Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Rotech Healthcare offers $225 million in Senior Secured Notes due 2015

Rotech Healthcare Inc. announced today that the company intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $225 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2015.

27 Sep 2010

NAPHS 2011 Membership Directory provides information on nation's behavioral healthcare systems

The National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems has published a 2011 Membership Directory. The directory is a comprehensive referral resource providing information on the nation's behavioral healthcare systems.

27 Sep 2010

Hospira's Nivestim receives Australian TGA approval

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced that it has received Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approval for its biosimilar filgrastim product, Nivestim.

27 Sep 2010

Axolotl introduces Elysium Discover tool designed for Health Information Exchanges

Axolotl Corp., the nationwide leader in health information exchange services and solutions, today introduced Elysium Discover, the industry's first comprehensive suite of reporting and analytic tools designed specifically for Health Information Exchanges.

27 Sep 2010

HHS announces grants to support public health programs

Six months after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius highlighted another important facet of the law today with the announcement of nearly $100 million in grants made possible primarily by the new law's Prevention and Public Health Fund.

27 Sep 2010

Democrats tout health reform achievements, GOP lashes back

The Hill reports that as Republicans call for repeal of the law, the Obama administration is quick to push back. Writing Thursday on the White House blog, Stephanie Cutter, the president's communications guru, noted that repealing the reforms would eliminate all the patient protections that just took effect.

27 Sep 2010

Hologic receives FDA voting for 3-D digital mammography system

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, announced that the Radiological Devices Panel (Panel) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today unanimously voted that Hologic's Pre-Market Approval (PMA) demonstrated both the effectiveness and safety of the Company's Selenia Dimensions three-dimensional (3-D) digital mammography tomosynthesis system, "Selenia Dimensions 3-D."

From Hologic, Inc. 27 Sep 2010

HHS awards grant to promote better primary care services for mentally-ill patients

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today awarded more than $26.2 million in grants to support and promote better primary care and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

27 Sep 2010

Dual eligible patients more likely to be hospitalized than Medicare beneficiaries: AHRQ

Americans who were eligible for coverage under both Medicare and Medicaid in 2008 were hospitalized for bed sores, asthma and diabetes at more than twice the rate of other Medicare beneficiaries, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

27 Sep 2010

AHF issues call for action against cuts in AIDS funding

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today issued a call for action after AIDS activists heckled President Barack Obama during a New York City fundraiser last night.

27 Sep 2010

Stirling Products’ drug delivery technology interests big ‘pharma’

Healthcare group, Stirling Products Limited (ASX:STI) has advised that following the recent TeleMedCare e-health acquisition and the conditional addition of the recently announced pathology business (subject to due diligence completion and shareholder approval), the Company is now in process of its strategised business integration.

26 Sep 2010

Insurers irked by latest draft of spending requirements

"One of the most critical aspects of the federal health overhaul for insurers is shaping up as a mixed bag for the industry, as regulators issued draft rules Thursday on how the companies must account for how much they spend directly on patients' medical care," The Wall Street Journal reports. At issue is which expenses count as medical, versus administrative.

24 Sep 2010

Navilyst Medical to distribute VasoNova's VPS central venous catheter navigation technology

VasoNova announced a strategic partnership with Navilyst Medical Inc. today to distribute its VasoNova™ Vascular Positioning System™ VPS™ central venous catheter navigation technology.

24 Sep 2010

Hyland Software announces acquisition of Computer Systems Company

Hyland Software has purchased privately held Computer Systems Company, Inc. (dba The CSC Group), a provider of business and clinical healthcare software and document conversion services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

24 Sep 2010

Amgen announces voluntary recall of certain lots of EPOGEN and PROCRIT

Amgen announced today that certain lots of EPOGEN® and PROCRIT® (Epoetin alfa) vials are being voluntarily recalled from specialty distributors, wholesalers, pharmacies and healthcare providers as a precaution. The product that is being recalled may contain extremely thin glass flakes (lamellae) that are barely visible in most cases. The lamellae result from the interaction of the formulation with glass vials over the shelf life of the product.

24 Sep 2010

25% of all Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans

As the annual open enrollment period approaches Medicare Advantage plan enrollment continues to inch upwards, with nearly 11.8 million people enrolled as of August 2010, almost 25% of all Medicare beneficiaries. Despite conservative growth strategies, stricter marketing regulations and legislation which reined in popular Private-Fee-For-Service plans, Medicare Advantage companies are still experiencing single digit growth rates, according to a new report by Mark Farrah Associates, a leading provider of market data and intelligence solutions.

24 Sep 2010

Perrigo files NDA with FDA for generic Zegerid OTC

Perrigo Company announced that it has filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for omeprazole 20mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100mg, the generic equivalent of Zegerid OTC™, and that it provided prior notice of this filing to Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc. a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., the owner of the brand regulatory approval and the Curators of the University of Missouri, the listed patent owner.

24 Sep 2010

Consumers need to be made aware of benefits of low-calorie sweeteners

Leading experts in the field of food additive safety and risk communication gathered at a symposium hosted today by the Nutrition Research Foundation at the 2nd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition to discuss the safety of low-calorie sweeteners and reaffirm the positive role they can play in the diet.

24 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 24, 2010

In today's news, more reports regarding the health reform provisions that took effect yesterday and more details on the GOP's "Pledge To America."

24 Sep 2010

World Heart Federation calls on employers and employees to take responsibility for workplace wellness

Despite the vast majority (91%) of workers believing that it is their employer's responsibility to create a healthy working environment, nearly a third (32%) of employees feels their workplace actually hinders their ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, according to new independent research commissioned by the World Heart Federation and conducted by Opinion Health.

24 Sep 2010