Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Remote follow-up of ICD patients seems to be a safe alternative to conventional in-office methods

Results from the EVATEL trial are the first in Europe to demonstrate potential safety and efficacy benefits from the remote follow-up of ICD patients.

30 Aug 2011

Ipsen, Inspiration partner to launch hemophilia product portfolio in Europe

Ipsen and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc. today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement, to create a European hemophilia commercial organization, to launch Inspiration's hemophilia product portfolio in Europe.

30 Aug 2011

ONDCP Director announces $12.3M in new DFC grants to 87 communities across the country

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today announced $12.3 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 87 communities and 20 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country.

30 Aug 2011

New book on Health Informatics

University of Illinois professor Bruce Schatz, a faculty member at the Institute for Genomic Biology, has co-authored a groundbreaking book on Health Informatics, based on his popular computer science course.

30 Aug 2011

Roundup: Calif. ruling may extend mental health coverage; Conn. dropping early intervention program; Alaska clinic focuses on Medicare patients

A Northern California woman's treatment for anorexia at a residential facility was medically necessary and must be covered by her healthcare plan, a federal appeals court has ruled in a case that could lead to more extensive benefits for those being treated for mental illnesses.

30 Aug 2011

Student researchers throughout Australia compete for annual award

Student researchers from throughout Australia will compete for state and national titles in the country’s leading competition for life science, biotechnology and bio-engineering students: the 2011 AusBiotech-GSK Student Excellence Awards. Applications are now open for the 2011 awards.

29 Aug 2011

Covalon reports net loss of $1,207,559 for third quarter 2011

Mr. Brian Pedlar, President and CEO of Covalon Technologies Ltd., an advanced medical technologies company, is pleased to provide the following update. "We are very pleased that Covalon continues to make excellent progress in meeting its objectives.

29 Aug 2011

For NAIC, some signals suggest broker bill is losing traction

The Hill reports that a spokeswoman for the chairman of the NAIC's Professional Health Insurance Advisors Task Force said no major action on the issue was planned for the group's conference. In other news, MSNBC reports that, as insurance prices rise, options appear to diminish, creating questions about how much relief the health law will provide. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explores health reform's winners and losers.

29 Aug 2011

CMS: Insurers need to create plans for dual eligibles

Medicare Advantage insurers that cover some of the most expensive patients must develop individualized plans to coordinate care for each one, according to a final CMS rule issued Friday. The agency also formalized language in the Affordable Care Act requiring these so-called Special Needs Plans, which handle the costly population covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, to implement quality improvement programs and be certified in 2012 by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

29 Aug 2011

Kassebaum reflects on HIPAA's impact

[Nancy Landon] Kassebaum [Baker], the name she went by in the Senate as a three-term Republican from Kansas and before her marriage to former Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.), was a co-sponsor along with Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Kassebaum, now 79, is living with her husband in Huntsville, Baker's hometown in the Cumberlands of northeastern Tennessee.

29 Aug 2011

Premier healthcare alliance awards new agreements for procurement of energy

The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that new agreements for the procurement of energy have been awarded to Amerex Brokers, LLC. of Sugar Land, Texas; Co-eXprise Inc. of Wexford, Pa.; Hospital Energy Development LLC. of Middletown, Conn.; Vical Energy Consultants Inc. of Hackensack, N.J.; and World Energy Solutions, Inc. of Worcester, Mass.

29 Aug 2011

Allscripts launches 2011 ACE annual conference

Allscripts today launched its annual conference, the Allscripts Client Experience (ACE), with over 450 educational sessions for more than 4,700 attendees representing care providers in all settings, sizes and specialties.

29 Aug 2011

ConversePoint plans to develop, commercialize next generation clinician communications

ConversePoint, a privately owned company based in Chicago, has announced its plans to develop and commercialize a communications platform for the healthcare industry that will significantly save clinicians time, hospitals millions in productivity costs and improve accountability measurements for critical events per the Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals along with the license of key Qualcomm technology.

29 Aug 2011

Health Canada approves Bayer's STAXYN for treatment of erectile dysfunction

Today, Bayer Inc. announced the Health Canada approval of STAXYN, the first orally disintegrating tablet for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) that lasts up to eight hours.

29 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 29, 2011

Kaiser Health News staff writer Christopher Weaver, working in collaboration with The Washington Post, writes: "The federal health law calls for a huge expansion of the Medicaid program in 2014 - a potential bonanza for insurers if the law survives court challenges and opposition by Republican contenders for the White House. The expansion will add 16 million enrollees, mostly in private plans, bringing the total nationwide to about 65 million and raising the stakes for controlling costs. As budgetary pressure rises, states are increasingly passing it on to private plans".

29 Aug 2011

Philips to launch first sleep apnea mobile app at ESC 2011 congress

Royal Philips Electronics will provide clinicians from across the globe with a glimpse of future innovations designed to advance cardiac care, including the current management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated cardiac conditions, during the 2011 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), which opens today in Paris.

From Philips Healthcare 29 Aug 2011

New whitepaper about RTLS location accuracy and its impact on hospital ROI

TeleTracking Technologies, Inc. in association with its real-time locating system division, TeleTracking RTLS, today released a white paper underscoring the top 10 reasons why RTLS location accuracy in healthcare matters.

29 Aug 2011

FDA clears Toshiba's HDR-08A Imaging System for Kalare

To enhance workflow in today's fast-paced healthcare environment, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. announces the FDA-cleared HDR-08A Imaging System for Kalare, which offers Toshiba's same feature-rich Kalare R&F technology with a new innovative user interface and more advanced image processing.

29 Aug 2011

Health Endeavors releases web-based ACO Audit Program

Health Endeavors releases web-based ACO Audit Program to assist healthcare providers in achieving PQRS quality measures and ACO success.

29 Aug 2011

AF AWARE campaign launches Atrial Fibrillation in Primary Care tool

The AF AWARE campaign today, at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2011 in Paris, announces the launch of the Atrial Fibrillation in Primary Care (AFIP) tool, developed to help primary care physicians (PCPs) with early diagnosis and optimal management of patients with atrial fibrillation.

29 Aug 2011