Are we outsmarting cancer? Or just ourselves? Over the past several years, scientists have begun looking not just for individual genes linked to cancer, but for collections of genes and molecules, like proteins, that form telltale patterns, or signatures, that can be used to identify a cancer cell and reveal what drugs might kill it. Signatures can be used to diagnose the disease, scientists hope, and to give a prognosis to patients who have cancer. But there have been few successes in this brave new world of cancer research, and some notable failures. Genetic tests devised at Duke University by researchers using the new methodology have turned out to be worthless, though they were once hailed as breakthroughs. Two new blood tests for ovarian cancer have also been abandoned. Despite the setbacks, researchers say they cannot give up on their quest for cancer signatures.
When an ailing heart can't move blood on its own, an implanted pump can help keep it flowing smoothly. But there's a major drawback: the power supply is large, must be housed outside the body, and is usually connected to the pump via an electric cord that runs through the abdominal wall—a source of constant irritation and potential infection. Researchers have now demonstrated a prototype wireless heart pump that eliminates the need for the cord altogether. And unlike some wireless implants, it is reliable and efficient over a range of distances, from a few centimeters to a meter or more. The pump was developed by Josh Smith, associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering at the University of Washington, and Pramod Bonde, a heart surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and presented at the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs' annual meeting in Washington, DC, last month.
The Medical Group Management Association has selected a new chief with as strong a background in health IT as practically any other leader of a healthcare organization not specifically dedicated to IT promotion. MGMA, an Englewood, CO-based organization comprised of group physician practice administrators and leaders, has named Susan L. Turney, MD, to succeed William F. Jessee, MD, as president and CEO. Jessee, himself a vocal advocate for IT adoption in healthcare, will retire after 12 years in charge. MGMA says its 22,500 members lead 13,600 healthcare organizations that provide more than 40% of the healthcare services delivered in the United States.
An Anthem physician who had three patients die during plastic-surgery procedures in his clinic was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in Maricopa County Superior Court. Peter Normann, MD, was pronounced guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of Ralph Gonzalez, 33, of Scottsdale, and Leslie Ann Ray, 53, of California, and of manslaughter for the death of Alicia Santizo Blanco, 41, of Gilbert. Throughout the trial, which began June 10, Normann's attorneys, John Johnsonand Vikki Liles, maintained that the deaths were accidental, the result of known risks of plastic surgery, and claimed that if Normann, 50, were found guilty, it would mean that all doctors would be liable for procedures gone wrong. Autopsy findings had listed the deaths as accidental. But in her closing arguments, Deputy County Attorney Jeannette Gallagher said the "combination of incompetence and arrogance in trying to cover up his (Normann's) incompetence led to their deaths."
A Connecticut health executive is replacing Sister Mary Norberta as president and CEO of St. Joseph Healthcare and St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor. The healthcare group's board of directors, along with Massachusetts parent organization Covenant Health Systems, on Wednesday selected Mary Prybylo to lead the organization beginning in September. Previously, Prybylo managed operations, physician partnerships and strategic initiatives at Waterbury Hospital Health Center in Connecticut.
Spiros Hatiras resigned from his position as the CEO of the Hoboken University Medical Center at a special meeting of the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority. The resignation comes while a potential transfer of ownership is underway, as the state Planning Board is prepared to hold a public hearing on July 21, which is required before the state can issue a Certificate of Need to the potential new owners, essentially finalizing the deal. The city of Hoboken hopes to transfer its hospital from being municipally run to being owned by a company called HUMC Holdco that shares common ownership with Bayonne Medical Center.