Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Shannon installs Toshiba's Infinix CF-i single plane vascular X-ray system

Performing cardiac catheterizations through the radial artery is proven to lower the risk of vascular complications, reduce major bleeding and improve patient recovery time when compared to femoral access. Shannon Medical Center, in San Angelo, Texas, installed Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Infinix CF-i single plane vascular X-ray system to conduct radial interventions more easily and improve patient safety and outcomes while reducing costs.

19 Sep 2011

UMF sponsors second annual Hygiene Specialist Excellence award

Environmental Services Managers are encouraged to nominate the housekeeper of their choice for the second annual Hygiene Specialist Excellence award, which is sponsored by UMF Corporation, developer of the PerfectCLEAN Infection Prevention System.

19 Sep 2011

ESC urges European heads of state to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases

The European Society of Cardiology, through the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA), has urged European heads of state "to show leadership" and long-term commitment to the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases at today's "high level meeting" of the UN General Assembly in New York.

19 Sep 2011

VA sponsors National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic

Today, more than 100 recently injured Veterans are gathered in San Diego for the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, a special rehabilitation-related sporting event, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

19 Sep 2011

HFSA scientific meeting to discuss long-term management care for LVAD patients

The 15th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) will feature a discussion by Laura Coyle, ACNP, on strategies for caring for LVAD patients in an outpatient setting entitled "Long-Term Management: Caring for Patients to Keep Them at Home."

19 Sep 2011

MedPAC prepares 'doc fix' proposal with full cost offset

The plan takes the commission into an area it generally tries to avoid: how to pay for such a major change to the Medicare system. Its suggestion is to pay for the SGR fix by reducing payments to specialists and imposing cuts on other parts of the health care sector.

17 Sep 2011

Power wheelchairs are not 'government waste', they give freedom and independence to people with disabilities

"The public would be better served if policymakers left their desks in Washington and met with us in our homes, where every day is a struggle."

17 Sep 2011

MDC Partners acquires majority stake in Concentric Pharma Advertising

MDC Partners announced today that they have acquired a majority stake in leading healthcare and pharma advertising and marketing agency, Concentric Pharma Advertising.

17 Sep 2011

Congressional cuts to global health R&D spending would hinder preparations for new pandemic threats

The movie "'Contagion' is fiction, but truth closely trails behind. It tells an effective story of why we need new vaccines, tests, drugs, and other tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases to address existing and emerging global health threats," Kaitlin Christenson, coalition director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC), writes in an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog."

17 Sep 2011

MedPAC proposal for additional reimbursement cuts to clinical laboratories are unsustainable: ACLA

The proposal now under consideration by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee to slash Medicare reimbursement rates for clinical laboratory services as part of a broader effort to fix the Medicare physician-payment system would threaten the economic survival of many clinical labs. That was the message of a letter signed by ACLA President Alan Mertz and sent today to MedPAC Chairman Glenn Hackbarth.

17 Sep 2011

IHA introduces 'Value Based Pay for Performance' to assure physician accountability

Reflecting the importance of measuring and rewarding both quality and cost-efficiency, the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), now in its 10th year of physician organization measurement and reporting, is taking another leap forward in its efforts to assure physician accountability with the introduction of "Value Based Pay for Performance."

17 Sep 2011

Radiology Associates of North Texas extends billing services contract with Zotec Partners

Zotec Partners, an industry leader in medical billing, practice management and Radiology Information Systems (RIS) software and services, announces today it has received a multi-year contract extension from Radiology Associates of North Texas, PA, formerly Radiology Associates of Tarrant County.

17 Sep 2011

Medicare Advantage premiums to fall 4% in 2012

As premium costs fell, enrollment rose – despite dire predictions from opponents of the 2010 health law that the overhaul would cause enrollment to drop while forcing the cost of premiums to increase.

17 Sep 2011

ZocDoc launches in Boston region

Today ZocDoc, a free online service for patients to find a doctor and instantly book appointments, launches in the Boston region. In Massachusetts, where patients experience the longest wait times in the country for doctor appointments, ZocDoc is able to reduce wait times to mere hours.

17 Sep 2011

AHRQ: Hospital readmissions comparatively higher among black COPD patients

For patients age 40 and over with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hospital readmissions within 30 days of initial treatment were 30 percent higher among blacks than Hispanics or Asians and Pacific Islanders and about 9 percent higher than whites in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

17 Sep 2011

Additional data on safety, tolerability of Cempra's solithromycin to be presented at 51st ICAAC

Cempra Pharmaceuticals today announced abstracts to be presented on its fourth generation macrolide and novel fluoroketolide antibiotic, solithromycin (CEM-101), at the 51st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), September 17 to 20, 2011, in Chicago. The abstracts provide additional data that demonstrate the safety and routes of administration of CEM-101, a new generation macrolide.

17 Sep 2011

House Republicans launch new attacks on health law regulations

The medical-loss ratio requirement is one of the prime GOP targets. Democrats responded that Republicans were trying to roll-back key consumer protections. In other health law implementation news, HHS announced new funding for community health centers, and groups interested in setting up health insurance co-ops are seeking certain HHS "tweaks" in the regulations.

17 Sep 2011

Hologic to showcase automated systems for cervical cancer screening at IPV, Berlin

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostic products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, will focus on two new, ready-to-market automated options for cervical cancer screening at the International Papillomavirus Conference & Clinical Workshop (IPV) September 17th through 22nd in Berlin, Germany.

From Hologic, Inc. 17 Sep 2011

Deficit panel moves deliberations behind closed doors

The 12-member 'super committee' held a private meeting Thursday and emerged with few details, though a co-chair acknowledged that their work won't be easy. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are signaling the different courses they want to see the panel follow. Also, congressional Democrats are getting increasingly worried about what might become of Medicare and Medicaid.

17 Sep 2011

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions leases 70,000-square-foot space in Phoenix

Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, a leading provider of scientific information and analytics to pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals, today announced the signing of an 8-year lease on 70,000 square feet of new office space in the Biltmore Financial Center office park in Phoenix, AZ.

17 Sep 2011