Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Majority of rural hospital stays are covered by Medicare

Medicare patients accounted for almost half of all stays (45 percent) at rural hospitals in 2007, while the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to urban hospitals was considerably lower (35 percent) , according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

5 Feb 2010

Health spending consumes more of U.S. economy, will tip toward government

A new report by federal actuaries shows government programs will pay for more than half of all U.S. health care spending by 2012, and that total spending on health grew as a share of the economy by 1.1 percent last year to 17.3 percent, the largest leap ever, the Los Angeles Times reports.

4 Feb 2010

Obama tries to bridge Democratic divide on health reform

Speaking with Senate Democrats Wednesday, President Obama "suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill, The Washington Post reports.

4 Feb 2010

Arizona Oncology physicians provide advanced cancer care for MHC patients

Cancer patients in Marana now have more options for cancer care. Arizona Oncology physicians will now treat patients at Marana Healthcare Clinic (MHC). Drs. Laurie Chen and Y. Haroon Ahmad, medical oncologists, are now actively caring for patients at MHC.

4 Feb 2010

COBRA extension likely part of Senate Democratic jobs plan

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today said he plans to move the " first part of a job-creation package next week." In discussing the measure during a Capitol Hill press conference, Democratic leaders were short of specifics "but pledged to make the issue of job creation their top priority in 2010."

4 Feb 2010

Mike Critelli introduces Allviant’s CarePass technology at CHVI event

Dossia Chairman Mike Critelli, a recognized innovator in health benefits and workforce wellness, introduced Allviant Corporation’s CarePass™ technology at the Center for Health Value Innovation (CHVI) event on February 2 in Washington, D.C.

4 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Health care spending is taking an increasingly big bite out of the nation's economy, according to today's headlines.

4 Feb 2010

NIH awards CYCORE project for cancer research $2.6M

Nearly four decades after President Richard Nixon declared a "War on Cancer," the disease still claims the lives of 560,000 Americans every year, despite an annual expenditure of $5 billion by the U.S. government on research to battle it.

4 Feb 2010

Surgery pricing secrets: The challenges patients face

Patients are the losers in both the Democratic and Republican versions of the health care reform bills. Proposed health care reform won't help patients find out how much health care costs before they get care and many hospitals aren't set up to help.

4 Feb 2010

Proposals to reduce tax deductions for charitable donations will harm fundraising for nonprofit hospitals

President Obama's budget proposals to reduce tax deductions for charitable donations and freeze discretionary spending will harm fundraising for nonprofit hospitals by thwarting giving by wealthy donors and drying up funds meant to help the poor and underinsured, according to the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy whose members direct fundraising for some 2,200 hospitals and health care systems across the U.S. and Canada.

4 Feb 2010

New program to help the U.S. health care sector switch to cleaner, renewable energy sources

In recent months, three U.S. hospitals signed energy contracts that will save over $1.7 million in energy costs, provide them with up to 10 percent clean energy. The green energy will avoid 11,829 metric tons of CO2 being released to our atmosphere, which is equivalent to taking 2,052 cars off the road or not burning 56 railcars' worth of coal.

4 Feb 2010

CardioNet's MCOT service: 300,000th patient benefits

CardioNet, Inc. announced today that the 300,000th patient has been monitored with the Company’s Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry (MCOT™) service. MCOT is the first system to provide real-time wireless ECG monitoring and 24/7/365 analysis and response.

4 Feb 2010

Wolters Kluwer Health relaunches flagship drug information reference as Facts & Comparisons eAnswers

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that it has relaunched its flagship drug information reference as Facts & Comparisons® eAnswers.

4 Feb 2010

ASTRO leads the way to help physicians improve safety and reduce medical errors

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has committed to a six-point patient protection plan that will improve safety and quality and reduce the chances of medical errors, ASTRO Board Chairman Tim R. Williams, M.D., said today.

4 Feb 2010

New Hanover Regional Medical Center renews supply chain agreement with Broadlane

Broadlane, the leading end-to-end cost-management partner for healthcare providers, announced today that New Hanover Regional Medical Center, in Wilmington, North Carolina, has renewed its supply chain relationship with Broadlane for another five years. New Hanover will continue to access Broadlane’s unparalleled national contract portfolio of consumable supplies, equipment, pharmaceuticals and purchased services to help manage approximately $130 million in annual supply spend.

4 Feb 2010

Harris introduces CESS to help healthcare organizations implement CONNECT solution

Harris Corporation recently introduced Harris CONNECT Engineering Support Services (CESS) to help healthcare organizations rapidly implement the Federal Heath Architecture CONNECT solution – a gateway to the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).

4 Feb 2010

NAE and IOM join for panel discussion on 'Engineering Innovations in Healthcare'

WHAT:The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will join together for the first time at the regional meeting and panel discussion on "Engineering Innovations in Healthcare" at the University of Miami.

4 Feb 2010

Health Discovery receives final patent infringement payment from Vermillion

Health Discovery Corporation announced today that the Company has received the final payment that was due under the agreement that settled the Company’s patent infringement lawsuit against Vermillion, formerly known as Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc.

4 Feb 2010

Emerging Healthcare Solutions completes due diligence and review requirements with ThromboVision

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc. announced today that the company has successfully completed the due diligence and review requirements under their recent option agreement with ThromboVision, a company that has licensed the patent on the new T-Guide® Platelet Function Analyzer, which is currently going through regulatory clearance review.

4 Feb 2010

Mandatory flu shot program increases vaccination rate to more than 98% in BJC HealthCare

Making flu shots mandatory in 2008 dramatically increased the vaccination rate among St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare's nearly 26,000 employees to more than 98 percent, according to a report now online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

4 Feb 2010