Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Biden formally announces $155 billion agreement with hospitals

Politico is reporting on its Political Intelligence Blog that Vice President Joe Biden, subbing for President Obama who is at the G-8 economic summit in Italy, formally announced the latest deal with the industry. "The nation's hospitals have tentatively agreed to forego about $155 billion in government payments for Medicaid and Medicare over the next decade -- about 20 percent of the $1 trillion projected to be needed to extend health coverage to about 47 million uninsured Americans."

8 Jul 2009

Hospitals, after agreeing to cuts, push ahead with a full agenda

With the Obama administration's help, hospitals are moving aggressively to resolve their biggest objections to legislative proposals to overhaul the health system.

8 Jul 2009

Emanuel reassures Democrats on public insurance option

"White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reassured House Democrats on Tuesday night that President Barack Obama strongly backs a government-run health insurance plan, seeking to quell a firestorm among liberals upset at Emanuel's comments in the Wall Street Journal that suggested such a plan could be delayed," Roll Call reports.

8 Jul 2009

Health reform legislation will impact preventive and wellness programs

Reuters reports: "Efforts to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system and expand coverage to millions of uninsured could lead some wellness programs to expand and others to constrict, experts say.... In all of the bills in Congress, insurers would be required to cover some preventive services, and all of the bills include prevention and wellness incentives.

8 Jul 2009

Health reformers shy from proposals that would limit treatment options

In a story headlined 'In Retooled Health-Care System, Who Will Say No?' the Washington Post reports: "Although Obama and his advisers have held up providers' spending patterns as the crux of the crisis, proposals in Washington go only so far in addressing the thorniest questions about who gets what care."

8 Jul 2009

Health indicators in South Africa vary by district, report indicates

In South Africa - "the quality of health care, including access to HIV prevention and testing services," largely depends on which of the country's 52 districts a resident lives in - according to findings in the latest District Health Barometer (DHB), an annual report by Health Systems Trust, IRIN reports. "Some of the inequities highlighted by the [report] can be traced to differences in health spending," IRIN writes.

8 Jul 2009

Multaq approved for atrial fibrillation by FDA

Sanofi-aventis announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Multaq (dronedarone) 400 mg Tablets. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (AFL) soon will have a new treatment option to help improve current management of their disease. Multaq is the first drug approved in the United States that has shown a clinical benefit to reduce cardiovascular hospitalization in patients with AF/AFL.

7 Jul 2009

NDA for Exenatide once weekly accepted for FDA review

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for exenatide once weekly has been accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

7 Jul 2009

Developed countries must address global warming to prevent disease, hunger in developing world

Pollution from the world's wealthiest countries is spreading disease and hunger in developing countries, according to a new Oxfam International report, which calls on developed countries to address global warming when G8 leaders meet in Italy, the Globe and Mail reports.

7 Jul 2009

Heart medication errors too frequent in children

Infants and young children treated with heart drugs get the wrong dose or end up on the wrong end of medication errors more often than older children, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's Center to be published July 6 in Pediatrics.

7 Jul 2009

Paying for health care overhaul may fall unevenly on states

"Some of the 'bluest' states that propelled Obama into the White House are among those most likely to pay more in taxes to fund expanded health insurance coverage and make other changes to the system, analysts say," The Los Angeles Times reports.

7 Jul 2009

European research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals

A research project focusing on quality and patient safety in hospitals has been offered €3 million from the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme - Health. The Jönköping Academy for Improvement of Health and Welfare is one of six collaborating project partners.

5 Jul 2009

Optimizing the start time of statin therapy for diabetics

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Mayo Clinic have developed a computer model that medical doctors can use to determine the best time to begin using statin therapy in diabetes patients to help prevent heart disease and stroke.

30 Jun 2009

Hospira receives FDA approval for Azithromycin for injection

Hospira, Inc has announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a 500 mg vial of azithromycin for injection in the ADD-Vantage System.

30 Jun 2009

MedImmune funds study on RSV disease among premature infants

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life.

30 Jun 2009

In South Florida, risk of unemployment would accompany health reform benefits

The Miami Herald reports that healthcare reform could acutely affect South Florida and provide both benefits and risks.

30 Jun 2009

Health reform questions continue to loom

Reuters reports that "President Barack Obama's drive to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system may be back on track thanks to Senate efforts to cut the price tag to $1 trillion, but a bipartisan deal on the sweeping proposal still is far from certain ... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was upbeat last week after announcing that panel members had found ways to bring the price tag to about $1 trillion over 10 years, down from an earlier estimate of a staggering $1.6 trillion ... Instead, the core group of negotiators -- three Democrats and four Republicans -- issued a tepid statement on Thursday merely affirming their commitment to continue negotiations."

30 Jun 2009

News reports examine patients unable to pay health bills in Kenya's "cash starved" hospitals; "bad shape" of Uganda's facilities

The Los Angeles Times examines several stories of patients too poor to pay their hospital bills in Kenya that were held in a "makeshift patients' prison," until they escape or settle their debt. "Tragically, healthcare horror stories are common in Africa, where developing countries rarely have medical safety nets for the poor. But an increase in cases of cash-starved public hospitals and mortuaries detaining patients and even corpses over unpaid bills is spurring outrage in Kenya," writes the newspaper.

30 Jun 2009

The Virtual Physiological Human

It could mean the end of animal testing and eventually even clinical patient drug trials. The Virtual Physiological Human is a 21st century pan-European project that’s gaining momentum and takes a major step forward this week at The University of Nottingham.

29 Jun 2009

Obama leaves door open to tax on health benefits

"President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected the idea of fully taxing Americans' employer-provided health insurance benefits, but suggested he might be persuaded to tax so-called Cadillac coverage ... in the interest of a compromise with Congress," McClatchy/The Star-Telegram reports.

29 Jun 2009