Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

ALung Technologies announces closing of $14 Million Series A financing round

ALung Technologies, Inc. today announced that the Company has closed a $14 Million Series A financing round. The investment will support ongoing clinical trials of the Hemolung™ Respiratory Assist System and its subsequent commercialization. The Company's Hemolung device is expected to help many patients with acute respiratory failure to avoid intubation and invasive mechanical ventilation.

11 Oct 2010

First Edition: October 11, 2010

Today's early morning highlights include articles on new options for open season, concerns among retirees about the provisions of the federal health law and the latest campaign arguments over that new overhaul.

11 Oct 2010

Health insurance: Coverage expands for children, young adults; not necessarily for retirees

Glenn Franco, a retired community-college instructor in Michigan, tried to get his 24-year-old daughter on his health plan—and was turned away. Many large employers are telling retirees the same thing.

11 Oct 2010

Charges and counter-charges on health law infiltrate political debates

CNN: "The two candidates vying for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat sat side-by-side and calmly accused each other of lying and other improprieties in a televised debate Sunday," on NBC's Meet the Press (Cohen, 10/10).

11 Oct 2010

Montreux invests $30 million in GCAL

Montreux Equity Partners, LLC, and GC Aesthetics, Ltd., today announced the completion of a US$30 million private equity investment by Montreux into GCAL. GCAL is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of medical devices for the global aesthetics industry. Montreux entered into the financing agreement with GCAL to accelerate the company's expansion plans.

11 Oct 2010

Progress in understanding mechanism behind photocontact allergy

What happens to sunscreens when they are exposed to sunlight? And how is the skin affected by the degradation products that form? This has been the subject of research at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology that will be presented at the upcoming dermatologist conference in Gothenburg.

11 Oct 2010

Philadelphia paramedics plan to sue over health coverage; healthcare merger seeks to lower costs in wash

The city's paramedics are planning to sue over Mayor Nutter's efforts to keep them out of the firefighters union. The dispute goes back to a ruling by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board last month that gave the city the right to shift paramedics out of the firefighters union.

11 Oct 2010

US Health and Human Services administration announces $320 million grants to strengthen healthcare workforce in America

The US Health and Human Services administration announced $320 million in new grants under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to strengthen the healthcare workforce in America. Florida alone will receive more than $11 million in grant funding.

11 Oct 2010

ESC pleased with European Health Award recognition for Chronic Disease Alliance

The European Society of Cardiology is delighted to see the European Health Award 2010 handed to the Chronic Disease Alliance at the 13th European Health Forum held in Gastein 6 - 9 October 2010.

11 Oct 2010

Democrats still wonder: Run on health reform or against it?

The Fiscal Times reports that some Democrats are trying to decide whether they should run for re-election on health reform or against it. "A new poll suggests it's not so clear-cut, and some Democrats seem to agree.

11 Oct 2010

Administration's waivers of health law raise questions about 'mini-med' plans

The White House on Thursday defended granting waivers to some employers from a key provision of the new health care law, saying it was the best way to keep people insured until the law fully takes effect.

11 Oct 2010

Opinions: Learning to live with malaria; U.S. food aid policy; foreign aid reform

Recent discoveries of a possible wild reservoir for humankind's most malignant malaria, some 130 years after the discovery of the malaria parasite, could mean that it will be impossible to eradicate malaria,Sonia Shah, the author of The Fever, How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years,observes in an International Herald Tribune opinion piece.

11 Oct 2010

Political Ads, rhetoric on health law heating up races in Alaska, Nevada, Pennsylvania

Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller said this week that his family took benefits years ago from Medicaid and a state program for low-income children and pregnant women despite his criticism of entitlement programs, The Associated Press reports.

11 Oct 2010

Meridia – weight loss pill off the shelves in US

Abbott Pharmaceuticals has announced the withdrawal of weight loss drug Meridia from shelves in the United States and urged patients to stop taking it after regulators questioned its safety. The withdrawal happened last Friday in the US. In January, Meridia sales were suspended in Europe.

10 Oct 2010

Tobacco consumption raises risk of death in comparison with non-smokers

Researchers from the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT) estimate that each pack of cigarettes really costs €107 for men and €75 for women, when premature death is taken into account. These figures confirm previous studies, and are of key importance in the cost-benefit analysis of smoking-prevention policies.

8 Oct 2010

UBM Medica presents virtual conference for radiologists, imaging professionals

UBM Medica presented Diagnostic Imaging LIVE, a virtual conference for radiologists and imaging professionals, on September 29, 2010.

8 Oct 2010

Kaiser Permanente employees calls for new election

One year and seven months ago, an absolute majority of 43,500 Kaiser Permanente employees in California presented petitions to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asking for a vote to leave the incumbent union SEIU and form their own union, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW). When ballots were counted today, 11,364 were for NUHW, and 18,290 were for SEIU and workers are calling for a new election

8 Oct 2010

GE Healthcare announces successful completion of vendor neutral DI-r

GE Healthcare announced today the successful completion of a vendor neutral Digital Imaging Repository that connects hospitals and medical centers throughout Southwestern Ontario, Canada, enabling the sharing of patient health data across the region. For the first time in Ontario's history, 26 hospital organizations in the Erie St. Clair and South West Local Health Integration Networks are able to share filmless diagnostic image exams between their facilities.

8 Oct 2010

Health-TIES consortium aims to accelerate innovation in healthcare

On Thursday 7 October, Europe's top regions in healthcare technology will launch the Health-TIES consortium that aims to accelerate innovation in healthcare. The consortium is backed by a three-year grant from the European Commission and is set up to strengthen the research potential of European regions through research-driven clusters of universities, research centres, enterprises and regional authorities.

8 Oct 2010

Spanish mothers more concerned about the safety of childhood vaccines

Researchers from the University of Alicante (UA) taking part in the European VACSATC project have studied mothers' and fathers' opinions on vaccinating their children in five countries. The results of the survey show that Spanish mothers are more resistant than those in other countries to the idea of paying for vaccines, while 20.9% expressed some concern about the safety of vaccines.

8 Oct 2010