Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

NUHW wins agreement for workers' right to vote by mail

On a conference call held Wednesday by the National Labor Relations Board, the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) won an agreement that ensures workers' right to vote by mail in the privacy of their homes, in a government-protected election to join NUHW.

26 Jul 2010

Nano-patch to replace needles for vaccination soon: Study

Those who fear needles have good news awaiting them. Australian researchers have developed a new method of vaccine delivery using needle-free nano-patches. These could also be mailed to people during pandemics. This breakthrough is published in the latest edition of the journal Small.

26 Jul 2010

UnitedHealth ups ante on health IT with purchase of Picis, expecting stimulus windfall

Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal: UnitedHealth Group's technology consulting subsidiary Ingenix, of Eden Prairie, Minn., has purchased Massachusetts tech firm Picis, a maker of emergency room and intensive care software. "Both companies are deeply involved in the area where health care and information technology meet. Ingenix, which had revenue of $1.8 billion last year, provides consulting and outsourcing to almost 6,000 hospitals.

26 Jul 2010

Cerenis Therapeutics closes first round of series C, raises €40 million

Cerenis Therapeutics SA (Cerenis), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of novel therapies based on the metabolism of HDL (the "good" cholesterol) to treat cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases, announced today it has raised €40 million in the first close of its series C financing. In this round €20 million came from the Fund for Strategic Investment (FSI) with an additional €20 million coming from the existing investors: Sofinnova Partners, HealthCap, Alta Partners and TVM Capital, EDF Ventures, OrbiMed and DAIWA Corporate Investment.

26 Jul 2010

It's back: House Democrats argue anew for public option

House Democrats are arguing again for the passage of a public option to compete with private health plans and reduce the deficit, news outlets report.

26 Jul 2010

Ohio sets up high risk pool; Four drug companies come under scrutiny for payments to Pittsburgh doctors, nurses

"Ohioans with pre-existing health conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, can apply for coverage under a new high-risk insurance pool beginning Aug. 1." Qualifications include evidence of a pre-existing condition, proof of Ohio residency and U.S. citizenship, state of being uninsured for six months prior to the date of applying for coverage and being "ineligible for coverage under the Medicare program, the Ohio Medical Assistance Program, the Ohio Children's Health Insurance Program, or an employer-sponsored group health plan, unless subject to a mandatory initial waiting period" (7/22).

26 Jul 2010

Role of spirituality, spiritual care in palliative care

Relationships hold the key to giving terminally ill patients the spiritual care they need. However, researchers have pinpointed a mismatch between patients' expectations and understanding when it comes to spirituality, and what medical and family caregivers offer. New recommendations to improve this situation appear today, in the journal Palliative Medicine, published by SAGE.

23 Jul 2010

Health law gives consumers new rights to appeal insurer decisions

The Obama administration issued regulations yesterday addressing a top consumer gripe with health insurers: The rejected claim. "Rejection notices are often unclear, as are the procedures for challenging them." The new regulations are "designed to simplify the process and expand consumers' rights, as required by the recently enacted healthcare law." Current appeals rules differ by insurer. The regulations will standardize the process, allowing consumers to first take their complaints to the insurer, and then to an independent review panel (Levey, 7/22).

23 Jul 2010

Insurers, advocates fight over upcoming spending rules

Insurance companies are banding together to weaken a key health law rule that requires them to spend as much as 85 percent of their revenues on medical care, according to the advocacy group Health Care for America Now. At issue is the definition of 'medical loss ratio,' a figure used on Wall Street to show an insurer's profitability.

23 Jul 2010

Prevalence of HD substantially underestimated in the UK

The prevalence of Huntington's disease is substantially underestimated in the UK, with significant implications for those affected, the healthcare system, and research. New estimates of prevalence, and their implications, are discussed in a comment published in an upcoming Lancet, written by Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, who is the Chairman of the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, but writes in his capacity as an Honorary Professor of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK.

23 Jul 2010

HPM recognizes 19 Michigan health care providers for outstanding quality, service

The 19 Michigan health care providers were identified as the top primary care offices through a rigorous selection process that was based on Health Plan of Michigan's 2009 quality incentive plan. "We wanted to show our gratitude to our highest ranking health care providers for their excellence in quality and service," said Raymond D. Pitera, Vice President of Provider Service for Health Plan of Michigan. "We truly appreciate the access to quality services they provide to our Medicaid Members."

23 Jul 2010

CRF Health collects prestigious IPA Best of Health Awards

CRF Health garnered nine awards recently in the Business-to-Business categories of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising Best of Health Awards, for their bold, new communications aimed at healthcare professionals involved in clinical trials. The awards were collected by their creative agency behind the campaign, Langland, at the awards night in London.

23 Jul 2010

IPC signs agreement with UCSF to develop leadership training program for physician managers

IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., a leading national hospitalist physician group practice company, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the University of California, San Francisco Division of Hospital Medicine and its Center for the Health Professions to develop a leadership training program for dozens of IPC's key physician managers.

23 Jul 2010

Achieving meaningful use of inpatient EHR is top priority of hospital executives: Survey

According to a survey of U.S. hospital executives released today by CSC, steps to meet meaningful use requirements were already a priority for hospitals before the final rules to establish an incentive program for electronic health records were announced by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on July 12.

23 Jul 2010

First Edition: July 23, 2010

Today's news coverage includes more details about the Obama administration's new rule on appealing rejections of health insurance claims and a new law to reign in improper government payments.

23 Jul 2010

New data on health insurance to be included in AHRQ's 2009 State Snapshots

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's annual release of state-by-state quality data has been expanded to include new data on health insurance, including data on health care quality categorized by source of payment, including private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and those without insurance.

23 Jul 2010

New appeal regulations empower consumers to better control their health care decisions

Today, the Obama Administration is announcing both new regulations to empower consumers to appeal decisions made by their health plans or insurance companies and the availability of resources that will be used to help give consumers more control of their health care decisions. These provisions of the Affordable Care Act will help support and protect consumers and help end some of the worst insurance company abuses.

23 Jul 2010

Maven Semantic announces updates to Bioinformatics medical professionals database

Maven Semantic announces updates to their Bioinformatics database.

23 Jul 2010

New model of inflammatory bowel disease explores interactions of cells in immune system

Scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech have constructed a mathematical and computational model of inflammatory bowel disease that allows researchers to simulate the cellular and molecular changes underlying chronic inflammation in humans. The model allows scientists to explore different interactions of cells in the immune system, check how these cells are linked to inflammation in the colon, and identify intervention points to perhaps stop the disease in its tracks.

23 Jul 2010

Fla. doctors consider cutting ties to AMA; Indiana seeks to get more uninsured covered; LA continues to seek leader for troubled health department

The House of Delegates of the Florida Medical Association is scheduled to consider a resolution severing ties with the American Medical Association because of its support for the healthcare reform law. The Florida group will consider the move at its annual meeting next month. The scathing resolution takes the AMA to task for having 'failed to achieve one single concession' in the healthcare reform bill.

23 Jul 2010

Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

NUHW wins agreement for workers' right to vote by mail

Nano-patch to replace needles for vaccination soon: Study

UnitedHealth ups ante on health IT with purchase of Picis, expecting stimulus windfall

Cerenis Therapeutics closes first round of series C, raises €40 million

It's back: House Democrats argue anew for public option

Ohio sets up high risk pool; Four drug companies come under scrutiny for payments to Pittsburgh doctors, nurses

Role of spirituality, spiritual care in palliative care

Health law gives consumers new rights to appeal insurer decisions

Insurers, advocates fight over upcoming spending rules

Prevalence of HD substantially underestimated in the UK

HPM recognizes 19 Michigan health care providers for outstanding quality, service

CRF Health collects prestigious IPA Best of Health Awards

IPC signs agreement with UCSF to develop leadership training program for physician managers

Achieving meaningful use of inpatient EHR is top priority of hospital executives: Survey

First Edition: July 23, 2010

New data on health insurance to be included in AHRQ's 2009 State Snapshots

New appeal regulations empower consumers to better control their health care decisions

Maven Semantic announces updates to Bioinformatics medical professionals database

New model of inflammatory bowel disease explores interactions of cells in immune system

Fla. doctors consider cutting ties to AMA; Indiana seeks to get more uninsured covered; LA continues to seek leader for troubled health department

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

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Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Industry Focus eBook - Cell & Gene Therapy (1st Edition) eBook

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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