Health Care


Medical Device Manufacturing in Puerto Rico Still Challenged: FDA Chief

More than 50 medical device manufacturing plants operated in Puerto Rico, employing about 18,000 people, prior to the hurricane. Collectively, they manufacture more than 1,000 different kinds of medical devices.

WHO Seeks $5.5 Million to Fight Plague in Madagascar

The medicines are being distributed to health facilities and mobile health clinics across the country, and WHO is also filling critical shortages in disinfection materials and PPE for health professionals and safe burials.

IAEA Reaches Goal to Finish Lab's Construction

IAEA says the new building will become the new home of three laboratories dealing with animal production and health, food safety, soil and water management, and crop nutrition.

New ISO Guide Offers Quality Management Aid to Medical Device Manufacturers

Significant quality systems and product requirements must be satisfied by manufacturers to ensure their medical devices produced are fit for their intended purpose, ISO notes, recognizing the wide range of medical devices -- everything from simple bandages to the most sophisticated radiotherapy equipment and software for disease screening.

Ebola Vaccines, Drugs Added to U.S. Stockpile

"Today we are prepared to add four Ebola countermeasures to the stockpile, whereas three years ago, very few products were even in early stages of development," BARDA Director Rick Bright, Ph.D., said. "This marks a pivotal moment in U.S. and global preparedness for future public health emergencies from viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola."

Virginia Rebrands Workforce Training Program

The Workforce Credential Grant program will now be called FastForward: Credentials for A Career that Matters.

Harvey Affected About 75,000 Hospital Employees in Texas

Hospital employees who work inside the disaster areas designated by FEMA are eligible for assistance. Meanwhile, the Texas Hospital Association is asking the Texas hospital community for help to raise more donations.

DARPA Meeting Looks at Biotech's Promise

"In areas such as memory enhancement, real-time health monitoring, living materials, and brain-machine interfaces, the barriers to entry are numerous, and many investors are hesitant to take a risk on an unproven idea. In pursuing its mission of gaining a deep understanding of new technologies' function and potential, DARPA eliminates many of those barriers and much of the risk," said Justin Sanchez, director of DARPA's Biological Technologies Office.



IAEA Getting Medical Linear Accelerator

"The new partnership will further enhance our capabilities to support Member States in the safe and effective use of linacs through the provision of dosimetry services and training of health care professionals working in radiotherapy," explained May Abdel-Wahab, director of human health at IAEA.

WHO Launches Tool to Track Progress on Noncommunicable Diseases

Governments are making limited progress, according to the organization, and more action is needed to address them and the main risk factors to meet global targets for reduced premature deaths.

Florida Nursing Home to Be Terminated as Medicaid Provider

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sept. 14 reported that of Florida's total 309 hospitals, all operational facilities have power or are running on generator power. Ten Florida hospitals were closed and are continuing to coordinate with the state on reopening, he said.

Comments Due by Oct. 27 on Canada's Proposed Vaping Regulations

Information that vaping device manufacturers would have to submit would include engineering drawings for devices, the contents of vaping liquids, information on R&D activities, and quarterly sales data. The proposal would require a displayed warning for products that contain nicotine.

IBM to Invest $240 Million in MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab

In health care, the collaboration will explore the use of AI in areas such as the security and privacy of medical data, personalization of health care, image analysis, and the optimal treatment paths for specific patients.

Ambulance bills in general can often top $600 or $800 or more, and most ambulance services tack on an "emergency response charge" that tops $300 on average.

NIOSH Posts Fact Sheet on Preventing EMS Workers' Injuries

More than 22,500 EMS workers visited emergency departments each year for work-related injuries, it says, with sprains and strains accounting for the most frequently cited injuries. Most were injured while responding to a 911 call.

2017 Baldrige Award Site Visits Decided

Site visits will be conducted in late September 2017 and the awards presented in April 2018. Getting site visits will be seven health care organizations, three in education, two nonprofits, and two small businesses.

CDC Launches Sepsis Campaign

"Detecting sepsis early and starting immediate treatment is often the difference between life and death. It starts with preventing the infections that lead to sepsis," said CDC Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D. "We created Get Ahead of Sepsis to give people the resources they need to help stop this medical emergency in its tracks."

NRC Amends Radioactive Materials Medical Use Requirements

The changes will update training and experience requirements for authorized users, medical physicists, radiation safety officers, and nuclear pharmacists and also will allow associate radiation safety officers to be named on a medical license, among other things.

Seattle Center for Burn Treatment Announced

"Getting the right care at the right time is crucial for these catastrophically injured workers," said Joel Sacks, director of L&I. "We hope to make their recovery better and a little easier by improving access to specialists."

FDA Eyes Opioids in Kids' Medicines

Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb announced that FDA's Pediatric Advisory Committee will meet soon to focus on the use of prescription opioid products containing hydrocodone or codeine for the treatment of cough in pediatric patients.

Dallas Event Focused on Preventing HAIs

"What is most frustrating about the enormous costs of HAIs is that the majority are preventable," said Linda Lybert, founder and president of the Healthcare Surfaces Summit. "We are focusing our prevention campaign on surfaces as a foundational issue because they are implicated in many HAIs and their complexity can stymie prevention efforts.

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