Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Viewpoints: Gephardt and Leavitt's bipartisan push for biomedical innovation; suggestions for the super committee

We Americans are rightfully proud of our can-do spirit. We know that our nation is capable of uniting for a common goal - and triumphing. In this time of economic challenge and political divisiveness, we are proposing an idea for our country's next common mission: biomedical innovation. From our combined decades of experience leading in the Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, we see the biomedical frontier as America's greatest opportunity to align our nation's competencies and resources for a better future.

28 Oct 2011

Million Hearts' goal to prevent a million heart attacks and strokes in five years

In the time needed to read out loud the headline on this story, someone has died from a stroke. Every 6 seconds, someone in the world dies from stroke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in support of World Stroke Day, Oct. 29, 2011, asks Americans to take immediate action to reduce their risk for stroke.

28 Oct 2011

Roundup: Mass. offers plan to cut costs for dual eligibles; Oregon's high hopes for coordinated care organizations

The governor of Massachusetts wants to hire private insurers or other third parties to manage care for the poor and chronically ill patients who use a disproportionate share of public health-care dollars. The proposal comes as state and federal officials search for a cheaper way to deliver health care to people known as "dual eligibles." These are the 9.2 million in the U.S. who receive both Medicare, the federal program for those 65 and older or disabled, and Medicaid, the joint state-federal health plan for the poor.

28 Oct 2011

Medtronic initiates Symplicity System clinical study in treatment-resistant hypertension

Medtronic Inc. announced today the start of SYMPLICITY HTN-3, the company's U.S. clinical trial of the Symplicity Renal Denervation System for treatment-resistant hypertension.

From Medtronic 27 Oct 2011

CLASS Act post mortem continues

Even though the administration made clear it no longer intends to proceed with the implementation of the long-term care insurance program, Republican opponents are pushing hard for its actual repeal. Meanwhile, supporters continue to ask questions about why the administration opted to not move forward.

27 Oct 2011

Perry unveils new economic plan

In political developments, media outlets analyzed GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's new plan, which includes a national flat tax, would cut discretionary funding by at least $100 billion a year, and would overhaul Medicare and Medicaid. In other news, a new poll uncovers deep distrust of the government, with about a quarter of the public in favor of repealing the entire health law.

27 Oct 2011

A push for new 'grand bargain' on the super committee

Democrats are proposing up to $3 trillion in measures to slash the U.S. budget deficit, including revenue increases and significant cuts to the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly. The plan was unveiled on Tuesday at a closed-door meeting of a 12-member congressional panel -- the so-called "super committee" that is assigned the task of finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years, congressional aides told Reuters.

27 Oct 2011

Bayer's regorafenib Phase 3 trial on metastatic colorectal cancer meets primary endpoint

Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced results from a Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Phase 3 trial evaluating the investigational compound regorafenib (BAY 73-4506) for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) whose disease has progressed after approved standard therapies.

27 Oct 2011

Abortion: Federal court blocks N.C. ultrasound requirement

Federal court's injunction affects new N.C. law which takes effect today. In addition, the New York Times examines state "personhood" amendments.

27 Oct 2011

White House urges community health centers to hire vets

The Obama administration on Tuesday called on community health centers to hire 8,000 military veterans in the next three years. The plan would draw on funds already included in the health law to boost primary care at these clinics.

27 Oct 2011

Speculation abounds about what is on the deficit panel's list

Some Democrats have concerns that defense budget cuts are no longer being considered by the super committee. If this is true, it would force deep cuts to health programs and other discretionary spending.

27 Oct 2011

IAC enters cooperative agreement with NCIRD

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC), one of the nation's premier sources of immunization information, and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are entering into a cooperative agreement that will distribute IAC's highly regarded publications to pediatricians, family physicians, and other healthcare professionals involved in providing immunization services. The award is for $1.4 million over five years.

27 Oct 2011

State roundup: Ohio voters will determine public employee benefits

On Nov. 8, Ohio voters will decide the fate of the law, which allows public employees to bargain for wages and working conditions but prohibits strikes. Workers will also have to pay for healthcare insurance and pensions. The law is on hold pending the referendum.

27 Oct 2011

Largest study on diabetes and foot ulcers

What's crucial for a diabetic's foot sore to heal is that the ulcer is superficial, blood circulation is normal, and the person has had diabetes for short time. This is shown in the world's largest diabetes study regarding foot ulcers, which has been carried out by the researcher Magdalena Annersten Gerhater at Malmö University in Sweden.

27 Oct 2011

As High Court considers health law challenges, key legal issues take shape

Reuters details a number of the key questions that have surfaced in legal briefs related to the Supreme Court consideration of challenges to the health law. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in its brief, took a nuanced approach regarding the individual mandate.

27 Oct 2011

Survey investigates provider-beneficiary ratio in Medicaid managed care plans

Medicaid managed-care plans reported an average ratio of one primary-care provider for every 584 beneficiaries, according to a recent survey. The newly released results of a February survey from the member plans of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans reported that among the 25 responding health plans the ratio ranged from one primary-care provider for every 53 plan enrollees to 1 provider for each 2,000 patients.

27 Oct 2011

Parent behavior training can effectively treat ADHD in young children

Formal training in parenting strategies is a low-risk, effective method for improving behavior in preschool-age children at risk for developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), while there is less evidence supporting the use of medications for children younger than 6 years old, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

27 Oct 2011

No link between Chantix and mental health problems says FDA

According to federal health officials this Monday Pfizer's anti-smoking drug Chantix – known as Varenicline, did not increase psychiatric problems like depression and suicidal thoughts in two studies, though the findings are not definitive.

25 Oct 2011

Your medical privacy – Another Obamacare casualty

It was a sad day recently when a married menopausal woman learned that her recent Pap test was positive for human papilloma virus (HPV). “How could this happen?” she asked. “I have not had relations with anyone but my husband since we married 30 years ago.”

24 Oct 2011

Zirmed releases Patient Payment Developer Kit

ZirMed, a leading provider of revenue cycle management solutions for healthcare providers, today announced the release of the ZirMed Patient Payment Developer Kit, a new partner integration toolkit allowing provider and software vendors to seamlessly leverage ZirMed's Online Bill Pay, Virtual Terminal, and payment processing services.

24 Oct 2011