Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Skilled Healthcare Group updates 2010 full year non-GAAP earnings estimates

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. today announced it has updated its 2010 full year non-GAAP earnings estimates and expects consolidated revenue to be approximately $816 million to $819 million, Adjusted EBITDAR to be approximately $138.9 million to $140.7 million and Adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $119.7 million to $121.5 million. The Company expects adjusted earnings per diluted share for 2010 to be between $1.01 and $1.04.

6 Jan 2011

Medical experts issue warning about common practice of tablet splitting

Medical experts have issued a warning about the common practice of tablet splitting, after a study found that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15 per cent or more.

6 Jan 2011

Californians can now access information about local healthcare providers using MyHealthResource

Realizing the New Year's resolution of "good health" could be just a click of the mouse away - even for Californians without adequate health insurance, thanks to a free, online resource from Californians for Patient Care. Using MyHealthResource, available at www.calpatientcare.org, Californians can access information about local healthcare providers that provide primary, dental, vision and mental healthcare services to the uninsured and underinsured.

6 Jan 2011

The Ensign Group procures $35 million seven-year term loan from RBS Asset Finance

The Ensign Group, the parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care and assisted living companies, announced that a group of its real estate holding subsidiaries has procured a US$35 million seven-year term loan from RBS Asset Finance, Inc., an affiliate of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

6 Jan 2011

InHealth awards grant to assess effects of hip replacement therapy on aging populations

The Institute for Health Technology Studies has awarded a grant of $240,000 to an international consortium of researchers, for a study that will assess the effects of hip replacement therapy on the employment and retirement decisions of older adults. Led by researchers at the Universit- Bocconi (Milan), the consortium also includes investigators at the University of York (York, UK), and the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health (Baltimore).

6 Jan 2011

RadNet completes acquisition of Brooklyn and Orchard Park imaging centers

RadNet, a national leader in providing high-quality, cost-effective, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services through a network of 200 fully-owned and operated outpatient imaging centers, today reported it has completed the acquisition from Presgar Imaging and affiliated entities of imaging centers in Brooklyn and Orchard Park, New York for cash consideration of $2.2 million plus the assumption of approximately $700,000 of debt.

6 Jan 2011

Pros and cons of weight loss surgery in men and women

Women who underwent gastric band surgery to lose weight reported significant improvements in urinary function and quality of life after the operation, according to research published in the January issue of the urology journal BJUI.

6 Jan 2011

Signal Genetics, Caris Life Sciences announce new agreement to commercialize MyPRS tool

Signal Genetics, the parent company of Myeloma Health LLC, a privately held predictive genetic testing company focused on oncology, and Caris Life Sciences, Inc., a leading biosciences company focused on enabling precise and personalized healthcare through the highest quality anatomic pathology, molecular profiling and blood-based diagnostic services, today announced a new agreement under which Caris Life Sciences will offer Signal Genetics' new gene expression profile test for Multiple Myeloma to community-based hematologists/medical oncologists nationwide.

6 Jan 2011

Indian drugmaker seeks to make, sell generic version of Pfizer's HIV drug

The Indian drugmaker Natco Pharma "said Wednesday it has informed Pfizer Inc. that it wants to make and sell a low-cost generic version of the U.S. company's [drug] maraviroc for treating the HIV infection under a so-called 'compulsory license'," Dow Jones Newswires/Smart Money reports.

6 Jan 2011

Nicotine replacement therapies to quit smoking

Although smoking is an expensive habit, let's face it, nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) to help you quit smoking can seem like expensive purchases as well.

6 Jan 2011

OpEds: Sebelius, Fla. Attorney General, USA Today, Wash Post opine about repeal strategies

Over the past nine months, I've traveled around the country and seen the benefits of this law firsthand. Unless we want to take coverage away from cancer patients, reduce oversight for insurance companies, raise prescription drug costs for seniors, weaken Medicare, add $1 trillion to the deficit and undo dozens of other reforms that are improving health around the country, we can't afford repeal (Kathleen Sebelius, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Outlook continues to be negative for insurers, modern healthcare reports

Health insurers' outlook continues to be negative as the sector faces new regulations, heightened political pressure and a weak economy, which are expected to squeeze earnings, one major ratings agency said (Evans, 1/4).

6 Jan 2011

Politics and advocacy swirl around the health overhaul's next chapter

News outlets examine how lobbyists and policy advocates have fared thus far and look ahead to the 2012 election.

6 Jan 2011

Democrats defend health law, prepare to fight back as House minority

Democrats who initially voted against the health overhaul are now considering where they stand on the repeal effort.

6 Jan 2011

Water Street Healthcare announces acquisition of OraPharma from Johnson & Johnson

Water Street Healthcare Partners announced today that it has acquired OraPharma, Inc. from Johnson & Johnson. Water Street, a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care, plans to build OraPharma into a leading specialty pharmaceutical company focused on dental and oral health care.

6 Jan 2011

Maternal depression adversely affects quality of life in children with epilepsy

A study by Canadian researchers examined the prevalence of maternal depression and its impact on children newly diagnosed with epilepsy. Prevalence of depression in mothers ranged from 30%-38% within the first 24 months following a child’s epilepsy diagnosis. The mother’s depressive symptoms negatively impacted the child’s health-related quality of life, but the effects were moderated by the amount of family resources and mediated by how well the family functions and the extent of family demands. Details of this novel study appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.

5 Jan 2011

EDMA to endorse the campaign on Hypoparathyroidism

On the occasion of the World Hypoparathyroidism Awareness Day 2011, EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association, highlights the crucial role the In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) industry can play to effectively testing this rare endocrine condition.

5 Jan 2011

First Edition: January 5, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about how Republicans and Democrats are preparing for the new power dynamic in the House.

5 Jan 2011

Sugared-sweetened beverages eliminated from Nationwide Children's Hospital campus

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, sweetened drinks are the primary source of added sugar in the daily diet of children. Each 12-ounce serving of a carbonated, sweetened soft drink contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. A child who consumes one can of regular soda needs to walk 45 minutes just to burn it off.

5 Jan 2011