Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

iMDsoft's MetaVision suite of solutions to be distributed by Dominion in Spain

iMDsoft®, a global leader in hospital-wide clinical information systems, and Dominion, a leading provider of technology solutions in Spain and Latin America, have announced an agreement whereby Dominion will distribute iMDsoft's MetaVision® suite of solutions in Spain.

22 Mar 2010

ATS Medical receives Canadian approval for commercialization of Simulus Annuloplasty Product Line

ATS Medical, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services today announced that Health Canada-Medical Device Bureau, Therapeutic Products Programme has approved commercialization of the ATS Simulus® Annuloplasty Product Line for valve repair.

22 Mar 2010

Aston University scientists receive grants to develop new forms of drug delivery

Before you swallow a tablet, or put it into a glass of water to dissolve, do you ever stop and think about how it actually works in your body and how quickly and effectively it can deliver the drug to where it is needed?

22 Mar 2010

Lab on a Chip for research on oxygen impact on brain cells

A mini-laboratory that makes it possible, among other things, to study how brain cells in stroke patients are affected by lack of oxygen is being developed by a research team at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. Lab on a Chip is what the scientists are calling their mini-lab, which is expected to facilitate studies of all sorts of biological cells and how they are affected by different medicines, chemical substances, etc.

22 Mar 2010

Replay of the Recovery Act rhetoric two-step, says Congressman Chaka Fattah

"So we're hearing that a bunch of Republican governors and attorneys general are vowing to file suit to block comprehensive healthcare reform as soon as we pass it in the Congress and President Obama signs it into law. These are some of the same Republicans who claimed they were going to refuse money from the Recovery Act – and quietly took the dollars anyway.

22 Mar 2010

NBCSL calls for support of healthcare reform bill

Representative Calvin Smyre (GA), President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators issues the following statement in support of healthcare reform bill pending in Congress.

22 Mar 2010

Executive order on abortion funding to assuage anti-choice members: Center for Reproductive Rights concerned

News reports today confirm that an executive order on abortion funding is being developed in an attempt to assuage anti-choice members of the House of Representatives and to secure their votes in the down-to-the-wire battle over passage of healthcare reform. The text of the proposed executive order has not been publicly disclosed. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights has this response:

22 Mar 2010

Gender divide over the healthcare reform bill

The historic healthcare reform bill has unearthed a strong difference between the Catholic nuns and Bishops. In short the great gender divide is at play again! While 59,000 nuns all over the country are in support of the bill, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops oppose it strongly.

22 Mar 2010

Thomson Reuters study finds 7.3% rise in employer healthcare costs for 2009

Average healthcare costs for U.S. employers increased 7.3 percent in 2009, according to study published today by Thomson Reuters. The year-over-year increase topped the 2008 rate of 6.1 percent and occurred in a year when the U.S. inflation rate was negative.

22 Mar 2010

SHEA, IDSA release new clinical practice guidelines for CDI in adults

A joint panel of experts from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America today released online new clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults. The guidelines, to be published in the May issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, update recommendations regarding the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment and infection control and environmental management of this disease.

22 Mar 2010

AFSCME to continue healthcare reform battle to the U.S. Senate

"Tonight's historic vote marks a major milestone in the struggle to break the power of the insurance industry and provide quality, affordable health care for millions of American families. Democrats in the House, with the determined leadership of President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, demonstrated the courage that is necessary to defeat the special interests and do what is right for the American people.

22 Mar 2010

HAIs in southeast U.S. community hospitals: Infection rates for CDI surpass MRSA's

Researchers studying epidemiology of healthcare-associated infections in community hospitals in the southeast U.S. found that rates of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) surpassed infection rates for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Scientists also discovered that healthcare-associated CDI, which is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis, occurs more often (21 percent) than healthcare-associated infections due to MRSA.

22 Mar 2010

Catholics for Choice comments on healthcare reform promises

At the outset of the debate over healthcare reform, leaders in the Democratic Party made a number of promises to the American people.

22 Mar 2010

A new chapter in the history of healthcare reform

The US house of Representatives has voted narrowly to pass a landmark reform that has been on the agenda for quite some time now. The bill passed by 219 votes to 212, with no Republican backing after strong debate. This bill will extend insurance coverage to 32 million more Americans, and marks the biggest change to the US healthcare system in decades.

22 Mar 2010

Given Imaging to purchase Sierra Scientific Instruments from Water Street Healthcare Partners for $35M

Water Street Healthcare Partners, a leading private equity firm focused exclusively on health care, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its gastrodiagnostic device company, Sierra Scientific Instruments, to Given Imaging Ltd ( GIVN). Given Imaging, the global leader in patient-friendly GI diagnostic and monitoring solutions, will purchase the business for $35 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in early April.

22 Mar 2010

Pelosi urged Obama to not cut back on health care plan

The New York Times recounts the steps Democrats took to regroup on the health overhaul legislation after losing their filibuster proof majority in the Senate after Massachusetts voters elected Republican Scott Brown in January. According to the Times account, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi helped steer President Barack Obama away from a more modest approach on health care. '"We're in the majority,' Ms. Pelosi told the president. 'We'll never have a better majority in your presidency in numbers than we've got right now. We can make this work," the paper reported.

22 Mar 2010

In historic vote, House passes sweeping health bill

Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Mary Agnes Carey reports that, by a vote of 219-210, the House of Representatives has cleared the Senate-passed health care bill for President Barack Obama's signature. The House will now vote on a separate package of legislative changes to that bill -- known as a reconciliation package -- to send it to the Senate for debate this week.

22 Mar 2010

GAO's recommendations to be implemented for new Martin Army Community Hospital construction at Fort Benning

The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it is fully implementing the Government Accountability Office's recommendations for the future construction of the new Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning, Ga.

20 Mar 2010

Bleach solution effective in reducing hospital-acquired infections

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the one of the leading pathogens causing hospital-acquired infection in the United States. It may cause diarrhea, colitis, sepsis and lead to prolonged hospitalization and death.

20 Mar 2010

Arizona eliminates CHIP; Schwarzenegger seeks to reform California prison health care system

The New York Times: "Arizona on Thursday became the first state to eliminate its Children's Health Insurance Program when Gov. Jan Brewer signed an austere budget that will leave nearly 47,000 low-income children without coverage." The state's budget woes are a stark depiction of "how the fiscal crisis afflicting state governments is cutting deeply into health care.

20 Mar 2010