Medical News April 30th, 2008
Hospital offers more aid to poor
Joliet’s Silver Cross adds to incentives for approval of its move to New Lenox,
Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet will pledge to spend at least $40 million over the next 10 years to care for underinsured and uninsured patients in Will County if a state board allows it to relocate to New Lenox by 2011, hospital officials said.
Patients often struggle for access to medical records
In 2001, Sandee Pingatore was determined to find out why her son, Troy, 29, had died in a California hospital while being treated for a drug overdose just hours after she had been told he was stable. But Pingatore was unable to get the hospital to produce a key medical record showing his blood pressure in his final hours.
Robot reinvents bypass surgery
The surgeon working inside J.C. Bizzle’s chest perched at an egg-shaped console a few yards from the operating table. Without laying hands on his patient, he bypassed two clogged arteries supplying Bizzle’s heart.
Gene therapy takes a step forward
For the first time, doctors have used gene therapy to restore vision in patients with a rare and usually incurable form of blindness, researchers announced Sunday.
Medical images may soon be transmitted via cell phones
Not everyone has easy access to medical centres having ultrasounds, X-rays, magnetic resonance images and other medical imaging technology. But now thanks to a Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher, a new method will make it possible to get all sorts of medical images in your hand via your cellphone.
Stanford breaks ground on $90M new medical school site
The Stanford University School of Medicine broke ground on a new $90 million administrative center to be named after a Hong Kong entrepreneur, officials said late Monday.
Construction on the Campus Drive site is expected to conclude by the spring of 2010, a few months later than earlier projections.
Nevada medical board pulling clinic doctors’ licenses
After weeks of public criticism the Board of Medical Examiners is taking action in the hepatitis health crisis. On Tuesday, a judge signed a temporary restraining order prohibiting Dr. Depak Desai from practicing medicine until a formal court hearing. A request for the same action against Dr. Eladio Carerra is awaiting a judge’s signature.
Medical-device start-up raises $18.5 million
ExploraMed NC4: The stealthy Mountain View company has raised $18.5 million of an expected $20 million first funding round, we’re told. The medical-device start-up doesn’t have a Web site, and doesn’t even seem to have its own address yet.
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Exercise Cuts Women’s Risk of Heart Disease
Increased levels of exercise can reduce but not eliminate the risk of heart disease in overweight and obese women, a U.S. study finds.
The researchers analyzed data from 38,987 women who took part in the recently completed Women’s Health Study. At the start of the study in 1992, information was gathered about the women’s height and weight, the average amount of time per week they were physically active, other health habits, and medical history. The women were then followed for an average of 10.9 years.
Hawaii Medical Center to cut 89 jobs
Eighty-nine employees at Hawaii Medical Center will lose their jobs at the end of June when the hospital outsources work in its administrative departments.
The head of HMC said the company took the steps to “help save the hospitals,” which were financially troubled even before their sale by a Roman Catholic religious order to a for-profit company in 2007.
Medical Discounts: Amid Legitimate Programs, Scams
Having no health insurance can be a disaster. But you may not be any better off buying an alternative that promises discounts on medical services, as some desperate consumers are finding out.
BK Medical and Varian Medical Systems Collaborate
to Streamline Prostate Brachytherapy Treatments
BK Medical, a wholly owned subsidiary of Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ:ALOG), and Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) today announced a global collaboration to improve and streamline prostate brachytherapy procedures through a new, digital interface between BK Medical’s Pro Focus ultrasound scanner and Varian’s VariSeed 8.0 planning software.
This new digital interface enables new ways of performing prostate brachytherapy with its easy-to-use, streamlined workflow capabilities that include automatic calibration and multiple contouring transfers. Brachytherapy is an effective and widely used weapon in the armory of oncologists in the fight against prostate cancer.
