Health Care News

Study says Onondaga County physicians practices are major economic drivers

The more than 400 physician practices in Onondaga County drove $1 billion into the county's economy in 2008 through the employment of nearly 6,000 physicians and staff members. That's according to a new report on private-practice physicians in New York. The Onondaga County Medical Society released ...Full Article

Rochester area draws high marks in health rankings

Health outcomes are rates of illness and premature death. The rankings, compiled by the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also included health factors — behaviors such as...Full Article

Gift ban costing state medical jobs

The Massachusetts law designed to prevent pharmaceutical and medical device firms from having undue influence on doctors is spurring job losses at local companies and research institutions, industry insiders claim. The so-called gift ban went into effect in July, and since then medical device companies have been scrambling to understand...Full Article

Training of surgeons may take flight into virtual reality

Buffalo researchers unveiled a simulator Thursday to train doctors to perform robotic surgery similar to the way pilots use virtual-reality devices for flight training. The simulator may fill a glaring need in medicine. Demand for robotic surgery is growing faster than the ability to train surgeons, and the learning curve is considered steep, requiring dozens of ...Full Article

NY families to make medical decisions

New York lawmakers have approved legislation giving family, guardians or partners the ability to make medical decisions for incapacitated patients even if they don't have a health care proxy signed by the patient. Gov. David Paterson says he will sign the bill, which passed the Senate...Full Article

Hospital Trims Employee Costs

Massena Memorial Hospital has reduced some employee hours and opted not to fill several vacant positions in an effort to control costs. But with nearly $300,000 in estimated Medicaid cuts already proposed for the coming year and the possibility of further health care cuts if ...Full Article

Statement from Governor Paterson Regarding Medicare Part D

I commend President Obama and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for their announcement today that the federal government will provide more than $400 million...Full Article

Preventing Pre-Mature Births

More babies are being born premature and groups across the state are banding together to prevent the problem. Parents and healthcare providers met at the Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network in Binghamton Wednesday....Full Article

Budget a bane to drug trials?

Of all the clinical trials for new drugs conducted nationwide, nearly a quarter take place in hospitals in New York state, according to the state's biotechnology association. But the group warns that budget legislation could make the state a less attractive place to conduct those trials....Full Article