More Intraosseous Device Info

From Medgadget:
The FAST1® Intraosseous Infusion System is the fastest, most reliable and safe alternative to conventional intravenous and central lines. When every second counts, FAST1® offers lifesaving vascular access for fluid and drug infusion in shock and trauma victims. FAST1® Intraosseous Infusion System is the fastest route to get drugs to the heart — less [...]

Intraosseous Device Wins Award

From Medgadget:
The Wall Street Journal has announced this year’s winners of the paper’s annual Technology Innovation Awards, and we’re glad to see that a medical device won the overall Gold and a lab-on-a-chip snatched the Bronze.
The Gold winner is EZ-IO, a bone drill from Vidacare Corporation out of San Antonio, Texas that we wrote about [...]

Cricothyroidotomy Device

From Medgadget:
Here’s an interesting product we haven’t seen before. The Complete Rapid Illuminated Cricothyrotomy (CRIC) Kit is the latest life-saving medical product from Canadian company Pyng Medical, the developers of FAST1® Intraosseous Infusion System, that we profiled yesterday. Although FDA approval is pending, the new CRIC Kit is expected to provide significant improvements in speed, [...]

Antimicrobial IV Connector

From Medgadget:
Baxter released the first antimicrobial luer IV connector, dubbed V-Link, earlier this year, a device known to be effective against MRSA, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter cloacae. The V-Link connector employs an antimicrobial silver coating Baxter calls VitalShield. The VitaShield coated connector has been shown to kill 99.9% of pathogens that can cause IV related [...]

Jackson Healthcare starts community-hospital business

From Modern Healthcare:
Jackson Healthcare, a Georgia-based staffing and technology firm, has started a new company to buy and manage community hospitals.
Gary Bell, 61, will head the new venture as president of the recently created Jackson Hospital Affiliates, which will be based in Jackson Healthcare’s corporate offices in Alpharetta, Ga., outside of Atlanta. Bell is leaving [...]

Health center legislation sent to White House

From Modern Healthcare:
Legislation that would authorize more than $13 billion for community health centers through fiscal 2012 has been sent to the White House. The bill, originally sponsored by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) was approved by the House after the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent. Its main intent is to build and expand [...]

CMS grants accrediting authority to DNV Healthcare

From Modern Healthcare:
The CMS will allow Det Norske Veritas Healthcare to accredit U.S. hospitals, a move that puts the company in a small group of “deemed” organizations and could bring an increased focus on international standards, most notably ISO 9001, to hospitals across the country.
…DNV Healthcare is expected to certify healthcare organizations as compliant with [...]

Illinois Law Compels Hospitals to Give Uninsured Patients a Price Break

From Wall Street Journal Health Blog:
Nobody pays list price at hospitals — except the uninsured. A new law in Illinois will change that for many families, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The law allows hospitals to charge patients for the cost of care, plus a mark-up of 35%. That may not strike you as a fantastic bargain, [...]

A Sore Throat That Turned Deadly Serious (Epiglottis)

From the Washington Post:
Szokan could no longer speak. She could see that her husband was visibly alarmed by the strangulated, high-pitched sound of her breathing. And she was becoming increasingly panicked by the behavior of doctors and nurses who kept trooping in and out of the room to make phone calls or search their computers, [...]

The Doctor’s Hands Are Germ-Free. The Scrubs Too?

From the New York Times:
Amid growing concerns about hospital infections and a rise in drug-resistant bacteria, the attire of doctors, nurses and other health care workers — worn both inside and outside the hospital — is getting more attention. While infection control experts have published extensive research on the benefits of hand washing and equipment [...]