Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

North Mississippi Medical Center selects Cogent Healthcare as hospitalist partner

Cogent Healthcare today announced a new affiliation with North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC), a 650-bed regional health center located in Tupelo, Miss. NMMC is the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the U.S., serving 24 counties spanning Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

5 Oct 2010

CHI submits comments to FDA CDRH 510(k) Working Group Preliminary Report and Recommendations

California Healthcare Institute today submitted formal comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Center for Devices and Radiological Health 510(k) Working Group Preliminary Report and Recommendations, which could transform the 510(k) regulatory process for new medical devices, greatly affecting innovation and public health in California. CHI is a non-profit public policy research organization, representing leading California academic institutions, biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics and pharmaceutical firms.

5 Oct 2010

Human growth hormone can treat cystic fibrosis symptoms

Human growth hormone can be used successfully to treat some symptoms of cystic fibrosis, but its impact on the disease itself remains unknown, according to a new report funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

5 Oct 2010

American Anesthesiology acquires Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants

American Anesthesiology, a subsidiary of MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants, P.A., a physician group practice that provides anesthesia care and pain management services at nine hospitals, 12 ambulatory surgery centers and 10 pain management centers principally located in the Charlotte, NC, metropolitan area.

5 Oct 2010

Opinions: MDGs; Obama's development policy; PEPFAR in Uganda

In a SciDev.Net editorial, David Dickson, director of SciDev.Net, examines progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, highlighting their usefulness as well as their shortcomings. "The value of the MDGs lies in the way they have acted as both a carrot and a stick to focus the efforts of both development agencies and governments of developing countries," according to Dickson, who writes that "the curse of the MDGs is that they focus on relatively short-term, concrete objectives, and lack sufficient 'buy-in' from the very countries they are intended to help.

5 Oct 2010

Healthcare system does not take girls with autism or ADHD symptoms seriously

When girls with symptoms of autism or ADHD seek professional medical help, their problems are often played down or misinterpreted, and there is a real risk that they will not get the help or support they need. As such, more training is needed in this area, particularly in the public sector, reveals a thesis from the University of Gothenburg.

4 Oct 2010

Health law's insurance plans for pre-existing conditions are slow to enroll; 3M to drop early retiree coverage

The Associated Press: "It's a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care remake, a lifeline available right now to vulnerable people whose medical problems have made them uninsurable. But the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan started this summer isn't living up to expectations. Enrollment lags in many parts of the country. People who could benefit may not be able to afford the premiums. Some state officials who run their own "high-risk pools" have pointed out potential problems" (Alonso-Zaldivar, 10/3).

4 Oct 2010

Today's OpEds: Orszag's latest health column, the MLR and parables

Improving the quality of health care and reducing its cost will require that doctors make many changes — but working weekends and consenting to quality management are two clear ones (Peter Orszag, 10/3).

4 Oct 2010

Decision Resources: NSCLC drug market to grow from $4 billion in 2009 to over $6.5 billion in 2019

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues finds that the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug market will increase from approximately $4 billion in 2009 to more than $6.5 billion in 2019 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan.

4 Oct 2010

GSA awards Vision-Sciences FSS Contract for flexible endoscopy solutions

Vision-Sciences, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Federal Supply Schedule ("FSS") Contract from the General Services Administration ("GSA") for its flexible endoscopy product lines. The contract period is from October 15, 2010 – October 14, 2015. This GSA contract enables access to the company's technology for all federal healthcare facilities, including the Veterans Administration, Indian Health Service, and Department of Defense facilities.

4 Oct 2010

Health industry funding more Republicans than Dems, anti-reform political activity ramps up

Politico: "A new portrait of the health industry landscape has begun to take shape, with some of those major players shifting their dollars from the very Democrats who passed the law they seemingly endorsed at the White House. The insurance industry, for instance, has consistently donated more to Republicans than to Democrats ever since August 2009."

4 Oct 2010

Massachusetts eHealth Institute names e-MDs as EHR vendor and IOO

e-MDs, an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solutions, announced they have been named a selected EHR vendor and Implementation Optimization Organization (IOO) by the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI). The Institute will serve as a Regional Extension Center (REC) in Massachusetts, working to facilitate the adoption of EHR technology by the state's providers. As a selected vendor, e-MDs will help ensure effective implementation and provider achievement of Meaningful Use.

4 Oct 2010

LC Luxuries announces acquisition of domain name CannaCare.com

LC LUXURIES LIMITED today announced that it has acquired the domain name CannaCare.com and will begin developing CannaCare.com as its nationwide physician marketing engine as it relates to the cannabis industry. Development is underway and the Company anticipates the site operational by the end of the year. Bonni Goldstein, MD, a board member for LC Luxuries Limited, will be materially involved with the content and direction of CannaCare.com.

4 Oct 2010

Otsuka opens Canadian operations

Otsuka Canada Pharmaceutical Inc. has opened its first Canadian office, in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Laurent. This marks a major milestone in the continued growth of Otsuka in North America.

4 Oct 2010

Navigant announces acquisition of EthosPartners

Navigant announced today that it has acquired EthosPartners Healthcare Management Group, Inc., a national healthcare consulting group specializing in physician and hospital alignment, physician practice operations management, and physician revenue cycle management. Combining EthosPartners' physician expertise with Navigant's existing healthcare practice capabilities significantly enhances and broadens the solutions that Navigant offers to its clients.

4 Oct 2010

Emdeon acquires Chamberlin Edmonds

Emdeon Inc., a leading provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions, today announced it has completed the acquisition of Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates, Inc., a leading provider of government program eligibility and enrollment services to over 200 acute care facilities in 31 states. Chamberlin Edmonds' technology-enabled services assist hospitals in lowering the incidence of uncompensated care, reducing bad-debt expense and increasing overall cash flow.

4 Oct 2010

Agile completes enrollment in AG200-15 Phase 3 contraceptive patch study

Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical development company specializing in women's healthcare products, today announced the Company has completed patient enrollment in its pivotal, Phase 3 NEW CHOICE Study of AG200-15, Agile's lead contraceptive patch. Agile's NEW CHOICE Study enrolled 1500 women at over 100 sites throughout the U.S. The study is comparing the efficacy and tolerability of AG200-15 to a low-dose, oral contraceptive.

4 Oct 2010

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 SP1 achieves ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification

NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today that NextGen® Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 SP1 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on September 30, 2010 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable eligible provider certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

4 Oct 2010

Characteristics that help dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates

Characteristics such as patient engagement, physician communication, and staff coordination may help to explain why some dialysis centers achieve higher patient survival rates than others, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

4 Oct 2010