Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Skilled Healthcare Group files Motion for Mistrial on grounds of juror misconduct

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. filed a Motion for Mistrial or New Trial on Grounds of Juror Misconduct with the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Humboldt, earlier today in the case entitled VINNIE LAVENDER, by and through her Conservator, WANDA BAKER, WALTER SIMON; JACQUELYN VILCHINSKY vs. SKILLED HEALTHCARE GROUP, INC., et al (and 22 individually-named California nursing facilities receiving administrative services from Skilled Healthcare, LLC).

7 Aug 2010

Hospital revenue cycle leaders establish protocols for responding to RACs

Most hospital revenue cycle leaders have established protocols for responding to Revenue Audit Contractors, as well as post-payment audits targeting Medicaid and commercial claims. Mindful of the dollars at stake, these leaders have employed a number of technology and process-related improvements to mitigate risk and solidify overall revenue integrity.

7 Aug 2010

Myths and realities of Medicare bidding program for durable medical equipment

Providers of home medical equipment and services across California are proposing a fiscally responsible alternative to the mislabeled "competitive" bidding scheme currently under way in Medicare that will actually discourage competition, reduce access to care for many of California's 4.6 million Medicare beneficiaries, and put thousands of California homecare providers out of business.

7 Aug 2010

MedQuist contributes to new industry standard measurement policy for transcription jobs

MedQuist Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled clinical documentation services, continues to support industry best practices for quality standards and metrics. Together with the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), the Medical Transcription Industry Association (MTIA) and other industry quality leaders, MedQuist contributed to the new Healthcare Documentation Quality Assessment and Management Best Practices just unveiled at the AHDI 32nd Annual Convention and Expo.

7 Aug 2010

Ardea Biosciences second-quarter total revenues decline to $3.5 million

Ardea Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases, reported recent accomplishments and financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

7 Aug 2010

BMS to join ranks of AIDS drug companies to offer price concessions

Bristol-Myers Squibb will soon announce an agreement that will provide additional cost savings to cash-strapped ADAPs nationwide. The agreement, with the ADAP Crisis Task Force (ACTF) of the National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors, is expected to be announced any day. BMS has been the target of a sustained advocacy campaign led by AHF over its pricing of its key AIDS drug Reyataz.

7 Aug 2010

Halozyme second-quarter revenue increases to $3.2 million

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix for the endocrinology, oncology, dermatology and drug delivery markets, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Northstar Healthcare receives advance from CHA

Northstar Healthcare Inc. today announced that it received an advance in the amount of Cdn.$1,016,150 from Canada Healthcare Acquisition Inc., a corporation indirectly controlled by Dr. Donald L. Kramer, M.D., a former CEO and former director of Northstar.

7 Aug 2010

U.S. Senate passes I-ACT to enable patients with rare disease to participate in clinical trials

The U.S. Senate last night passed the "Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act" (I-ACT), a bipartisan piece of legislation championed by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, its advocates and 120 other health advocacy organizations.The legislation enables patients with rare diseases to participate in clinical trials without losing eligibility for public healthcare benefits.

7 Aug 2010

Chemed declares quarterly cash dividend

Chemed Corporation announced today that the Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 14-cents per share on the Company's capital stock, payable on September 7, 2010, to shareholders of record as of August 16, 2010. This is a 2-cent, or 16.7%, increase over the 12-cent dividend paid in the second quarter of 2010. The previous dividend increase was in August 2009, when the Board raised the dividend from 6-cents to 12-cents per share. This represents the 157th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by Chemed in its 39 years as a public company.

7 Aug 2010

Alpha II's ClaimStaker software to be available as integrated solution to Allscripts client base

Alpha II, a leader in healthcare coding, compliance and reimbursement, announced today a new integration contract with Allscripts, the leading provider of clinical software, information and connectivity solutions for physicians. Alpha II's ClaimStaker software will soon be offered as an integrated solution to the Allscripts client base currently using MyWay, Tiger PM and Vision PM. Alpha II's CodeWizard will also be integrated into the Allscripts MyWay application. Estimated date of completion for the integrations is Q1 2011 for MyWay and Tiger, and Q2 2011 for integration into Vision.

7 Aug 2010

Robertson Global Health Solutions reports completion of name change and reverse stock split

Robertson Global Health Solutions Corporation announced today that it has formally completed its name change along with a 1 for 15 reverse stock split resulting in 11,543,346 shares of common stock currently issued and outstanding with 20,000,000 shares, par value $0.001, authorized. The Company also has 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized, par value $0.001, with no preferred shares outstanding.

7 Aug 2010

The Ensign Group second-quarter total revenue up 19.5%

The Ensign Group, Inc., the parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, home health, hospice care and assisted living companies, today reported record results for the second quarter of 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Health reform law update: State lawsuits, implementation efforts attract attention

Today, 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business are planning "to file their response to the government's attempt to dismiss their lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The Justice Department in June asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the U.S. District Court in Pensacola lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over some of the lawsuit's claims. ... A key issue raised by their lawsuit is whether the federal government can require individuals to purchase health care insurance and fine those who don't" (Kay, 8/6).

7 Aug 2010

Arena Pharmaceuticals to sell common stock shares to Deerfield Management

Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has agreed to sell a total of 8,955,224 shares of its common stock, at a price of $6.70 per share, in a registered direct public offering to entities affiliated with Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment organization. Arena expects to receive gross proceeds, before expenses, of approximately $60 million. The closing of the offering is expected to take place on or before August 10, 2010.

7 Aug 2010

Upbeat Medicare solvency report quickly finds doubters

The new health law will buttress Medicare for a dozen more years than previously expected, according a report issued Thursday by the program's trustees, The Washington Post reports. But, "[t]he relatively bright picture of Medicare's future triggered immediate debate over whether the forecast by the trustees, all members of President Obama's Cabinet, is realistic.

7 Aug 2010

AMA says most doctors at some point face malpractice lawsuits

MedPage Today/ABC News: According to a new survey by the American Medical Association, more than 60 percent of doctors older than 55 have been sued for medical malpractice. "Although most of those claims are dropped or dismissed, the new survey from the AMA shows that most physicians will be sued for malpractice at some point in their careers.

7 Aug 2010

Medtronic completes enrollment in Complete SE vascular stent superficial femoral artery clinical study

With an expanded focus on addressing peripheral arterial disease (PAD), Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), today announced that it has completed enrollment in a clinical trial of the company's Complete SE (self-expanding) vascular stent for the treatment of atherosclerosis in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), including the proximal popliteal artery (PPA), which runs under the skin of the thigh.

7 Aug 2010

Private firms take up torch of health IT push

Health insurance companies, doctors' professional associations and provider organizations are taking efforts to move hospitals and physicians towards 'meaningful use' of information technology into their own hands, The Hill reports.

7 Aug 2010

Obama Administration awards $159.1 million in grants for nurses, geriatric care workers

"The grants, which include new and continuing funding, build on multimillion dollar investments called for under the new health-care overhaul law in order to address a growing shortage of primary care workers." A 2008 report by the Council on Physician and Nurse Supply said schools would need to produce 30,000 nurses annually to offset the shortfall and the looming mass retirement of nurses, 45 percent of whom are 50 or older" (Aizenman, 8/5).

7 Aug 2010