Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Incidence of KPC-producing bacteria is rising in Chicago

In a survey of Chicago-area healthcare facilities, researchers at Rush University Medical Center and the Cook County Department of Public Health have found that the incidence of KPC-producing bacteria is rising. These bugs cause infections with high mortality rates and are resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics.

25 Oct 2010

Joint Commission: Medical errors in hospitals tied to 'handoffs' of patients

The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, released an update on a collaborative project with 10 health systems tragetting the frequent errors that happen in hospitals when a patient is handed off from one provider to another.

25 Oct 2010

CPSC and child safety organizations release new crib safety video

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) joined three child safety organizations at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital to release "Safe Sleep for Babies," a new crib safety video aimed at helping all new parents avoid suffocation, strangulation and entrapment risks in the sleep environment. CPSC also is announcing three new recalls of dangerous drop-side cribs.

25 Oct 2010

UC San Diego researchers receive two federal grants for biomedical informatics

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Biomedical Informatics in the Department of Medicine, have received two federal grants totaling more than $25 million to develop new ways to gather, analyze, use and share vast, ever-increasing amounts of biomedical information.

25 Oct 2010

Daschle says GOP might defund health plan, and other overhaul news

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, tells Kaiser Health News that a Republican strategy to defund the health law may be an effective way for the plan's opponents to unravel it.

25 Oct 2010

State Watch: N.Y. approves rate hikes; Arizona referendum on health insurance mandate; Md. insurer cuts broker fees

The Sacramento Bee: "A Sacramento federal judge has ordered the state to keep providing adult dental, podiatric and chiropractic services to poor people in underserved rural areas until it gets permission from federal health authorities to discontinue the benefits. U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. ruled Wednesday that, while the services are not mandatory under the federal Medicaid program (Medi-Cal in California), the Legislature's decision to end them last year as a cost-saving measure was unlawful without federal approval.

25 Oct 2010

GE Healthcare signs definitive agreement to acquire Clarient

GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company and Clarient, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for GE Healthcare to acquire Clarient, a leading player in the fast-growing molecular diagnostics sector.

25 Oct 2010

ISTSS to honor Vietnam veteran with Lifetime Achievement Award

Joseph Boscarino, Ph.D, M.P.H.,will be recognized by the International Society of Traumatic Stress (ISTSS) with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the research of traumatic stress.

25 Oct 2010

72% of patients misdiagnosed with pneumonia upon readmission : Study

Patients were misdiagnosed with pneumonia at an alarming rate when they were readmitted to the hospital shortly after a previous hospitalization for the same illness, according to two Henry Ford Hospital companion studies.

25 Oct 2010

FDA approves LO LOESTRIN FE tablets for oral contraception

Warner Chilcott plc (Nasdaq: WCRX) today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LO LOESTRIN FE (norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol tablets, ethinyl estradiol tablets and ferrous fumarate tablets) for the prevention of pregnancy.

25 Oct 2010

FDA approves REMS for NUVIGIL and PROVIGIL tablets

Cephalon, Inc. today announced that Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for its medications NUVIGIL (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] and PROVIGIL (modafinil) Tablets [C-IV] have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 Oct 2010

Transcend announces acquisition of Spryance

TRANSCEND SERVICES, INC. a leading provider of clinical documentation services to the U.S. healthcare market, announced today that it has acquired Spryance, Inc. and its subsidiaries on October 21, 2010.

22 Oct 2010

Primary care-based patient navigation can reduce healthcare disparities

A new research study conducted by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) shows that patient navigation services significantly improve biennial mammography screening rates among inner city women. The results, published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, indicate the importance of patient navigation in reducing health disparities in vulnerable patient populations.

22 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 22, 2010

Today's headlines detail the National Association of Insurance Commissioners vote on recommendations regarding a key provision of the health law.

22 Oct 2010

NIH grants $ 3.2 million to promote reproductive science research

Scientists from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Morgan State University have received a $ 3.2 million National Institutes of Health grant designed to promote racial, ethnic and socio-economic diversity in reproductive science research.

22 Oct 2010

Hospira announces launch of piperacillin and tazobactam injection in the US

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced the launch of piperacillin and tazobactam for injection in the United States. The medication is a generic version of Zosyn, the world's leading injectable antibiotic, from Pfizer. Piperacillin and tazobactam injection posted 2009 U.S. sales of more than $855 million.

22 Oct 2010

HFMA reviews 3M DRG Assurance Program using Peer Review Process

The Healthcare Financial Management Association recently reviewed the 3M DRG Assurance Program using the Peer Review Process. After undergoing the rigorous review, 3M DRG Assurance Program from 3M Health Information Systems has been granted the "Peer Reviewed by HFMA" designation.

22 Oct 2010

Canadian hospitals' contracts with consultants scrutinized

Cerberus Capital Management is poised to purchase Caritas Christi Health Care. This morning, at a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court hearing, Caritas and Cerberus face the final hurdle in an approval process that began in the spring.

22 Oct 2010

Experts agree on key policy recommendations for management, prevention of rheumatic, MSKD

On 19 October 2010, experts from academia, scientific societies, patient organisations, Member States' government and social security institutions as well as EU bodies agreed upon a number of key policy recommendations for improving the management and prevention of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

22 Oct 2010

LA. drops plans for quickly setting up new health plan for poor; national health insurer accused on providing "junk insurance" in Calif

In the face of mounting opposition, the Jindal administration dropped plans late Wednesday to expedite approval of rules needed to implement a new health-care delivery system for the poor.

22 Oct 2010