Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

MeadWestvaco's Mebane packaging plant earns FSC Chain of Custody certification

MeadWestvaco Corp. announced today that its Mebane, N.C. packaging plant received Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody certification in February 2011.

18 Mar 2011

Covidien provides update on its operations in Japan

Covidien, a leading global supplier of healthcare products, today provided an update on its operations in Japan.

18 Mar 2011

ANCI signs agreement with Annapolis for healthcare solution

American CareSource Holdings, Inc., the nation's leading ancillary health care network services company, announced today that it has signed and implemented an agreement with Annapolis, Maryland-based Self Funding Administrators Corporation, a third party administrator representing an additional 30,000 covered lives.

18 Mar 2011

Roundup: Cuts in Calif. programs; Ga. seeks federal MLR waiver; N.J. lawmakers try to restore some health funding

State lawmakers Wednesday approved billions of dollars in cuts to welfare, medical programs for the poor and in-home care for the elderly and frail, among other services, moving forward key pieces of Gov. Jerry Brown's budget reduction package.

18 Mar 2011

St. John Providence Health System selects Intuit Health Patient Portal

St. John Providence Health System, a 3,200 provider health system serving the Metro Detroit area, has selected Intuit Health, the nation's leader in patient-to-provider communication solutions, to provide its physician practices with a patient portal. With the Intuit Health Patient Portal, employed and private practices can now connect with data from multiple electronic health record and practice management systems to offer patients a single view of data for their personal health record.

17 Mar 2011

Crowell Systems' Medformix XXV v3 earns Ambulatory Software Certification

Crowell Systems, Inc.'s Medformix XXV v3 received the Federal Government's "meaningful use" stamp of approval on March 8, 2011 by earning Ambulatory Software Certification.

17 Mar 2011

MedPAC recommends patients help pay home health care costs

The advisory panel also urged that payments for physicians and hospitals be increased and that the home health care payment formula be reworked. In related news, a Ways & Means subcommittee hearing on Medicare payment issues quickly turned into an exploration of a GOP proposal to replace the program's current structure with a voucher system.

17 Mar 2011

TF3 consortium receives ECCH contract to provide RNTI

The TF3 consortium has been chosen to provide a Remote Telemonitoring Service to Northern Ireland which will support over 8,000 patients during the course of the contract.

17 Mar 2011

White House: Don't fast track Virginia's health law challenge to Supreme Court

Because the measure's individual mandate does not take effect until 2014, Administration lawyers are arguing that there is "no persuasive reason" to speed the Supreme Court's consideration of this lawsuit.

17 Mar 2011

Harvard, UCI receive $2 million CDC grant to help reduce hospital-borne MRSA infections

A UC Irvine infectious disease specialist will be part of a nationwide Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research program to develop and test innovative approaches to reducing infection in healthcare settings.

17 Mar 2011

Computer-based tools can help improve relationship between patients, healthcare workers

A vast computer based glossary of healthcare terms culled from so-called e-health tools, medical news sites, telemedicine applications, home care-management systems, internet-based public health records, and even health-oriented and medical blogs could help improve the relationship between patients and healthcare workers, according to research published in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

17 Mar 2011

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia receives $10 million fund to combat childhood obesity

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia today announced that it has received a pledge of $10 million over the next three years from the Foundation for a Healthy America, a non-profit entity created by the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

17 Mar 2011

RBMG selects Dynatronics for inclusion in the RB Milestone Portfolio

Dynatronics Corporation announced that it has been selected for inclusion in the RB Milestone Portfolio, a group of companies selected by RB Milestone Group, LLC, to be introduced to the market via a combination of traditional and innovative analytical and communication strategies including equity research, The Portal Network, and non-deal roadshows, with a focus on the healthcare, mining, energy, and technology sectors.

17 Mar 2011

Expert discusses certain measures that can help prevent HAI spread

Healthcare-associated infections represent a growing concern for both patients and healthcare providers across the nation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 1.7 million HAIs occur each year and contribute to the death of 99,000.

17 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: Wis. Medicaid dilemma; an army doc's Rx for cutting costs; Rep. Boren on repeal

These slipshod exercises in governance were choreographed by House Republicans, who knew that neither the Senate nor President Obama would ever accept their original proposal to gut nonsecurity discretionary spending with $61 billion in cuts through September, including riders to end financing for Planned Parenthood and the health care law.

17 Mar 2011

CVDW, Dow Corning collaborate to improve vision correction in children

Dow Corning, a global leader in silicon-based technology, and the Centre for Vision in the Developing World are jointly announcing a collaboration to create an innovative new way to help correct the vision of children in the developing world.

17 Mar 2011

Clinical depression can exacerbate Knee osteoarthritis symptoms in elder patients

Clinical depression can exacerbate the symptoms of knee arthritis beyond what is evident on X-rays, according to a new study from the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

17 Mar 2011

Individuals face roadblocks in buying health insurance

According to the Commonwealth Fund, difficulty getting health coverage — combined with rising treatment costs and high unemployment levels — triggered a jump in the number of Americans who struggle to pay their medical expenses.

17 Mar 2011

NHS staff concerns laid out in a report

Nearly one third of NHS staff say basic hygiene supplies such as hot water and soap are not always available when they need them. This was revealed in a comprehensive survey of the workforce. A third of workers said they would not be happy with the standard of care provided by their hospital if family or friends needed treatment, or had witnessed potentially dangerous errors in the past month. Many complained of bullying by colleagues and managers. Nearly 40% complained that low staffing levels prevented them from doing their jobs properly. The survey was completed by some 165,000 employees across England’s 388 trusts. This is the eighth annual NHS Staff Survey, collated by the Care Quality Commission watchdog.

16 Mar 2011

It's the health law's birthday and not everyone is celebrating

The health overhaul's first anniversary — just about a week away — is already being marked on Capitol Hill with a number of hearings and other events related to exploring, complimenting and criticizing the law's implementation.

16 Mar 2011