Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

First Edition: September 3, 2010

Today's headlines contain reports on a new study showing that employers are shifting the increasing costs of premiums onto workers, efforts to get Congress to weigh in on the controversy about federal funding on stem cell research and the difficulty getting uninsured children enrolled in state Medicaid and CHIP programs.

3 Sep 2010

Macro, Cornerstone team up to serve healthcare institutions

Macro Consultants LLC and Cornerstone Program Advisors LLC announce the combination of their service offerings in a partnership geared toward better serving healthcare institutions. This partnership will allow healthcare organizations which are undertaking capital projects and other improvements to benefit from a suite of project management services never before combined into a single offering.

3 Sep 2010

EQP program helps healthcare professionals identify quality of dietary supplements

Not all supplements are created equally but Emerson Ecologics, the largest provider of dietary supplements and services to healthcare professionals, is taking aggressive steps to make it more clear to healthcare professionals and their patients which manufacturers to trust when it comes to a supplement's purity, identity and potency.

3 Sep 2010

Dilemmas created for healthcare professionals by medicinal use of cannabis

Nurses have a responsibility to respect and support patients who use cannabis for medicinal purposes, but must stay within the law and follow professional guidance at all times, according to a research review in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

3 Sep 2010

Biopharmaceutical firms take steps to create greener working environments

Biopharmaceutical firms and other life science organizations are taking definitive steps toward creating greener working environments and developing more sustainable operations, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

3 Sep 2010

CPhA coordinates with pharmacies to help patients in medical emergencies

As a proud member of FEMA's National Preparedness Month Coalition, the California Pharmacists Association has coordinated with pharmacies throughout the state to help citizens prepare for emergencies and natural disasters in their area. The theme of this year's National Preparedness Month is "Resolve to be Ready."

3 Sep 2010

Two scientists behind suit to block stem-cell research funding speak with lawmakers

The Wall Street Journal: "The two scientists behind the lawsuit that has temporarily blocked federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research said Wednesday they were motivated by ethical objections to destroying human embryos for medical research. The scientists, James Sherley of Boston and Theresa Deisher of Seattle, had never met until this week, when they flew to Washington to confer with House and Senate aides and lobby against research using embryonic stem cells.

3 Sep 2010

Study: Health law's tax credit for small business could affect millions

A new Commonwealth Fund report estimates that "about 16.6 million workers are employed by small businesses that are eligible for health insurance tax credits" under the new health law but only 3.4 million of them are at companies that will take advantage of the credits, The Washington Post reports, adding that those businesses already offer their employees health insurance.

3 Sep 2010

Implementation of electronic health records in England likely to be a long, complex and iterative process

Interim results from the first comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of electronic health records in secondary care in England have found delays and frustration with the system, according to research published on bmj.com today.

3 Sep 2010

Studies show diagnostic errors cause adverse events than medication errors

Studies show that diagnostic errors cause twice as many adverse events as medication errors, but the subject has received little attention; Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority reviews 100 events related to diagnostic error.

3 Sep 2010

AMIA launches non-profit Global Health Informatics Partnership

AMIA, the U.S.-based association for informatics professionals, has launched a non-profit, wholly owned subsidiary organization called the Global Health Informatics Partnership (GHIP) to serve as an international center for collaborative initiatives on health informatics. With generous operational support from AMIA, GHIP, aims to build grassroots networks of health informatics advocates and professionals that will result in strengthened health informatics capacity in low-resource settings, primarily in South America, Africa, and Asia.

3 Sep 2010

States and firms seek health reform funds while opposing law

News outlets are reporting that some states and businesses who oppose parts or all of the health reform law are applying for the financial relief it provides.

3 Sep 2010

BDSI announces positive meeting with FDA, Meda on REMS program for ONSOLIS

BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. today announced a positive meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Meda and BDSI that occurred on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 to discuss significant modifications to the existing Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program for ONSOLIS (fentanyl buccal soluble film).

3 Sep 2010

National Drug Control Policy announces $22 million grant in DFC program

Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today announced $22 million in new Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grants to 169 communities and 16 new DFC Mentoring grants across the country.

3 Sep 2010

Researchers unveil prototype model of first implantable artificial kidney

UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.

3 Sep 2010

Radisphere enters partnerships with Hilton Head Hospital and East Cooper Medical Center

Radisphere National Radiology Group, a leading, national full-service radiology interpretations provider, has secured agreements with two Tenet Healthcare facilities - Hilton Head Hospital of Hilton Head, SC and East Cooper Medical Center of Mt. Pleasant, SC - to provide a combination of on-site and remote interpretation services as well as full night-time radiology coverage, all with final interpretations. Services have already been deployed at Hilton Head with East Cooper starting this week.

2 Sep 2010

iBio and CMB enter development and marketing collaboration with GE Healthcare

iBio, Inc., its development collaborator, Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB), and GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, today announced their entry into an agreement to jointly develop and globally market manufacturing solutions for biopharmaceuticals and vaccines based upon their respective proprietary technologies.

2 Sep 2010

King's College Hospital implements iMDsoft's MetaVision suite

iMDsoft® announces that King's College Hospital has gone live with iMDsoft's MetaVision® suite in its 16-bed critical care unit (PICU and HDU).

2 Sep 2010

AHF proposes innovative solution to resolve AIDS drug crisis in Florida

As the State of Florida grapples with a budget shortfall that is crippling its AIDS Drug Assistance Program and forcing the state to place more than 1,300 low-income Floridians on waiting lists to access lifesaving AIDS medications, AIDS Healthcare Foundation has proposed an innovative solution to state health officials and seven leading AIDS drug companies that would create a public/private partnership to resolve the drug crisis and get vulnerable Florida AIDS patients on to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment.

2 Sep 2010

SXC Health Solutions declares nominal dividend on common shares

SXC Health Solutions Corp., a leading provider of pharmacy benefits management (PBM) services and Health Care Information Technology (HCIT) solutions to the healthcare benefits management industry, announced today that its board of directors has declared a nominal dividend on the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company to effect a two-for-one stock split.

2 Sep 2010