Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

First Edition: November 19, 2009

Today's headlines are overwhelmingly focused on yesterday's major health policy development: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally unveiled the much-anticipated Senate health bill.

19 Nov 2009

HealthGrades identifies top-rated hospital organ-transplantation centers

The top-rated hospitals for organ transplantation are being identified for the first time today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. Based on patient outcomes, quality data for each of the 266 hospitals that perform transplants have been made public at www.healthgrades.com to help patients in need of kidney, lung, heart and liver transplants research and choose a transplant center.

19 Nov 2009

Workshop to address cultural diversity and ethnicity in healthcare

International academics are to gather at the University of Leicester to discuss 'Civil Society and the Governance of Health Care' in a one-day workshop event sponsored by the Cinefogo European Network of Excellence and organised by Professor Carlo Ruzza and Dr Ellen Annandale from the Department of Sociology on Friday 20 November.

19 Nov 2009

Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial for pulmonary hypertension, a rare but deadly disease

We often hear about the perils of high blood pressure, but many Canadians are unaware that high blood pressure in the lungs - known as pulmonary hypertension (PH) - can also have fatal consequences. This month, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association of Canada hopes to raise awareness about PH - a rare but serious disease that can strike at any time and has no regard for race, age or gender.

19 Nov 2009

NPSF supports obligatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers

The National Patient Safety Foundation recognizes vaccine-preventable diseases as a matter of patient safety and supports mandatory influenza vaccination of health care workers to protect the health of patients, health care workers, and the community.

19 Nov 2009

Global 'phase down' of dental mercury use finds support

Hailed as "a breakthrough" by Green Groups, an agreement in concept was reached yesterday by a World Health Organization (W.H.O.)-convened international expert group, supporting the "phase down" of dental mercury use worldwide. However, the groups note that there is still much work to be done in deciding how and when a global dental amalgam phase down will occur.

19 Nov 2009

Molina Healthcare's Medicaid plans included in 'America’s Best Health Insurance Plans'

Molina Healthcare, Inc., today announced that U.S. News and World Report has ranked all of Molina’s eligible subsidiary Medicaid health plans in California, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah and Washington among “America’s Best Health Insurance Plans” in the magazine’s annual report measuring the quality and performance of the nation’s Medicaid health plans.

19 Nov 2009

eHealthInsurance releases six-point checklist to get the most out of Medicare coverage

eHealthInsurance, the leading online source of health insurance for individuals, families, and small businesses, that now offers a new online Medicare resource, www.eHealthMedicare.com, today released a six-point checklist to help Medicare recipients make informed decisions about their Medicare options.

19 Nov 2009

MMR Information Systems and Unis-Tonghe Technology enter into a definitive agreement

MMR Information Systems, Inc., and Unis-Tonghe Technology (Zhengzhou) Co., Ltd, announced that they will enter into a definitive agreement by the end of this year to form a joint venture to build a customized version of MMR's proprietary personal health record ("PHR") services (www.mymedicalrecords.com) and professional document imaging and management solutions in China.

19 Nov 2009

SoloHealth and Kroger stores team up to promote eye health awareness

SoloHealth (www.solo-health.com), maker of EyeSite™ self-service vision testing and self-directed healthcare kiosks, has teamed with Atlanta area Kroger stores to promote eye health awareness and to encourage regular eye exams.

19 Nov 2009

New biomarkers can predict patients' response to certain drugs

Recent advances in cancer therapeutics have led to the discovery of biomarkers that can predict patient response to certain drugs. Screening for mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGRF) prior to non-small cell lung cancer treatment, for example, has been shown to indentify patients who are likely to respond to treatment with erlontinib. This maximizes the drug's impact, and spares patients who are not likely to benefit from being subjected to potentially debilitating side effects.

19 Nov 2009

Aperio Technologies receives U.S. patent for client/server image analysis

Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,602,524 entitled "Image Processing and Analysis Framework."

19 Nov 2009

Dell's MCC solution simplifies management for IT and info access for medical professionals

Dell announced a Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) solution that is designed to eliminate the traditional trade-offs hospitals face between making patient information available to medical staff at the point of care and securing it in the data center to promote compliance with HIPAA regulations.

19 Nov 2009

iCAD and AdMeTech Foundation sign a strategic partnership agreement

iCAD, Inc., an industry-leading provider of advanced image analysis and workflow solutions for the early identification of cancer, today announces a strategic partnership with the AdMeTech Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to end prostate cancer as a patient care crisis and socio-economic problem.

19 Nov 2009

TIME Magazine journalist honored with ASTMH Communications Award

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) today honored TIME Magazine Foreign Correspondent Vivienne Walt with its Communications Award during the opening ceremony of its 58th annual meeting.

19 Nov 2009

New non-alcohol germ protection spray now available in Greater Cleveland

MyClyns, the new non-alcohol germ protection spray, is now available to consumers over the counter throughout Greater Cleveland, one of two cities in the nation chosen as initial test market cities prior to a nationwide product launch.

19 Nov 2009

CareRadius suite, a first-ever care management system from Landacorp

Landacorp today announced the public release of CareRadius suite, the only care management application of its kind to successfully achieve a large-scale, live implementation.

19 Nov 2009

Senate health reform bill timeline slipping, Reid plans caucus meeting today

Senate action on health care reform before the Thanksgiving break seems less likely "as the upper chamber still doesn't have a final version of the bill," The Hill reports.

18 Nov 2009

New Senate health bill to be topic of Democrats closed-door meeting

The Associated Press: "Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada met Wednesday morning at the Capitol with Vice President Joe Biden to go over the game plan on health care. Crucial to the White House and Reid is winning over a handful of reluctant moderate Democrats."

18 Nov 2009

Click4Care receives prestigious Healthcare IT Innovation Award

Click4Care, a leading provider of care management software for payors, today announced that its revolutionary software platform was voted Solution with the Greatest Market Potential in the insurer category by the hundreds of senior industry executives that attended the Healthcare IT Summit last week in La Quinta, Calif.

18 Nov 2009