IBC and Penn Medicine Team to Study Medication Adherence, Genomic Cancer, and More

PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwired - June 27, 2013) - Independence Blue Cross (IBC) announces a new collaboration with Penn Medicine today on research initiatives into some of today's most pressing health issues. Current research studies are underway to:

Future research studies are in the planning stage to:

"Philadelphia should be the Silicon Valley of health care innovation given its active investment community and pool of talent with experience in the health care field," said IBC president and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty. "Penn is one of the nation's premier research universities and our two organizations have enjoyed a long relationship of working together to improve the health of people in our community. We are excited about this new research initiative, which, among many things, will help us learn more about ways to change behaviors to improve health outcomes and lower health care costs."

"We saw IBC as a natural partner for Penn because of its high quality informatics capabilities," said University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Ralph Muller. "We've enjoyed collaborating with IBC on a number of initiatives, as we believe that combining resources and perspectives across the leading payer and provider in the region creates opportunities for meaningful innovation."

In one study, researchers will look at whether pill bottles equipped with beeping devices that alert patients to take their medications -- in addition to a series of behavioral economic motivational tools -- will improve medication adherence. This study also examines how a social support system can improve drug adherence in patients discharged from a hospital after a heart attack.

"One of the greatest challenges to improving health care today centers on changing the behaviors that lead to poor health, whether that is eating right and exercising, getting appropriate tests and screenings, or taking the medications doctors prescribe," said Kevin Volpp, M.D., Director of the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, who is overseeing several of the research projects. "Evidence shows that patients who take medications such as cholesterol lowering drugs as prescribed have a much lower likelihood of being readmitted to the hospital or having another heart attack. We know that there are tremendous health benefits to increasing medication adherence and improving health behaviors to reduce patients' risk of disease. It's just a matter of figuring out the best ways to achieve the desired behaviors," added Volpp.

"We're excited about leveraging our powerful technology and informatics capabilities with Penn to find new ways to address serious health issues," said Somesh Nigam, senior vice president and chief informatics officer of IBC. "The long-term potential for this work to improve our members' health, as well as the health of others throughout our community, is significant." Somesh added that all patient data IBC provides for the research will comply with HIPAA regulations and will be securely maintained at all times.

While these are primarily multi-year studies, Nigam expects that there could be some preliminary results for the genomic testing project in early 2014.

About Independence Blue CrossProudly celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2013, Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania serving more than seven million people nationwide, including 2.2 million in the region. We are enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more about how we're changing the game, visit http://www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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IBC and Penn Medicine Team to Study Medication Adherence, Genomic Cancer, and More

Loyola nuclear medicine technologist named National Technologist of the Year

Public release date: 26-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Jim Ritter jritter@lumc.edu 708-216-2445 Loyola University Health System

MAYWOOD, Il. Nuclear medicine technologist Rebecca Sajdak of Loyola University Medical Center has been named National Technologist of the Year by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

Sajdak has served on numerous nuclear medicine society committees, task forces and governance groups, and has given educational talks around the country.

"Such an award does not come easily, and it reflects the many years of effort that she has put in at local, state and national levels serving in a variety of leadership positions," said Robert Wagner, MD, Loyola's medical director of Nuclear Medicine.

Nuclear medicine technologists take images of patients such as bone scans, PET scans and cardiac stress scans. Sajdak has extensive experience in all nuclear imaging techniques, computer processing skills, researching new products, programming macros and training new employees on procedures and techniques.

She has published articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and is an expert on standard operating procedures in clinical trials.

Sajdak is certified by the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board, American Registry of Radiologic Technologists Nuclear Medicine and American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

She has a BA degree from Loyola University Chicago and an AS degree in Nuclear Medicine from Triton College.

She lives in Plainfield, Il.

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Loyola nuclear medicine technologist named National Technologist of the Year

Research and Markets: Global Strategic Business Report: Nuclear Medicine – Technology Innovations Promise Bright …

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b25gqc/nuclear_medicine) has announced the addition of the "Nuclear Medicine - Global Strategic Business Report" report to their offering.

This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Nuclear Medicine in US$ Million by the following Product Segments: Gamma Cameras, and PET Scanners. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2010 through 2018. A six-year historic analysis is also provided for these markets.

The report profiles 43 companies including many key and niche players such as Digirad Corporation, GE Healthcare Plc, Phillips Healthcare, Inc., Positron Corporation, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.

Key Topics Covered:

I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & PRODUCT DEFINITIONS

II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW AND OUTLOOK

2. TRENDS AND ISSUES

3. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

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Research and Markets: Global Strategic Business Report: Nuclear Medicine - Technology Innovations Promise Bright ...

Forest Rehabilitation Medicine PC Opens Sixth Clinic Utilizing Calmare/Scrambler Chronic Pain Therapy on Staten Island …

STATEN ISLAND, NY--(Marketwired - Jun 27, 2013) - Forest Rehabilitation Medicine PC a chronic pain treatment medical practice with multiple locations on Staten Island and now in Brooklyn, announced today the opening of its sixth clinic at the offices of Daniel W. Wilen, MD, Board-certified Orthopedic Surgeon, at 9202 Fort Hamilton Parkway, Brooklyn, New York 11209, using Calmare/Scrambler Therapy, a non-invasive and non-narcotic therapy for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.

Forest Rehabilitation Medicine, the first Calmare-certified practice in the US, has been opening clinic locations over the past two years on Staten Island. Forest Rehabilitation's physicians, Christopher Perez, MD and Jack D'Angelo, MD, have been very successful in achieving chronic pain relief for their patients suffering from failed surgical back syndrome, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) -- also known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS, Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) and other neuropathies.

Recently, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported that Staten Island had the largest increase (up 261%) in prescription opioid overdose deaths since 2005 compared to Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, the quest for finding a non-narcotic, yet effective, therapy for the treatment of chronic pain has become more important to patients and their doctors. When presented with an alternative to painkillers, most patients understandably prefer a non-surgical solution, but there are few effective alternatives. Calmare is currently in clinical studies by influential medical institutions. The technology has also been garnering more attention in the medical community as more patients and physicians become aware of the Calmare's success in alleviating chronic pain. KSL-TV recently aired a news report on Calmare with patient testimonials.

Locally, Steve Hagis, a Forest Rehabilitation Medicine patient injured on 9/11 and suffering from neuropathy, had been taking morphine daily over the past eleven years. Concerned about the long term negative effects of 300/mg of morphine a day on his body, Mr. Hagis searched for a non-narcotic pain treatment. He replaced the morphine regimen after undergoing ten Calmare treatments.

Mr. Hagis said, "Without morphine, on a scale of 1-10, I was at 11. With morphine, the pain was reduced to 5-6. I had to go to Workers' Compensation Court to obtain reimbursement approval for Calmare, which I received last October. Since the initial ten treatments, I still have pain around 5-6, but without taking morphine and the cumulative bad effects on my body. I only wished I learned of Calmare sooner."

Another patient, Ms. Kelly Gisonda, was experiencing pain of 8-9 after failed spine fusion surgery. After obtaining reimbursement approval from Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Ms. Gisonda received ten Calmare treatments two months ago and now has a much lower pain score of 2-3 with no narcotics.

Ms. Gisonda noted, "I tried Percocet and Opana, but my pain remained at 8-9. With Calmare, I have stopped all painkiller medications. My friends have seen the difference and I have encouraged acquaintances with chronic pain to at least try Calmare to see if it will benefit them. Dr. Perez helped me understand the technology and made me feel comfortable in trying what is, to me, a wonderful solution to my pain."

A RSD patient, Ms. Gerianna Cardito, had been bitten by a cat while working as a veterinarian's assistant two years ago and her life had been dramatically altered. With severe pain and burning sensations in her right hand that basically immobilized her hand, she is now on Workers' Compensation. Ms. Cardito heard about Calmare after trying to get pain relief in her right hand with narcotics, TENS therapy, physical therapy and multiple stellate ganglion blocks. She also tried an electronic pain stimulator but was deemed not a good candidate for that remedy. She does not tolerate drugs well and preferred not to risk the possibility of addiction, so not having to take strong drugs to get through her day she considers a major benefit of using Calmare/Scrambler.

Ms. Cardito said, "Before Calmare, nothing I tried worked for me. On a pain scale, I was over a 10. Since going through ten treatments with Calmare, I can now use my hand for basic everyday things like driving my car, cutting my food, texting etcetera with much less pain. As to the severe burning sensation, it is all but gone. In only three treatments my hand returned to a normal color and in the ten weeks since I started Calmare my burning pain has not once returned to a level of ten even during inclement weather. The burning is mostly 100% gone, which is a miracle to me and when it does kick in on a few occasions at the end of a day, my hand feels warm or, at worst, hot, but not like it is literally on fire which would literally bring me to tears."

Patients experiencing chronic neuropathic pain are invited to contact Dr. D'Angelo or Dr. Perez at (718) 984-9020 with questions on Calmare and their personal chronic pain condition.

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Forest Rehabilitation Medicine PC Opens Sixth Clinic Utilizing Calmare/Scrambler Chronic Pain Therapy on Staten Island ...

Brown names Elias as new medical school dean

PROVIDENCE Dr. Jack Elias, a specialist in pulmonary medicine who currently serves as chair of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, was named the new dean of medicine and biological sciences at Brown University, including the Warren Alpert Medical School.

He will officially begin work on Sept. 1, succeeding Dr. Edward J. Wing.

Brown President Christina H. Paxson hailed the selection of Elias, saying that he brings great experience in teaching, research, patient care and administration.

I am very pleased to welcome Dr. Elias to Brown at an especially exciting time for the University, Paxson said in prepared remarks. Our medical school and research programs, for instance in brain science, are experiencing significant growth, and soon we will embark on a new strategic plan to continue this momentum.

As an internationally recognized biomedical researcher, educator, administrator and practitioner, Dr. Elias is a wonderful addition to our leadership team, she added.

In a professional career spanning more than 30 years since earning his bachelors degree and M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania, Elias has cared for patients with a wide variety of lung ailments and injuries and has conducted research on conditions including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis and the effects of smoking.

With consistent support from the National Institutes of Health, Elias has trained scores of young researchers and published more than 200 original peer-reviewed research papers.

Elias said he hopes to build on the high quality of scholarship and patient care in Browns academic medical center.

It is a real pleasure and honor to join the Brown biology and medical community, Elias said in a statement. We live in an age where the biologic sciences are exploding with new knowledge, the building blocks of disease pathogenesis are being discovered, new therapeutics and approaches to disease are developing at an unparalleled pace, and health care is undergoing unprecedented alteration.

Elias will succeed Wing, who became dean in 2008 and will step down from the position on July 1. During those five years, the Alpert Medical School expanded the class size to 120, opened the schools first dedicated home at 222 Richmond St., and completed new affiliation agreements with the Lifespan and Care New England health care systems.

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Brown names Elias as new medical school dean

Medical school launches community magazine

The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has launched a new magazine to inform the community about the schools pivotal role in medical education, research and advanced patient care in the region.

The inaugural issue of UB Medicine, published this week, provides an overview of the historic changes underway in the school and the ways in which UB and its health care partners are transforming Buffalos medical-science landscape.

It features articles about:

A pdf version of the magazine is available online.

These developments represent change on an order of magnitude few in our generation have known and provide a unique opportunity for our entire community to take part in an initiative that will benefit our region and its medical school long into the future, says Cain.

UB Medicine will keep our alumni and community apprised of this collaborative effort and serve as a way to chronicle and celebrate its many milestones.

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Medical school launches community magazine

Pitt medical school to refine faculty policy

Published: Friday, June 28, 2013, 12:01a.m. Updated 4 hours ago

Leaders at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School have agreed to grant professors a greater voice in decision making, following faculty complaints about potential salary cuts.

University officials haven't detailed their plans, but medical school professors said they hope to moderate what some have called a draconian performance review process.

Dr. Arthur Levine, dean of the medical school, sparked faculty concerns at his State of the School speech in May when he announced the medical school had set a school-wide goal of bringing in 75 percent of faculty salaries from research grants.

Levine previewed a new faculty performance evaluation that spells out quotas for faculty members to cover their salaries through a combination of teaching, research and patient care. He warned that those who failed to meet goals could be subject to salary reductions of up to 20 percent.

Faculty members are hoping to gain a greater voice on the executive committee that sets policy for the medical school. Elected faculty members hold three seats on the committee that is dominated by 31 medical school department heads.

The faculty right now is outnumbered worse than Custer, said Dr. Nicholas Bircher, a medical school professor and past president of the Pitt Faculty Senate.

Dr. Thomas Smitherman, the current faulty senate president who has been handling negotiations on faculty concerns, did not return a call for comment.

John Baker, a professor in Pitt's dental school, said faculty members were concerned that changes could put tenured faculty members at risk of salary cuts as pressure to maintain research funding grows in the face of federal budget reductions that have cut support for research nationwide.

Bircher said worries about how policies were changed was as much a concern as the financial ramifications of those changes.

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Pitt medical school to refine faculty policy

Olivia Asprey: (2014) Interview with Setter/Right Side hitter for Argyle Liberty Chr., TX – Video


Olivia Asprey: (2014) Interview with Setter/Right Side hitter for Argyle Liberty Chr., TX
Olivia talks about her game and what she does best on the court. This is her at Lone Star Nationals at setter and right side hitter. Watch her highlights! Th...

By: MVPSportsRecruiting

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Olivia Asprey: (2014) Interview with Setter/Right Side hitter for Argyle Liberty Chr., TX - Video