Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Zeria to market, distribute, and sell HemCon's wound and oral care dressings in Japan

HemCon Medical Technologies, Inc., an innovative developer of advanced medical products, is proud to announce the signing of an exclusive licensing agreement with Zeria Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products company. Through this partnership, Zeria will market, distribute, and sell HemCon's line of revolutionary wound and oral care dressings throughout Japan.

9 Apr 2010

Wolters Kluwer Health agrees to provide access to Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, has announced an agreement to provide access to Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference as part of premium subscriptions to its flagship drug reference, Facts & Comparisons® eAnswers.

9 Apr 2010

AmericanEHR Partners Program introduced to help medical practitioners compare EHR systems

A collaboration developing a new Web site to help medical practitioners compare electronic health records systems was announced today by its founding partners, the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies.

9 Apr 2010

Idaho man fourth in country to receive Levacor- VAD implant

After receiving only the fourth U.S. implant of a new-generation, Utah-made ventricular assist (VAD ) device, an Idaho man with heart failure is looking forward to resuming an active life following an operation on March 17 at University of Utah Hospital.

9 Apr 2010

St. Vincent's closure sparks concerns, other N.Y. hospitals make plans to accommodate patients

The planned closure of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City raises concerns as other hospitals plan to accommodate its patients.

9 Apr 2010

McKesson Asia Pacific to be sold to Medibank Private

McKesson Corporation, the world's leading healthcare services company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its McKesson Asia Pacific business to Medibank Private Ltd., the largest private health services and insurer in Australia. The acquisition is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2010, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory review in Australia.

9 Apr 2010

Svelte Medical Systems' Series A extension financing oversubscribed

Svelte Medical Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the extension of its Series A financing from institutional and private investors including CNF Investments, Apjohn Ventures and the Fischell family. The company's Series A extension was oversubscribed and included an initial investment by Norwich Ventures LP. Norwich Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm committed to helping entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals and inventors build innovative medical technology companies.

9 Apr 2010

Wave of tax changes comes with health law

The new health law will make a variety of changes to the tax code, including higher levies on the wealthy and millions of dollars in lost deductions for some corporations.

9 Apr 2010

Those who understand insurance coverage more cost-conscious, study says

The Associated Press/The Boston Herald: "Workers who better understand their health insurance plans — from their share of premiums to co-payments for doctor office and emergency room visits — are more likely to make more cost-efficient decisions, a new study finds. The study, which surveyed about 1,500 government workers in Massachusetts," was published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

9 Apr 2010

New CMS web site shines light on Medicare spending

A new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site is making more claims data available to the public, Modern Healthcare reports. The so-called "CMS Dashboard" reveals Medicare spending for the top 25 conditions in hospitals, and allows users to compare spending by state, conditions by spending and to review the top-10-spending states for each condition. Medicare Advantage patients are not included in the data set (Evans, 4/7).

9 Apr 2010

Superbugs on the decline in Scottish hospitals

The number of cases of hospital infections is on the decline in Scotland. Clostridium difficile, the hospital super bug which brings down a number of patients each year have halved in the last year. In the last 3 months of last year the patients over 65 years reported 672 cases of Clostridium difficile. This is a 48% decline from the 1,299 cases reported in the last three months of 2008.

9 Apr 2010

Miami Medicare case spotlights federal probes into HIV therapy fraud

A new Miami Medicare fraud case spotlights federal investigations of massive scams using HIV therapies.

9 Apr 2010

Ribavirin Biopartners 200mg film-coated tablets granted EU marketing approval

Biopartners GmbH has announced that it has received EU marketing authorization from the European Commission for Ribavirin Biopartners 200mg film-coated tablets. The product is intended for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection as part of a combination regimen with peginterferon alfa-2b or interferon alfa-2b.

9 Apr 2010

Democrats, Republicans using health reform votes to plot November strategies

The Associated Press: Vulnerable Democrats around the country are "tiptoeing" during the recess as they prepare for midterm elections. "Tough votes for Obama's health care plan have further complicated the re-election prospects of dozens of already vulnerable freshman and second-term Democrats. There's even a chance the party could lose control of one or both houses in the midterm elections."

9 Apr 2010

Mass. Judge says he will decide by Monday whether state erred in rejecting premium increases

A Suffolk Superior Court judge today "promised to make a decision by Monday afternoon in a high-stakes showdown between the [Gov. Deval] Patrick administration and the state's top health insurers" over proposed premium increases rejected by the state's Division of Insurance, the Boston Herald reports (McConville, 4/8).

9 Apr 2010

QuadraMed introduces Quantim ICD-10 Coding Simulator

QuadraMed® Corporation, a leading provider of healthcare technologies and services that help turn quality care into positive financial outcomes, today announced the general availability of the industry's first ICD-10 Simulator developed to help coders prepare for the transition to ICD-10. The Quantim ICD-10 Coding Simulator, which is available today as a component of the ICD-10 Countdown Program, is a unique solution that duplicates the ICD-10 coding environment for accelerated training and practice purposes.

9 Apr 2010

Linda Douglass leaving Obama's staff

The Hill reports that the "White House's top spokeswoman" on the health care issue is leaving.

9 Apr 2010

Merge Healthcare to exhibit expanded suite of women's imaging solutions at NCBC 2010

Merge Healthcare, a health IT solutions leader, today announced it will be showcasing it's expanded suite of innovative solutions and support of comprehensive continuing education programs for the advancement of women's imaging at the National Conference on Breast Cancer (NCBC) 2010. Additionally, Merge plans to introduce and collaborate with attendees on its Women's Healthcare Initiative, which builds partnerships with clinicians to provide broader access to training in the analysis and interpretation of these important studies.

8 Apr 2010

Political controversies surrounding healthcare reform law may continue

A comprehensive review of national opinion polls taken before and after Congressional voting and when President Obama signed into law a major healthcare reform bill last month has found that the law's signing did not lead the country to come together in support of this landmark legislation. Partisan differences are stark, according to researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) who analyzed 33 independent opinion polls in an effort to gauge public support for healthcare change.

8 Apr 2010

Crohn's disease: Remicade prescription to decrease, while Humira's increases

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that surveyed gastroenterologists estimate that (assuming no new data on adverse events emerge) they will treat fewer Crohn's disease patients with Centocor Ortho Biotech/Merck/Mitsubishi Tanabe's Remicade by the end of 2010, while the percentage of biologics-treated patients receiving Abbott/Eisai's Humira will increase to 36 percent.

8 Apr 2010