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Gray’s Anatomy: Grey area for medical students!

In a new study researchers have found that Australian medical students are struggling to name important body parts. They found that only nine of the 26 students could answer half of 20 questions correctly. Some (nearly a quarter) answers were “of concern” indicating a perfunctory knowledge of human anatomy.

13 Dec 2010

Fat or obese – What’s in a name?

The question of whether the term ‘fat’ is more appropriate than ‘obese’ was raised in an Australian study that confirmed the former is the “lesser of two evils”. The study from University of NSW study which looked at public perceptions surrounding these words has found that, while both are unwelcome, obese was viewed more negatively.

13 Dec 2010

Intercell to stop further development of Travelers' Diarrhea Vaccine Patch

Intercell AG announced today preliminary clinical results on its investigational Travelers' Diarrhea (TD) Vaccine Patch program and the decision not to pursue further the development of this vaccine candidate. The decision was made following the receipt of results of its randomized and placebo-controlled Phase III study (ELT301) with 2036 travelers from Europe to Mexico and Guatemala as well as the pilot efficacy Phase II trial (ELT209) with 723 travelers from Europe to India.

13 Dec 2010

Enrollment commences in multi-center clinical trial of CorMatrix ECM for Pericardial Closure

CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Inc., an Atlanta-based company dedicated to developing and delivering unique extracellular matrix (ECM) biomaterial devices that harness the body's innate ability to repair damaged cardiovascular tissue, announced today that Franciscan Alliance/St. Francis Heart Center in Indianapolis, Indiana is the first site to enroll a patient in the multi-center clinical trial of the CorMatrix ECM for Pericardial Closure to reduce the incidence of new onset postoperative atrial fibrillation.

13 Dec 2010

Consumers, employers and insurers work to incorporate reform's new rules

Big employers and insurers continue to brace for health reform's changes and new rules. In other news, CalPERS gives the new health law positive early reviews while other reports focus on how reform could impact Medicare coverage.

13 Dec 2010

iMDsoft, Mindray enter new distribution agreement

iMDsoft®, a leader in hospital-wide clinical information systems, and Mindray, a leading global provider of medical devices, have today announced a new distribution agreement. Under the agreement, Mindray will sell only clinical information systems by iMDsoft, and will be the sole distributor of MetaVision® in China. Mindray will also distribute iMDsoft's MetaVision® Suite solutions in 10 countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia.

From Mindray 13 Dec 2010

Federal judge poised to issue ruling in Virginia health law challenge

A Virginia federal court judge is expected today to issue a much-awaited ruling on whether the new health law violates the Constitution. Meanwhile, legal arguments are scheduled to take place Thursday in a Florida courtroom regarding a separate challenge to the health overhaul.

13 Dec 2010

FDA clears Clear Catheter Systems' PleuraFlow Active Tube Clearance System

Clear Catheter Systems, Inc., a Bend, Oregon-based medical device company, announced today that it has received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for its innovative PleuraFlow™ Active Tube Clearance System. This is a device that can be widely deployed in the post operative management of patients requiring heart and lung surgery.

13 Dec 2010

Survey: Health savings accounts pick up steam but remain a small part of health insurance market

A new survey finds that health reimbursements and health savings accounts are picking up steam but still remain a small piece of the national insurance market. Meanwhile, leaders in the Texas health insurance and delivery system agree that paying for value in health care, rather than volume, is key. Finally, maternity insurance continues to be a challenge for some consumers.

13 Dec 2010

$Indian study confirms vitamin D deficiency as risk factor for hip fracture$

Indian study confirms vitamin D deficiency as risk factor for hip fracture

A study from New Delhi India has revealed high rates of vitamin D deficiency among hip fracture patients, confirming the conclusions of similar international studies which point to vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for hip fracture.

13 Dec 2010

Mass. confronts high health costs

Massachusetts, four years into its own version of health reform, is now taking on the issue of spiraling health costs by attempting to change the health care payment system.

13 Dec 2010

MedVirginia becomes first community HIE to connect with Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

MedVirginia announced today that it has achieved another significant milestone: becoming the first community health information exchange (HIE) to connect with the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER). VLER is a collaboration between Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and civilian health systems to connect the health records of our nation's active duty military personnel and Veterans.

13 Dec 2010

1099 repeal foiled again, Politico reports

News outlets report on a number of Capitol Hill developments, including the latest failed attempt to repeal the 1099 reporting provision of the health overhaul.

13 Dec 2010

South Korean FDA approves EDAP's new Sonolith i-move lithotripter

EDAP TMS SA, the global leader in therapeutic ultrasound, reported today the approval of its new lithotripter Sonolith i-move by South-Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA).

13 Dec 2010

Reuters: Supreme Court to decide generic drug labeling issue

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would decide whether generic drug companies could be sued under state law over allegations they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects (Vicini, 12/11).

13 Dec 2010

Endologix acquires Nellix

Endologix, Inc., developer of minimally invasive treatments for aortic disorders, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Nellix, Inc. Nellix has developed a revolutionary new device for the treatment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms (AAAs) that is expected to address the limitations of existing endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) devices and expand the global AAA market. Endologix announced its agreement to acquire Nellix on October 27, 2010.

13 Dec 2010

OpEds: Ryan on 'welfare state'; Wisconsin health care; Facing AIDS; Penn. safety net

Government health programs can help fulfill the mission of health security, but the current structures of Medicare, Medicaid - and now Obamacare - rely on a faulty architecture that puts the federal government in charge on health care decision-making.

13 Dec 2010

Elsevier announces special Issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Elsevier Inc., the world's leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, announced today that Alcohol has published a special year-end double issue on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). It fills an urgent need to bring the widest possible readership current perspectives on using new research methods to improve identification and diagnosis of offspring at risk for FASD and its associated brain damage and behavioral dysfunction.

13 Dec 2010

Underwriters' exercise over-allotment option in Senior Housing Properties Trust's secondary offering

Senior Housing Properties Trust today announced that the underwriters of its secondary offering have exercised, in full, their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 1,875,000 shares of beneficial interest, raising additional net proceeds of approximately $36.8 million. The settlement of the over-allotment option is expected to occur on December 15, 2010.

13 Dec 2010

Nuance announces availability of Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder on iTunes App Store

Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced the availability of Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder on the iTunes App Store, expanding its healthcare suite of speech solutions for smartphones and building upon the recent success of Dragon Medical Mobile Search. With Dragon Medical Mobile Recorder, Nuance is introducing a new level of clinical documentation flexibility by enabling mobile point-of-care dictation that is connected to speech-enabled transcription platforms, eScription and Dictaphone Enterprise Speech System, and the fully-outsourced Nuance Transcription Services offering.

13 Dec 2010