With a bumper crop of flu vaccine expected this year and the clock ticking to get it into people before influenza strikes, disease fighters are no longer content to rely on doctors to dispense shots in their offices. Caritas Norwood is believed to be the first hospital in Massachusetts to implement a drive-through flu-shot clinic, joining medical centers and health departments stretching from Seattle to rural Virginia. Last year was the first flu season that drive-through vaccinations were offered at the hospital.
Diabetes drug costs in the United States have almost doubled in six years to $12.5 billion as more people are diagnosed and patients receive newer, more expensive treatments, a study has found. Researchers questioned whether these newer drugs are more effective than older, cheaper treatments. About 18 million people in the United States were diagnosed with diabetes in 2007, an increase from 8.1 million in 1994, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide sales of diabetes drugs may jump to $22 billion by 2016, analysts say.
Cigna is the latest to jump into the market for individual health insurance policies and is wooing customers with perks usually reserved for large company health plans. The features include discounts for fitness club memberships, coverage of acupuncture, and 24-hour health information lines. Prices can vary, depending on a person's medical history and state rules.
Rising blood costs and mounting safety concerns about transfusions are leading hospitals to adopt stricter measures to manage their blood supplies. A growing number of hospitals are developing guidelines for when transfusions are necessary, and they are making sure doctors are in compliance. Institutions also are increasingly checking patients for anemia before surgery and treating them with iron or red-blood-cell-boosting drugs to cut down on transfusions in the operating room.
HCA Inc. has announced it has set incoming Chief Executive Richard M. Bracken's salary at $1.33 million. Bracken will become chief executive on Jan. 1.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has voted to approve a hardship application of St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, clearing the way for the razing of a distinctive 44-year-old building. The building demolition is crucial to a controversial $1.6 billion plan to build a medical tower and condominium in the Greenwich Village Historic District.