Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

House health panel ponders price transparency proposals

House lawmakers are considering several bills Thursday to make health care pricing more transparent, Modern Healthcare reports. The Energy and Commerce's health subcommittee "plans to take up a trio of bills aimed at increasing transparency and clarity in healthcare pricing, tackling an issue that has bedeviled the industry for decades and handcuffed efforts to turn everyday people into better purchasers of care."

7 May 2010

IASIS Healthcare second-quarter net revenue up 7.9% to $624.5 million

IASIS Healthcare® LLC today announced financial and operating results for the fiscal second quarter and six months ended March 31, 2010.

7 May 2010

FDA approves new oral contraceptive Natazia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Natazia, a combination hormonal tablet for use as an oral contraceptive.

7 May 2010

Massachusetts Attorney General pledges hearings into proposed Catholic Hospitals sale

The Associated Press/Boston Herald: Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is pledging to hold public hearings on a proposed sale of a chain of Catholic Hospitals there to a private equity firm. "Coakley said Caritas Christi Health System today filed a formal notice of the proposed transfer of the system to Steward Health Care System LLC, an affiliate of New York-based Cerberus Capital Management."

7 May 2010

Advocates: Nonprofit hospitals too quiet about charity care

Kaiser Health News: Two advocate groups say hospitals make it too difficult for patients to find out whether they are eligible for free or discounted care. Access Project and Community Catalyst, the two groups, released the results of a small, 99-hospital survey Wednesday. The American Hospital Association contends that's too small to be meaningful, and that, at any rate, the issues it raises have been addressed in the health overhaul.

6 May 2010

Teleflex Medical voluntarily recalls certain lots of AQUA+FLEX Hygroscopic Condenser Humidifier

Teleflex Medical has announced a worldwide voluntary recall initiated on March 19, 2010, affecting certain lot numbers of the Teleflex Medical AQUA+FLEX Hygroscopic Condenser Humidifier (HCH) (catalog number 1570) a passive humidifier indicated for use to effectively warm and humidify inspired gas during mechanical ventilation.

6 May 2010

Momenta Pharmaceuticals first-quarter net loss decreases to $16.1 million

Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the characterization and engineering of complex drugs, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2010.

6 May 2010

Gentiva Health Services first-quarter total net revenues up 7.5% to $297.1 million

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., a leading provider of home health and hospice services, today reported first quarter 2010 results.

6 May 2010

Biovail reports 27% increase in first-quarter 2010 total revenues

Biovail Corporation today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2010.

6 May 2010

Patient for Patient Safety Canada launches on Stop! Clean Your Hands Day

Patients for Patient Safety Canada, with a national vision of "Every Patient Safe", is officially launching as an organization today. Patients for Patient Safety Canada is a patient led national organization committed to safety in healthcare.

6 May 2010

Experts unveil roadmap to improve health and health delivery in the U.S.

A Commission of national health care experts convened by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress has unveiled a roadmap and integrated approach that will put "health" back into our nation's health care system as well as address key opportunities following passage of health care reform legislation.

6 May 2010

Increase in patient safety results in fewer negative medical outcomes: RAND study

Lisa Maas, executive director of Californians Allied for Patient Protection, issued the following statement in response to a recent study by the RAND Corporation which found that a reduction in the number of preventable patient injuries in California from 2001 to 2005 also corresponded to a drop in malpractice claims.

6 May 2010

IBM embarks on multi-year research effort to better understand actions needed to improve human health

IBM today launched a multi-year research effort to connect and analyze enormous collections of data from a wide variety of sources in order to enable individuals, governments and businesses to better understand which actions to take to improve human health. The project will initially focus on solving the issue of childhood obesity.

6 May 2010

Dassault Systèmes announces partnership with echoBase

Dassault Systèmes (DS), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, announced today a partnership with application developer echoBase, Inc, marking DS's entry into the electronic medical records market. echoBase's Resonate iPhone application for doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and other healthcare providers will leverage Dassault Systèmes' ENOVIA V6 online collaboration and data management solution to deliver portability, availability and security of healthcare data.

6 May 2010

Phase II trial: TB-402 demonstrates superior antithrombotic activity to enoxaparin

BioInvent International AB and ThromboGenics NV announce today positive results from their Phase II trial of TB-402. TB-402 is a novel, long acting anticoagulant that is being developed as a single injection for the prevention of venous thromboembolism following orthopaedic surgery.

6 May 2010

MRO releases software upgrades for Audit Tracker Online

MRO Corp., a leading provider of disclosure management applications and services for healthcare organizations, today announced the launch of software upgrades for Audit Tracker Online. The upgrades to MRO's request management program offer hospitals and health systems enhanced performance and functionality in effectively managing payer audits and denials from initial medical records request through appeals and payment resolution.

6 May 2010

Home-based medical devices to grow over 1.6M by 2013: Report

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. applauded the results of a new report from InMedica on the world market for telemedicine, predicting that the use of home-based medical devices will drastically increase as telemedicine takes-off. According to the report, by 2013 the combined unit shipments of home-use digital blood-glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, weight scales, pulse oximeters and peak flow meters used in telemedical applications will grow to over 1.6 million.

6 May 2010

Study on risk factors, potential harm associated with medication errors at hospital admission

A recent study conducted at Northwestern Memorial Hospital found that almost 50 percent of medication discrepancies were related to a failure to understand all of the prescription medications patients were taking at the time of hospital admission. While it's common for patients not to recall all of their medications, especially when they are not feeling well or being unexpectedly admitted to the hospital, the results can be serious.

6 May 2010

Premier healthcare alliance to host series of Healthcare Reform Executive Briefings

To prepare healthcare providers for the strategic implications of reform and the tools needed for future success, the Premier healthcare alliance will host a series of Healthcare Reform Executive Briefings.

6 May 2010

FiatLux Imaging extends availability of free medical software

FiatLux Imaging, Inc., a company dedicated to the development of powerful and useful new software to make the practice of medicine more effective, less expensive and more timely, announced today that, due to user demand and rapidly expanding use, it is extending the free availability of its Visualize FREE application for reading and analyzing medical imaging studies.

6 May 2010