Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Geisinger uses mandatory approach to improve healthcare worker influenza vaccination rates

Geisinger Health System vaccinated more than 92% of all employees against influenza this season, with a modification of a mandatory program. On average, fewer than half of all healthcare workers receive flu vaccinations.

16 Jun 2011

Study finds no link between anxiety, depression and weight loss after bariatric surgery

Depression and anxiety do not seem to interfere with the amount of weight loss or the improvement of obesity-related conditions after bariatric surgery, according to a new study of more than 25,000 patients presented here at the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.

16 Jun 2011

Antibiotics overprescribed for in home-care patients

A study of Canadian home-care patients suggests doctors may be overprescribing antibiotics for patients receiving ongoing medical care at home.

16 Jun 2011

GAO: HHS okayed waivers mostly when high cost increases were projected

Democrats view the report as evidence that waivers were not given out by the administration as political rewards to labor unions and other allies.

16 Jun 2011

Children's Medical Center to open new $21M Specialty Care Center in Southlake

Children's Medical Center will debut its new Specialty Care Center in Southlake on June 18, a $21 million expansion which will serve children in one of the state's fastest-growing cities and the surrounding communities.

16 Jun 2011

UC Irvine researchers discover top six risk factors for weight loss surgery

University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine) researchers reviewed data from more than 100,000 bariatric surgery patients and discovered the top six risk factors that could help doctors and patients predict, evaluate, reduce or avoid in-hospital mortality after weight loss surgery.

16 Jun 2011

Hybrid operating rooms emerging as a major market segment within OR integration systems

According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, hybrid operating rooms (ORs) are emerging as a major market segment within operating room integration systems.

16 Jun 2011

Study: Glowing gel improves children's hand hygiene

Use of a glowing gel that shows kids how well they wash their hands by illustrating bacteria they missed while washing and may significantly improve hand hygiene, according to a study published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

16 Jun 2011

Patient Access Solutions announces 67% reduction in company's total liability

Patient Access Solutions, Inc., A provider of healthcare/financial processing technologies for the healthcare and home care industry today announced that the company has reduced its outstanding liabilities by $1,768,189.00.

16 Jun 2011

Report: For-profit Medicaid managed care plans have higher admin costs

Commercial Medicaid managed care plans that are publicly traded may not be serving beneficiaries as well as other plans, according a report released Wednesday by the Commonwealth Fund.

16 Jun 2011

Merge prices $52M senior secured notes due 2015

Merge Healthcare Incorporated today announced the pricing of its $52 million aggregate principal amount of 11.75% senior secured notes due 2015.

16 Jun 2011

State roundup: Mass. health spending's rise; huge Ky. hospital merger

A new report from the state Division of Health Care Finance and Policy shows that: ... "Spending per member on privately insured people grew 6 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 10 percent from 2008 to 2009. This rate of growth was substantially higher than the increase in national personal health care expenditures per capita of 4.6 percent from 2008 to 2009. Spending by private payers also grew faster than spending by public payers".

16 Jun 2011

Viewpoints: Hiaasen on 'insane' insurance; residential facilities' budget nightmares; safety at VA hospitals

If Obama's healthcare plan is struck down in court, lots of politicians will celebrate it as a victory over big government. The dubious reward for taxpayers will be to continue footing the medical bills for 50 million uninsured Americans, and watching the dangerous deficit swell.

16 Jun 2011

GNAX, Acuo partner to develop cloud-based, VNA of medical images for healthcare providers

Global Net Access (GNAX), a leading healthcare technology service provider, announces a strategic relationship with Acuo Technologies to develop a cloud-based, vendor neutral archive (VNA) of medical images for healthcare providers.

15 Jun 2011

Bariatric surgery reduces incidence and severity of migraines

Bariatric surgery can lead to total or partial alleviation of migraines in nearly 90 percent of morbidly obese patients diagnosed with migraine headaches, according to a new study presented here at the 28th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

15 Jun 2011

Cardinal Health renews pharmaceutical distribution agreement with Prime Therapeutics

Cardinal Health today announced that it has signed a renewed, three-year agreement with Prime Therapeutics, one of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit managers, to continue to serve as its primary pharmaceutical supply chain partner for its mail-service pharmacy, PrimeMail®.

15 Jun 2011

NIH awards $20 million research grant to University of Kentucky

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest government funding source for biomedical research in the United States, has awarded $20 million to the University of Kentucky to move research discoveries to health care solutions more quickly.

15 Jun 2011

Infosys introduces Health Benefit Exchange

Infosys today announced the availability of Infosys Health Benefit Exchange, a cost effective solution designed to help states set up the insurance exchanges mandated in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

15 Jun 2011

Essential benefits rule, McKinsey study continue to draw headlines

Also, Neal Katyal, the acting solicitor general who has argued four of the cases challenging the health law before appeals courts, has announced that he will leave the Department of Justice at the conclusion of the current Supreme Court term.

15 Jun 2011

Obama administration regulatory review won't include health law rules

An official from the Department of Health and Human Services told a House oversight subcommittee that the health law's regulations are too new for a second look. However, some Republican members of the panel disagreed, saying that the waivers that have been granted are reason enough for such examination.

15 Jun 2011