Hospitals and Health Systems News

Hospitals and health systems are where most health care dollars are spent, and the relationship between providers and health plans determines which facilities are in network and what patients pay. A health system is an organization that owns or operates multiple hospitals, physician practices, clinics and outpatient centers under common management, such as nonprofit systems like UnityPoint Health and academic medical centers like Cincinnati Children's.

What We Cover

This section covers hospital and health system strategy, expansions and closures, contract negotiations and network disputes with insurers, quality and patient safety ratings, staffing and workforce issues, physician group news, clinical programs, and community health investments. We also report on revenue cycle operations, the billing and collections work behind every patient account, and on the outsourcing and automation that systems are adopting to control administrative costs.

Provider news intersects with nearly every other part of the health plan business. When a health system and a carrier cannot agree on rates, members may lose in-network access; those disputes involve the companies covered in Health Insurance Companies and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Mergers, acquisitions and leadership appointments among providers are covered in Healthcare Business. Technology adopted by hospitals, including artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical and administrative workflows, appears in Health Technology and AI. Patient safety litigation and regulatory action appear in Healthcare Policy and Law, and skilled nursing and home health providers are covered in Senior Care.

The latest hospital and health system news appears below, newest first.

MetroHealth System Signs Agreement with Press Ganey

Posted on February 28, 2013 Written by Editor

MetroHealth System has signed a multi-year agreement with Press Ganey to provide improvement solutions for its medical center, rehabilitation hospital, outpatient surgery center and network of 16 health centers.

More than 500 primary care and specialty care physicians practice within MetroHealth. Each year, MetroHealth provides nearly one million inpatient and outpatient visits, with revenue of more than $700 million. MetroHealth’s network of health centers incorporates a patient-centered medical home team-care approach to optimize patient outcomes through chronic disease management. The system’s major medical center is a leader in trauma, emergency and critical care; women’s and children’s services, including high-risk obstetrical care and neonatal intensive care; comprehensive medical and surgical subspecialties; heart and vascular care; cancer care; senior health; stroke and rehabilitative health care services.

Press Ganey and MetroHealth will be able to identify areas of opportunity and implement targeted action plans to enhance the patient experience. MetroHealth is one of the largest, most comprehensive providers in Northeast Ohio, serving the greater Cleveland community for more than 175 years.

Related Coverage

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Bankruptcy Court Clears Way For Montefiore Medical Center To Acquire Assets of Westchester Square

Posted on January 24, 2013 Written by Editor

The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York today approved Montefiore Medical Center’s bid to acquire the facilities of New York Westchester Square Medical Center (NYWSMC), a Bronx, N.Y., neighborhood hospital that has operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for nearly seven years.

The new facility will be renamed Montefiore Westchester Square. The plan is to have a full-service emergency department, an ambulatory surgery center and, over time, comprehensive primary and specialty care services.

Related Coverage

CareMax Faces Major Shake-Up: Bankruptcy, Asset Sales, and a $693M Debt Load

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Cooper Health System Pays $12.6 Million To Resolve False Claims Lawsuit

Posted on January 24, 2013 Written by Editor

A federal lawsuit filed by prominent Delaware Valley cardiologist Nicholas L. DePace, M.D., sparked a multi-year investigation by the United States Department of Justice and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office that has resulted in New-Jersey based Cooper Health System, and Cooper University Hospital paying $12,600,000 to settle Medicare and Medicaid fraud allegations.

According to Dr. DePace’s Complaint, since 2004, Cooper funneled illegal kickbacks to referring physicians through an advisory board known as the Cooper Heart Institute Advisory Board (“CHIAB”). Cooper established the CHIAB in 2004, with the stated purpose of utilizing prominent New Jersey physicians to advise the Cooper Heart Institute regarding innovative technologies, new management strategies, community needs, and appropriate educational and research initiatives.

In reality, the CHIAB was a sham, in which Cooper paid physicians with high-volume medical practices upwards of $18,500 each to do little more than watch four lectures per year hosted at an elegant banquet facility. These lectures consisted mostly of marketing presentation on cardiac care at Cooper. Additional lectures included generic subjects that were irrelevant to the stated mission of the CHIAB, including a 2008 lecture entitled: “The Healthcare Plans of the Two Presidential Candidates.”

In the spring of 2007, Cooper invited Dr. DePace to join the CHIAB. After attending his first CHIAB lecture, Dr. DePace quickly realized that the CHIAB was a thinly-veiled kickback scheme. Dr. DePace observed that the other CHIAB members were family physicians with high-volume practices. These physicians were all in the position to direct millions of dollars in patient care to Cooper.

Dr. DePace also observed that the CHIAB physicians were paid $18,500 for doing nothing more than sitting and listening to marketing presentations and lectures on irrelevant topics. The physicians did not discuss the lecture topics, and were not required to perform any additional work in exchange for the payments from Cooper.

In exchange for Cooper’s kickback payments, CHIAB physicians referred their patients to the Cooper Heart Institute for expensive in-patient and out-patient cardiac services. At least one CHIAB member admitted to Dr. DePace that, when making referrals, he knew that Cooper, through the CHIAB, “butters his bread.”

The settlement with the United States, and the State of New Jersey, announced today, will require Cooper to pay the United States $10,000,000 and the State of New Jersey $2,600,000. The settlement is one of the largest against a hospital for operating a kickback scheme, and is one of the largest recoveries for the State of New Jersey under its recently passed state False Claims Act. Cooper denies that it is liable for violating federal or state laws.

Related Coverage

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Nurses Call Out Baystate Health System in Massachusetts

Posted on June 2, 2012 Written by Editor

Registered Nurses from two Baystate Health System bargaining units will take action Saturday morning outside the Democratic State Convention in Springfield. The nurses will be joined by labor and community supporters. Convention delegates will be asked to join the nurses in condemning Baystate’s anti-union behavior.

Members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United who work at the Baystate Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (BVNAH) in Springfield and Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) in Greenfield will highlight Baystate’s ongoing attempts to undercut their fundamental right to bargain over such basic issues as wages and health insurance.

Baystate also is attempting to force BFMC nurses to work mandatory overtime – even beyond twelve hours – a practice that has been shown to put nurses and patients at risk.

In addition, the National Labor Relations Board has determined that Baystate has repeatedly violated federal labor law in their anti-union campaign against nurses.

Related Coverage

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Menopause Reflects on the WHI 10 Years Later

Posted on May 30, 2012 Written by Editor

A great deal has been learned in the decade since the first results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) were published on July 9, 2002. The WHI was the largest and longest trial of postmenopausal women using hormone therapy (HT). The 27,000 women were prescribed estrogen-alone therapy, estrogen-progestogen therapy, or a placebo for 5 to 7 years, respectively.

Researchers expected to find that hormones prevented chronic conditions of aging in women, including heart disease. Instead, they found that hormones produced a mix of risks and benefits. The subsequent data from the WHI suggest that the risks of HT vary with a woman’s age (safer if started soon after menopause). [Read more…]

Majority of Americans Support First Amendment Conscience Rights and Exemptions in Health Care

Posted on May 22, 2012 Written by Editor

As America’s bishops and Catholic organizations around the country file lawsuits to protect their First Amendment rights from the government’s health care mandate, a new survey finds that a significant majority of Americans support the right to opt out of providing drugs, services and procedures for religious reasons.

According to the Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll, the survey found that three in four Americans (74 to 26 percent) say that freedom of religion should be protected, even if it conflicts with other laws. Majorities would also protect the First Amendment conscience rights of hospitals, health care workers and insurers.

Strong majorities would let individual health care providers and organizations opt out of providing: abortion (58 to 38 percent), abortion-inducing drugs (51 to 44 percent), in vitro fertilization treatments that could result in the death of an embryo (52 to 41 percent), medication to speed the death of a terminally ill patient (55 to 41 percent) and birth control pills (51 to 46 percent). The number supporting the right to opt out of providing birth control is particularly interesting given the fact that more than eight in 10 Americans (88 percent) believe contraception is morally acceptable. [Read more…]

HealthSouth Declares Dividend

Posted on March 8, 2012 Written by Editor

HealthSouth Corporation (NYSE:HLS) today announced that its board of directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $16.25 per share on its 6.5% Series A Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, payable on April 16, 2012, to holders of record on April 2, 2012. [Read more…]

Crothall Healthcare Adds Clinical Equipment Solutions Division

Posted on February 28, 2012 Written by Editor

Crothall Healthcare announced the name change of its operating division from Clinical Equipment Services to Clinical Equipment Solutions (CES). The new name emphasizes Crothall’s intent to focus management and oversight resources on the entire cycle of healthcare technology rather than the traditional “fix it” approach of clinical equipment services programs.

Crothall’s CES division will continue to focus on safety, risk management, technical support of medical devices and clinical technologies, financial stewardship, and management of healthcare technologies that are integrated and interoperable. [Read more…]

Health Council Says Put Patients First

Posted on February 23, 2012 Written by Editor

Today, the Health Council of Canada releases Turning what we know into action: A commentary on the National Symposium on Patient Engagement , calling for the inclusion of the patient voice when designing, planning and delivering health care services in Canada. The goal of the symposium is to raise awareness of the potential of patient engagement as a means of improving the health care system.

In October 2011, the Health Council of Canada held a national symposium on patient engagement. Patients, representatives from patient organizations, provincial and federal government representatives, researchers, health system administrators and health care providers shared their perspectives on patient-centred care. [Read more…]

Clinical Trial of Adaptive Radiotherapy for Head & Neck Cancer Patients

Posted on February 9, 2012 Written by Editor

Researchers led by a senior investigator at Hofstra-North Shore LIJ School of Medicine and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have released initial findings from a first-of-a-kind clinical trial in adaptive radiotherapy (ART) for head and neck cancer. The trial, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, provides evidence that ART may benefit patients with less technical difficulty than previously believed. The findings of this trial were released online in advance of publication in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics. [Read more…]

Choosing a Medical Weight Loss Center

Posted on February 9, 2012 Written by Editor

All major surgical operations present both benefits and risks. The key to mitigating those risks is choosing a team of surgeons with a proven track record of safety. Dr. Feiz & Associates is a widely respected source for weight loss in Los Angeles , not just because of their success rate, but also because of their enduring commitment to the highest safety standards. Dr. Michael Feiz and his team have never had a mortality in all their years, and maintain a complication rate of 1%, significantly lower than the national rate of 3-4%. Again, there is no silver bullet. There is no single operation that carries no risks. But as with any comparison shopping, there are products and services that are more reliable than others. A little legwork helps identify the most credible options. [Read more…]

Rural Hospitals Start to Embrace Electronic Health Records

Posted on February 7, 2012 Written by Editor

The United States health care system is undergoing many notable changes. Among them are the incentives for hospitals to implement electronic health records (EHRs) by 2015. The purpose of this legislation is not to simply move a patient’s data from a paper chart to an electronic version, but to use these records in a “meaningful” way: to achieve significant improvements in quality, safety and care coordination.

While some hospitals are working to implement EHRs, many rural and community hospitals have lagged behind large urban and university hospitals. “Understandably, smaller facilities are concerned about the effect steep implementation costs could have on already strained budgets,” said John Glaser, Ph.D., CEO, Siemens Healthcare, Health Services Business Unit. “However, it is important for small community hospitals to understand that investing in an EHR system is not only feasible but can help control and reduce costs—two benefits that are especially valuable to providers and patient care.”

EHRs help improve efficiencies for both the provider and patient, including:

• More accurate billing and better coordination with insurance companies to reduce costs associated with rework;

• Quicker, more comprehensive access to patient information, helping ensure better care for more patients;

• The possibility to view a patient’s history and potentially eliminate duplicate tests, thereby reducing costs and increasing patient satisfaction;

• The ability to record patient notes faster with a seamless and uniform EHR throughout the hospital, eliminating the timely steps of the traditional pen-and-paper process.

Smaller facilities can now capitalize on the opportunity of EHRs through funding options and government incentives that make the transition more feasible. Millions of dollars of grant money have already been awarded by the government to support the adoption of EHRs among rural and community hospitals. Additionally, there are solutions available for these hospitals to cut costs, such as turning to medical-grade cloud computing for remote hosting. Remote hosting, for example, allows hospital servers to be maintained by a vendor, thereby reducing the need to hire and train additional IT staff.

Today, smaller facilities can overcome concerns about cost and resources to make EHRs a reality.

Related Coverage

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Chief Medical Information Officers See a Rise in Salary and Role in 2012

Posted on February 5, 2012 Written by Editor

Chief Medical Information Officers (CMIOs) are playing increasingly key roles in their healthcare organizations with EMR projects and the move toward ACOs and most expect to receive a raise and a bonus this year, according to the CMIO Compensation Survey 2012 published in the February issue of CMIO.

CMIO Snapshot

Male (87%)
41-45 years old (25%)
Works in Southern U.S. (30%)
Employed by a Multi-Hospital Organization/IDN (44%)
Reports to CIO (35%) or CMO (28%)
Physician (70%); Specialty: Family Practice (23%)
In current position for 1-3 years (42%)
Spends 90%-100% performing CMIO duties (24%)

CMIO Compensation

Average Annual Salary: $200,000-250,000 (22%)
Most CMIOs expect to receive a raise this year (66%)
Most CMIOs expect to receive a financial bonus this year (53%)

The number of CMIOs on the high end of the salary scale remained about the same as last year’s survey, with about 17 percent earning salaries of $300,000 to more than $400,000. In 2012, most CMIO respondents earn salaries in the $200,000 to $300,000 range (43 percent). Only 14 percent earn an annual salary of $100,000 for CMIO duties. This is the third year that CMIO, the leading publication for CMIOs and clinical IT leaders, has conducted the CMIO Annual Compensation Survey.

Salaries will be on the rise again this year, with two-thirds of CMIO respondents expecting a raise in 2012. Similar optimism is seen with financial bonuses, with more than half of CMIOs expecting to get a bonus in 2012—and 27 percent are hopeful it will be larger than last year. These numbers suggest that CMIOs are demonstrating value to institutions and therefore, they anticipate financial recognition.

In terms of background, most CMIO respondents are licensed physicians, although nearly a quarter are not currently practicing medicine. Most work for a multi-hospital organization/IDN (44 percent) in a mid-size facility of 200 to 500 beds (37 percent), with another large percentage harkening from large facilities with more than 1,000 beds (23 percent).

A few things surprised the editors of CMIO. Whether job stress due to the demands of playing leader and peacemaker with demanding physician IT adoption or the U.S. economic crisis are to blame, some CMIOs are less pleased with their wages than last year: 26 percent report being somewhat or very dissatisfied with their salary. Of the group saying they were dissatisfied, about 41 percent say they’d like to change positions this year.

For full details on the survey results, please visit the February issue of CMIO available at CMIO.net.

Related Coverage

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Celebrates 50 Years

Posted on February 5, 2012 Written by Editor

In 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors amid an emotionally charged debate regarding how to treat childhood cancer. At that time, few children with the most common form of childhood cancer survived, and many physicians believed treatment was futile. St. Jude physicians and researchers took a radically different approach, and these efforts proved pivotal in changing the way the world treats childhood cancer. St. Jude is recognized for playing a significant role in improving overall survival rates for childhood cancer, which have increased from 20 percent in 1962 to 80 percent today.

In recognition of this impact over the past 50 years, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam declared February “St. Jude Month” in the state of Tennessee. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital opened February 4, 1962.

St. Jude Recognitions

1995

Charles Sherr, M.D., Ph.D., of St. Jude Tumor Cell Biology, is elected into the National Academy of Sciences.

1996

Peter C. Doherty, Ph.D., then chair of the St. Jude Department of Immunology, wins the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work that led to a better understanding of the immune response.

2006

St. Jude is named the No. 1 “Best Place to Work in Academia” by The Scientist magazine.

2007

St. Jude is designated one of six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

2008

St. Jude is designated as a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center, making it the first and only cancer center solely focused on pediatric cancer to receive this distinction.

2009

Parents magazine names St. Jude as the No. 1 pediatric cancer care hospital in the country, based on the magazine’s survey of more than 100 children’s hospitals.

2009

St. Jude scientists who represent the interdisciplinary team studying ALL receive the Team Science Award from the American Association for Cancer Research.

2010

Nurses and staff in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Jude are recognized in 2009 and 2010 by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.

2010

St. Jude is named the nation’s top children’s cancer hospital, according to the 2010-11 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.

2012

In 2011 and 2012, St. Jude is named one of the country’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” by FORTUNE magazine.

Related Coverage

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mHealth Users of Remote Health Monitoring to Reach 3 million by 2016: Smartphones Play Leading Role

Posted on February 2, 2012 Written by Editor

A burgeoning market for healthcare peripherals and increasing smartphone processing power will result in the number of patients monitored by mobile networks to rise to 3 million by 2016, finds Juniper Research’s latest report on the mHealth sector.

Remote patient monitoring, using the smartphone as a hub, will also lower the cost of mHealth services by reducing the need for costly tailored devices. [Read more…]

Centra Health and TeleHealth Services Partner to Launch Enterprise Interactive Patient Education for Patient Satisfaction and Safety

Posted on February 2, 2012 Written by Editor

The TIGR system was recently named one of the top 10 technologies of 2011 for empowering patients and their families through the recovery process. With “meaningful use” and patient satisfaction policies changing hospital reimbursements, hospitals have begun expanding the use of these systems to address other challenges such as readmissions, service recovery, and revenue generation. The system will aid the two Centra hospitals through consistent education practices across the system, advanced discharge planning, EMR integration with their McKesson solution, and patient satisfaction.

TeleHealth Services, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient education solutions, today announced that it has partnered with Centra Health (Centra) to deploy the TIGR interactive patient education system across the health system’s acute care facilities. Centra is a technology driven, award-winning health system with state-of-the-art hospitals and health center facilities well known nationwide for their excellence in clinical and patient care. The partnership is focused on developing resources to transform patient care at Centra Lynchburg General and Centra Virginia Baptist Hospitals. In a campaign to motivate patient involvement in their recovery and educating patients about their role in the process, Centra has integrated the system across 1060 beds in the system as well as interoperability with their McKesson EMR system. [Read more…]

Brain Tumor Test Could Revolutionize Care of Patients with Low-grade Gliomas

Posted on January 26, 2012 Written by Editor

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have developed what they believe to be the first clinical application of a new imaging technique to diagnose brain tumors. The unique test could preclude the need for surgery in patients whose tumors are located in areas of the brain too dangerous to biopsy.

This new magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique provides a definitive diagnosis of cancer based on imaging of a protein associated with a mutated gene found in 80 percent of low- and intermediate-grade gliomas. Presence of the mutation also means a better prognosis. [Read more…]

Piedmont Healthcare and TeleHealth Services Collaborate to Improve Patient Health Initiatives

Posted on November 4, 2011 Written by Editor

TeleHealth Services, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient engagement solutions, is partnering with Piedmont Healthcare (PHC) in implementing a comprehensive, customized patient-centered environment designed to improve patient education and provide interactive communication. These technological and process enhancements will help speed patient recovery, reduce readmissions and length of stay and involve patients more directly in better understanding and managing their care.

Piedmont Healthcare sought a solutions provider that embraced utilizing the latest in technology to enhance quality of care. Knowing that improved patient engagement reduces preventable readmissions and could help them meet their care coordination objectives, the system decided to implement a system-wide interactive patient education system. By aiding education adherence during key transitional periods during the recovery, patients are better equipped to manage their conditions and health behaviors. Based on their ability to provide a full technology solution and a wealth of experience in the healthcare industry, Piedmont immediately turned to long-time partner provider, TeleHealth Services.

TeleHealth is equipping the system with a full enterprise TIGR™ system, providing on-demand patient education and patient engagement solutions to the hospitals in the system. Additionally, the TIGR system features patient surveying and reporting to facilitate immediate service recovery and aid in Piedmont’s quality and patient satisfaction efforts. Piedmont’s patient-centered solution also includes enhancements to their healthcare television system. Samsung healthcare-grade televisions and new Curbell Gen4™ direct-access pillow speakers will help to create a home-like atmosphere for patients, while providing scalability for future entertainment options. [Read more…]

Nautica Malibu Triathlon Raises Over $1 Million for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Posted on September 18, 2011 Written by Editor

While only one person could be named the official winner of the 25th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon, all who showed up to Zuma Beach left with a sense of victory as the competition raised more than $1.1 million for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. With attendees and competitors including celebrities, athletes, philanthropists and organizations, a good time was had by all with a common good cause in mind.

In addition to the abundance of spectators, stars came out to support and compete in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. Ali Vincent came in first in the celebrity female division with a time of 2:09:21, and Ryan Sutter came in first in the celebrity male division with a time of 1:33:04. Team The Lying Game brought home the victory in the Celebrity Co-Ed Relay Division with a time of 1:26:30. Also competing in the Celebrity Division were: Ed Helms, Rainn Wilson, Jon Cryer, Mark Paul Gosselaar, Chris Harrison, Natalie Morales and Tiffani Thiessen, to name a few. [Read more…]

TeleHealth Services and Sentara Healthcare Partner to Reduce Readmissions Through Interactive Patient Care

Posted on July 8, 2011 Written by Editor

TeleHealth Services, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient education solutions, today announced a master agreement with Sentara Healthcare as part of the health system’s strategy to advance the patient experience and quality of healthcare in their facilities. Striving to enhance their patient-centered model, the Virginia-based not-for-profit health system determined the need for securing a partner who could provide improved patient comfort and care while adding efficiency to clinical workflows.

Sentara, one of the nation’s leading healthcare organizations, creates innovative systems of care that help people achieve and maintain their best possible state of health. As a part of this mission and enhancing its overall patient experience, Sentara embarked on a detailed search process for a new patient education and entertainment system provider. After comparing providers, Sentara chose TeleHealth Services because they offered the only platform that had a three-tiered integrated solution for future scalability, system-wide enterprise architecture and a robust entertainment offering. TeleHealth Services’ reputation of providing leading support and flexible financing options also played a big role in the decision. [Read more…]

Unwiring the Healthcare Industry

Posted on July 7, 2011 Written by Editor

StreetDirectory.com has a great article about the unwiring of the healthcare industry.

“Visit any hospital in Asia and you will see physicians walking along corridors of white anesthetized rooms visiting patients while holding flipcharts, scribbling observations and recommendations. Attending nurses move to and from their station answering calls, paging physicians and following up on patient medication.

Most departments from administration, finance, purchasing, nurse stations, resident physicians and laboratories have computers networked together to allow authorized staff to view documents online.

Advances in technology and business processes have reached the point where real benefits can be achieved through the convergence of computing and communications. It’s no longer the realm of science fiction and healthcare institutions with very deep pockets, healthcare providers of different sizes, even those specializing in niche areas of healthcare provision, have discovered the payback of computing and the hard benefits of going wireless.”

Related Coverage

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TeleHealth Services and Beloit Memorial Hospital Collaborate to Transform the Patient Care Experience

Posted on March 10, 2011 Written by Editor

TeleHealth Services, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare grade televisions and interactive patient education solutions, today announced an extended partnership with Beloit Health System. Building upon a service relationship that TeleHealth acquired in their acquisition of SVI, Beloit has chosen TeleHealth Services as their interactive patient education and entertainment partner in the hospital’s “Experience the Difference” patient care initiative.

In an effort to enhance the Beloit’s patient-centered approach and provide the highest quality of clinical care, the hospital began their “Experience the Difference” campaign. Two primary focuses of this initiative are increasing patient satisfaction, and expanding the capabilities of their caregivers through the use of integrated healthcare technology. TeleHealth Services interactive education solution can help Beloit achieve these goals.

“The TIGR V7 interactive patient education system is a full turnkey solution that has already made a large impact on enhancing the patient experience, as well as streamlining our clinical workflows. With TIGR V7, patients can use the system to control the room environment, order food or gift shop items, utilize online applications, or learn about their disease and treatment options from information we have entered into the EMR. The on-demand education at the bedside makes the patient and their families active participants in the recovery process,” stated Judy Cramer, Director of Education at Beloit Health System. “The clinical technology integration into our ADT and EMR systems provides our staff the ability to completely automate several workflows. With this task removed from their daily workload, our clinicians can focus on the quality of care they are providing, resulting in increased staff satisfaction.” [Read more…]

Nash Health Care Systems Partners with TeleHealth Services

Posted on February 2, 2011 Written by Editor

TeleHealth Solutions, the nation’s leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient training solutions, lately told Well being Plan Information that it has partnered with Nash Well being Care Methods as part of the hospital’s strategy to increase patient satisfaction and advance their interactive healthcare initiatives. In an work to further balance their affected person engagement efforts with their EMR technique, Nash determined the require for securing a companion who could provide a complete turnkey answer and elevated interactivity with other hospital technologies.

Looking to enhance its facility operations, Nash started a complete technique to improve the hospital expertise by being progressive and consumer responsive. Nash sought to make a multi-sensory education plan to aid in meeting their “meaningful use” standards for affected person and family engagement, and began a thorough search for an interactive patient training and entertainment system provider. After evaluating providers, Nash chose TeleHealth due to their substantial track record in the healthcare business, their robust enjoyment and patient training offerings as well as their full service solutions mantra. TeleHealth Services’ integrated patient education options combined with leading support and flexible financing options had been forefront within the choice.

“Excellent healthcare these days is defined not just by clinical services, but by the high quality with the patient experience,” said Vandora Holt, Director of Patient Training for Nash Well being Care Systems. “We desired to provide the best expertise available, inside a way that flawlessly meets the desires and needs of our sufferers. TeleHealth Services understands the healthcare setting and it is the ideal companion to assist us utilize a patient-driven model to attain that objective. Although exceptional care is already a significant part with the Nash culture, we are committed to addressing the constantly altering needs of our sufferers. Healthcare is much more consumer-driven than ever before, and also the key to continued success is evaluating our business through the eyes of our patients and shifting our technique to meet their needs.” [Read more…]

Circadian Launches First Diagnostic for LAM Lung Disease With U.S. Partner

Posted on February 1, 2011 Written by Editor

— Circadian and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (“Cincinnati Children’s”) commences offering of first blood test diagnostic for LAM – a serious lung disease that is often undiagnosed.

— Number of tests expected to exceed 25,000 within the next few years.

TOORAK, Australia, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Circadian Technologies (ASX.CIR) has announced today that in conjunction with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center it has begun offering its LAM diagnostic, which is offered as a laboratory test compliant with CAP (College of American Pathologists) /CLIA regulations.

This is the first blood based diagnostic available to test for the disease lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). The blood sample based diagnostic was developed by Cincinnati Children’s, using Circadian’s VEGF-D technology, following the discovery that high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor-D, or VEGF-D – to which Circadian owns intellectual property rights – holds the key to detecting the disease.

LAM is a serious lung disease that causes shortness of breath and lung collapse. It affects mostly women, often striking in their 30s or child bearing years, and the only known treatment is a lung transplant.

Although only a small number of patients have been diagnosed with LAM to date, the recent discovery of a link between LAM and genetic abnormality, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), causing the disease, has led scientists to estimate that more than 250,000 women worldwide are unaware they have LAM.

The availability of the test, and subsequent increasing knowledge of the disease amongst the general medical community, is predicted to increase screening for LAM in patients, with the number of tests estimated to exceed 25,000 within the next few years.

Doctors in the U.S. can now order this test through the Translational Trials Development and Support Laboratory of Cincinnati Children’s.

Robert Klupacs, CEO of Circadian Technologies said he is very proud that the collaboration with Cincinnati Children’s has achieved its goal of making a test available that offers straightforward and accurate identification of LAM, which to date has been difficult and expensive to diagnose.

“LAM is a serious but often misunderstood or misdiagnosed disease, which has a huge impact on the quality of life for the women it affects. We are confident that with greater awareness and the availability of this test that more women who show symptoms or who have the TSC gene will be able to have LAM diagnosed early and better manage their condition.

“Circadian is very excited about the launch of this test. It is the first product to emerge from our extensive VEGF technology portfolio, and hopefully the first of many, to become available from the range of diagnostics in development by Circadian and our partners. Diagnostics are an important part of Circadian’s business that we are progressing in parallel to our drug discovery activity, as a source of early revenue and to complement our product portfolio.”

The findings of the diagnostic link between LAM and VEGF-D by the team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children’s led by Dr. Lisa Young and Dr. Frank McCormack, Director of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UC were published in the August 2010 edition of CHEST(1).

Dr. McCormack said, “We are optimistic that serum VEGF-D will join the ranks of diagnostic tests for lung disease, reduce the need for surgical lung biopsy and allow for intervention and trial recruitment earlier in the disease course.”

Cincinnati Children’s have commenced offering the diagnostic test for LAM in the United States. Circadian retains the rights to the rest of the world and is working towards approval in other markets.

(1) Chest. 2010 Sep;138(3):674-81.

About Circadian Technologies Limited

Circadian (ASX:CIR) is a biologics drug developer focusing on cancer therapies. It controls exclusive worldwide rights to a significant intellectual property portfolio around Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) C and D. The applications for the VEGF technology, which functions in regulating blood and lymphatic vessel growth, are substantial and broad. Circadian’s internal product development programs are focussed on novel anti-cancer therapeutics for large unmet needs. Circadian has also licensed rights to some parts of its intellectual property portfolio for the development of other products to ImClone Systems (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company – NYSE: LLY). ImClone Systems is currently developing an antibody-based drug targeting VEGFR-3 for the treatment of solid tumours.

SOURCE Circadian Technologies

Company Nurse Expands Its Injury Hotline for Workers’ Compensation

Posted on December 13, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: Company Nurse

The Expanded Nurse Call Center Will Address Growing Number of Public and Private Employers Who Want to Make the “Right Call” for Their Injured Workers

SCOTTSDALE, AZ–(Marketwire – December 13, 2010) – In striving to help a growing number of public and private employers control workers’ compensation costs and foster occupational health and safety, Company Nurse, the premier nurse hotline for workplace injuries, today announced that it has expanded its Scottsdale-based nurse triage call center.

When a workplace injury occurs, client employees and supervisors call Company Nurse to report injuries and to speak with a triage nurse. Unlike nurse case managers, triage nurses get involved at the front end of the claims process, essentially on the day of injury — which is the earliest, most critical point at which to influence medical care, claims costs, return-to-work (RTW) outcomes, and employee satisfaction. Many organizations view nurse injury triage as a vital part of their corporate wellness, employee wellness, and employee health programs.

“Our nurses assess injuries over the phone and refer employees to the most appropriate level of care — whether it’s an urgent care facility, occupational clinic, or simple first aid,” said Paul Binsfeld, CEO of Company Nurse. “As a result, our Injury Hotline facilitates immediate, critical medical decisions that positively impact an employee’s medical care, as well as overall claims’ costs and outcomes.”

The expanded Scottsdale-based call center works in sync with Company Nurse’s second call center in Tennessee. Due to growing nationwide demand for nurse injury triage for workers’ compensation, Company Nurse has grown 200 percent over the last four years and has recently moved into office space double its previous size to accommodate growing call center operations.

“During today’s difficult economy, employers need to minimize the financial impact of rising medical and indemnity costs on their workers’ compensation programs and bottom lines,” said Binsfeld. “Our program provides an effective solution to today’s most pressing workers’ compensation challenges: injuries are often reported late, sometimes five to 10 days after an incident has occurred; supervisors frequently err on the side of caution, sending employees, even those with minor injuries, to the ER for care; and many organizations are not optimally leveraging cost-effective preferred provider networks.”

Company Nurse’s Injury Hotline offers employers a proactive and structured response to each and every workplace injuries — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Triage nurses are highly compassionate and listen closely to each employee’s unique medical needs. Recognizing that organizations have specific workers’ compensation requirements, Company Nurse can customize its injury response and workflow to meet the client’s occupational health and safety needs.

Carol S. Sterling is the Human Resources Manager of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Phoenix. As an early adopter of the Company Nurse program, her organization experienced several key benefits. “First, we receive instant notification of injuries, so we can immediately file our first report of injury forms,” said Sterling. “Second, Company Nurse is extremely flexible. We were able to include our local network of preferred providers in their referral process. Third, Company Nurse helps to control medical expenses, as triage nurses often refer injured workers to urgent care clinics, rather than the ER, which saves costs and still ensures quality care. Fourth, supervisors experience ‘peace of mind’ in knowing injured employees are immediately assessed and referred for appropriate treatment, and we also experience smooth processing of claims and medical bills among the provider, insurance company, and employer.”

Company Nurse’s Injury Hotline delivers proven value. By providing injured workers with first aid and self-care guidelines, 20 to 40 percent of incoming calls are “report only” incidents and do not result in compensable claims. With appropriate care and optimal injury management, employers reduce unnecessary ER visits by as much as 300 percent. By integrating RTW coordination, many employers have reduced lost time and temporary labor costs. And with prompt, open communication, injured employees have an overwhelmingly positive experience, resulting in reduced litigation. Due to these benefits, many clients have experienced as much as a 200 percent return on investment within the first year of program implementation. These benefits have driven Company Nurse’s continued success and growth in the workers’ compensation market.

About Company Nurse
The Company Nurse Injury Hotline enables organizations to make the “Right Call” for workplace injuries. As an independent facility, our triage nurses are compassionate and objective when assessing employee injuries and medical needs. Our injury-triage process is founded on three important elements for workers’ compensation success: 1) Right Time — we respond on the Day of Injury, the earliest point at which to influence costs, outcomes, and employee satisfaction; 2) Right Care — our nurses refer employees to an appropriate level of care, whether ER, clinic or first aid; 3) Right Results — clients reap optimal savings and a return on investment, while employees benefit from a prompt, compassionate response to their workplace injuries. For more information, go to www.companynurse.com or call (888) 817-9282.

Media Contact:
Tammy Delatorre
661-775-0550

Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants Appoint Amanda O’Neal, FACHE as Chief Operating Officer

Posted on December 13, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants

Healthcare Executive to Lead Operations and Business Development at Leading Physician-Only Anesthesia Group

DALLAS, TX–(Marketwire – December 13, 2010) – Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants (www.metroanesthesia.com), one of the largest physician-only anesthesia groups in North Texas, today announced that is has appointed Amanda O’Neal, FACHE as its Chief Operating Officer.

O’Neal will oversee business development, operations, and process improvement at the group, which has nearly 60 member physicians. Metro Anesthesia services a variety of major hospitals and hospital systems in the area, including HCA, Tenet and Baylor.

“We are pleased to have Amanda join our management team,” said Norman Rice, MD, Chairman of Metro Anesthesia. “She is a distinguished healthcare executive and active member of the community. She will help us further our mission of providing the highest quality healthcare possible.”

O’Neal has a wealth of experience spanning physician recruitment, physician sales, marketing, corporate wellness, business planning, strategic development and more. She was previously the president and founder of Coppell-based The Brummitt Group, a boutique healthcare consulting firm. Prior to that, she held positions at Trinity Healthcare Services and HCA, Inc. O’Neal has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Stephen F. Austin State University and a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Southern California.

O’Neal is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders. Only 7,500 healthcare executives hold this elite distinction nationwide. O’Neal is also active in her community, having recently been named chairperson of Irving Healthcare Foundation’s TexasFest gala, scheduled for next spring.

“Metro Anesthesia is one of the top physician-only anesthesia groups in the country in terms of recruiting the best doctors and providing the highest quality healthcare possible,” O’Neal said. “I’m thrilled to join their team.”

About Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants
With nearly 60 physicians, Metropolitan Anesthesia Consultants is one of the largest physician-only anesthesia groups in North Texas. The organization prides itself on an unprecedented commitment to quality, excellence, and service. For more information, please visit http://www.metroanesthesia.com/.

Press Contact:
Erik Bratt
Defakto Group
858-737-3200
[email protected]

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MMRGlobal Names Sunil Singhal Executive Vice President and Adds Two Members to Board of Advisors

Posted on December 13, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: MMRGlobal, Inc.

LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – December 13, 2010) – MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTCBB: MMRF) (“MMR”) today announced that Sunil Singhil has been named Executive Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee, succeeding Rich Teich, who will focus on the sales, marketing and installation support for MMRPro and MMRPatientView, the Company’s professional health IT products for physicians, small hospitals and healthcare professionals. Mr. Singhal was introduced to the Company by Nihilent Technologies, where he was Co-founder and served as Chief Operating Officer of North America. In addition, Michael J. Finley, Vice President, Worldwide Carrier Relations at Qualcomm, and John R. Seitz, CEO of Spalding Surgical Center of Beverly Hills, have agreed to join MMRGlobal’s Board of Advisors.

Robert H. Lorsch, MMRGlobal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Since September of this year, Sunil has been working alongside Rich and I overseeing the integration and development of MMRGlobal’s MyMedicalRecords.com Personal Health Record, the MyEsafeDepositBox.com online vault, and the MMRPro suite of professional products and services. In his new position as Executive Vice President, Sunil will also work with me and Ingrid Safranek, MMR’s Chief Financial Officer, on the day-to-day management of the Company.”

Mike Finley, who Lorsch has known for nearly 18 years since he was a President of Verizon Wireless, has been advising the Company since its initial meetings with Sprint Nextel in Kansas City, where he was President of the West Region and Senior Vice President of Sprint Corporation. A widely respected executive in the telecommunications and wireless industry, necessary to the MMR operating system and MMRGlobal’s future growth in wireless, Mr. Finley’s success in selling wireless technologies to consumers is a timely addition as the Company goes deeper into mobile health opportunities for MyMedicalRecords and MMRPro. With the addition of John Seitz to the Board of Advisors, management has the expertise of a recognized leader in the Ambulatory Surgical Center industry. Mr. Seitz heads one of the most advanced surgical centers in the U.S. and will advise on the Company’s strategy for sales of MMRPro into surgery centers and other healthcare specialty groups.

In addition to the new appointments, MMRGlobal has increased its presence at Associated Television International’s headquarter building in Los Angeles, adding an additional 3,000 sq. ft. for sales training, outbound telesales, and a videoconferencing center.

Management

Sunil Singhal: Mr. Singhal, 55, has over 25 years experience in the IT products and services industry where he is recognized for strategically implementing innovative technologies. He has expertise in all facets of the IT products and services business, including executive management, information strategy planning, cross-border operations, business development, sales and marketing, R&D, project management, and mergers and acquisitions. From 2005 until 2010, he was head of North American Sales in the Energy, Resources, and Utilities industry for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Prior to that, from 2001 to 2005, he was Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, North America of Nihilent Technologies, which is MMRGlobal’s technology partner.

Mr. Singhal started his IT services career with Tata Consultancy Services in 1979 and was involved in products and tools development, project management, and business development until 1991. From 1991 to 2001, he held a series of senior technical, business development and executive management positions with entrepreneurial companies. These included International Informatics Solutions (now Xansa) as Technical Director and Member of the Board; IMRglobal Corp. (now CGI, Inc.) as Vice President of Southwest Region and Vice President of Northeast Region; and Hexaware Technologies, Inc. as Senior Vice President for Business Development. Throughout his career, Mr. Singhal has established long-term business relationships with clients in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, India and Singapore.

Mr. Singhal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the University of Roorkee (now IIT, Roorkee) and a Masters degree in Digital Electronics from NUFFIC/PII, Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

Board of Advisors

Mike Finley: Prior to his current position as Vice President, Worldwide Carrier Relations for Qualcomm, Mr. Finley was President of the West Region for Sprint Nextel from 2006 to 2008 and a Senior Vice President of Sprint Corporation. He joined Nextel in 2002 as Area Vice President of Southern California and was promoted to Senior Vice President of General Business for the U.S. following the Sprint Nextel merger. Before joining Nextel, he was a Senior Vice President of Wingcast, a JV between Ford Motor Company and Qualcomm which developed telematic products for Ford vehicles. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Finley served as President of Verizon Wireless in Southern California, Vice President and General Manager in Sacramento and was Vice President of Sales in Ohio for Airtouch Cellular. Prior to joining Airtouch, he held positions with Cellular One and McCaw Cellular. He began his career in communications in 1985 as a Co-founder of Celluland, a national franchise which created an alternative distribution approach in advance of consumer marketing of wireless products.

John Seitz: Mr. Seitz is Chief Executive Officer of Ambulatory Surgical Group (ASG), an Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) development and management company headquartered in El Segundo, California. In his leadership role, he oversees business development and operational and financial management of all ASG surgery centers, and his financial management skills are widely sought throughout the industry. For over 25 years, Mr. Seitz has focused on healthcare, gaining an extensive network of contacts and earning the respect of physicians and industry executives as a developer and manager of ASC projects. Prior to Ambulatory Surgical Group, he has been a founder and either the CEO or president of three successful start-up companies in the healthcare industry. Most recently, he was one of the founders and President of Surgem, LLC, where he was responsible for building the ASC company from start-up to success in less than three years. During his time at Surgem, he recruited the management team, directed the development and operation of eight ASC projects and was responsible for the acquisition and turnaround of an underperforming center. Prior to Surgem, he was founder and CEO of Cornerstone Physicians, a nationally recognized medical practice management company.

About MMRGlobal, Inc.

MMRGlobal, Inc., through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc. (MMR), provides secure and easy-to-use online Personal Health Records (PHRs) and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions, serving consumers, healthcare professionals, employers, insurance companies, financial institutions, and professional organizations and affinity groups. MyMedicalRecords enables individuals and families to access their medical records and other important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and wills, anytime from anywhere using the Internet. The MyMedicalRecords Personal Health Record is built on proprietary, patented technologies to allow documents, images and voicemail messages to be transmitted and stored in the system using a variety of methods, including fax, phone, or file upload without relying on any specific electronic medical record platform to populate a user’s account. MMRGlobal’s professional offering, MMRPro, is designed to give physicians’ offices an easy and cost-effective solution to digitizing paper-based medical records and sharing them with patients in real time through an integrated patient portal. MMR is an Independent Software Vendor Partner with Kodak to deliver an integrated turnkey EMR solution for healthcare professionals. MMR is also an integrated service provider on Google Health. To learn more about MMRGlobal, Inc. and its products, visit www.mmrglobal.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical matters are forward-looking statements, and some can be identified by the use of words (and their derivations) such as “need,” “possibility,” “offer,” “development,” “if,” “negotiate,” “when,” “begun,” “believe,” “achieve,” “will,” “estimate,” “expect,” “maintain,” “plan,” “help” and “continue,” or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. MMRGlobal, Inc. disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on MMRGlobal, Inc.’s reasonable expectations as of the date of this press release and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. The information discussed in this release is subject to various risks and uncertainties related but not limited to changes in MMRGlobal, Inc.’s business prospects, its results of operations or financial condition, government regulation and changes in healthcare initiatives, and such other risks and uncertainties as detailed from time to time in MMRGlobal, Inc.’s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:
Bobbie Volman
MMRGlobal, Inc.
(310) 476-7002, Ext. 7015
[email protected]

Michael Selsman
Public Communications Co.
(310) 553-5732
[email protected]

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Medistem Co-Authors Scientific Publication Detecting Neurodegeneration Before Symptoms Develop

Posted on December 13, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: Medistem Inc.

MRI Study in Sheep Shows Changes in Brain Structures Associated With Scrapie Infection

SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire – December 13, 2010) – Medistem Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MEDS) reported today peer-reviewed publication of a research project using MRI to assess brain changes in sheep infected with scrapie (sheep form of Mad Cow Disease) before symptoms of the fatal brain disease appear.

The study, whose senior author was Dr. Joel Stutman and funded by the Louis and Lena Minkoff Foundation, compared 37 sheep that were positive for the infectious protein associated with scrapie, called PrP^Sc, to 80 sheep that had no evidence of the disease-causing protein. It was found that all sheep possessing the protein, whether symptomatic or non-symptomatic, exhibited a unique change in the anatomy of the brain as detected by MRI. Specifically, a greater ventricle to cerebrum area ratio was found in MRI images of infected sheep compared to healthy sheep.

“We are extremely grateful to Dr. Stutman and his team for allowing us to collaborate on this important project which integrated computer-based image analysis techniques with molecular diagnostics to demonstrate a very important finding: that in sheep with scrapie specific MRI changes can be indicative of neurodegeneration before symptoms appear,” said Vladimir Bogin, MD, Chairman and President of Medistem. “One of the major findings in the published stem cell clinical trials has been that some patients respond extremely well, while others do not. Medistem believes that development of disease-assessing techniques such as the one reported, will allow for better selection of patients that would respond to stem cell-based interventions.”

Medistem has filed an IND with the FDA for human trials of its universal donor stem cell, the Endometrial Regenerative Cell (ERC). The first product in development is a treatment for critical limb ischemia, a condition that causes approximately 150,000 amputations per year in the US. Published research demonstrates that Endometrial Regenerative Cells can generate lung, liver, pancreas, bone, muscle, heart, fat, and brain tissue, thus the company is currently exploring other disease indications.

“Medistem collaborators have already used Endometrial Regenerative Cells in the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis, a neurodegenerative condition which creates similar brain alterations as seen in the current study,” said Thomas Ichim, CEO of Medistem and co-author of the publication. “The reason for our participation in the sheep scrapie project is to be at the cutting edge of imaging studies in the neurosciences. This, in our opinion, allows us to: a) Select better inclusion/exclusion criteria for our future multiple sclerosis studies; and b) Objectively analyze effects of our intervention in humans.”

Endometrial Regenerative Cells are currently available for sale as a research reagent through General Biotechnology LLC at http://www.gnrlbiotech.com/?page=catalog_endometrial_regenerative_cells.

The study, entitled “Generalized cerebral atrophy seen on MRI in a naturally exposed animal model for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease” can be found online at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-8-125.pdf.

About Medistem Inc.

Medistem Inc. is a biotechnology company developing technologies related to adult stem cell extraction, manipulation, and use for treating inflammatory and degenerative diseases. The company’s lead product, the endometrial regenerative cell (ERC), is a “universal donor” stem cell being developed for critical limb ischemia. A publication describing the support for use of ERC for this condition may be found at http://www.translational-medicine.com/content/pdf/1479-5876-6-45.pdf. ERC can be purchased for scientific use through Medistem’s collaborator, General Biotechnology http://www.gnrlbiotech.com/?page=catalog_endometrial_regenerative_cells.

Cautionary Statement

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of our securities. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking information. Factors which may cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements are discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Vladimir Bogin, MD
Chairman of the Board
Medistem Inc.
9255 Towne Centre Drive
Suite 450
San Diego
CA 92122
858 349 3617
858 642 0027
www.medisteminc.com

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Fresh Start Private Naltrexone Implant Procedure Shows Excellent Potential for Reduction in Alcoholism

Posted on December 9, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: Fresh Start Private Management Inc.

Naltrexone Reduces the Number of Occasions During Which a Person Is Likely to Drink

LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – December 9, 2010) – Fresh Start Private (OTCQX: CEYY) (PINKSHEETS: CEYY), a leader in the alcohol treatment and rehabilitation industry, provided data today showing that Naltrexone is effective in the treatment of alcoholism.

According to published results in the Oxford Journals, research indicated that “Naltrexone is superior to placebo. Subjects treated with Naltrexone experience significantly fewer episodes of relapse, and significantly more remain abstinent when compared to placebo-treated subjects {risk difference of relapse rates = -14% [95% confidence interval (CI): -23%, -5%]; and risk difference of abstinence rates = 10% (95% CI: 4%, 16%)} after 12 weeks of treatment. The Naltrexone-treated subjects also consume significantly less alcohol over the study period than do placebo-treated subjects.” See http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/36/6/544.full for the complete results of the study.

A study by Joseph R. Volpicelli, MD, PhD; Arthur I. Alterman, PhD; Motoi Hayashida, MD, ScD; Charles P. O’Brien, MD, PhD, yielded other significant findings as follows:

“Seventy male alcohol-dependent patients participated in a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of Naltrexone hydrochloride (50 mg/d) as an adjunct to treatment following alcohol detoxification. Subjects taking Naltrexone reported significantly less alcohol craving and days in which any alcohol was consumed. During the 12-week study, only 23% of the Naltrexone-treated subjects met the criteria for a relapse, whereas 54.3% of the placebo-treated subjects relapsed. The primary effect of Naltrexone was seen in patients who drank any alcohol while attending outpatient treatment. Nineteen (95%) of the 20 placebo-treated patients relapsed after they sampled alcohol, while only eight (50%) of 16 Naltrexone-treated patients exposed to alcohol met relapse criteria. These results suggest that Naltrexone may be a safe and effective adjunct to treatment in alcohol-dependent subjects, particularly in preventing alcohol relapse.”

Fresh Start Private (FSP) is the only alcohol treatment program to offer a single-administration, licensed long-acting, Naltrexone implant procedure. Naltrexone has been approved for use by the FDA within the United States for the treatment of alcohol.

Trained medical doctors insert a specially formulated, biodegradable Naltrexone implant just beneath the skin below the patient’s lower abdominal area. The procedure is rapid and requires only local anaesthetic.

FSPs revolutionary procedure works instantly to block the receptors in the brain that crave alcohol. This one-time treatment is affordable and so fast a patient can be back to work the very next day, free from the physical cravings for alcohol.

About Fresh Start Private

Fresh Start Private is an alcohol addiction, alcohol withdrawal, alcohol abuse treatment and alcohol detox rehabilitation company on the leading edge of the alcohol addiction treatment. The Company has licensed a highly effective treatment delivers target therapeutic levels of Naltrexone that significantly reduce patients’ cravings for alcohol. Please visit www.freshstartprivate.com

Statements in this press release may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the company’s business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may, and probably will, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those risks discussed from time to time in Fresh Start filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact
Tom Kennedy
Phone: 949.209.8964
Email Contact

The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton Partners With Medicity for Health Information Exchange in Ohio’s Miami Valley

Posted on December 9, 2010 Written by Editor

SOURCE: Medicity

Bidirectional Exchange Will Connect Hospital Systems, Physician EHRs and Allied Care Providers to Improve Care Delivery

SALT LAKE CITY, UT–(Marketwire – December 9, 2010) – The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton (Dayton Children’s), a not-for-profit, freestanding children’s hospital serving 20 counties in Ohio and Eastern Indiana, has selected Medicity to power bidirectional health information exchange (HIE) between the medical center, affiliated physicians and other partners in its healthcare community.

Dayton Children’s will implement Medicity’s Novo Grid infrastructure — patented technology for connecting care teams and integrating with electronic health records (EHRs) — to distribute results, reports, and face sheets from the hospital’s Epic clinical systems and McKesson registration systems to community providers. The same Grid infrastructure will power laboratory and radiology orders back to the hospital.

“Our partnership with Medicity enables us to meet the HIE needs of Dayton providers while addressing our hospital’s unique business objectives,” said Beth Fredette, Dayton Children’s CIO. “By sponsoring the secure flow of health information in our community, we aim to improve clinical workflow, enhance patient care and improve affinity with our affiliated physicians by supporting their efforts to achieve meaningful use requirements.”

“The Grid enables secure electronic exchange regardless of which EHR a physician practice has adopted or whether the practice is paper-based,” said Kipp Lassetter, MD, Medicity CEO, “which means that Dayton Children’s now has a single solution that adapts to a wide variety of practice needs. Significantly, the Grid also provides the flexibility and control for the hospital to connect with state and regional HIE initiatives as they come along.”

About The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton
The Children’s Medical Center of Dayton is the region’s only medical facility dedicated to children. Consistently recognized as one of the country’s best pediatric hospitals, Dayton Children’s provides medical treatment, advice and information for children and families from 20 Ohio counties and eastern Indiana. Dayton Children’s accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations ensures the regions’ infants, children and teens receive excellent pediatric care. For more children’s health and safety information, visit our web site at www.childrensdayton.org.

About Medicity
Medicity, the industry standard for health information exchange (HIE), is the leading innovator and largest provider of HIE technology — with more than 700 hospitals and 250,000 physicians in its connected ecosystem. Medicity’s solutions empower hospitals, physicians and HIEs with secure access to and exchange of health information — improving the quality and efficiency of patient care locally, regionally and nationally. For more information, please visit us or follow us on Twitter.

Contact:
Amendola Communications for Medicity
Janet Cabibbo
480-664-8412 ext. 15
[email protected]

Moira Alter
Marketing Manager, Dayton Children’s
937-641-3618
[email protected]

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