Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Obama says increased health costs are factor of expanded coverage

President Obama on Friday defended the Democrats' healthcare law, saying the enormous expansion of insurance coverage made an increase in healthcare spending inevitable, The Hill reports.

13 Sep 2010

Improving palliative care may reduce healthcare costs, improve outcomes

There may be no simple one-size-fits-all approach to improving end-of-life care in ICU settings, according to a recent study from some of the world's leading researchers in palliative care.

13 Sep 2010

Covidien supports FDA labeling changes for gadolinium-based contrast agents

Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced it supports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) labeling changes for gadolinium-based contrast agents for patients with acute kidney injury or chronic, severe kidney disease.

13 Sep 2010

Lawmakers plot health overhaul tax provision change, other provisions under fire

Senate aides expect Republicans and Democrats to offer competing amendments to change a tax-reporting provision in the health law. "The provision requires businesses to report to the Internal Revenue Service purchases over the course of the year that exceed $600.

13 Sep 2010

Clinica of Virginia offers medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for $1.00

In an effort to promote wellness and help those who are struggling to make ends meet, Clinica of Virginia, LLC. is providing quality medical services to Medicare and Medicaid patients for only $1.00. The national economic downturn, combined with national bureaucracy, has created a shortage of physicians and clinics who accept Medicare and Medicaid. Chronic, multiple medical conditions plague those Americans who can financially afford it the least, and physicians' offices who accept Medicare or Medicaid are now far and few between. Clinica accepts both.

10 Sep 2010

Lantheus Medical Imaging supports FDA action to ensure appropriate use of gadolinium-based contrast agents

Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medical imaging, supports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) announcement requiring safety-related label changes for all gadolinium-based contrast agents to highlight the rare and potentially fatal condition known as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

10 Sep 2010

IASIS Healthcare signs agreement to acquire Brim Holdings

IASIS Healthcare today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Brim Holdings, Inc., which operates Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas, and Pikes Peak Regional Hospital in Woodland Park, Colorado, in a cash-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $95 million, subject to customary closing conditions and working capital adjustments. Combined revenue of the two facilities is approximately $120 million.

10 Sep 2010

Commonwealth among 103 Pennsylvania employers qualified for federal retiree benefit assistance

Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the commonwealth is among the 103 Pennsylvania employers accepted into a federal program to help offset the rising health care costs for retirees.

10 Sep 2010

Good Start Genetics to develop pre-pregnancy genetic test with completed $18M Series A financing

Good Start Genetics, Inc., today announced the completion of an $18 million Series A financing. The proceeds of this financing will be used to complete the development and launch of the Company's pre-pregnancy genetic test, which utilizes advanced DNA sequencing technology to screen for a panel of genetic disorders including those recommended by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).

10 Sep 2010

Zargis enters agreement with OTN for testing of telemedicine stethoscope system

Zargis Medical Corp., a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp., today announced that it has signed an agreement with the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) providing for the delivery and testing of Zargis' award-winning telemedicine stethoscope system.

10 Sep 2010

Good Start Genetics $18 million Series A financing round co-led by Safeguard Scientifics

Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a holding company that builds value in growth-stage life sciences and technology companies, today announced that it has co-led a $18 million Series A financing round for Good Start Genetics, Inc. with OrbiMed Advisors, LLC and SV Life Sciences Advisers LLP.

10 Sep 2010

Illinois HFS selects Centene subsidiary for managed care services

Centene Corporation announced today its new subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, was selected by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) as one of one of two vendors to provide managed care services to approximately 40,000 Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities in six Chicago area counties.

10 Sep 2010

Small IVDs can be kept on for longer periods

Small intravenous devices (IVDs) commonly used in the hand or arm do not need to be moved routinely every 3 days. A randomized controlled trial comparing regular relocation with relocation on clinical indication, published in the open access journal BMC Medicine, found that rates of complications were the same for both regimens.

10 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 10, 2010

In this morning's news, the Obama administration takes a hard line against insurers -- warning them not to blame the new health law for their rate hikes.

10 Sep 2010

Distrust in healthcare system deters blood donation among African Americans

Disparities in healthcare between races exist in the United States. A new study published in the journal Transfusion explores why African Americans donate blood at lower rates than whites. The findings reveal that there is a significant distrust in the healthcare system among the African American community, and African Americans who distrust hospitals are less likely to donate.

10 Sep 2010

InHealth continues support for Northwestern and Duke with follow-on grants of over $830,000

The Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth) has awarded two follow-on grants totaling more than $830,000 to research teams at Northwestern University and Duke University.

10 Sep 2010

Scottish government proposes minimum price to tackle alcohol misuse

The Scottish government has confirmed that it proposes to introduce a minimum price of 45p per unit of alcohol, in order to tackle alcohol misuse and prevent related illnesses.

10 Sep 2010

Numerate awarded new contract by Defense Threat Reduction Agency

Numerate, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a new three-year contract by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, to adapt its pioneering small-molecule drug design platform to the rapid design and optimization of drugs against biowarfare agents.

10 Sep 2010

'Secondary over-triage' identified as potential area of cost savings for health care

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified "secondary over-triage" as a potential area of cost savings for our nation's health care. The phenomenon of over-triage occurs when patients are transferred twice, and discharged from a second facility in less than 24 hours. These findings will be published in the September 10th issue of The Journal of Trauma.

10 Sep 2010

GE Healthcare to showcase molecular imaging portfolio at WMIC

Reinforcing its commitment to researchers and clinicians, GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company is showcasing a comprehensive molecular imaging portfolio—encompassing tracer development, pre-clinical imaging and highly advanced imaging equipment— to provide insight into the origins of disease, at the World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC), Booth #212, September 8 through 11 in Kyoto, Japan.

10 Sep 2010