Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

TGen holds the promise of a brighter economic future for Scottsdale

TGen Drug Development (TD2) is poised to play a significant role in the expansion of Scottsdale's biomedical industry, fostering new jobs and city revenues, and prompting the creation of more related businesses.

22 Jan 2010

HMS completes 100% of its defined goals at the IHE North American Connectathon event

Healthcare Management Systems (HMS), the health information technology answer for community hospitals, successfully completed 100 percent of its defined goals at the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) North American Connectathon event in Chicago last week.

22 Jan 2010

Fattah releases statement urging the House and Senate to pass healthcare bill with improvements

Congressman Fattah releases the following statement urging the House and Senate to simultaneously pass Senate healthcare bill and House-Senate-White House negotiated improvements.

22 Jan 2010

Controversy around Merck's pricing for its AIDS drug Isentress

The controversy around Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals’ pricing for its key AIDS drug Isentress — at nearly $13,000 per patient yearly, the most expensive first line AIDS therapy on the US market today — continued this week following Merck’s reaction to recent public criticism of its AIDS drug pricing. Merck ramped up its damage control PR efforts, issuing a press release that sought to rewrite the history of Isentress and deflect attention by claiming AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been unfairly attacking them.

22 Jan 2010

Panel discussion on benefits of oral chemotherapy in cancer care

US Oncology, Inc. partnered with the Association of Community Cancer Centers, Association of Oncology Social Work, American Society for Clinical Oncology, Community Oncology Alliance, Oncology Nursing Society and the National Patient Advocate Foundation in hosting a panel discussion on Capitol Hill today to examine the benefits of oral chemotherapy in cancer care, as well as challenges in its prescribing, accessibility and adherence in the current health care system.

22 Jan 2010

AARP launches Idaho Budget Hotline to oppose budget cuts on healthcare and critical services

Bracing for the impact of more budget cuts from the Governor, the worst may still be ahead for the growing number of Idaho families and the elderly forced to turn to the state for the basics.

22 Jan 2010

Apotex provides nearly $2M worth of medicines for Haiti relief efforts

Apotex Inc, the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company, is working with the following relief organizations: World Vision, Feed the Children, and One X One. The company has provided close to $2 million worth of medicines to assist with the healthcare needs of the Haitian population.

22 Jan 2010

New learning centre dedicated to train CT health care specialists established

The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences and GE Healthcare Canada today announced the establishment of a new learning centre dedicated to training both the current and next generation of CT health care specialists.

22 Jan 2010

Analysis: Will financial incentives and penalties improve hospital care?

The English NHS should "proceed cautiously" in introducing payment for performance schemes aimed at improving the quality of care in hospitals, warn researchers from the University of York on bmj.com today.

22 Jan 2010

Amerinet contributes to Haiti's relief efforts

Amerinet, a leading national healthcare group purchasing organization, has initiated efforts among employees, members and suppliers to contribute to relief efforts for victims of the earthquakes in Haiti.

22 Jan 2010

Wars less deadly, most war-related deaths result from disease, hunger, report says

"Wars are less deadly than they once were and national mortality rates have continued to decline even during conflicts due to smaller scale fighting and better healthcare," according to a study released Wednesday by the Human Security Report Project, Reuters reports. "The report noted that most deaths in wars result from hunger and disease but said improved healthcare in peacetime had cut death tolls even during wartime, as had stepped up aid to people in war zones," according to the news service.

21 Jan 2010

UCLB, Kurma Biofund form partnership

UCLB is delighted to announce a partnership with Kurma Biofund, a recently formed venture capital fund based in Paris and dedicated to innovations in life sciences and healthcare. Kurma recently announced the closing of a first round of financing totalling -50 million.

21 Jan 2010

Reducing dietary salt can offer significant health benefits

Reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon (or three grams) per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths each year, according to a new study. Such benefits are on par with the benefits from reductions in smoking and could save the United States about $24 billion in healthcare costs, the researchers add.

21 Jan 2010

Pelosi: Senate health bill won't pass the House without changes

Reuters: "U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she does not think the Senate's version of healthcare reform has enough support in the House to pass without changes." She said she didn't see the votes for it, adding that Democratic congressional leaders were "not in a big rush" to figure out the next move on healthcare, but that they are committed to passing a bill this year (Smith, 1/21).

21 Jan 2010

Democrats weigh imperfect options for moving forward on health reform

USA Today reports that "Democratic leaders say [Mass. Republican Scott] Brown's win hasn't killed the $1 trillion health care bill," but after a series of meetings Wednesday they still had no "clear plan for how to proceed."

21 Jan 2010

Trustmark Mutual Holding to acquire HealthFitness for over $96M

Trustmark Mutual Holding Company and Health Fitness Corporation today announced a definitive merger agreement, pursuant to which Trustmark will acquire HealthFitness, an award-winning provider of integrated health and fitness management services, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $97 million.

21 Jan 2010

Democrats consider scaling back health reform package

ABC News interviewed President Barack Obama, who said: "The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated. People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process. ... I think point number two is that it is very important to look at the substance of this package and for the American people to understand that a lot of the fear mongering around this bill isn't true. I would advise that we try to move quickly to coalesce around those elements of the package that people agree on" (Stephanopoulos, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010

Rules for patient data security remain widely unenforced

"As the federal government prepares to spend up to $27 billion in stimulus funds to promote electronic medical records, a health technology industry survey suggests that a number of hospitals, health clinics, and insurance firms are violating federal security rules on patient data and putting sensitive health information at risk," The Center for Public Integrity reports.

21 Jan 2010

China Pharma Holdings announces completion of clinical trials for Candesartan

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., which develops, manufactures, and markets specialty pharmaceutical products in China, today announced that the Company has completed clinical trials for Candesartan, an anti-hypertension drug, and submitted the generic drug production application to the SFDA.

21 Jan 2010

Health IT news: Grassley queries hospitals, Microsoft's CEO sees need to boost tech for doctors, hospitals

Modern Healthcare: "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a letter asking 31 hospitals to report on their relationships with healthcare IT vendors, focusing on errors caused by IT systems and on so-called 'gag order or non-disclosure clauses' in vendor contracts that might prohibit the hospitals from disclosing information about system flaws." Grassley made a similar request to the IT vendors themselves last fall, and said his new letter was prompted by concern about taxpayers' investment in health IT as part of the economic stimulus (Conn, 1/20).

21 Jan 2010