Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

MDI releases major software update to Viewpoint Analytics

MDI has released a major enhancement to Viewpoint Analytics, a powerful web-based healthcare data warehousing, management, and reporting solution. Among the biggest additions to Viewpoint's suite of capabilities, MDI has integrated McKesson's CareEnhance Disease Monitor solution, improved Viewpoint's innovative medical risk scoring, and enhanced overall reporting speed and performance through data cubing.

16 Feb 2011

Microsoft, Visionshare partner to enhance health information transaction between physicians, patients

VisionShare, the nation's largest and most trusted healthcare information network, announced today that it is working with Microsoft Corp. to enhance the transaction of health information from physicians to their patients based on security protocols endorsed by the Office of the National Coordinator's Direct Project.

16 Feb 2011

AHF condemns budget move by House Republicans for global AIDS programs

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which provides AIDS medical care and services to more than 152,000 individuals in 26 countries worldwide, today strongly condemned a move by House Republicans, who on Friday proposed slashing President Obama's 2011 funding for global AIDS programs by $813 million.

16 Feb 2011

Medicare pay cut for docs already drawing fire

Critics said the method used in the budget blueprint would cause serious problems. But some news reports indicate the inclusion of this Medicare "doc fix" would help build support within the physician community for the president's health care agenda.

16 Feb 2011

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