Quality Control News and Research

RSS

Radiation oncologist says radiation quality assurance practices need to be standardized

In 2009, after The New York Times reported a series of mistakes in radiation therapy delivery, a team of radiation oncologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson decided to investigate how thoroughly different hospitals use "chart rounds" to review the radiotherapy cancer patients receive.

3 Nov 2010

GW School of Nursing receives full accreditation from CCNE

The George Washington University School of Nursing has received full accreditation for its bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

2 Nov 2010

Planning Accountable Care Organizations

American Medical News: "The National Committee for Quality Assurance is seeking input from the public on draft accountable care organization standards," which "were drafted by the organization's Accountable Care Organization Task Force comprising representatives from large integrated health care systems, academia and the insurance industry. … Establishing ACOs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries is a key part of health system reform legislation" (11/1).

1 Nov 2010

American Anesthesiology acquires Greensboro Anesthesia Physicians

American Anesthesiology, a subsidiary of MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Greensboro Anesthesia Physicians, P.C., a physician group practice that provides patient services at three hospitals within the Moses Cone Health System and two surgery centers in the Greensboro, NC, metropolitan area.

1 Nov 2010

Seven tips for navigating Medicare maze

If you're about to turn 65, you'll be part of the first wave of baby boomers signing up for Medicare. Consumer Reports Health recommends signing up as early as three months ahead of your birthday. Failing to do so could potentially cost you thousands of dollars down the road. That's one of seven tips for navigating the Medicare maze available in the December issue of Consumer Reports and online at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org.

1 Nov 2010

Oncimmune to present benefits of EarlyCDT-Lung cancer test at ACCP annual meeting

Oncimmune® LLC, maker of EarlyCDT-Lung, a simple blood test that aids physicians in the risk assessment and early detection of lung cancer, today announced that two oral presentations and five poster presentations during this week's American College of Chest Physicians' (ACCP) annual meeting in Vancouver will collectively highlight the clinical and economic benefits of EarlyCDT-Lung.

1 Nov 2010

New automated extraction pipeline to track radiation dose information

Researchers have developed an efficient method for extracting and archiving CT radiation dose information that can enable providers to keep track of estimated radiation dose delivered to each patient at a given facility, help providers make more informed health care decisions and improve patient safety.

1 Nov 2010

Philips launches HFO Oncology Configuration for radiation therapy

Royal Philips Electronics today introduced the Philips Panorama High Field Open (HFO) Oncology Configuration for radiation therapy, a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging solution for dedicated oncology use, at this year's American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego, CA.

From Philips Healthcare 1 Nov 2010

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. completes transition to new facility

The Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. is pleased to announce the completed transition to 78 Chilmark Street, Worcester, MA 01604. The new facility is located just off of Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. The new facility boasts nearly 5,000 square feet of total area, allowing the Cryogenic Institute to expand its operations.

31 Oct 2010

Delaware Physicians Care #21 on NCQA's top 25 Medicaid plan rankings

For the third year in a row, Delaware Physicians Care has been selected as one of the top 25 Medicaid Plans out of hundreds in the nation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The ranking is based on clinical quality, member satisfaction and NCQA accreditation scores.

30 Oct 2010

Agilent opens new life sciences instruments manufacturing facility in Singapore

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced the opening of its new life sciences instruments manufacturing facility in Singapore. The facility will produce the company's Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS) instruments for the global market.

30 Oct 2010

Aceto named on 'ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors' list

Aceto Corporation, a global leader in the sourcing, quality assurance, regulatory support, marketing and distribution of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, specialty chemicals and crop protection products, today announced that they were selected as one of the "ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors", a listing of the world's leading companies serving buyers of chemicals based on calendar 2009 sales.

29 Oct 2010

Sandoz initiates voluntary recall of Methotrexate Injection

Sandoz Inc. announced today it has initiated a voluntary recall in the US of all 50mg/2mL and 250mg/10mL vials of Sandoz and Parenta brand Methotrexate Injection, USP product ("methotrexate") to the consumer/user level. Consistent with its commitment to quality and patient safety, Sandoz is initiating this voluntary recall of all 24 lots of the affected product following the finding of small glass flakes by Sandoz quality control in a limited number of vials in four lots.

28 Oct 2010

Glaxo to pay $750 million settlement for defective, unsafe medicines

The New York Times: "GlaxoSmithKline, the British drug giant, has agreed to pay $750 million to settle criminal and civil complaints that the company for years knowingly sold contaminated baby ointment and an ineffective antidepressant — the latest in a growing number of whistle-blower lawsuits that drug makers have settled with multimillion-dollar fines." The 20 medicines that were produced with "questionable safety" measures included "Avandia, a troubled diabetes drug; Coreg, a heart drug; and Tagamet an acid reflux drug."

28 Oct 2010

Jamieson releases flu-fighting formula with echinacea

Jamieson Laboratories, Canada's largest manufacturer of advanced natural-health products, announced the release of FluShield™, a clinically proven flu-fighting formula that is made with a patented, next-generation echinacea extract known as LPx3.

27 Oct 2010

Rising alcohol prices driving the young towards illicit drug use

A latest study that spanned over two years revealed a link between alcohol prices and consumption of illicit drugs such as ecstasy. The study says that as alcohol prices have risen young people have ‘switched’ to the party drug ecstasy as an alternative.

26 Oct 2010

Glaxo to pay $750 million in defective drug settlement

GlaxoSmithKline Plc, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, has agreed to pay $750 million to settle a U.S. government false-claims lawsuit over the sale of defective drugs. The lawsuit first filed in 2004 by Cheryl D. Eckard, a former global quality assurance manager for the London-based company came to a settlement finally. Eckard, 51, said, “This is not something I wanted to do, but because of patient safety it was necessary.” Being the one to bring this to notice she would receive $96 million from the settlement money. She had warned the company earlier but was fired because of her efforts.

26 Oct 2010

Centene third quarter premium and service revenues increase 9.5% to $1.082 billion

Centene Corporation today announced net earnings from continuing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2010, of $22.4 million, or $0.44 per diluted share; $0.48 from operations excluding a $0.04 charge for net investment writedowns.

26 Oct 2010

DKSH’s distribution centers achieve GMP/GDP certification

On the occasion of DKSH's Annual Logistics and Quality Seminar in Taipei, Business Unit Healthcare organized a Certification Award Ceremony to acknowledge the great success of the certification program. It was presided by Charles Toomey, Executive Vice President Business Unit Healthcare, and Dr. Eize de Boer from SGS (Société Générale de Surveillance).

26 Oct 2010

MSSNY names athenahealth as preferred EHR vendor

athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider of web-based practice management, electronic health record (EHR), and patient communication services to medical groups, today announced that it has been named a preferred EHR vendor by the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY).

25 Oct 2010