Healthcare News and Research

Latest Healthcare News and Research

Research continues to prove that medical liability reforms work

New research on medical liability reforms continues to show that caps on non-economic damages are effective, lowering medical liability premiums, resulting in an increased supply of physicians to care for patients.

6 Feb 2008

For safety, NHLBI changes intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue.

6 Feb 2008

Clinical patient safety interventions reduce errors in obstetrical care

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have implemented patient safety enhancements to dramatically reduce errors and improve the staff's own perception of the safety climate in obstetrical care.

5 Feb 2008

The obesity epidemic - does the evidence stack up?

Last week, the UK health secretary declared that we are in a grip of an obesity epidemic, but does the evidence stack up? Researchers in this week's BMJ debate the issue.

5 Feb 2008

Black people die more frequently of severe sepsis that either whites or Hispanics

Blacks have almost double the rate of severe sepsis an overwhelming infection of the bloodstream accompanied by acute organ dysfunction as whites, according to recent research.

5 Feb 2008

Study suggests Risperidone long-acting injection combined with standard treatment helped delay time to relapse in patients with bipolar disorder

Patients with frequently relapsing bipolar disorder had a significant delay in the time to an initial relapse when risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) was combined with standard treatment, according to a new study. The study compared patients who received RLAI and standard treatment to those who received standard treatment combined with placebo.

4 Feb 2008

NACDS launches campaign to expand role in healthcare debate

Pharmacy is vital to healthcare quality, affordability and accessibility, and should be valued and utilized more completely. That is the message of a major advertising campaign launched today by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) as part of its increasingly proactive outreach to policymakers to tell the story of its members.

4 Feb 2008

CycleBeads help women manage their fertility

More than half a million women around the world, including an estimated 50,000 in the United States, use natural family planning methods developed by Georgetown University Medical Center’s Institute for Reproductive Health.

4 Feb 2008

Gene expression in meningiomas may vary by hormone receptor status

An association between hormones and meningioma has long been postulated, but the specific nature of this relationship has remained unclear.

4 Feb 2008

Scientists recreate rhinovirus infection in mice - hope of new asthma treatments

Scientists have been able to recreate rhinovirus infection, which is behind most common colds, in a small animal for the first time.

4 Feb 2008

BMA(NI) response to RPA announcement

Commenting on the Ministerial announcement today, 4 February 2008, on the Review of Public Administration, Dr Ailbe Beirne, Deputy Chairman of BMA(NI) said: "We are pleased to see the Minister continues to be committed to reform of the NHS here and we will be responding in full to the consultation, once it is in the public domain."

4 Feb 2008

New Zealand warns of risk from anti-epileptic drugs

New Zealand's Ministry of Health drug regulation arm Medsafe is alerting health care professionals about a small increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours in patients taking anti-epileptic medicines.

31 Jan 2008

U.S. mental health survey of people with schizophrenia and providers

Mental Health America has released results of the first national online survey to examine overall healthcare in mental health settings from the perspective of both people with schizophrenia and psychiatrists.

31 Jan 2008

Bush in State of the Union address calls on Congress to allocate $30 billion for PEPFAR

President Bush on Monday during his last State of the Union address urged Congress to authorize a $30 billion, five-year extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the New York Times reports (Stolberg, New York Times, 1/29).

30 Jan 2008

Formal European launch of lab tests online

The formal European Launch of Lab Tests Online, the peer reviewed, patient-centred, non-commercial source of information on laboratory testing, will take place on Thursday, 31 January at La Bibliotheque Solvay in Brussels.

29 Jan 2008

M. D. Anderson, AstraZeneca form alliance to advance understanding of cancer-related pain

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) today announced that they will collaborate to help advance understanding of neuropathic pain caused by cancer chemotherapy, a side effect that often limits optimal therapeutic dosing in cancer treatments.

25 Jan 2008