Current medical news and unique business news for anyone who cares about the healthcare industry.
Could it happen here? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it has no reason to believe the German E. coli outbreak will jump across the Atlantic to the U.S., but a CDC official admits he is “concerned about something similar that could happen in the United States.” Another expert warns that the “extraordinarily virulent” strain of E. coli in Germany will be brought back by U.S. travelers and could result in a “big outbreak” within the next year or two.
Bad news for Obamacare: Consulting firm McKinsey predicts that at least 30 percent of employers are likely to stop offering health insurance once provisions of the U.S. health care reform law kick in in 2014. The numbers compare to a Congressional Budget Office estimate that only about 7 percent of employees currently covered by employer-sponsored plans will have to switch to subsidized-exchange policies in 2014.
A “virtual” clinical trial: Pfizer is running the first U.S. clinical study in which patients participate by using mobile phones and the Internet, rather than repeatedly visiting a participating hospital.
Big IPO: Vanguard Health Systems, which operates 26 hospitals in five states, plans to raise as much as $661 million in an initial public offering.
Are specialists paid too much? Shockingly enough, a conservative-leaning physicians thinks not.
Understanding migraines: Researchers are clamoring for more government funding for migraine research.
