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Consumer reports survey shows health plans get lukewarm response

A recent survey shows health insurance plans get "lukewarm" responses while other articles examine how to choose a good plan. The Washington Post reports: "Consumers aren't that enthralled with their current insurance to begin with. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, only 64 percent of readers said they were very or completely satisfied with their plan. That's a lukewarm response and a slight drop from the 67 percent who responded the same way in CR's 2007 report."

14 Oct 2009

Core administrative costs in Medicaid plans decreases by 1.4% in 2008: SEER study

Core per member administrative costs in Medicaid plans decreased by 1.4% in 2008, compared with 8.2% in 2007. Adjusting for changes in product mix, administrative expenses grew by 1.4% in 2008 compared with 4.2% in 2007.

14 Oct 2009

Used hotel soaps help prevent disease in developing countries

The Associated Press/Washington Post profiled the efforts of Atlanta-based Derreck Kayongo, a Ugandan "anti-poverty advocate." Kayongo has launched "the Global Soap Project, an effort to help his country's poorest - one used bar of hotel soap at a time," the AP/Washington Post writes.

14 Oct 2009

Market Street's initiative to combat cold and flu season

As a complimentary service, Market Street pharmacies are expanding the grocer’s whole-health commitment to its guests by offering free antibiotics and prenatal vitamins to North Texans to help weather the cold and flu season through its “Free to Feel Better” program. Additionally, Market Street’s new partnership with Dallas-based MedicalEdge has transformed the Living Well ExpressCare Centers into more than just walk-in clinics.

14 Oct 2009

Kaiser Permanente receives $54 million grant from NIH to conduct health research

As part of the $5 billion in grants announced by President Obama, the National Institutes of Health has granted Kaiser Permanente more than $54 million over two years through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to conduct health research on a multitude of critical public and clinical health areas.

14 Oct 2009

Webinars to discuss how MCA improves patient care

Calling all health IT professionals: something special is coming to HealthcareGoesMobile.com. The first Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA) Week is slated for Oct. 12-16, when this free healthcare technology Web community is dedicated to all things related to the MCA device. The MCA was specifically designed to streamline clinician workflows and improve interactions with patients at the point-of-care.

14 Oct 2009

Breast tenderness indicates increased cancer risk among women on combination therapy

Women who developed new-onset breast tenderness after starting estrogen plus progestin hormone replacement therapy were at significantly higher risk for developing breast cancer than women on the combination therapy who didn't experience such tenderness, according to a new UCLA study.

13 Oct 2009

AHF praises the California Governor for signing rapid HIV testing bill

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the operator of the largest non-government HIV testing program in California, today praised the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signing Assembly Bill 221, legislation which updates and streamlines the training of counselors for rapid HIV testing by exempting persons administering finger stick rapid HIV tests from the requirement for certification as a limited phlebotomy technician (LPT).

13 Oct 2009

Positive results from Alkermes' ALKS 33 clinical trials announced

Alkermes, Inc. today announced positive topline data from two clinical trials of ALKS 33, an investigational oral opioid modulator for the treatment of addiction and other central nervous system disorders. Data from the studies, ALK33-003 and ALK33-004, showed that ALKS 33 was generally well tolerated and successfully blocked the effects of an opioid, with a duration of action that supports once daily dosing.

13 Oct 2009

More employers demand workers prove dependents are eligible for coverage

The Washington Post reports that some employers are pushing ineligible dependents out of health insurance plans. "Call it a sign of the times: A growing number of area employers, including the Commonwealth of Virginia, Johns Hopkins University and the Navy Federal Credit Union, are cracking down on workers who enroll ex-spouses, over-age children, grandchildren and others not entitled to coverage under their health plan.

13 Oct 2009

Meda Pharmaceuticals introduces Onsolis for treating breakthrough cancer pain

Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the launch of Onsolis(TM)(fentanyl buccal soluble film) in the U.S. for the management of breakthrough pain (BTP) in patients with cancer, eighteen years of age and older, who are already receiving and who are tolerant to opioid therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain.

13 Oct 2009

Study says critical illness among Canadian patients with H1N1 occurred rapidly after hospital admission

Critical illness among Canadian patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) occurred rapidly after hospital admission, often in young adults, and was associated with severely low levels of oxygen in the blood, multi-system organ failure, a need for prolonged mechanical ventilation, and frequent use of rescue therapies, according to a study to appear in the November 4 issue of JAMA.

13 Oct 2009

Airwatch announces partnership with Mobile Device Management

AirWatch™, a leading provider of enterprise-wide Mobile Device Management (MDM) software, today announced a partnership with Homecare Homebase™. The partnership enables Homecare Homebase to license the AirWatch Mobile Device Management Solution under the name Device Link to its growing customer base of hospice and home healthcare agencies.

13 Oct 2009

Prescription drug ads drive up U.S. health costs

NPR reports on how prescription drug advertising drives up consumer demand, which drives up medical costs. The story, done in partnership with the public radio program, This American Life, is the third in a three-part series about why American health care costs are so high. "Prescription drug spending is the third most expensive cost in the U.S. health care system.

13 Oct 2009

Sanofi-aventis collaborates with Merrimack Pharmaceuticals for rights to human monoclonal antibody MM-121

Dyax Corp. announced today new developments involving drug candidates identified using the Company’s proprietary phage display technology as a result of two deals recently announced by sanofi-aventis.

13 Oct 2009

Drop in current clinical development and success rate for drug delivery enabled products

Bionumbers, LLC announced top-line figures from the second report in its Parameters of Performance series: "DD09 - Drug Delivery Product Success Rates, Development Times, Costs and Marketing Exclusivity."

13 Oct 2009

PhysioNetics receives grant to continue development of 'gripper' for upper-extremity prostheses

A $750,000 Phase II grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow PhysioNetics, LLC to continue its development work on an innovative new “gripper” for upper-extremity prostheses.

13 Oct 2009

Human milk oligosaccharides protect infants against infection

Human milk oligosaccharides - an important ingredient in human breast milk - play a central role in protecting infants against infection. An innovative process developed by Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH allows for the first time ever the production of these scarce sugar molecules for use as an ingredient in baby food and in additional food products.

13 Oct 2009

Prolifiq partners with EthicsPoint to offer compliance monitoring solutions

Today at the annual AdvaMed medical technology industry conference, Prolifiq (booth #219), leading provider of Good Promotional Practices software, announced a partnership with EthicsPoint, the global authority in integrated hotline and case management solutions.

13 Oct 2009

EnviroSystems expands its growth opportunities in the Korean market

Anpath Group, Inc., announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, EnviroSystems, Inc. (ESI) has expanded its growth opportunities in the Korean market with the appointment of FAB, USA (FAB) as a distributor in Korea. Early this year Anpath announced significant growth in sales of its EnviroTru® Disinfectant Cleaner in Korea.

13 Oct 2009