Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Virginia Health Information report lists pricing information for health care services

Virginians now have access to information on what health care procedures cost — before they receive medical care. Virginia Health Information has published a report showing the average amounts that health insurers in Virginia pay for 31 procedures including preventive, emergency, outpatient and hospital inpatient care.

17 Sep 2010

Eddingpharm closes US$24 million Series B financing

Eddingpharm Inc., a leading specialty pharmaceutical marketing company focused on the China market, today announced the closing of a US$24 million Series B financing, co-led by OrbiMed Advisors Caduceus Asia Partners Fund and Domain Associates.

17 Sep 2010

AACN endorses 'Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies'

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently endorsed the "Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Competencies," developed by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing , Washington, D.C., with The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University and National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists , Philadelphia.

17 Sep 2010

President Obama recognizes MISE as model science education initiative

Merck, a global healthcare leader, announced today that the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) is being recognized by President Obama as being a model science education initiative at an event being held today at the White House.

17 Sep 2010

ACTION Ontario applauds Narcotics Safety and Awareness bill

ACTION Ontario, a non-profit group advocating on behalf of chronic pain sufferers, applauds the provincial government's Narcotics Safety and Awareness bill and encourages the government to take the next step and also address the underlying issue of pain with a comprehensive strategy.

17 Sep 2010

Healthcare organizations link physician pay to performance

Annual performance-based incentive plans are on the rise for physicians in both presence and scale, according to Hay Group's 2010 Physician Compensation Survey. Most (92 percent) group-based organizations offer incentive plans to their physicians, up from 75 percent in 2009. Physician incentive plans are also being offered by 63 percent of hospitals this year, as opposed to 51 percent in 2009. The percentage of integrated health systems (IHS) offering physician incentive plans remained steady between 2009 and 2010 at 67 percent.

17 Sep 2010

CARE invests $1.8 billion to reduce maternal mortality by 2015

Today the humanitarian organization CARE announced that it will invest $1.8 billion to expand its maternal, newborn and child health programs to more than 30 countries in five years. This investment will deepen CARE's commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at reducing child and maternal mortality by 2015 and will support the United Nations Secretary General's Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health, which will be unveiled at next week's MDG Summit.

17 Sep 2010

Scott & White Healthcare recruits patients for Phase III lung cancer trial

Scott & White Healthcare in Round Rock, Texas is recruiting patients for a Phase III lung cancer trial aimed at preventing the disease's recurrence in previously treated patients. The trial will evaluate the potential of an immunotherapy called Antigen-Specific Cancer Immunotherapeutic (ASCI) for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).

17 Sep 2010

Poorer patients wait months for basic services in Minn.; Calif. unions criticize plan for state workers to pay more for benefits; Neb. Medicaid study questioned

Minnesota Public Radio: "Three months after the state implemented a scaled-back health care coverage program for its poorest residents, many patients are waiting months for basic medical services and hospitals have lost millions of dollars in uncompensated care. … The restructuring of the General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) program has forced thousands of low-income residents … to leave their medical providers and receive care through one of four Twin Cities-area hospitals.

17 Sep 2010

Sanofi-aventis US wins 2010 HBA ACE Award

The Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) has named sanofi-aventis US as the winner of the 2010 HBA ACE Award for the company's program aimed at building women's leadership across all levels within the company.

17 Sep 2010

Aerocrine directs issue of new shares, convertible bonds to Novo A/S

Aerocrine AB today announces that on 15 September 2010 the Board, by virtue of authorization by the shareholders' meeting, decided to carry out a SEK 225 million directed issue of new shares and convertible bonds to Denmark-based Novo A/S, as well as a SEK 155.5 million new share issue with preferential rights to existing shareholders.

17 Sep 2010

Democratic candidates spend more on ads against than for health reform

Politico: Democratic candidates are spending three times more — nearly $1 million — in advertising against health reform than for it. "Since the beginning of Congress's August recess, Democratic candidates have poured $930,000 into ads deriding the health overhaul but just $300,000 in pro-reform spots, according to Evan Tracey at Kantar Media."

17 Sep 2010

Diclectin's effectiveness for morning sickness: Report

In the latest issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a group of American and Canadian researchers report on the effectiveness of Diclectin(R) (the delayed-release formulation of doxylamine and vitamin B6) for morning sickness.

17 Sep 2010

New anti-pathogenic drugs render MRSA harmless without killing bacteria

Menachem Shoham, PhD, associate professor and researcher in the department of biochemistry at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, has identified new anti-pathogenic drugs that, without killing the bacteria, render Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) harmless by preventing the production of toxins that cause disease.

17 Sep 2010

Defensive medicine costs U.S. healthcare system $45 billion

Lisa Maas, executive director of Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP), issued the following statement in response to a recent study published in the 2010 issue of Health Affairs which found that costs related to medical liability account for more than $55 billion a year or 2.4% of the total costs to the U.S. healthcare system. According to the study, approximately 80%, or $45 billion of these costs are the result of defensive medicine, procedures performed to avoid unnecessary litigation.

17 Sep 2010

Rural hospitals in Minnesota contribute to insurance premiums for poor patients

News outlets report on rural hospitals in Minnesota, a new insurer contract for a Florida hospital and possible restrictions on a pending for-profit hospital system in Massachusetts.

17 Sep 2010

ImmunoCellular contracts with Averionto to execution ICT-107 cancer-vaccine Phase II study

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd., a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, today announced that it has contracted with the clinical research organization (CRO) Averion International Corp. to conduct its planned Phase II study of ICT-107, the Company's lead cancer-vaccine candidate for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

17 Sep 2010

Cytori Therapeutics extends distribution agreement with GE Healthcare

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. has extended the term and modified the focus of its current distribution agreement with GE Healthcare. GE Healthcare's sales rights allow its sales force to sell Cytori technology in the research markets in select European markets and the US.

17 Sep 2010

AdvaMed fights back against increased FDA scrutiny

A report issued Wednesday by the industry's main trade association Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) "found that there were 101 of the most serious kinds of recalls of medical devices from Jan. 1, 2005 to May 1, 2010, a record that AdvaMed senior executive vice president David Nexon called 'remarkable' considering the number of devices on the market," CQ HealthBeat reports.

17 Sep 2010

China-Biotics files two new patent applications

China-Biotics, Inc., the leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of probiotics products in China, today announced that it has submitted two new patent applications to the State Bureau of Intellect Property.

17 Sep 2010