Medical News

April 4, 2004–Berni Massari, Ph.D, DiHOM, DD, is offering one hour lectures and instructional classes in natural and alternative healing and health care free of charge to all womens clubs and organizations. Also included is a strong series of instruction offered to new mothers with newborns detailing home care and bonding with your baby, in an effort to strengthen the welfare and sake of the childs safety eliminating the possibility of child abuse.

‘Tired moms that lack sleep all to often find themselves loosing their tempers against the newborn and that is just not acceptable’, says Massari, a Ph.D in natural and emotional healing.

Classes will help the mom realize how to handle and support sensitive situations at home.

To learn more about the free lectures in alternative healing/classes/lectures and for instruction on newborn care, please refer to docberni@cox.net for your registration.

Classes beginning in May and June at the Kiva House, a further dimension of Kiva Chiropractic.

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January 15 2004–The therapeutic vaccine market is in its infancy with no significant products launched across the seven major markets. Despite the unproven nature of the sector in terms of market potential, it is commanding considerable interest across the biotechnology industry. Indeed. Datamonitor has identified 65 companies developing therapeutic vaccines, with 167 products in development.

Scope

Benchmarking of the current and future vaccine market, by technology and therapeutic focus, in terms of number of projects and dollar value

Assesses the steps that emerging players are taking to increase innovation in their businesses, integrate supply chain and improve strategic position

Analysis of market trends and future opportunities for both biotech and pharmaceutical players, with supporting case studies

Full profiles of 6 leading therapeutic vaccine players, encompassing company strategy, alliance networking, portfolio and pipeline analysis

Report Highlights

The therapeutic vaccine market will not receive significant attention from the wider pharmaceutical industry until a product is launched and achieves significant uptake across the seven major markets. The most likely drug to achieve this is Dendreon?s Provenge, although Dendreon must recruit a marketing partner before this can be achieved.

For companies that are totally focused on therapeutic vaccines, the only way to survive is through a strong network of partners. The unproven technology behind therapeutic vaccines, combined with the number of setbacks that the leading products have encountered, is inhibiting therapeutic vaccine companies? abilities to form partnerships.

Oncology dominates therapeutic vaccines both in terms of commercial potential and pipeline development. Colorectal, melanoma and prostate cancer have the most therapeutic vaccines in development. However, the therapeutic vaccine early stage pipeline is split across more therapy areas, with an increased focus on infectious disease, CNS and HIV.

This report is designed to:

Benchmark your position within the vaccine market and identify the optimum strategy for future success

Forecast how advances in science and changes in the commercial environment will offer new opportunities to benefit from therapeutic vaccines

Identify key pipeline products for in-licensing opportunities as well as areas of unmet need

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/42628

About Research and Markets Ltd.
Research and Markets Ltd. are Europe’s largest resource for market research. R&M distribute thousands of major research publications from the world’s leading publishers, consultants and market analysts. R&M provide you with the latest forecasts on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest market trends.

For additional information on ResearchandMarkets.com, their range of reports or their value-added services, visit their web site at http://www.researchandmarkets.com or mailto:press@researchandmarkets.com

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August, 2003 — Who borrowed the monitor from the ER, and did not return it? When did you last see that infusion pump? Where did you lose that abandoned wheel chair? But most importantly?WHERE IS IT NOW? These questions are commonplace in hospitals as they attempt to keep track of their equipment.

The pressures of regulatory requirements coupled with never-ending rising costs have created a fury of frustration and chaos in the healthcare marketplace. This has driven the need for a more effective tracking solution for equipment, inventory, materials and workflow. Asset Management Tracking (AMT) is new technology that provides a competitive advantage for organizations that plan to adopt it.

Conventional hospital management systems have minimal capability in the way of asset tracking. They require costly paper and bar coding for most processes, and the success and accuracy of these systems are limited and questionable. Today, new asset tracking technology has pioneered a seamless management solution that delivers instant visibility in real time.

Using technologies driven by wireless tags, fixed position antennas and web-enabled software, AMT provides visibility with proven efficiency and operating returns. Through perpetual monitoring of the unique wireless tag signal, AMT can pinpoint any item?s exact location 24 hours a day by using Radio Frequency (RF) devices for tracking.

When properly attached, RF transmitters act like homing devices to track all different types of assets. They can be installed on infusion pumps, ECG?s, ventilators, cardiac monitors, broncoscopes and hundreds of other types of assets. But how does RFID and more specifically asset tracking really benefit the hospital?

A Laurel research study indicates that a typical hospital carries an average of $3 million to $4 million in hard clinical and non-clinical assets. The same survey also states that most hospitals achieve a mere 57% utilization rate of capital assets.

A typical hospital has an inventory of 8 portable clinical devices per bed, at a cost that ranges from $500 for a wheelchair to $15,000 for a respiratory ventilator. Of these, 15% to 20% are missing at any given time. Hard cost for replacing this equipment is $500,000 per year. That, however, is not the end of the story.

Take for example a fully equipped surgical team. Average cost for this clinical labor is $600 per hour. A team minimally spends 10 minutes locating, preparing and assembling their surgical instruments and equipment. For a 12 surgery per day hospital, this wasteful time easily exceeds $400,000. What becomes even more compelling are the lost billing opportunities.

A Recent Washington Medical Study indicates a typical 950 bed hospital employs approximately 300 IV pumps at a cost of $25 each per day. This same hospital keeps 600 pumps on hand at all times to serve their patient population. If all IV pumps can be accounted for at all times, the actual number of pumps needed can be reduced to 330. This represents more than $2 million annual savings for the hospital.

This same study also points out that of the 300 beds using the IV pumps daily, less than 150 patients were actually paying the ?per day? cost to the hospital because of poor equipment tracking. AMT could help the typical 900 bed hospital recover almost $8 million of annual lost charges.

Another attractive opportunity to healthcare providers is minimizing liability with regulatory standards with HIPPAA and JCHAO. HIPPAA cites ?media controls?, articulating guidelines of equipment management and data capture. Because RFID tags act as transmitters, they can send signals back to a computer database to capture information.

This allows hospitals to better understand when equipment was used and which patients used them to schedule maintenance. It also acts as a quality control system to minimize equipment decontamination violations, by identifying patient-to-patient equipment transfer problems. These accurate real time records easily exceed the regulatory requirements for these two organizations.

By improving the medical equipment management process, AMT allows healthcare facilities to increase utilization rates and reduce equipment inventory. The system identifies underutilized equipment (which can be sold for cash), reduces capital expenditures and decreases a facility?s reliance on equipment rentals. The resulting savings generate a strong return on investment, and the typical healthcare facility experiences a payback period of less than 12 months.

Clinical people at work admit healthcare organizations are quickly realizing the need for good asset management in their workplace. For hospitals that have not yet moved to this type of system, there is going to be an acceleration of progress, particularly in light of HIPPAA and overall security. In practical terms the bottom line is smooth business continuity in terms of work flow and information.

Most hospitals cannot afford to be down for more than an hour. How long can you afford to be down and how much will it cost just because you can?t find equipment?

Don Dovgin is a partner for the Laurel Group in Chicago, specialists in healthcare management. To learn more about asset management, call him at 847-975-8300 or email him at Dovgin@laurelconsult.com.

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September 4, 2004 — Our Life, Our Dream is that the HIV/AIDS virus stop infecting our humankind…living until the day we are dedicated to educating all about the virus. The love of fighting this epidemic, the bracelet represents One Earth uniting people to fight HIV and AIDS. The bracelet is designed to help humankind recognize awareness of the virus.

LIVING for awareness that will change all odds

LIVING to educate City-to-City, State-to-State,
and Country-to-Country

LIVING for the day the researchers cheer

LIVING for a cure

The red “LIVING FOR A CURE” wristband symbolizes awareness among humankind in promoting a consciousness about this devastating disease. Our mission is to reduce the number of individuals infected daily by raising the nations level of awareness of the HIV/AIDS virus.

The AIDS epidemic remains a serious health concern with devastating consequences for society. HIV and AIDS do not discriminate. It is devastating to people of all ages, race, genders, religions and nationalities. The disease can reach each of us in the most innocent of ways and that is what makes it so dangerous. Over 42 million men, women and children are currently living with HIV/AIDS, and the disease continues to spread.

Now more then ever before the challenge to stop the AIDS epidemic is paramount. Considering the facts, preventive AIDS education is critically needed in African American communities. While there is no cure at this time–only treatment–for the AIDS virus, prevention is still the only cure. AIDS education works!

The involvement of Corporate Leaders, Organizations, CEO’s, Educator’s, Health Organizations, Entertainers, Celebrities, Community Leaders, Government Leaders, Church Leaders, and Business Owners can make a significant difference in promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS in African American communities. Support One Earth Foundation’s National HIV/AIDS Campaign by ordering a “Living for a Cure” RED Awareness Wristband for yourself, friends, co-workers, family members, and employee’s–and “PASS THE RIBBON”

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Waltham, Mass. ? Sept. 16, 2003 ? Massachusetts physicians and their families will fan out across the state on Saturday, October 25, as they volunteer to help those affected by domestic violence.
   

The Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance and the Massachusetts Medical Society & Alliance Charitable Foundation are sponsoring the first annual ?Physicians and Their Families Make a Difference Day,? conducted as part of the national ?Make a Difference Day? coordinated by USA Weekend Magazine and the Points of Light Foundation.
   

The statewide effort will focus on securing comfort items for families in local shelters for domestic violence.
   

Vanessa P. Kenealy, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance, said that a great need persists for items that most of us take for granted.
   

?Survivors of domestic violence often flee their homes on a moment?s notice,? said Kenealy. ?They leave a lot behind, and our effort is to try to make their time at the shelter more comfortable.?
   

An attorney and Hopkinton resident, Kenealy is enlisting volunteers to distribute and pick up donation bags in communities and neighborhoods across the state. The volunteers will distribute the bags during the first week in October, and then return on or about October 25 to pick up the filled bags, which will then be delivered to shelters across the state
   

The physicians and their families seek personal care and comfort items such as combs, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, baby food and formula, disposable diapers, socks and undergarments for adults and children, children?s books and magazines, feminine products, and small luxuries such as nail polish and lip gloss.
   

Kenealy, noting that most guests at shelters are women and children, encourages everyone to make a donation to the cause, saying ?every gift, large or small, does indeed make a difference to those forced to stay in a shelter.?
   

For more information on ?Physicians and Their Families Make a Difference Day,? contact Jennifer Day, program manager, at 781-434-7044 or jday@mms.org.
   

For information on the Medical Society?s Campaign Against Domestic Violence, with listings for hotlines and services available, visit www.massmed.org/pages/dv_campaign.asp
   

The Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance is the organization of physicians? spouses committed to advancing the health and well being of the medical family. In conjunction with the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Alliance advocates and promotes good health among the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
   

The Massachusetts Medical Society and Alliance Charitable Foundation is a supporting organization of the Massachusetts Medical Society and the MMS Alliance. Since its inception, the Foundation has made more than $330,000 in allotments, supporting such services as medical care for the uninsured and underserved, childhood injury prevention, and rape crisis and services for battered women.
   

The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 18,000 physicians and student members is dedicated to educating and advocating for the physicians and patients of Massachusetts. Founded in 1781, the MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. The Society owns and publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters, AIDS Clinical Care, and produces HealthNews, a consumer health publication. For more information, visit www.massmed.org.

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July 28, 2004 — There is a direct correlation between the breed of dog owned and the amount spent on veterinary services. This correlation is not based on medical necessity, rather on the spending patterns of thousands of pet owners in a new national survey conducted by TR Cutler, Inc., the founder of the leading North American veterinary marketing program.

According to Cutler, ?We found statistically significant data that pet owners of particular breeds are more inclined to spend money on expensive veterinary services including, dental cleaning, allergy testing, and senior screenings.? The data was gathered among the 153 veterinary practices using the proprietary TR Cutler, Inc. veterinary marketing program which provides monthly post card reminder to pet owners with a superb color photograph of their breed of dog or cat.

We found that size of the dog was not a relevant factor, since both small and large breeds were in the top 10 list of highest spending pet owners.

Doberman
Standard Poodles
Labrador
Bichon Frise
Chow Chow
Dachshund
Irish Setter
Golden Retriever
Bassett Hound
Cocker Spaniel

As veterinary practices look for ways to garner new business, there is not a sufficient effort to get the current customer base to spend more, according to TR Cutler. ?All the marketing outreach to get new clients is wasted when the only reminder sent to the current customer base is for annual vaccinations. Most pet owners are not aware of the idea of senior screening or allergy testing for their pet. The services dramatically increase the value to the veterinary practice. According to Cutler, ?The average revenue increase in the first year of the program is 212%, with more than 58% in the first 4 months.?

Cutler projects the service to be utilized by more than 500 veterinary practices by the end of 2005 and requires that veterinarians have a minimum of 1000 current client contacts to utilize the service. Cutler may be reached at 888-902-0300 or via email at trcutler@trcutler.com.

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The positive results of the first nationwide clinical study showing the benefits of an antiangiogenic agent in breast cancer treatment are published in the Dec. 27 issue of the New England Journal (NEJM). The study with Avastin showed the biggest improvement in metastatic breast cancer ever reported in a chemotherapy-based clinical trial. It nearly doubled the time between initiation of chemotherapy for metastatic disease and progression of the breast cancer tumors……..

Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org

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