Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Researchers to analyse nanoparticles

Researchers at Swansea University's Centre for NanoHealth have been awarded £1 million by the Research Councils' Nanoscience through Engineering to Application cross-council programme, led by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC), to analyse the levels at which nanoparticles can be deemed safe within cells.

3 Sep 2009

Research reveals that 21% of death claims are rejected by California's largest private insurers

More than one of every five requests for medical claims for insured patients, even when recommended by a patient's physician, are rejected by California's largest private insurers, amounting to very real death panels in practice daily in the nation's biggest state, according to data released today by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.

3 Sep 2009

Intendis GmbH forges agreement with SkinMedica to acquire two prescription dermatology products

Asset Purchase Agreement Signed for Marketed Prescription Products Desonate(R) and NeoBenz(R) Micro

3 Sep 2009

Hong Kong's healthcare workers to refuse H1N1 vaccine, says study

According to a study released August 26, 2009 by the British Medical Journal, more than half of Hong Kong's healthcare workers surveyed said they would refuse the H1N1 shot, which is not yet available, because they are afraid of side effects and doubt how safe and effective it will be. More importantly, the study suggested the trend would be repeated worldwide.

3 Sep 2009

New therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer

A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine reports a potential new investigational therapy for advanced and metastatic basal cell skin cancer tested at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare and other sites appears to demonstrate tumor shrinkage and limited side effects in patients.

3 Sep 2009

AVA issues guidelines for disinfecting IV catheters

How to meet new infection-control guidelines from the Joint Commission and the SHEA/IDSA Compendium will be the focus of a panel discussion at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA).

3 Sep 2009

An already-changing insurance market may face more transformation

The Wall Street Journal: "Insurers are increasingly setting up brick-and-mortar retail stores that peddle individual and sometimes small-group health plans, with companies including Humana Inc., Aetna Inc. and Health Net Inc. so far trying the concept. Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Pennsylvania and South Carolina say they've had good results from shops, while Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Florida Inc. plans to add five more locations after the success of its existing two."

2 Sep 2009

Rxeob appoints Sales Director to advance Strategic Health Plan Solution campaign

RxEOB, the industry leader in providing personalized online member communication features and advanced pharmacy benefit data solutions, is pleased to welcome Shaw Newman as Sales Director for RxEOB's Strategic Health Plan Solution campaign.

2 Sep 2009

Wisconsin Bridge Community Health Clinic to implement HealthPort's EMR and RCM applications

HealthPort, a top-25 company in the healthcare information technology industry, today announced that Bridge Community Health Clinic in Wausau, Wisconsin has partnered with the company to implement three of HealthPort’s technology solutions: HealthPort Practice Management (PM), HealthPort Electronic Medical Record (EMR); and HealthPort Revenue Cycle Management (RCM). HealthPort serves approximately 12 percent of the community health centers (CHCs) nationwide making them a leading technology solutions provider for this increasingly important industry segment.

2 Sep 2009

Validus chooses Ranbaxy to market an authorized generic version of Rocaltrol in the US

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (RPI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL), Gurgaon, India, announced an agreement with Validus Pharmaceuticals LLC (Validus) to market and distribute an authorized generic version of Rocaltrol(R) (calcitriol) in both softgel capsules and an oral liquid formulation. Overall market sales for calcitriol softgel capsules and oral liquid were $70 million (IMS - MAT: June 2009).

2 Sep 2009

Ferguson OTC Center of Excellence launched to address increase use of OTC drugs

Ferguson, the founding professional agency of CommonHealth, today announced the launch of the Ferguson OTC (over-the-counter) Center of Excellence, a new initiative designed to address the rapid increase of promotion and use of OTC drugs.

2 Sep 2009

First Edition: September 2, 2009

Baucus-Grassley Bipartisan Partnership Frays Under Health Reform Pressures For nearly a decade, the cross-aisle team of Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Charles Grassley has shaped dozens of tax cuts, trade measures and health bills on the Senate Finance Committee. That led many to predict that the partnership would be strong enough to broker bipartisan health care legislation this year (Kaiser Health News).

2 Sep 2009

Department of Health Care Services 2009 Gold Quality Award for SFHP

San Francisco Health Plan (SFHP), the City's community public health plan, today announced that it has received the Department of Health Care Services 2009 Gold Quality Award, ranking the plan as a leader in quality care throughout the state of California for Medi-Cal managed care plans.

2 Sep 2009

Ektron reports growth as more consumers select Ektron CMS400.NET

Ektron Inc., a technology and market leader in Web content management software, reports a steady growth in customers in the Healthcare industry. Ektron attributes this growth to its Healthcare Practice, a team dedicated to working with healthcare providers in the development of their Web strategy using Ektron CMS400.NET.

2 Sep 2009

Capsule receives ISO-13485 certification for its data processing systems in the medical area

Capsule (www.capsuletech.com), the leading provider of medical device connectivity, announced today that it has received ISO-13485 certification for its headquarters in Paris, France and its US operation in Andover, MA.

2 Sep 2009

HIS market grows in Europe due to governments' investment in healthcare IT sector

Although most hospitals in Europe have some kind of information system in place, very few have a fully integrated and functional hospital information systems (HIS) solutions installed. The adoption rate of HIS solutions in 2008 in Europe varied from about 73.0 per cent in Italy and Spain to 95.0 per cent in Scandinavia. Increasing accountability pressures on the government and regulatory authorities to garner more investments into healthcare IT adoption is boosting the HIS market potential.

2 Sep 2009

Survey on the current routine practice in CRT implantations in patients with heart failure

The European cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) Survey is a joint initiative taken by the Heart Failure Association (HFA) and European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) of the European Society of Cardiology. Its primary objective is to describe current European practice and routines associated with the implantation of a CRT device with or without an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) capability in patients with heart failure.

2 Sep 2009