Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Nine-member Creighton University surgical team departs to treat victims of Haiti earthquake

A nine-member Creighton University surgical team departed at noon on Saturday, Jan. 16, on a private passenger jet bound for the Dominican Republic, where they plan to help treat victims of the Haiti earthquake.

18 Jan 2010

Medical professionals and breast cancer survivors to attend 10th international conference in Georgia

2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the only international conference dedicated to the critical issues of young breast cancer survivors and those who care about them.

18 Jan 2010

Nationwide Children's Hospital to break ground for its third research facility

Nationwide Children's Hospital will break ground on property west of Parsons Avenue and north of Livingston Avenue in early 2010 for its third research facility as the last piece of its $840 million strategic facilities expansion plan, first announced in 2005. Nationwide Children's Board approval of the final construction budget is expected in early 2010.

18 Jan 2010

Memorial Healthcare System to deploy Axolotl’s Elysium Exchange solutions for HIE

Axolotl Corp., today announced that Memorial Healthcare System, the fifth-largest public health care system in the nation has selected Axolotl’s Elysium® Exchange suite of solutions to securely access and share clinical information between physician practices and medical staff. Axolotl’s Elysium Exchange solutions are used by hundreds of hospitals and thousands of health care professionals, powering 3 statewide HIEs and 18 additional regional exchanges (RHIOs) across the nation.

18 Jan 2010

Medpac recommendation: Adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments to recoup overpayments

Modern Healthcare: "The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission is recommending that Congress further adjust Medicare's hospital inpatient payments over three years to recover overpayments that have resulted from recent documentation and coding changes." MedPAC also "called for the same recommendation as last year: to increase payment rates for inpatient and outpatient hospital services at the full rate of inflation, concurrent with the implementation of a quality incentives program.

18 Jan 2010

Northstar Healthcare files for binding arbitration against Dr. Donald Kramer

Northstar Healthcare Inc. today announced that it has filed for binding arbitration of its subsidiaries' claims against Dr. Donald Kramer and related entities. As previously reported, these claims were made under agreements relating to Northstar's acquisition of its interests in the Palladium Partnership.

18 Jan 2010

Mass. special election could shape fate of health reform

Los Angeles Times: "For Democrats, it's a nightmarish scenario: A Republican appears to be within striking distance of capturing the Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy." Some polls now show that [Scott] Brown is gaining on Attorney General Martha Coakley, his Democratic rival.

18 Jan 2010

Health IT Roundup: Problems with privacy, access to records highlighted in news reports

"Despite a federal law requiring hospitals and doctors to release medical records to patients who ask for them, patients are reporting they have a hard time accessing" those records and that can lead to serious complications.

18 Jan 2010

Healthcare professionals fail to advise patients on their fitness to drive, researchers say

Researchers from the University's Warwick Medical School have found many healthcare professionals are failing to tell patients with certain conditions such as diabetes or visual impairment if they are not fit to drive.

18 Jan 2010

Fourth edition of IDF Diabetes Atlas reports high incidence of diabetes in developing countries

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18 Jan 2010

Majority of healthcare professionals fail to advise patients about their fitness to drive

Many healthcare professionals are failing to advise people with medical conditions that could affect their ability to drive whether they should get behind the wheel, according to research from the University of Warwick.

18 Jan 2010

Republicans hint at strategy to defeat health bill

Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., speaks as Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and John Fleming, R-La., listen during a news conference. Shadegg held the news conference to discuss the costs of health care reform.

18 Jan 2010

Geisinger CEO wins 2010 TRUST Award

The Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET), an affiliate of the American Hospital Association (AHA), has selected Glenn D. Steele Jr., MD, PhD president and chief executive officer of Geisinger Health System, as the recipient of the 2010 TRUST Award.

18 Jan 2010

Mass. Senate election could play role in health reform endgame

The Associated Press: "Like a roller-coaster ride on its last twisting turns, President Barack Obama's campaign to remake health care is barreling into final days of breathless suspense and headlong momentum." President Obama and other Democrats are focusing this weekend on "an unpredictable Senate race in Massachusetts, while senior White House and congressional staffers" hurry to complete work on the health bill's "cost and coverage options."

18 Jan 2010

'Cadillac' tax deal in the works

"Unions tentatively struck a deal Tuesday to exempt collectively bargained healthcare plans from a tax on high-cost plans expected to be used to help raise revenue for the healthcare overhaul," CongressDaily reports.

18 Jan 2010

Republicans decry Dems' deal with labor

Democrats' breakthrough deal with labor groups on the health overhaul yesterday is now attracting criticism as a handout to special interests, FOX News reports.

18 Jan 2010

Sen. Feingold asks Democratic leaders to remove special deals from health bill

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on Thursday called on Democratic leaders to strip special deals awarded to his colleagues from the final, negotiated health care reform package, although he stopped short of saying he would vote against the bill if his demands were not met.

18 Jan 2010

Researchers identify ways to predict patients with small-cell lung cancer

Researchers for TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare (TCRS) have identified a way to predict which patients with small-cell lung cancer may be resistant to first-line chemotherapy.

18 Jan 2010

Obama rallies House Democrats during Caucus retreat

President Barack Obama promised to wage "a great campaign" in support of health reform, and he praised lawmakers who made "tough choices" with possible electoral consequences during the House Democrats' annual retreat Thursday on Capitol Hill, The Washington Post reports (Bacon, 1/15).

18 Jan 2010

Japan's MHLW approves InSightec's ExAblate MRgFUS system

InSightec Ltd. announced today that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved the company's ExAblate(R) MR-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) system for the treatment of women with uterine fibroids.

18 Jan 2010