Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Senators at odds about drug importation amendment

The New York Times: "Debating an overhaul of the health care system, the Senate found itself tied in knots on Thursday over a bipartisan proposal to allow people to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and certain other countries."

13 Dec 2009

Luna Innovations completes litigation settlement with Hansen Medical

Luna Innovations Incorporated announced today that it has executed a Settlement Agreement with Hansen Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: HNSN) resolving the outstanding litigation between the companies.

13 Dec 2009

Senate faces another working weekend as holiday target appears increasingly hard to reach

CongressDaily: "Senators continued to quibble over procedure Thursday, complicating Majority Leader [Harry] Reid's plans to file cloture on three pieces of his healthcare bill at once, a procedural step he hopes will allow passage before Christmas, though that appears increasingly unlikely."

13 Dec 2009

Skilled Healthcare Group acquires nursing facility in Iowa

Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. today announced that its wholly owned company, St. Mary Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, LLC (“St. Mary HRC”), has completed the acquisition of a 118-bed, skilled nursing facility located in Davenport, Iowa. St. Mary HRC plans to begin building upgrades and improvements that are expected to increase skilled mix and to increase occupancy rates from current levels of approximately 50 percent.

13 Dec 2009

Democrats struggling to find delicate balance on Senate health bill

The Hill: "Two key senators criticized the most recent healthcare compromise Sunday, saying the policies replacing the public option are still unacceptable. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) both said a Medicare 'buy-in' option for those aged 55-64 was a deal breaker.

13 Dec 2009

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta receives $5 million multi-year gift to care for low-income children

Kaiser Permanente of Georgia today announced a $5 million multi-year gift to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta with the goal of improving access to care for low-income children.

12 Dec 2009

BaylorHealth.com wins gold at Healthcare Internet Conference and silver at W3 Awards

Baylor Health Care System's website - BaylorHealth.com - took home the gold at the thirteenth annual Healthcare Internet Conference and silver at this year's W3 Awards.

11 Dec 2009

CyMap technology wins first prize in the Medical and Healthcare category

CyMap, an innovative lens-free microscope developed by Cancer Research UK scientists and members of the Optical Biochips Consortium*, has won first prize in the Medical and Healthcare category of The Engineer's Technology and Innovation Awards as well as the overall Grand Prix prize.

11 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 11, 2009

Today's headlines track the fits and starts of the Senate's health bill debate, including moderates' concern regarding the recent Medicare expansion deal and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's positive reaction to it. Meanwhile, floor action appears snagged on a drug importation amendment.

11 Dec 2009

Prescription drug and healthcare expenditures increase for U.S. adults

In 2006 the average cost for a prescription drug purchase for Americans age 18 to 44 was double the inflation-adjusted average for 1996, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

11 Dec 2009

PharmMD raises $8.8 million in capital from The Riverside Company and FCA Ventures IV

PharmMD recently raised $8.8 million in capital from The Riverside Company and FCA Ventures IV, a fund of Clayton Associates.

11 Dec 2009

African-American women in South Carolina more likely to have cervical cancer than white women

African-American women in South Carolina are 37 percent more likely to have cervical cancer than white women and have a death rate that is about 61 percent higher, according to a study by researchers at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health.

11 Dec 2009

Proposed changes to breast cancer screening criticized

The Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Investigation and one of the country's most respected medical policy professors has written a new commentary which criticizes proposed changes to breast cancer screening.

11 Dec 2009

HSMR helps identify sepsis as an area of concern for Canadian hospitals

A new study shows that in 2008-2009 more than 9,300 patients died of sepsis, a condition resulting from the body's response to severe infection, in Canadian hospitals outside Quebec.

11 Dec 2009

Hospitals use V-Notch labels to prevent the risk of ID errors

Incorrect labeling on blood collection tubes can lead to inaccurate bar code scanning and misidentification, which can drastically affect test results. Just one misaligned label can cause a patient to be misdiagnosed or otherwise mismanaged.

11 Dec 2009

Perspective on HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 testing presented by Edifecs

Edifecs, Inc., the proven leader in HIPAA 5010 and Healthcare Channel Modernization solutions, announced today that Sunny Singh, Edifecs CEO, was invited by the NCVHS (National Committee for Vital and Health Statistics) to present his perspective regarding HIPAA 5010 and ICD-10 testing.

11 Dec 2009

Italy's economically disadvantaged people have higher rates of hospitalization for ACSC disorders

Despite free public healthcare, Italy's poor are more likely to end up in hospital with avoidable conditions, new research shows. This pattern, reported today in the online open access journal BMC Public Health, mirrors findings from a number of different healthcare systems around the world, although to date fewer studies have been completed in Europe.

11 Dec 2009

Microsoft to acquire Sentillion

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it intends to acquire Sentillion Inc., a privately held company specializing in software for the healthcare industry. Combining Sentillion's products with Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) will make it easier for healthcare professionals to deliver better patient care by streamlining access to multiple IT applications and patient data.

11 Dec 2009

American Sentinel University offers new online healthcare degree programs for professionals

American Sentinel University (www.americansentinel.edu), an accredited online university that provides degree programs for professionals, announces two new online healthcare degree programs: Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – Infection Prevention and Control specialization.

11 Dec 2009

Pelosi: Depending on Senate, House could work part of Christmas week

CQ Politics: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she wouldn't rule out keeping the House in session for part of Christmas week, if that could lead to final action this year on a health care overhaul. Right now, however, such a scenario appears unlikely." In the Senate, Democratic leaders are waiting for an updated Congressional Budget Office analysis -- a report not expected before next week -- that includes the most recent round of proposals to the bill they are considering.

10 Dec 2009