading expert has renewed the call for a coordinated approach to patient care, particularly for those who suffer long-term illness and injury.

14 Sep 2011

UMA introduces new healthcare education and career resource center

With the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projecting strong healthcare employment growth, many individuals are exploring healthcare education as a means to break into or advance within the allied health field. Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) is pleased to introduce a new healthcare education and career resource center designed to help prospective students make informed decisions regarding their healthcare training and employment options.

14 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 14, 2011

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including lots of talk about the 'super committee' and about the new census numbers regarding the uninsured as well as the second-day analysis regarding some of the controversial comments made during Monday night's GOP presidential primary debate.

14 Sep 2011

Candidates in Monday's GOP debate clash on health reform, Medicare, vaccines

One of the questions emerging in this primary contest is whether entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security will continue to be a political "third rail," or if public concerns about government spending have overcome this conventional wisdom.

14 Sep 2011

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation for Accentia's Revimmune to prevent GVHD

Accentia Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiary, Biovest International, Inc., today jointly announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Revimmune, the Company's proprietary system-of-care based on high-dose administration of Cytoxan, for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following bone marrow transplant.

14 Sep 2011

Eli Lilly announces $30M commitment to fight NCDs in developing nations

Eli Lilly and Company announced today a $30 million commitment over five years to fight the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in developing nations.

14 Sep 2011

Opinion pieces, editorial address ongoing hunger crisis in Horn of Africa

Several news sources have published opinion pieces regarding the ongoing famine in Somalia and hunger situation in the Horn of Africa.

14 Sep 2011

IDF, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to host Global Diabetes Symposium

While infectious diseases tend to grab media headlines and public attention, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory diseases together comprise the number one killer in the world and represent a serious social and economic burden to developed and developing countries alike.

14 Sep 2011

Diabetes epidemic grips the world

Experts are horrified with the rise of numbers of diabetics worldwide. A staggering 366 million people around the world have either Type 1 or 2 diabetes, says the International Diabetes Federation. The disease has taken a deadly toll, causing 4.6 million deaths each year, or one death every seven seconds. The number of sufferers was pegged at 285 million worldwide in 2009. Since then, China reported 92.4 million people with the condition, more than double the federation’s estimate. The diabetes epidemic is also heavy on healthcare spending, to the tune of $465 billion a year to fight the disease.

14 Sep 2011

Suicidal teens not getting needed mental healthcare

Suicidal teens are not likely to get the mental healthcare they need. This is according to a team of researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute, the University of Washington (UW), and Group Health Research Institute. The study, "Adolescents With Suicidal Ideation: Health Care Use and Functioning," was recently published in Academic Pediatrics.

14 Sep 2011

CFFAR awards Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder research grants

The Canadian Foundation on Fetal Alcohol Research (CFFAR) today announced its fourth round of grants awarded for the research, prevention and treatment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

14 Sep 2011

Tengion reinitiates enrollment in Neo-Urinary Conduit clinical trial for bladder cancer

Tengion, Inc. today announced that it has reinitiated enrollment of patients in the ongoing initial clinical trial of its lead product candidate, the Neo-Urinary Conduit, which is being evaluated in bladder cancer patients requiring a urinary diversion following bladder removal.

14 Sep 2011

Consumer concern about food safety declines

Consumer concern about food safety has declined over the past year even as the number of people experiencing serious food-borne illnesses nearly doubled, according to the Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

14 Sep 2011

CBO: Medicaid, health sector likely to fare better with trigger cuts then with 'super committee' trims

Meanwhile, the deficit panel is getting input from a variety of sources - Medicare patients, actuaries, policy analysts and physician groups - on how critical issues about health care costs and spending should be considered.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. officials step up enforcement of 'responsible corporate officer doctrine' to pursue violations of federal food and drug laws

Use of this doctrine allows federal officials to hold health care executives personally and criminally responsible for corporate violations. Meanwhile, in other news related to health care fraud and abuse, a number of states have reached settlements with firms accused of defrauding the Medicaid program.

14 Sep 2011

Data on veterans affairs hospitals shows high rates of readmissions

The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated health care system in the country, has long employed many of the approaches Medicare is pushing on all hospitals to reduce unnecessary readmissions. But new data show VA hospital patients are just as likely to end up back in a hospital bed as are patients at private hospitals.

13 Sep 2011