| West Penn protests Mercy Hospital-UPMC deal | | Posted Thursday, September 28, 2006 6:58:07 PM by Blog57 Team | | West Penn Allegheny Health System is formally protesting the proposed acquisition of Mercy Hospital by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Jerry Fedele, West Penn's president and chief executive officer, said Thursday the health system is contesting the sale through the state Attorney General, Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice. Fedele said he expects meetings with state and federal officials within a month. Hospital consolidation in Western Pennsylvania, fueled by UPMC takeovers during the past decade, reduces competition in the marketplace, and may ultimately drive up health care costs and hurt the region's economy, he said. .... | |
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| | | Chagas' disease needs more research attention | | Posted Friday, August 18, 2006 4:59:43 AM by Blog57 Team | | The international research community needs to focus more attention on Chagas' disease - an infectious disease that kills 50,000 people a year, states an Editorial in this week's special cardiology issue of The Lancet. Chagas' disease, prevalent in Latin America, is caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. An estimated 18 million people are chronically infected with the parasite and about 100 million are at risk of infection in 21 countries in Latin America. The parasite is transmitted to humans by blood sucking insects that live usually in cracks in the walls of mud and straw houses common to poor communities. The most common cause of death in infected people is heart failure. The Editorial highlights the many problems facing Chagas' disease. Prevention of the disease by insect control is hugely expensive.... | |
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| | | Taking St. Jude's Pulse | | Posted Wednesday, July 19, 2006 11:00:21 PM by Blog57 Team | | Today's post-earnings rally notwithstanding, 2006 has been a pretty miserable year for St. Jude (NYSE: STJ - News). Shares of this cardiology-focused medical device company have been largely pressured by the slowing market for its primary product -- never a good thing. And though fears of the demise of the market for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are overblown, the same might apply to expectations that things will soon return to normal. .... | |
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