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Some Medicare recipients will see jump in premium costs next year

"The basic Medicare premium will shoot up next year by 15 percent, to $110.50 a month, federal officials said Monday," The New York Times reports. "The increase means that monthly premiums would top $100 for the first time, a stark indication of the rise in medical costs that is driving the debate in Congress about a broad overhaul of the health care system."

21 Oct 2009

University Children's Eye Center to use SRS hybrid EMR for pediatric ophthalmology practice

SRS, the leader in high-performance hybrid EMR solutions, today announced that University Children's Eye Center has selected the SRS high-performance hybrid EMR for its high-volume pediatric ophthalmology practice located in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

21 Oct 2009

New workflow automation system from Illumina

At the 59th annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Illumina, Inc. announced the launch and immediate availability of cBot, a new standard for ease-of-use and sequencing workflow automation.

From Illumina, Inc. 21 Oct 2009

Missouri group accuses Humana of using scare tactics

After administration officials retreated last week on an order to silence insurers, activists in Missouri accused Humana of using scare tactics aimed at seniors. The Springfield, Mo., News-Leader reports: "Days after the Obama administration backed away from a gag order against health insurers, a small group of state activists traveled to Humana's corporate office in Springfield [Missouri] and lodged a formal complaint."

21 Oct 2009

24 Hour Fitness launches new Annapolis Super Sport club

24 Hour Fitness®, the largest privately owned U.S. fitness chain and a leading health club industry pioneer, announced today the opening of the Annapolis Super Sport club - the first club in the Annapolis area.

21 Oct 2009

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's initiative to transform health in developing countries

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced 76 grants of US$100,000 each to pursue bold ideas for transforming health in developing countries. The grants support researchers across 16 countries, including nine in Europe and Africa with ideas as diverse as using the power of sunlight to kill malaria-causing mosquito larvae and developing a device that repels mosquitoes without insecticides.

21 Oct 2009

MediWound reports positive results from phase III Debrase trial for treating burns

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that MediWound Ltd., a company in which Teva holds an 11% interest, reported positive results from a pre planned interim analysis of a phase III trial for Debrase®, an enzymatic debriding agent for burns.

21 Oct 2009

Reid: No comment on public option, bill will be ready 'soon'

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) declined Tuesday afternoon to predict when negotiations on a final health care reform bill would be complete, saying only that he hopes to have legislation in hand 'soon,'" Roll Call reports

21 Oct 2009

Osteologix to continue clinical development of NB S101 osteoporosis drug

Osteologix, Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical company announced today that the company will continue the clinical development for its osteoporosis drug, NB S101 (strontium malonate), in the United States and the rest of the world markets. Additionally, the company wants to recognize World Osteoporosis Day’s significance and make more people aware of its research dedicated to improving the lives of people with osteoporosis.

21 Oct 2009

Majority of IT practitioners believe organizations have insufficient resources to protect patients’ privacy

LogLogic®, the leader in log and security management solutions, and the Ponemon Institute, a privacy and information management research firm, today announced results of a national survey of healthcare IT security professionals that shows patients may be surrendering their privacy as the $2.5 trillion medical industry – prompted by federal stimulus funding – pushes to accelerate the pace of digitizing health information records.

21 Oct 2009

The medical homes model is spreading

A new model of health care called "medical homes" offers a stark contrast to hurried doctor visits, long waits and rushed physicians, the Chicago Tribune reports. Instead, a patients gets regular phone calls and e-mails from medical staff, reminders for flu screenings and vaccines, and less hurried doctors.

21 Oct 2009

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma acquires Sepracor

Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (“DSP”) and Sepracor Inc. today announce the successful completion of DSP’s acquisition of Sepracor for US$23.00 per share in cash. DSP completed the acquisition through a cash tender offer and by exercising an option to acquire additional shares directly from Sepracor followed by a short-form merger of an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of DSP with and into Sepracor on October 20, 2009. Sepracor is now an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of DSP.

21 Oct 2009

School meal programs should adopt new set of nutrient targets, says IOM

The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program should adopt a new set of nutrient targets and standards for menu planning, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

21 Oct 2009

Retinal prosthesis restores partial vision to people who are totally blind

Two experimental treatments, a retinal prosthesis and fetal tissue transplant, restored some vision to people with blinding eye diseases. The findings, presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health, may lead to new treatments for the blind. Researchers also reported that an engineered protein restored vision in an animal model and identified ways to improve stem cell treatments.

21 Oct 2009

New poll finds most Americans back public option in health reform

The Washington Post leads the paper today with a report that "a new Washington Post-ABC poll shows that support for a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers has rebounded from its summertime lows and wins clear majority support from the public."

21 Oct 2009

Apotex to market Hisamitsu's Fentanyl Transdermal System for chronic pain management

Apotex Corp announced today that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Company of Japan. Apotex will sell to the U.S. healthcare market, Hisamitsu's recently FDA approved matrix Fentanyl Transdermal System for the management of chronic pain.

21 Oct 2009

Grady Memorial Hospital uses LiveProcess event log for emergency healthcare management

Facilities like Atlanta, Georgia-based Grady Memorial Hospital are taking extra precautions, including leveraging technology for emergency healthcare management, in anticipation of a H1N1 surge this fall.

21 Oct 2009

Massachusetts seeks to cut increase in small business health care costs

Today's state news covers access to care issues in Florida and California, a new proposal to review premiums charged to small business, and the potential flaws of Ohio's nursing home payment plan.

21 Oct 2009

GlycoMimetics raises $38 million through venture financing

GlycoMimetics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a new class of glycobiology-based therapies for a broad range of indications, today announced the company has raised $38 million in its latest round of venture financing. New investor Genzyme Ventures joined returning investors New Enterprise Associates, The Novartis Venture Fund, Anthem Capital and Alliance Technology Ventures in the round.

21 Oct 2009

Assets of Cartilix acquired by Biomet

Biomet, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of orthopedic and dental medical devices, announced today its acquisition of the assets of Cartilix, a Foster City, CA based company that has developed proprietary cartilage repair technology.

21 Oct 2009