Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Program for healthcare writing opportunities

With ever-rising healthcare spending, writing opportunities about the health and wellness industry are unlimited. “Regardless of economic conditions, writers will always have lots of topics to cover,” says Sherry Shameer Cohen, President of the Connecticut Press Club.

18 Feb 2010

Hot button health reform issues: The individual mandate and selling insurance across state lines

News outlets report on several of the hot button issues in the health care debate, including the individual mandate and selling insurance across state lines.

18 Feb 2010

Genzyme announces fourth-quarter and full-year 2009 financial results

Genzyme Corp., a diversified, global biotechnology company, today announced fourth-quarter and full year 2009 financial results and provided 2010 guidance that reflects growth across its businesses and a focus on strengthening core areas of the company.

18 Feb 2010

The Ensign Group announces record $542.0M total revenue for full-year 2009

The Ensign Group, Inc., the parent company of the Ensign™ group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, hospice care and assisted living companies, today reported record results for the fourth quarter and full year 2009.

18 Feb 2010

FedSources releases in-depth report on Federal healthcare technology market

FedSources, a Washington Management Group company, has released an in-depth report analyzing spending trends within the Federal healthcare technology market, including health IT.

18 Feb 2010

PositiveID acquires intellectual property rights and assets of Easy Check Medical Diagnostics

PositiveID Corporation announced today that it has acquired intellectual property rights and assets of Easy Check Medical Diagnostics, LLC, to expand its portfolio of non-invasive glucose-level testing products and diabetes management tools under development. Easy Check has two primary products under development: the Easy Check breath glucose detection system and the iGlucose™ wireless communication device.

17 Feb 2010

Former Senate parliamentarian questions reconciliation, Senators want public option back

A former Senate parliamentarian said Tuesday that using reconciliation to pass health care reform will be difficult because the procedure wasn't meant to make policy, Politico's Live Pulse blog reports. The former parliamentarian, Robert Dove, who now teaches at George Washington University, said there are many things that cannot be put into the reconciliation bill. "Dove would know. In 1974, in the midst of his 36-year Senate career, he helped design the Congressional Budget Act, which first created the rules for reconciliation.

17 Feb 2010

COBRA expansion, Medicare payments to doctors 'fix' looming over Congress

Lawmakers seek ways to expand COBRA and address the Medicare doctor payment "fix."

17 Feb 2010

IH Systems selects Robotic IV Automation Systems for cytotoxic drug preparation

Following the successful integration of RIVA (Robotic IV Automation System) - a self-contained unit for filling IV syringes and bags - into three healthcare institutions in 2009, and the announcements of several more sales for installation in 2010, medical device company Intelligent Hospital Systems has confirmed the sale of three additional RIVA systems for cytotoxic drug preparation in 2010.

17 Feb 2010

St. David's Healthcare to acquire Texas-based multi-hospital regional healthcare system

St. David's HealthCare and MedCath Corporation today announced an agreement for St. David's HealthCare to acquire the Heart Hospital of Austin. St. David's HealthCare is a multi-hospital regional healthcare system based in Austin, Texas.

17 Feb 2010

MedCath to sell Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership

MedCath Corporation and its physician partners announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell substantially all the assets of Heart Hospital of Austin to St. David's Healthcare Partnership, L.P. ("St. David's"). The transaction is expected to close during MedCath's third fiscal quarter of 2010, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory requirements.

17 Feb 2010

Merge Healthcare signs reseller agreement with Orion Health

Merge Healthcare announced today that it has signed a reseller agreement with Orion Health, a leading provider of clinical workflow and integration solutions in healthcare. Orion Health has licensed Merge technology to bring medical images and information into its physician portal solutions.

17 Feb 2010

FDA approved cannabis medicines needed for veterans to relieve symptoms of PTSD

Cannabis Science Inc., an emerging pharmaceutical cannabis company, is reviewing interim results of its survey from over 1400 people, US military veterans and others who responded to our PTSD survey. The survey is still available for a limited time online on the www.cannabisscience.com website for all those who still wish to participate.

17 Feb 2010

Nebraska laws to protect patients and healthcare providers against unfair prescription insurance practices

Dozens of patients and state and national advocacy and healthcare groups, including Nebraska Medical Association and Nebraska Nurses Association, today urged passage of two precedent-setting consumer protection healthcare bills during a hearing at the Nebraska State Capitol. These laws would be the first in the nation to protect patients and healthcare providers against unfair prescription insurance practices.

17 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 17, 2010

Today's headlines reflect more chatter about President Obama's upcoming health summit, as well as talk about budget deficits, the COBRA extension and party gridlock.

17 Feb 2010

AHF to protest Merck’s Isentress pricing and policies at CROI

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a protest Wednesday morning, February 17 at 8:00am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the 17th Conference of Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco.

17 Feb 2010

Low-income nations lack advanced e-health tools that can help them achieve better health outcomes

In an essay in the February 2010 issue of Health Affairs, a special issue of the journal devoted to global e-health, William Tierney, M.D., of Indiana University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, and colleagues, who like Dr. Tierney have significant experience in the development of workable health information technology systems in low-income countries, identify critical steps toward allowing developing countries to cross the "digital divide" to realize the full potential of e-health to improve the quality and efficiency of their health care systems.

17 Feb 2010

Patients and doctors differ when it comes to daily health activities

When it comes to daily health activities such as diet and exercise, Americans and their doctors may not always see eye to eye.

17 Feb 2010

Educational event: SCAI highlights gender and racial disparities in treating cardiovascular disease

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) today announced an educational event for the public highlighting the gender and racial disparities in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The "Know What Counts" educational program titled, "The Path to Health Care Equity: Identifying and Solving Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care in the New Century," will feature a distinguished physician panel, along with a keynote address by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.

17 Feb 2010

Siemens Healthcare to host first free Virtual Healthcare IT Conference on the use of EHR

On February 23, Siemens Healthcare kicks off its first in a series of free Virtual Healthcare IT Conferences. The conference, accessed at www.siemens.com/virtual-ARRA, will provide insights on achieving Meaningful Use of electronic health records, tied to the HITECH provision of President Barack Obama's American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and how health IT technology can help propel organizations to exceptional achievements in the delivery of healthcare services.

17 Feb 2010