According to a recent national survey, 17.1 percent of Americans lack health insurance, and more than nine million of the nation’s uninsured rely on federally qualified health centers (FQHC), non-profit community clinics and free clinics each year for primary care. While these clinics serve the critical health care needs of the uninsured, patients oftentimes cannot afford the medications prescribed by the clinic’s physicians, or navigate a fragmented system that only offers partial solutions. This is a particularly growing problem for America’s working poor.
Today, Medco Foundation and Dispensary of Hope (DOH), a not-for-profit pharmacy-focused social venture for the uninsured, introduced a new, national initiative to substantially improve the supply, delivery and management of critical prescription drugs to thousands of uninsured Americans who are managing a chronic illness.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54424-medco-dispensary-of-hope-prescription-drug-program-clinics-uninsured
Nestlé Health Science will unveil its pediatric closed system formulas with the new SpikeRight® PLUS port at the annual American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s (A.S.P.E.N.) Clinical Nutrition Week meeting being held in Orlando January 21-24. The introduction marks a significant step in supporting the provision of safe enteral (tube) feeding.
Enteral tubing misconnections, where feeding solutions are wrongly administered through intravenous (IV) tubing or other non-enteral systems, have been a concern for nearly thirty years. Most commonly occurring in intensive care settings, where patients have multiple types of tubing connections, an enteral tubing misconnection can result in catastrophic complications and possibly death.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53580-nestle-health-science-launches-next-generation-spikeright-plus-pediatrics
Miramar Labs today announced that the miraDry System for the treatment of primary axillary hyperhidrosis, commonly known as excessive underarm sweat, is now available to select physicians in the U.S. The miraDry procedure provides a safe and lasting solution for this debilitating condition.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration granted clearance for miraDry following a robust, randomized, blinded clinical study that involved 120 patients at seven clinics and followed them 12-months post treatment. The miraDry System delivers energy non-invasively to the area under the arm where the sweat glands reside which creates localized heat to destroy and eliminate the glands. Since sweat glands do not regenerate, results are lasting.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54021-miramar-labs-miradry-treat-excessive-underarm-sweat-axillary-hyperhidrosis
Researchers have discovered that a subtype of leukemia characterized by a poor prognosis is fueled by mutations in pathways distinctly different from a seemingly similar leukemia associated with a much better outcome. The findings from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) highlight a possible new strategy for treating patients with this more aggressive cancer.
The work provides the first details of the genetic alterations fueling a subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) known as early T-cell precursor ALL (ETP-ALL). The results suggest ETP-ALL has more in common with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) than with other subtypes of ALL. The study appears in the January 12 edition of the journal Nature.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/46768-st-jude-cancer-genome-sequencing-project-combat-aggressive-leukemia
Smith & Nephew plc (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN), the global medical technology business, announces the FDA clearance of the pocket-sized PICO◊ system, a single use Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) system. PICO is cleared for use both in a hospital and homecare setting and expands the use of NPWT from the traditional wound care population to include a wider range of patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery and general surgical procedures. This FDA clearance follows the recent successful launch of PICO in Europe, Canada, and Australia.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/51011-smith-nephew-pico-system-fda-approval-npwt
Symptoms improved significantly in adults with the bleeding disorder hemophilia B following a single treatment with gene therapy developed by researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and demonstrated to be safe in a clinical trial conducted at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K.
The findings of the six-person study mark the first proof that gene therapy can reduce disabling, painful bleeding episodes in patients with the inherited blood disorder. Results of the Phase I study appear in the December 10 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The research is also scheduled to be presented December 11 at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/46766-st-jude-children-s-research-hospital-gene-therapy-bleeding-disorder
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) announces U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the PROMUS Element™ Plus Everolimus-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System, the Company’s next-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) technology. The PROMUS Element Stent, designed to provide physicians improved DES performance in treating patients with coronary artery disease, is built on an innovative platinum chromium (PtCr) platform with the market-leading everolimus drug. The Company plans to begin marketing the product in the U.S. immediately.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/43510-boston-scientific-fda-promus-element-plus-platinum-chromium-stent-system
International treatment guidelines – from the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) – have advised that prevention of exacerbations should be a cornerstone of COPD management, placing equal emphasis on the management of future risk as it does on treatment of COPD symptoms.1 This is also confirmed in the latest data on the impact of season on the frequency of COPD exacerbations, showing an almost two-fold increase in the winter months. This is contributing to the increased morbidity seen during the festive season.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/nycomedtakeda/52782/
Current drug shortages in the U.S., while disruptive and of increasing concern to patients, clinicians and policymakers, are limited primarily to generic injectables and a few key disease areas, according to an IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics study released today. The new study, Drug Shortages: A Closer Look at Products, Suppliers and Volume Volatility, offers a comprehensive examination of drug shortages and recommends that healthcare stakeholders work toward the creation of an early warning system to minimize future patient care disruptions.
To multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/53215-ims-institute-for-healthcare-informatics-drug-shortage-study
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) introduces its CardioTeach™ iPad® app, an industry-first, free educational resource to help healthcare professionals better educate patients and caregivers about therapy options related to cardiovascular and peripheral diseases, specifically atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, heart failure, heart rhythm disorders and peripheral vascular disease.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/43509-boston-scientific-cardioteach-ipad-app
Today, politicians, patients and health and work experts of the Fit for Work Europe Coalition added their voices to national advocates from across Europe for their countries to take bold steps to reduce the staggering €240 billion economic burden of chronic musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to European society.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/fitforwork/52154/
New research released today to mark European Week Against Pain reveals that, in more than half of cases, peoples’ levels of pain across Europe are not being adequately assessed.
More than half (52%) of European primary care physicians use no form of assessment tool to measure peoples’ levels of pain despite chronic pain affecting 1 in 52 adults across Europe. A study in Finland found that pain is also the reason for 40% of patient visits to a primary care physician each year, with approximately 20% of these patients having experienced their pain for more than 6 months.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/mundipharma/52140/