Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Visual Healthcare Lab Automation Platform gains traction with private industrial clients

Visual Healthcare Corp. announces that its new Lab Automation module is quickly gaining traction with private sector industrial clients.

8 Apr 2011

House Panel approves Ryan 2012 budget blueprint on party-line vote

The GOP budget proposal's Medicare provisions continue to draw scrutiny and debate about what the program's future should look like, how the plan would change senior citizens' health care costs and what its political implications might be.

8 Apr 2011

Conifer to present 'how to implement clinical denials management strategy' at NICM/ACMA

Conifer Health Solutions, a leader in revenue cycle and business process solutions for healthcare providers, announced the company will present "How to Implement an Effective Clinical Denials Management Strategy" at the 2011 NICM/ACMA Case Management conference on Saturday, April 9, at 12:15 p.m. EDT. The conference will be held at the World Marriot Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

8 Apr 2011

Hospira focuses on clinical surveillance systems to help reduce antimicrobial resistance

As part of World Health Day 2011, the World Health Organization is calling on policy makers, providers, the public and the healthcare industry to take action to combat the serious health threat of antimicrobial resistance.

8 Apr 2011

Bayer, Regeneron initiate two VEGF Trap-Eye Phase 3 trials in Diabetic Macular Edema

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Bayer HealthCare announced that they have initiated the first of two Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of VEGF Trap-Eye, an investigational new agent for the treatment of certain eye diseases, in the treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema.

8 Apr 2011

House subcommittee plans hearings on ACOs

In related news, Politico Pro reports that five leading health systems announced a plan to partner in sharing electronic health records. These systems note that the ability to share patient data with EHRs is key to success in creating ACOs.

8 Apr 2011

Longer looks: Could Ryan's plan be a pitfall for Democrats?; the cost of military health care; revealing more about doctors' billing practices

Every week, reporter Jessica Marcy selects interesting reading from around the Web.

8 Apr 2011

Michigan's CQI model improves patient outcomes, reduces health care costs

In a paper published today in the professional health care journal, Health Affairs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the University of Michigan Health System report that their model for collaborative health care quality improvement has measurably improved safety and quality in several clinical areas, and has saved millions in health care costs.

8 Apr 2011

Study: Hospital adverse-event figures exceed previous estimates

The research, which was published in the journal Health Affairs, used new tools to find that as many as one in three people in the U.S. will experience some type of mistake during a hospital stay. Also, the findings estimate the number of actual hospital errors to be as much as 10 times higher than found by voluntary reporting programs.

8 Apr 2011

Cisco survey of global health leaders: Collaboration key to health sector innovation

Today at the World Health Congress, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) unveiled findings from a global health leader survey on national health sector innovation. The most significant findings from the online survey, commissioned by the Cisco® Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) and conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI), reveal that collaboration and information-sharing among health professionals have the greatest near-term potential for facilitating large-scale health sector innovation.

7 Apr 2011

Cancer screening updates

Everyone in England aged 55 to 59 will be invited for a new test which could dramatically cut their chances of developing bowel cancer. This new test could save an extra 3,000 lives every year after the UK National Screening Committee gave the nod for it to be added to the NHS programme. The test known as Flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) differs to the current faecal occult blood (FOB) test, which relies on people sending off stool samples.

7 Apr 2011

California Congressman receives CHI's first-ever Leadership Award

Congressman and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, was honored by CHI-California Healthcare Institute with the organization's first-ever Leadership Award.

7 Apr 2011

BIOTRONIK donates ICD and pacemaker to 75 cardiac patients in Trinidad & Tobago

BIOTRONIK SE Co. & KG, a leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices, has provided a donation of implantable cardiac defibrillators and pacemaker device implants to more than 75 low-income and impoverished patients in the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago as part of its collaboration with Heartbeat International Foundation Inc.

7 Apr 2011

Vismodegib is an effective treatment for patients with basal cell carcinomas

A new drug is effective in preventing new basal cell carcinomas in patients with an inherited predisposition to the disease.

7 Apr 2011

Gerresheimer first quarter group revenues increase 5.2% to EUR 236.6m

Gerresheimer AG, one of the leading global suppliers to the pharma and healthcare industry, got off to a good start in the new financial year. "We continued on our successful course in the new financial year.

7 Apr 2011

New USPSTF mammography recommendations confuse women

When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention, released its recommendations on mammography screenings for US women on November 16, 2009, there was immediate and considerable controversy.

7 Apr 2011

Reaction to GOP budget proposal swift, includes concern, support and political intrigue

After the budget proposal's release, reaction came from across the political and health industry spectrum. For instance, providers expressed concerns about reshaping Medicare and Medicaid. Possible GOP presidential hopefuls offered support, yet were viewed by some as "walking a tight rope."

7 Apr 2011