Legislative Alert

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus crafting legislation that would provide positive Medicare payment updates through 2009 and make other needed reforms

Ischemic Preconditioning During the Use of the Percusurge Occlusion Balloon for Carotid Angioplast

AbstractIschemic preconditioning (IP) uses transient ischemia to render tissues tolerant to subsequent, prolonged ischemia. This study sought to evaluate factors that contributed to the development of cerebral ischemia during PercuSurge balloon (Medtronic, Santa Rosa, CA) occlusion in patients undergoing carotid angioplasty and stenting (CAS). The PercuSurge occlusion balloon was used in 43 of 165 patients […]

Do Immigrants Help or Hurt US Healthcare?

Immigration is a hot topic these days, and its impact on the US healthcare system has been studied and debated from various angles. So it's not surprising that healthcare entrepreneur and business consultant David E. Williams has weighed in on the issue. But you might be surprised at his particular views.

Food Aid Missing Critical Ingredients

As food aid is mobilized in response to the global food price crisis, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that sending adult food to feed young children will not save them from the risk of malnutrition. Today MSF urged donors to ensure their aid includes special foods for young […]

Have you been selected to participate in the Physician Practice Information survey?

The AMA and more than 70 other organizations are conducting a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America’s physician practices. The results will be used to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients, and to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while […]

ASA comments at FDA hearing on fospropofol

The ASA submitted formal comments and testified before the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Anesthetic and Life Support Drugs Advisory Committee (ALSDAC) requesting that the labeling for fospropofol disodium injection 35 mg/ml (fospropofol) include a similar warning to that which is included on the label for propofol.  Because fospropofol is a pro-drug of propofol and […]

Enterix Inc. Launches Its Point-of-Care Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Enterix Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), today announced the availability of the InSure(R) Quik F I T(TM) fecal immunochemical test, a point-of-care version of the company's lab-based InSure(R) FIT(TM) test, that provides physicians with the sensitivity and specificity of the laboratory-based InSure FIT test.

Quest Diagnostics Is Named ‘Best Employer For Healthy Lifestyles’

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, announced today that the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), an association of more than 300 large U.S. employers, has presented its 2008 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Gold Award to the company for its HealthyQuest employee wellness program. In its […]

Surgeon Sews for Fun, Sutures for a Living

Surgeons are known for the knots they tie. For Ramona Bates, that is doubly true: Not only is she a plastic surgeon, but she also has a passion for quilting. Lately she's been sharing her personal and professional interests at her Web site, Suture for a Living. I had the chance to correspond with Dr. […]