Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

HHS awards $137M to fund key state and local public health programs

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today awarded up to $137 million, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to states to strengthen the public health infrastructure and provide jobs in core areas of public health.

26 Aug 2011

First Edition: August 26, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about presidential politics and health reform -- most notably, Rick Perry's assault on Mitt Romney's Massachusetts record.

26 Aug 2011

Trauma patients with no insurance more likely to seek follow-up care in ED

Providing access to an outpatient clinic isn't enough to keep some trauma patients who have been discharged from the hospital from returning to the emergency department (ED) for follow-up care, even for such minor needs as pain medication refills and dressing changes, according to new Johns Hopkins research.

26 Aug 2011

CBO's latest budget projections assume end of 'doc fixes'

The Congressional Budget Office projects that rebounding revenue, combined with the force of the debt-reduction deal that became law earlier this month, will reduce the deficit by an estimated $3.3 trillion.

26 Aug 2011

Forum for Collaborative HIV Research discusses PrEP

Following an August 19 meeting convened by the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research to explore recent findings showing the success of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), "conference participants urged healthcare providers and the public to await further guidance from the CDC and FDA before considering using PrEP. However, if providers believe that initiating PrEP is urgent for a specific patient, CDC recommends following the cautions and procedures previously published for PrEP use in MSM", a Forum press release states.

26 Aug 2011

AHRQ finds significant drop in hospital deaths from heart failure between 2000-2007

The death rate of hospital patients who were admitted primarily for heart failure fell roughly by half between 2000 and 2007 - from 55 deaths to 28 deaths per 1,000 admissions, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

26 Aug 2011

As Rick Perry moves to front of GOP presidential pack, his health policies trigger speculation

Talk is picking up regarding what exactly 'Perrycare' might look like and how much the nation's health care system will factor into his campaign messages.

26 Aug 2011

High job stress causes workers to increasingly seek help from health professionals

Job-related stress is catching up with the Canadians. A new study by Concordia University economists, published in BMC Public Health, has found that increased job stress causes workers to increasingly seek help from health professionals for physical, mental and emotional ailments linked to job stress.

26 Aug 2011

Study: Temporary ER staff more likely to be involved in medication errors

Temporary staff members working in a hospital's fast-paced emergency department are twice as likely as permanent employees to be involved in medication errors that harm patients, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

26 Aug 2011

Consumer advocates join state insurance regulators in urging 'level playing field' for existing health plans and new multistate policies

In other health law implementation news, The Hill reports that the Obama administration will likely fall behind in implementing the CLASS Act. Meanwhile, the sweeping overhaul gets a vote of confidence from former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.

26 Aug 2011

Longer looks: Who is influencing health care?; Planned Parenthood's battle in the states; Oregon's new experiment

Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh once vowed to flee to Costa Rica if President Barack Obama's health care reforms took effect. Limbaugh might have overlooked a couple of critical details: Costa Rica's respected universal healthcare system is highly socialized. It's also on the verge of going broke. ... Costa Rica's broad coverage ranked better than most of the Americas, including the United States, in a 2000 World Health Organization index.

26 Aug 2011

Essilor introduces first high performance anti-fogging lenses

Essilor today announced the launch of Optifog, the first high-performance anti-fogging lenses, in response to high consumer demand. This new category of lenses represents a major technological breakthrough in keeping with the long tradition of innovation at Essilor.

26 Aug 2011

DaTscan allows doctors to differentiate Parkinson's from other movement disorders

Thanks to a new diagnostic imaging technique, physicians now have an objective test to evaluate patients for parkinsonian syndromes, such as Parkinson's disease. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is among the first institutions in the country to offer DaTscan-, the only FDA-approved imaging agent for assessment of movement disorders.

26 Aug 2011

Saudi Arabian medical products distributor enters agreement with NMI

Nano Mask, Inc. (NMI), a healthcare product development and distribution company focused on emergency and critical care as well as infection control markets, has announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with a Saudi Arabia-based medical products distributor which will represent NMI's product line on an exclusive basis to: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Oman, Algeria, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Yemen Lebanon, Yemen and Tunisia.

26 Aug 2011

Countdown begins for GP11 – The Conference for General Practice

With only six weeks to go until the Royal Australian College of General Practitioner’s (RACGP) annual conference - GP11, final preparations are well underway for what will be an outstanding program of presentations, workshops and social networking opportunities for GPs and allied healthcare professionals.

25 Aug 2011

Temporary ER staff poses increased safety risk to patients

Temporary staff members working in a hospital’s fast-paced emergency department are twice as likely as permanent employees to be involved in medication errors that harm patients, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

25 Aug 2011

Antidepressant alert – Citalopram associated to heart rhythm disturbances

Antidepressant citalopram (Celexa, Forest Laboratories) should not be used in doses higher than 40 mg per day because of concerns that it can cause potentially fatal changes in heart rhythm, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns.

25 Aug 2011

AHF shares The Lancet's concerns over use of Gilead's Truvada as HIV prevention pill

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) commented on an editorial published in the September 2011 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases that raises concerns about the use of the HIV treatment drug Truvada, manufactured by Gilead Sciences Inc., as an HIV prevention pill or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), agreeing with the publication's public health concerns.

25 Aug 2011

Nightingale revenue decreases 14% to $3.8 million for first quarter 2012

Nightingale Informatix Corporation, an application service provider (ASP) of electronic medical record (EMR) software and related services, announces its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

25 Aug 2011

Cone Health uses Xenex room disinfection systems to reduce HAI rates and costs

Cone Health today announced a dramatic reduction in healthcare-acquired infection (HAIs) rates after implementing an infection prevention program which includes Xenex room disinfection systems.

25 Aug 2011