Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Alli boosts weight loss and reduces excess visceral fat

New studies show that overweight and obese people using alli® (orlistat 60 mg) with a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet can significantly reduce weight, visceral fat, and waist circumference and therefore may reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

28 Jan 2010

Mercadien Technologies announces availability of MCare web-based service

Mercadien Technologies, a leader in risk management, information governance and managed IT support solutions today announced the general availability of its MCare(TM) solution, a web-based service that monitors the health status of business-critical devices and applications, remotely diagnosing problems before they occur.

28 Jan 2010

Mayo Clinic's QI programs recognized for inclusion in pilot MOC program

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)—the nation's three largest physician certifying boards—today announced that Mayo Clinic has been approved as a Portfolio Sponsor of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) activities.

28 Jan 2010

Amarin reviews 2009 accomplishments; outlines strategy for 2010 and beyond

Amarin Corporation plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the treatment of cardiovascular disease, today issued a special letter to its shareholders.

28 Jan 2010

Seroquel XR's FDA approval does not change Decision Resources' earlier antipsychotics market forecast

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant approval of AstraZeneca's Seroquel XR for adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder will not change Decision Resources' market forecast for the indication. As previously forecasted, Seroquel and Seroquel XR will garner nearly one quarter of antipsychotics sales as adjunctive treatments for major depressive disorder in 2013 in the world's major pharmaceutical markets.

28 Jan 2010

Life Technologies announces a series of investments and new technologies for genetic sequencing research

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ:LIFE), a provider of innovative life science solutions, today announced a series of investments and new technologies designed to extend the use of sequencing in the research arena and make it more relevant for physicians.

28 Jan 2010

NIH awards GE Global Research $3.27M to develop highly mobile, less costly MRI systems

Working to expand access of state-of-the-art medical imaging to underdeveloped regions around the world, GE Global Research, the technology development arm for the General Electric Company, has been awarded a four-year, $3.27 million award from National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new magnet technology that will make MRI systems less costly and easier to site.

28 Jan 2010

Virgin HealthMiles announces significant annual growth in 2009

Virgin HealthMiles, a leading provider of employee health and productivity programs that reward individuals for getting healthy, today announced significant annual growth in 2009, with a 30 percent year-over-year increase in new clients and a 163 percent year-over-year growth in the number of eligible program members.

28 Jan 2010

International congress reflects emerging importance of abdominal obesity

Clinical and basic science researchers from around the world will convene in Hong Kong from January 28 to 30 for the First International Congress on Abdominal Obesity: "Bridging the Gap between Cardiology and Diabetology."

28 Jan 2010

Med-IC aims to improve health care for older adults

The Medicare Innovations Collaborative, or Med-IC, is a pilot program that will put some of the nation’s best ideas for improving health care for older adults into practice at hospitals around the country, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University announced.

28 Jan 2010

Over 8% of medical devices in circulation are counterfeit: WHO

Counterfeit medical products are becoming an international epidemic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 8% of the medical devices in circulation are counterfeit. The offending products may be assembled from inferior quality components, or worse yet, from fake parts that could contain toxic materials. In either case the dangers are the same. Counterfeit medical devices pose a significant liability to the manufacturers and a health risk to both the patients and healthcare providers that could result in injury, permanent disability, or even death.

28 Jan 2010

Researchers urge for a national health trust for personal and public health

The United States has an inefficient and expensive health care system, but it could be improved with a new integrated health care system detailed in a new study in the American Journal of Public Health (February 2010 Vol. 100 No. 2).

28 Jan 2010

Also in global health news: Pakistan's farm land; PMTCT in Kenya; Burkina Faso's maternal health; health care access in Middle East

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Tuesday the country plans to sell farmland to foreign investors despite warnings by the U.N. that doing so could compromise farmers' rights, Reuters reports.

28 Jan 2010

Pelosi on health reform: 'We will make every effort'

The Washington Post / Reuters: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said today that abandoning health care reform was not a possibility. "'Let's put it this way. The present (healthcare) system is unsustainable. We can no longer afford it ... We will make every effort to have a health care bill. But we will make progress, whatever it is, one way or the other, we will go forward with that'" (Maler, 1/27).

28 Jan 2010

State news: A doctor shortage in New Jersey, a plan to expand health care in Iowa and more

News outlets report on a health care expansion plan in Iowa, an outcry over a possible hospital deal in New York, the impending doctor shortage in New Jersey, and an increase in new HIV infections in Minnesota.

28 Jan 2010

Synygy, Health Market Science partner to market commercial analytics solutions for healthcare industry

Synygy Inc., the largest and most experienced provider of sales performance management solutions, and Health Market Science, the leading source of healthcare provider data and advanced analytics, have partnered to market joint sales compensation and commercial analytics solutions for the healthcare industry.

28 Jan 2010

Lawmakers voice opinions and search for ways forward on health overhaul

The Hill: "[Centrist] Democrats such as Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Max Baucus (Mont.) have approached [Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine,] within the past week to discuss her potential support for various healthcare proposals." Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who caucuses with the Democrats, has also broached the topic with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, another moderate Republican, who "said she would consider supporting a scaled-back version of the health legislation," (Bolton, 1/26).

27 Jan 2010

Access Scientific's PICC WAND receives FDA clearance

Access Scientific has received FDA clearance for The PICC WANDTM, which enables clinicians to insert a peelable sheath for PICC or Midline catheter placement using the new Accelerated Seldinger Technique (AST). The PICC WAND is an all-in-one safety introducer that addresses the over-wire vascular access market, valued at more than $1 billion, by providing faster, safer and simpler vascular access.

27 Jan 2010

Tissue Genesis, AMS to develop adipose-derived regenerative cells for treating pelvic health disorders

Tissue Genesis, Inc., an emerging leader in advanced tissue engineering and cell therapy solutions, and American Medical Systems Holdings, Inc. announced today they have signed an agreement for the research and development of adipose (fat)–derived regenerative cells for use in treating pelvic health disorders.

27 Jan 2010

Democrats shun health reform deadlines as they await state of the union

Democrats Tuesday backed away from setting or adhering to a health overhaul timeline "saying they no longer felt pressure to move quickly on a health bill after eight months of setting deadlines and missing them," The New York Times reports.

27 Jan 2010