Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Graham plans health law opt-out legislation for states

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday he would introduce legislation in the Senate to "free states" from the overhaul's mandates, including provisions requiring individuals and businesses to buy health coverage as well as the law's Medicaid expansions.

16 Feb 2011

Budget pushes health law implementation, provides some limited — but not easy — increases

However, news outlets report that funding gains within the Department of Health and Human Services come at a steep price.

16 Feb 2011

Partners, Luminex team up to discover novel biomarkers, develop clinical assays

Luminex Corporation announced today that it has teamed with Partners HealthCare toward the discovery of novel biomarkers and development of clinical assays.

From Luminex 16 Feb 2011

New study finds peer support greatly reduces symptoms of depression

Peer support offers promise as an effective, low-cost tool for fighting depression, a new study by the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and University of Michigan Health System finds.

16 Feb 2011

Covidien announces launch of TurboHawk Plaque Excision System for small vessels

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that it will launch the TurboHawk™ Plaque Excision System for small vessels next month in the United States and several international markets. The new system is intended to treat calcified and non-calcified lesion morphologies in small vessels, broadening minimally-invasive treatment options for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD).

16 Feb 2011

Roundup: States grapple with high health costs, Medicaid squeeze

Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill would give his administration sweeping powers to reshape state health programs covering more than 1 million state residents. Under the bill, the administration's rewrite of the Medicaid program would be reviewed only by the Legislature's budget committee, which has a broader margin of control for majority Republican lawmakers than any other legislative committee.

16 Feb 2011

UMB achieves 35% increase in health spending accounts

UMB Healthcare Services, a division of UMB Financial Corporation, announced today that it has achieved a 35 percent increase in the number of its health spending accounts.

15 Feb 2011

NTI awards $295,172 to BMC chief for acute lung injury study

Suresh Agarwal, MD, the chief of surgical critical care at Boston Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, has received a $295,172 grant from the National Trauma Institute to identify optimal treatment methods for acute lung injury.

15 Feb 2011

RPCI offers first FDA-approved cancer treatment vaccine

The nation's first FDA-approved cancer treatment vaccine, Provenge, is being offered for the first time in Western New York at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

15 Feb 2011

Calorie counts on menus do not impress teenagers: Study

US researchers have found that asking fast-food restaurants in New York City to display calorie counts on menus did not affect the number of calories children and teens consumed. The team of researchers said that while children and adolescents noticed the calories posted on the menu, they did not choose their order based on the calorie knowledge. Taste still took an upper hand in their choice.

15 Feb 2011

Cholesterol woes across Australia

A new study shows that Victorians and Tasmanians have the worst average cholesterol levels in Australia. The study looked at almost 200,000 patient records over 5 and half years and showed that Tasmanians’ average cholesterol level was the nation’s highest, at 5.41mmol/L (millimoles per litre), with Victorians’ average level at 5.23mmol/L.

15 Feb 2011

Girls Decide: Putting girls' sexual and reproductive health at the heart of development

There is a growing global consensus that girls are central to global development. Yet issues relating to girls’ sexuality and their sexual and reproductive rights continue to be largely neglected. Girls Decide, a new initiative from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), highlights the importance of girls’ and young women’s sexual and reproductive lives for both individual and global development, and aims to ensure governments around the world to adopt policies that work for girls.

15 Feb 2011

UC Davis and Sutter first to share electronic health records in the region

Steven Hedrick, deputy director of rehabilitative programs at the California Department of Corrections, was relaxing at home recently when a sharp pain rippled through his lower abdomen. The ache was so severe that he drove to the nearest treatment center Sutter Urgent Care, Yuba City. Physicians there quickly evaluated Steven, obtained a CT scan and diagnosed him with kidney stones. Hedrick was prescribed pain medication and counseled to check in with his primary care physician at UC Davis as soon as possible.

15 Feb 2011

Women with breast cancer can benefit from Breast Angel system

Now, with your own personal Breast Angel in hand, through the science of trans-dermal illumination, you are going to be able to actually see inside your breasts. With routine monthly use, you will learn to discern exactly what your normal internal physiological appearance is, and more importantly, what is not. Your monthly breast self-exams no longer have to be a dreaded procedure nor a confusing one.

15 Feb 2011

Allina Hospitals & Clinics deploys NetMotion's mobile Virtual Private Network

NetMotion Wireless, a leading provider of mobile productivity and management solutions, announced today that Mobility XE, a mobile Virtual Private Network, has been deployed by Allina Hospitals & Clinics.

15 Feb 2011

A Plus Warehouse offers Akro clear insight bins for healthcare industry

A Plus Warehouse, a leading business-to-business distributor of locker equipment and quality industrial and materials handling equipment, has announced they are now carrying transparent Akro Insight Bins – a valuable storage option for a plethora of applications within the healthcare industry.

15 Feb 2011

CWRU's REC helps doctors to adopt electronic health records

Nearly $8 million of federal stimulus funds provided through the Ohio Health Information Partnership is already starting to help hundreds of doctors in northeast Ohio switch to electronic health records. Now, with a greater sense of urgency, the word is going out to providers who might not yet be aware that valuable advice is easily available to them.

15 Feb 2011

President to unveil $3.7 billion budget blueprint; challenge is to show fiscal discipline while funding health law's implementation

President Barack Obama's budget plan includes a two-year Medicare "doc-fix" that uses heavy cuts in other health providers' Medicare reimbursements to stave-off a scheduled 25 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements. Meanwhile, news outlets also report the plan "avoids" tackling entitlement spending.

15 Feb 2011

Healthcare practitioners can increase referrals to cardiac rehabilitation programs by 40%

Healthcare practitioners can increase the number of patients with heart disease referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program by 40 per cent, helping them to reduce their risk of dying and improve their quality of life, say researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.

15 Feb 2011

FDA requests $4.3 billion to protect and promote health of Americans as part of FY 2012 budget

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting a budget of $4.3 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year 2012 budget — a 33 percent increase over the FDA enacted budget for FY 2010. The FY 2012 request covers the period of Oct. 1, 2011, through Sept. 30, 2012.

15 Feb 2011