Category Archives: Weekly news

This week around the Web in healthcare news

Posted on November 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Betting that money is more persuasive than words, more employers vow to use financial rewards and penalties to prod their workers to fitness in 2012.   Employers have seen serious problems related to obesity, she said, including higher rates of depression, absenteeism, low productivity and more medical claims. An overweight employee costs employers $5,000 more a year in health costs than a healthy-weight individual. The survey of 335 employers found that the share of companies that used financial rewards in health management programs increased to 54% in 2011 from 36% in 2009. In 2012, about 80% of companies plan to offer financial rewards. Continue reading →

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Stories from this week in healthcare

Posted on November 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

More and more employers are demanding that workers who smoke, are overweight or have high cholesterol shoulder a greater share of their health care costs, a shift toward penalizing employees with unhealthy lifestyles rather than rewarding good habits.   Policies that impose financial penalties on employees have doubled in the last two years to 19 percent of 248 major American employers recently surveyed. Next year, Towers Watson, the benefits consultant that conducted the survey, said the practice — among employers with at least 1,000 workers — was expected to double again. Continue reading →

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Wrap up of healthcare news stories this week

Posted on October 28, 2011 | 1 Comment

An international survey of cancer doctors shows many question U.S. health advisers’ 2010 rejection of Roche’s drug Avastin to treat advanced breast cancer.  The small survey, published in the journal Cancer, shows almost half of the respondents would continue to use the drug under certain circumstances regardless of the final decision from the Food and Drug Administration.  FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg has yet to finalize the decision, but some insurers have already decided to stop paying for the $8,000-a-month drug. Others, including the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced they will continue to cover the drug regardless of the FDA’s decision. Continue reading →

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Another week’s worth of health headlines

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

Despite criticism of the practice by opponents of pharmaceutical marketing, 77% of physicians accept drug samples to give to their patients, according to a telephone survey of 168,834 medical offices representing about 480,000 doctors.  The survey results, released in August by the physician profiling firm SK&A, found variation in drug-sample acceptance by physician group size. The more doctors in the physician group, the less likely the group was to take samples. Groups of five doctors or fewer took samples 76% of the time, compared with an acceptance rate of 54% among groups of 10 to 20 doctors. Continue reading →

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Healthcare stories for June 2011

Posted on July 1, 2011 | 3 Comments

The perception held by physicians of the pharmaceutical industry has actually improved this year – 58 percent of docs say they have a somewhat positive or extremely positive overall impression. This is, however, up just 2 points from last year. But this is also the first time since 2004 that a positive impression increased.  Consumers, on the other hand, are heading in other direction – 46 percent have an extremely or somewhat negative impression this year, up 1 point from last year.–> Continue reading →

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The week in healthcare news

Posted on June 24, 2011 | 1 Comment

One of every seven cancer patients spends more than 20 percent of his income on health care and insurance, according to a new study from federal researchers.  Among these patients, those who buy private insurance on their own – instead of through an employer – pay the most out-of-pocket for their health care, compared to patients who have other forms of insurance or none at all. More stories —> Continue reading →

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Healthcare news stories this week

Posted on June 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

The booming healthcare market, which is expected to account for nearly one-fifth of U.S. GDP by 2019, is driving a surge of activity from companies looking to mine opportunities for growth, differentiation and jobs, just as a new generation of tech-savvy consumers is creating a new market for digital and interactive health, according to PwC’s Health Research Institute.  Seventy-six percent of Fortune 50 companies are either in the health industry or have health divisions, according to a recent survey. More of the weeks news stories—> Continue reading →

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Headline stories in healthcare this week..

Posted on May 27, 2011 | 2 Comments

The war between Amylin and Lilly is turning a bit ugly.  A Southern California Court has placed a restraining order against Eli Lilly on behalf of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, disallowing the pharma giant to use the same sales force to sell both Byetta (exenatide) and competing Tradjenta (linagliptin) made by Boehringer Ingelheim. Lilly must keep all information about the joint partnership with Amylin confidential to sales reps.  Continue reading →

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A summary of the weeks healthcare news

Posted on May 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you’re someone who likes to keep up on healthcare news trends then you probably were confused with some of the stories this week including one that indicated that coffee may actually prevent prostate cancer.   With today’s consumer of healthcare stories on health toptics continue to be popular as the trend of putting off visits to doctors continue.  Here are some the healthcare stories that made news this week. Continue reading →

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What were the healthcare stories this week ?

Posted on May 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

More than a third of the people paid to care for seniors are not health literate, and 60% wrongly interpret the instructions on prescription labels, a study says.  Caregivers often are hired by families to help care for seniors with cognitive loss, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and who have trouble performing daily activities such as toileting, bathing, cooking and shopping. This makes it especially important that caregivers have the ability to understand health-related instructions, said Lee A. Lindquist, MD, MPH, lead author of the study published in May’s Journal of General Internal Medicine. Continue reading →

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Roundup of this weeks healthcare stories

Posted on April 29, 2011 | 1 Comment

Why You Should Consult Your Doctor, Not Facebook, On Medical Issues. A controversial (read: insane) alternative multiple sclerosis treatment has gained a popular following in Canada via social media, wrongly influencing research priorities. The truth needs its own social-media PR campaign, and doctors might just be ready to wage it. Continue reading →

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