Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

drugstore.com announces extension of strategic alliance with Medco Health Solutions

drugstore.com, inc., a leading online retailer of health, beauty, vision, and pharmacy products, today announced the extension through 2018 of its strategic alliance with Medco Health Solutions, Inc., one of the nation's leading healthcare companies.

4 Aug 2010

Bill Gates to keynote at 2010 mHealth Summit

Bill Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will provide a keynote address on the opportunity of mobile technologies to improve health outcomes in the developing world at the 2010 mHealth Summit, the summit organizers announced today. The summit, organized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the mHealth Alliance, will be held November 8-10 in Washington, DC.

4 Aug 2010

Matrixx Initiatives first-quarter net loss reduces to $2.4 million

Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., an over-the-counter healthcare company that develops and markets Zicam® products, today announced financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2010.

4 Aug 2010

Bayer implements ValGenesis validation process management software at Berkeley and Emeryville sites

ValGenesis, Inc., a world-leading provider of Validation Lifecycle Management (VLM) software solutions, today announced that Bayer HealthCare AG has implemented ValGenesis software as their platform for validation process management at their Berkeley and Emeryville sites.

4 Aug 2010

WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

The worst floods on record in Pakistan are placing the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with a high threat of waterborne disease outbreaks and immense damage to health facilities. WHO is coordinating the response of health partners and supporting Pakistani authorities by sending medicines and related health supplies capable of treating more than 200 000 people to the affected areas in the northwestern region of the country.

4 Aug 2010

National Research acquires OCS through stock purchase agreement

National Research Corporation today announced it has acquired, via stock purchase agreement, Outcome Concept Systems, Inc., a privately-held healthcare informatics firm, in an all-cash transaction.

4 Aug 2010

MMIC Group expands insurance services to long term care providers

Medical professional liability insurance specialist MMIC Group has expanded its insurance services to the growing population of long term care providers.

4 Aug 2010

Judge gives the go-ahead to Virginia's health overhaul challenge

In a ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson refused to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Virginia challenging a key aspect of the health care overhaul. The next round of arguments in this case is scheduled for October.

4 Aug 2010

Study analyzes prevalence of pediatric patient-safety events at hospitals

Hospital-acquired infections are the leading cause of potentially preventable mortality among pediatric patients, according to a study of pediatric patient-safety incidents issued today by HealthGrades, the leading independent health care ratings organization.

4 Aug 2010

GTCR, Dale Wolf partner to create Jessamine Healthcare

GTCR, one of the nation's leading private equity firms, today announced it has entered into a partnership with Dale Wolf to form Jessamine Healthcare, Inc. The new company, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, will focus on acquiring companies in the healthcare payor and outsourced payor services industries.

4 Aug 2010

GE and Intel create new health IT venture focused on home-based care

General Electric Co. and Intel Corp. announced Monday they will create a company to provide new medical technologies for the elderly and chronically ill.

4 Aug 2010

DTB launches Don't Drop Mixtard 30 campaign to change Novo Nordisk's drug removal decision

Drug company Novo Nordisk's decision to pull its Mixtard 30 insulin drug from the UK could add 9 million to the NHS drugs bill in England alone, says an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). The decision could also leave thousands of patients dependent on others to help them take their insulin, says DTB, which today launches its "Don't Drop Mixtard 30" campaign to convince the company to change its mind.

4 Aug 2010

Administration touts Medicare savings report; Republicans complain it misleads seniors

A report issued Monday by the Obama administration found that the new health care law "will save Medicare $8 billion by the end of 2011, and $575 billion over the next decade, largely by improving care quality and preventing waste and fraud." The report also predicts that the overhaul will "extend the life of the program more than a decade.

4 Aug 2010

Celera decreases second-quarter net loss to $6.1 million

Celera Corporation today reported net revenues of $32.6 million for the second quarter of 2010 that ended June 26, 2010, compared to $41.4 million for the prior year quarter. For the second quarter of 2010, Celera reported a net loss of $6.1 million, or $0.07 per share, compared to a net loss of $31.7 million, or $0.39 per share, for the prior year quarter.

4 Aug 2010

New health law is uncharted terrain for administration, insurers

The White House pressured insurers to begin covering kids with pre-existing conditions as soon as the health overhaul law was enacted, The New York Times reports. But after a few months, some insurers decided to stop offering "child only" plans altogether to minimize their losses. The give-and-take resulted in the White House saying insurers could limit enrollment to specific periods last week.

4 Aug 2010

ICU Medical's Neutron Neutral-Pressure Needleless Connector receives FDA clearance

ICU Medical, Inc., a worldwide leader in the development, manufacture and sale of proprietary, disposable medical connection systems for use in vascular therapy applications, today confirmed that it has received FDA 510-k clearance for the Neutron™ Neutral-Pressure Needleless Connector.

4 Aug 2010

Children's hospitals, other medical centers now eligible for discounted drugs in Medicaid

The Hill: "Children's hospitals and other medical centers on Monday became eligible to enroll in a Medicaid program that offers discounted drugs, as called for in the healthcare reform law.

4 Aug 2010

RehabCare second-quarter consolidated operating revenues increase 62.8% to $334.0 million

RehabCare Group, Inc. today reported financial results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010. Comparative results for the quarter and six months follow.

4 Aug 2010

Hospitals, docs adopting health IT ahead of schedule

Clinics and hospitals are increasingly switching to electronic medical records as a federal push to spread the technology sweeps across the nation.

4 Aug 2010

SVH launches Guiding Stars nutrition guidance program

The highly regarded Guiding Stars nutrition guidance program - now available in more than 1,500 grocery stores and schools - today announces its partnership with Sebasticook Valley Hospital (SVH) in Pittsfield, Maine to launch the nutrition guidance program in a hospital for the first time. Guiding Stars will rate prepared meals, snacks, and grab-and-go items according to their nutritional value in the hospital cafeteria. Each item rated will receive zero to three stars for an at-a-glance summary of the food's nutritional quality.

4 Aug 2010