While some doctors and nurses are putting down their iPads, others are picking them up.Hubbard Hill Retirement Community in Elkhart, Indiana is paying less nurse overtime and improving communication among nurses and doctors thanks to iPads and a new program developed by a nearby startup called Carex Technologies.Carex’s first product, HEAL (Handoffs for Extended/Assisted Living), [...]

Today’s Computerworld has a great article about the issues of mixing social media and healthcare.As hospitals and clinics formulate social networking policies, there are three broad considerations:1. Given HIPAA and HITECH privacy and breach rules, how can you best prevent the disclosure of protected healthcare information on insecure social media sites?2. Given the distraction factor [...]

Clinical research organization PPD has hired a Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) veteran to become its new CEO.David Simmons brings 15 years experience at the world’s largest pharmaceutical company to PPD, which is one of the largest CROs in the pharmaceutical services industry. The CEO post became vacant after PPD was taken private in a $3.9 billion acquisition [...]

The medical imaging industry, or at least its leading trade group, would have us believe it’s “unsettling” that pricey medical imaging procedures like CT scans and MRIs are on the decline.To the contrary, it’s a welcome and somewhat rare sign that the U.S. health industry is actually getting something right, and that profits and the [...]

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) has made a change in its offer to buy Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI), but it’s not sweetening the price.The British pharmaceutical giant announced that it is amending the conditions of its cash offer to acquire HGS for $13 per share — nearly $2.6 billion. HGS last week adopted a “poison pill” to fend [...]

It isn’t easy to get profit-hungry Wall Street excited about a drug that hasn’t yet been tested in humans and is at best years and years away from generating any sales, but Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) CEO Gil Van Bokkelen did his best in a recent conference call with investment analysts.That’s because there are recent signs that [...]

An analyst with The Street has includedCelgene’s Apremilast for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis andLexicon Pharmaceuticals’ LX4211 for Type 2 diabetes on his list of 22 biopharma companies and treatments to keep on your stock watch list. He created his list of 21 drugs and one diagnostic test by looking for treatments that should [...]

The greatest advocates for telemedicine routinely hail it as a way to improve patient access. To that end, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has expanded telemedicine services for its 2 million residents on Medicaid as part of its medical assistance program, according to a statement from the governor’s office.Instead of restricting the program to consultations with [...]

2012 is bringing a momentous shift in healthcare investment. New vehicles and record investments are empowering Health 2.0 Startups to gain traction in record time with the support of a new generation of incubators, grant programs, accelerators and even (shockingly) customers!HEALTHCARE KICKSTARTER brings together a powerful line-up of the leaders of these new platforms and programs with investors, entrepreneurs, strategic partners, physicians and healthcare thought leaders to delve into this new world.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) is taking a restructuring charge of $87 million to account for layoffs in its Twin Cities location, the company reported Tuesday in its fourth quarter financial report.Roughly 220 positions have already been cut in its home state, and another 30 will lose their jobs in Minnesota. Those 250 job cuts are part of [...]