-
The barriers to solving the problem of the uninsured do not include a lack of viable solutions. There are a number of reform strategies that would solve the problem, but deciding on a particular one is difficult because all viable solutions require making difficult trade-offs.
-
Congressional staffers and health policy experts who participated in an Alliance for Health Reform presentation on the Commonwealth Funds proposal for a consensus framework to provide coverage for the uninsured see value in discussing the issue but are far from united about the proposal.
-
WASHINGTON The late-breaking clinical trial sessions of the 24th annual scientific sessions of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE; Natick, Massachusetts), which were held here in mid-May, focused on studies designed to refine the understanding of drugs and devices for major cardiac problems.
-
One of the final players in the chain of events that leads to clot formation could prove a good target for a new generation of clot-busting drugs, a new study suggests.
-
Johnson & Johnsons (J&J; New Brunswick, New Jersey) Cordis(Miami Lakes, Florida) subsidiary, maker of the recently FDA-approved Cypher drug-eluting stent, and to a lesser extent Wyeth (Madison, New Jersey), maker of the sirolimus compound used on the device, have received the lions share of the attention when talking about the first U.S. player in this hot sector.
-
Marc Sportsman has been named vice president of sales for ATS Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Most recently, Sportsman served as an area vice president at St. Jude Medical. ATS Medical manufactures a pyrolitic carbon open pivot mechanical heart valve.
-
Ventrica (Fremont, California) has come up with a technique that it believes could enable the automatic anastomosis (connection) of blood vessels, which may provide heart surgeons with an alternative to the conventional method of hand suturing.
-
CHICAGO, Illinois With the U.S. market introduction of the Cypher drug-eluting stent from the Cordis (Miami Lakes, Florida) unit of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey), interventional cardiology has entered a new era in which patient outcomes for revascularization procedures may, for the first time, become equivalent to surgery for many patients.
-
Higher costs to patients for prescription drugs and reductions in coverage by state health insurance are among changes to the public healthcare system identified by the German government late last month as it tries to come to grips with runaway costs in that sector.
-
Boston Scientific (BSX; Natick, Massachusetts) has made a second equity investment in and extended its exclusive option to acquire EndoTex Interventional Systems (Cupertino, California). In addition, Boston Sci has agreed to acquire EndoTex upon the achievement of certain regulatory milestones.
