Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Lofty altitudes increase prevalence of suicides

The Intermountain West is renowned for the beauty of its towering mountains and high deserts, but according to new research from an investigator with the University of Utah Brain Institute the region's lofty altitudes significantly influence a deadly problem: the high prevalence of suicides in this part of the country.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers to contribute to brain circuit mapping in Human Connectome Project

Thirty-three researchers at nine institutions will contribute to the Human Connectome Project (http://www.humanconnectome.org/consortia). Using powerful, custom-built brain scanners, a supercomputer, new brain analysis techniques and other state-of-the-art resources, they will trace the anatomical 'wires' that interconnect thousands of different regions of the human brain's gray matter.

16 Sep 2010

Key recommendations for better services for women with secondary breast cancer

The support provided for women with secondary breast cancer is inadequate and urgent steps are needed to provide better services for patients with this progressive incurable disease, which kills half a million women worldwide every year. Those are the key recommendations to emerge from a trio of papers in the September issue of the European Journal of Cancer Care.

16 Sep 2010

OSI Systems receives contract to provide advanced anesthesia work stations

OSI Systems, Inc., a vertically integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that the Spacelabs Healthcare division has received a contract valued at $1.6 million from the Indian Government to provide advanced anesthesia work stations.

16 Sep 2010

Advanced Life Sciences participates as exhibitor in 50th ICAAC

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, today participated in the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

16 Sep 2010

DestinationRx analysis shows increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online

DestinationRx, a leading provider of Medicare plan and drug comparison tools, today announced the results of a DestinationRx analysis showing a significant increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online, coupled with a parallel decrease in call center enrollments. An analysis of DestinationRx commercial enrollments shows a 12 percent shift from call center to online enrollment for 2008 to 2009 and an 11 percent shift from 2009 to 2010, for a 23 percent total increase in online enrollments over just two years.

16 Sep 2010

Aetna supports landmark study on BRCA testing

Testing is available to help identify if a woman is likely to face one of her gender's worst fears: inherited breast and ovarian cancer. But significant questions have been raised among doctors and public health agencies about whether these tests are being offered to the women who can most benefit - consistent with the evidence-based guidelines for this testing - and whether the information learned from testing is being put to best use.

16 Sep 2010

ASG-5ME compound kills pancreatic cancer cells: Researchers

A new investigational drug designed to penetrate and attack pancreatic cancer cells has been administered to a patient for the first time ever at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare.

16 Sep 2010

Veracyte presents FNA clinical trial data at International Thyroid Congress

Veracyte, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company pioneering the emerging field of molecular cytology, announced that initial data from its large-scale, prospective, multi-center clinical trial were presented today at the 14th International Thyroid Congress, held in Paris, France.

16 Sep 2010

Australians young at heart: Survey

According to a new survey that included more than 1,200 people nationwide and 12,000 globally by healthcare company Bupa, Australians when compared to other countries felt younger at heart.

16 Sep 2010

Access Pharmaceuticals launches product website for MuGard

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company specializing in products for cancer and supportive care, announced today it has launched www.MuGard.com. The patient- and healthcare professional- focused site is a comprehensive resource offering educational material on oral mucositis, patient analysis, MuGard product and how-to-order information.

15 Sep 2010

Advanced Reimbursement Management acquires Hospital Inpatient Services

Advanced Reimbursement Management, now known as Adreima, today announced that it has acquired Hospital Inpatient Services, a Florida-based provider of eligibility services to hospitals on the East Coast of the US. This acquisition represents the first of several that Adreima plans to complete as it executes its strategy of becoming the industry's leading revenue cycle management company specializing in Medicaid reimbursement.

15 Sep 2010

Sprint and Calgary Scientific partner to market ResolutionMD Mobile medical imaging solution

Sprint and Calgary Scientific have partnered to market a first of its kind medical imaging solution that could contribute to better patient outcomes, faster treatment decisions and a reduced financial burden on long-term patient care.

15 Sep 2010

Ion Torrent extends deadline for European Ion PGM Sequencer Grant Program

Ion Torrent today announced that the deadline for the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM™) Sequencer Grant Program in Europe has been extended to Nov. 22 to give more scientists the opportunity to win a DNA sequencer for their own labs.

15 Sep 2010

Quick-Med receives patent for MultiStat technology to treat Rosacea

Quick-Med Technologies, Inc., a life sciences company that is developing innovative technologies for the healthcare and consumer markets, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,795,302 entitled "Use of Compositions for Treating Rosacea."

15 Sep 2010

First Edition: September 15, 2010

Today's headlines include news that a Florida judge has indicated the 20-state legal challenge to the new health law is likely to advance.

15 Sep 2010

Boston Software Systems to deliver four presentations at InSight 2010 Annual Conference

Boston Software Systems, winner of the 2010 McKesson Automation Supplier of the Year Award for Customer Focus, today announced that Product Manager Thom Blackwell and Reese Walker, financial systems analyst at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, will deliver four presentations at InSight 2010 Annual Conference, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO, September 14 - 17.

15 Sep 2010

In Calif., breakaway union creates schism with SEIU; Poor patients will continue to receive dialysis in Georgia

"The S.E.I.U.'s national leadership ousted [Sal] Rosselli last year after a power struggle that ended with a jury finding that he had improperly used member dues to form a breakaway union. Shortly after being ousted, Mr. Rosselli did create a rival union, and now he is trying to lure many of his former members — 43,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente, the largest health care provider in the state. On Monday, workers at 331 Kaiser facilities across California began voting by mail on whether to bolt the S.E.I.U. and join Mr. Rosselli's group, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. A victory would give a vital boost to Mr. Rosselli's fledgling 6,000-member union, all but assuring its long-term survival" (Greenhouse, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

FDA-cleared LaserTouchOne device for chronic and acute pain treatment available without prescription

The American Pain Foundation reports that despite the fact that the majority of the U.S. population looks healthy, statistics tell a different story: Approximately 1 in 3 Americans suffer from chronic pain. This chronic pain could be related to an illness like cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, or a condition such as arthritis, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia or back pain from a car accident.

15 Sep 2010

Educational intervention likely to probe for contextual issues in standardized patient encounters

Fourth-year medical students who participated in an educational intervention were more likely to seek, identify and incorporate into care patient circumstances that may require variation from standard care, compared to students in a control group, according to a study in the September 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.

15 Sep 2010