bird flu news from FierceHealthcare

If your hospital is counting on having help from nursing homes when emergencies hit, think again. A new study suggests that more than half of nursing homes won't be prepared to accept hospital... Read more...

> The Premier Healthcare Alliance, which represents 2,000 hospitals across the U.S., is raising a stink over new quality reporting standards it says are far too costly to implement. Read more...

Issues like the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and worries over a pandemic bird flu outbreak have driven many health professionals to look at how prepared they are for a disaster. The question is,... Read more...

> Hoping to get another shot at collecting their money, hospitals are auctioning off patient debt via online auctions. Read more...

> Experts are warning that the risk of a bird flu pandemic is rising. Read more...

> Industry researchers are predicting that it will take a huge increase in the volume of professionals available (more than 40,000) to meet the near-term demand for skilled health IT pros. Read more...

> Doctors are doing well in Hawaii. New research by the federal government has found that doctors there make more, on average, than workers in any other job category. Article

> Blue Cross of California has launched a media campaign critical of proposed state healthcare reforms, which would require insurers to sell policies to all comers regardless of their medical condition. …

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> HealthSouth has partnered with Birmingham, AL-based Wellmont Health System to own and operate 11 rehab facilities. Article

> A new hospital in Pennsylvania plans to focus exclusively on breast cancer. Article

> The FDA has approved the first U.S. vaccine …

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If Roche has its way, a gaggle of happy penguins will charm consumers into stocking up on flu drug Tamiflu. Using penguin characters from a current children's feature as a theme, Roche Pharmaceuticals has developed a multi-million dollar ad campaign to create demand for the costly medication. Tamiflu, which has attracted international attention as a possible stopgap in the war against …

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In the sixties, physicians were confident enough to predict the end of infectious disease control issues. Today, in 2006, scientists and physicians know how wrong they were, said Dr. Antony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, who spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Bio conference this week. Public officials face more challenges than ever, including the possibility of a bird flu …

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