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HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwire -02/03/12)- The distinguished group of orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine physicians of Methodist Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine are featured in the much anticipated Texas Super Doctors 2011-2012 issue of Texas Monthly magazine only recently released.

Determined through peer nominations and reviews, the list of selected Texas Super Doctors is carefully guarded until the coveted Texas Monthly magazine Super Doctors issue officially hits the newsstands.

The renowned orthopedic and sports medicine group, with sub specialties in hand and upper extremity, foot and ankle, shoulder, spine, total joint, and sports medicine was recognized for the strides made at the new Methodist Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine at Willowbrook as well as individual accomplishments.

Korsh Jafarnia, M.D. expanded the hand and upper extremity program at the advanced new facility to include a new Hand Center unlike anything currently available in northwest Houston — featuring specialized occupational therapy and the latest in hand, wrist and elbow treatment. Dr. Jafarnia also co-authored research findings published in 2011 — examining high-energy shockwave therapy in the treatment of Tennis Elbow.

Bruce Moseley, M.D. and Travis Hanson, M.D. kept professional and amateur athletes alike in the game — serving as part of the official healthcare team for organized sports throughout Houston.

Scott Rand, M.D. with the assistance of Greg Seelhoefer, M.D. succeeded in establishing an accredited Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship program — only one of two such programs in the greater Houston area. Rand is the PCSM Fellowship program director.

And together the physicians participated in educational Injury Reports on ESPN's 97.5 NFL Sports Reports and public seminars on the Methodist Willowbrook campus.

With decades of combined experience, the physicians have served as team physicians for Rice University, U.S. Soccer, the Houston Rockets, the Houston Comets, the U.S. Men's and Women's Olympic Basketball “Dream Teams” as well as dozens of area high school teams and organized sports clubs.

“We stay focused on providing our patients with the best treatments and rehabilitative therapies available in orthopedic medicine. Improving quality of life and returning individuals to the activities they love are the greatest accomplishments. We're pleased to also be recognized by our colleagues in this effort,” said Dr. Jafarnia.

According to Methodist Willowbrook Hospital CEO and Senior Vice President of The Methodist Hospital System Beryl Ramsey, the group is helping to prominently distinguish Methodist Willowbrook in northwest Houston.

“We carefully selected these physicians for their work in each of their areas of specialty and contributions to orthopedic and sports medicine. We're very proud to have such a group on our campus and pleased to have Texas Monthly announce what we've long known,” said Ramsey.

To take a facility tour, learn more about these physicians, or check the dates for upcoming seminars, sports clinics and ImPACT Concussion testing go to www.methodistwillowbrookortho.com, or call toll-free (855) WB ORTHO (926-7846).

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Newswise — NYU School of Medicine announced the creation of a new Department of Population Health focused on research to improve human health at the population level. Marc Gourevitch, MD, MPH, professor of population health and medicine at NYU School of Medicine was appointed inaugural chair.

A field of rapidly escalating importance, its focus on populations of persons rather than individuals fosters a proactive approach to disease through prevention and interventions at the level of health care systems and communities. By bridging diverse yet related disciplines of health care delivery, social and environmental determinants of health, biostatistics and epidemiology, the department will advance discovery, translation and dissemination of health-related interventions to optimize their impact on the health of populations in New York City communities and around the world.

“The creation of this department reflects NYU Langone’s deep commitment to improving healthcare at the population level by focusing on a wide range of factors affecting health and quality of life,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center. “I am confident that under Dr. Gourevitch’s leadership this department will foster collaboration among researchers with a broad spectrum of expertise, resulting in the advancement of evidence-based research and improvements in the health of entire communities.”

By linking the Divisions of Biostatistics and Epidemiology with initiatives in comparative effectiveness and decision science, behavior change research, health policy and economics, global and community health, and delivery system analysis and design, the new department will provide a unique intellectual and training environment, drawing investigators from diverse disciplines across the medical center and NYU. “A focus on improving the health of populations is fundamental to 21st century healthcare and I am excited to lead NYU Langone’s efforts to discover and apply new strategies to advance that goal,” said Dr. Gourevitch. “The complexity of the real-world challenges we face demands solutions that bridge diverse disciplines and approaches.”

Dr. Gourevitch brings to the medical center a strong track record of success in integrating medicine and public health research and advocating population-level approaches to improve healthcare delivery. Dr. Gourevitch joined NYU Langone in 2004 and during his tenure as director of the Division of General Internal Medicine, helped cultivate a vibrant group of investigators and increase external funding for research.

Dr. Gourevitch holds academic appointments in the Departments of Medicine and of Psychiatry as well as at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He received his medical degree from Harvard and completed his residency at NYU School of Medicine in primary care/internal medicine, followed by fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a master’s in public health with a concentration in epidemiology from Columbia.

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Companion Diagnostics Market to Explode as Personalized Medicine Market Catapults to $42 Billion by 2015

Two abortion doctors face charges stemming from an August 2010 incident and fetuses found at an Elkton, Maryland, clinic.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Mark Osler: 39 years after Roe v. Wade, time limits on abortion should be rethought Some states have no statutory time limit; others allow abortion up to the end of second trimester Osler says medical technology makes some fetuses viable in second trimester

Editor's note: Mark Osler, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minnesota, is a former federal prosecutor and the author of “Jesus on Death Row,” a book about capital punishment.

(CNN) — Thirty-nine years ago, Roe v. Wade was decided. With the passage of nearly four decades, the landscape of abortion has changed in a way that should trouble even those who consider themselves pro-choice.

Right now, 10 states and the District of Columbia have no statutory time limit on when abortions can be performed, while five more states allow abortion up to the end of the second trimester (about 27 or 28 weeks). Yet, we know that by 28 weeks, the great majority of fetuses would survive birth. In other words, we allow the killing of viable infants in our country. This is a fact that progressives (including me) would rather not address.

As two Maryland abortion doctors face murder charges for allegedly performing late-term abortions, the issue now has a pair of human faces.

Drs. Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley were arrested after the discovery of what are alleged to be several viable fetuses in a freezer chest. The story only got stranger on New Year's Day, when a clinic apparently owned by Brigham burned to the ground in Florida. Important facts are still unknown, and the doctors have asserted their innocence regarding any late-term abortions.

Mark Osler

There has been relatively little discussion of this case in progressive circles. It's no wonder that we would rather look away. The abortion debate has largely devolved into professional activists screaming at each other on television and at street protests. We don't want to be like those people.

We are also haunted by the ragged remains of the Supreme Court opinion in Roe v. Wade. Despite being disavowed by subsequent opinions and some of the individual justices, one part of that precedent lives on in the statutes of some states and the practices of several doctors: The assertion in Roe's majority opinion that “viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks).”

The scientific claim that viability (the ability of a fetus to live outside the womb) “usually” occurs at 28 weeks has been undermined by medical advances over the past 38 years.

Children who would have died if born late in the second trimester in 1973 would more than likely live if they were born now. A Swedish study in 2009 found that preterm babies born late in the second trimester who are given intensive care survive at surprising rates: 53% of those born at 23 weeks live, 67% at 24 weeks, and by 25 weeks, 82% of the babies survive. (Sweden's health care system makes it possible to reliably track survival rates, but the type of care provided there is similar to that available in the United States).

In the same way that the law had to change to accommodate advances in DNA evidence that can exonerate those on death row, state laws must change to accommodate that with modern medical care, a child born at 27 weeks is very likely not only going to live, but live a fairly normal life.

We progressives tend to revere science, and there are few scientific proofs more convincing than those former preterm infants who live and thrive all around us. Though late-term abortions are only a small fraction of the total number of terminated pregnancies, it remains a defining issue for our society.

As someone who works against the death penalty, trying to save the lives of people who have committed murder, I have a moral obligation to set my feet, breathe in deeply and honestly admit that prosecutors are morally in the right to pursue cases where they believe viable fetuses are being aborted in violation of the law. A life is ended, and that is murder, if the facts so prove.

Some will see any accommodation on abortion as “appeasement” of conservatives, but this attitude is nothing less than the adoption of hard-line evidence-ignoring tactics that progressives so often (and properly) decry in groups such as the National Rifle Association. We may disagree about whether life begins at conception, but it is now irrefutable that life is viable at 27 weeks. To deny this plainly observable fact is akin to denying the existence of evolution or global warming.

Much as Troy Davis (who was executed in Georgia last year despite troubling exculpatory evidence) and Hank Skinner (who received a stay of his execution in Texas to allow DNA testing to be pursued) personified the problems with the death penalty, there are those who do so just as starkly when we ponder late-term abortion.

For me, that person is named Rees. On a hot summer day in Waco, Texas, his proud grandfather carried him across the street for me to meet, months after his birth at about 24 weeks. His eyes were clear in the Texas sun, he was wrapped in a blue-and-white blanket, and he was surrounded by love.

He was, and is, a person, and that matters as much as Troy Davis and Hank Skinner.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mark Osler.

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Federal government funds research into 'personalized medicine'

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Foundation Medicine, Inc., a molecular information company that brings comprehensive cancer genome analysis to routine clinical care, today announced certification from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 for its genomic sequencing laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This certification follows receipt of a Massachusetts State license and allows the company to accept clinical samples from most U.S. states.

“Foundation Medicine has been dedicated to exceptional standards of operational performance from day one, and that quality commitment was evident in our clinical laboratory certification process,” said Kevin Krenitsky, M.D., chief operating officer of Foundation Medicine. “CLIA certification is a critical step that enables us to accept and report on clinical samples as we scale for full commercial launch later this year.”

Foundation Medicine achieved Massachusetts State licensing in October 2011, enabling the company to begin processing clinical samples from most states. The company has begun accepting clinical samples and expects to commercially launch its fully informative genomic profile for all patients with solid tumors in mid-2012.

Mandated by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR 42 Part 493.2), the CMS manage and conduct inspections of CLIA laboratories. The regulation was enacted to ensure consistent, accurate, and reliable clinical test results reporting from laboratories across the country used for the diagnosis, treatment, and/or prognosis of disease in human subjects. CLIA applies to all clinical laboratories operating in the U.S. and its territories and encompasses more than 200,000 clinical testing sites.

About Foundation Medicine’s Comprehensive Cancer Genomic Test

Foundation Medicine’s comprehensive cancer genomic test uses next-generation sequencing to analyze routine clinical specimens (i.e., small amounts of formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tumor tissue) for all classes of genomic alterations (point mutations, copy number alterations, insertions/deletions, and select rearrangements) in approximately 200 cancer-related genes. The test is optimized for clinical-grade analysis of tumor tissues, overcoming multiple complexities (such as purity, ploidy, and clonality) inherent to tumor genomes. Results are designed to serve as a helpful decision-support tool for physicians to evaluate cancer treatment approaches tailored to each patient’s molecular subtype. Each patient report is reviewed and annotated by a molecular oncologist and consists of scientific and medical literature relevant to that patient’s genomic alterations and includes information on targeted therapies and clinical trials supported by scientific and medical research.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine is dedicated to improving cancer care through the development of comprehensive cancer diagnostics that will help physicians inform treatment decisions based on an individual patient’s molecular cancer subtype. Foundation Medicine’s first laboratory developed test, based on a next-generation sequencing platform, is designed to accommodate a broad landscape of cancer genome information and a growing repertoire of targeted treatments and clinical research opportunities. Foundation Medicine’s test will assist physicians to make prompt and informed determinations about the best cancer treatments and clinical trial options for each patient, taking into account each patient’s unique cancer-associated alterations alongside publicly available scientific and medical information. The company’s founding advisors are world leaders in genome technology, cancer biology and medical oncology; they, alongside clinicians, biotech and molecular diagnostics industry leaders, are working to harness emerging technologies to develop unparalleled tests that will identify and interpret an ever-growing set of actionable genomic alterations, truly enabling personalized cancer medicine. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.foundationmedicine.com.

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The federal government is pledging up to $67.5 million for research into “personalized medicine,” which tailors treatment to a patient's genetics and environment.

The funds will flow through Genome Canada, the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the federal government's health research agency.

Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Minister of State for Science Gary Goodyear made the announcement at the University of Ottawa's health campus Tuesday.

The field of personalized medicine is touted as having the potential to transform the way patients are treated. It looks at the genetic makeup of a person, the patient's environment and the exact course of a particular disease so that an appropriate and effective treatment can be tailored for that individual.

The idea is to move from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that is designed for a specific person and relies on the genetic signatures, or biomarkers, of both the patient and the disease.

Proponents of personalized medicine say it is likely to change the way drugs are developed, how medicines are prescribed and generally how illnesses are managed. They say it will shift the focus in health care from reaction to prevention, improve health outcomes, make drugs safer and mean fewer adverse drug reactions, and reduce costs to health-care systems.

“The potential to understand a person's genetic makeup and the specific character of their illness in order to best determine their treatment will significantly improve the quality of life for patients and their families and may show us the way to an improved health-care system and even save costs in certain circumstances,” Aglukkaq said in a news release.

Research projects could last four years

The sequencing of the human genome paved the way for personalized medicine and there have been calls for more research funding so that the discoveries in laboratories can be translated further into the medical field so they will benefit patients more.

Identifying a person's genetic profile, for example, could then indicate a susceptibility to a certain disease, if the biomarkers of that disease have also been discovered. If people know they are genetically at risk of an illness they can take actions to prevent it, and their health-care providers can monitor for it.

Cancer patients could be pre-screened to determine if chemotherapy would work for them, which could not only save a lot of money on expensive treatments but also prevent pain and suffering for patients.

Genome Canada is leading the research initiative, in collaboration with Cancer Stem Cell Consortium and CIHR which on Tuesday launched its Personalized Medicine Signature Initiative. CIHR is committing up to $22.5 million to the large-scale initiative with the other two partners, but it will be providing more funding for other projects under its personalized medicine program.

The research projects are aiming to bring together biomedical, clinical, population health, health economics, ethics and policy researchers to identify areas that are best suited to personalized medicine.

Oncology, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders, diabetes and obesity, arthritis, pain, and Alzheimer’s disease are all considered to be areas that hold promise for personalized medicine.

Funding will also go to projects that are aimed at developing more evidence-based and cost-effective approaches to health care.

Researchers can get up to four years of funding, but 50 per cent of their requested funding must be matched from another source, such as a provincial government or from the academic or private sectors.

Genome Canada, CIHR and the cancer consortium will invest a maximum of $5 million in each individual project.

The successful applicants for the $67.5 million worth of funding won't be announced until December.

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SAN DIEGO, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – bioTheranostics, Inc., a bioMerieux company that develops innovative oncology diagnostic tests to drive personalized treatment, has introduced a new product line of high medical value biomarkers for response, resistance and pathway interrogation called PRECIS Precision Medicine by bioTheranostics(SM). Precision medicine, a new paradigm in cancer management, partners accurate diagnosis of primary tumor site and predictive biomarkers to drive targeted therapy.  The PRECIS tests help oncologists predict potential response and evaluate underlying disease pathways as they consider targeted therapies.

The PRECIS product line includes biomarker profiles for non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer and detects clinically relevant tumor biomarkers EGFR, ALK rearrangement, KRAS, BRAF, c-MET, PIK3CA and 10q23 deletion to aid in characterizing disease behavior and therapeutic effectiveness.

“An unmet need for targeted therapy treatments in metastatic cancer is accurate tumor classification plus knowledge of the activated signal transduction pathway driving cancer growth,” said Richard Ding, Chief Executive Officer of bioTheranostics.  “The use of CancerTYPE ID®, the leading molecular classifier to aid physicians in ascertaining tumor origin, and PRECIS Precision Medicine biomarkers has significant potential to improve cancer diagnosis and help oncologists efficiently formulate an optimal personalized treatment plan.

“The launch of PRECIS is a key milestone for bioTheranostics as the company moves to become an integrated diagnostic solution provider in cancer management,” said Ding.  “The PRECIS test menu provides cutting-edge tumor pathway information on therapeutic prediction and resistance mechanisms.

“We will continue to expand our testing menu as more predictive biomarkers demonstrate their clinical utility.  Our physician customers have also indicated that the turnaround time for the test results was important in their clinical decisions.  Our lab will respond to our client's needs by providing PRECIS test results within 7 to 10 days,” Ding concluded.

About bioTheranostics

Advancing Molecular Diagnostics in Oncology

bioTheranostics discovers, develops and commercializes molecular diagnostic tests for cancer patients. Leveraging its unique expertise in expression profiling and algorithm development, bioTheranostics provides innovative tests to the oncology community. The company operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited diagnostic service laboratory in San Diego, CA to perform its proprietary molecular diagnostic tests: breastcancerindex, which is a prognostic test that provides quantitative risk assessment of distant recurrence in patients diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive and lymph node negative breast cancer; CancerTYPE ID, which uses the differential expression of 92 genes to aid in the determination of tumor site of origin and PRECIS Precision Medicine by bioTheranostics, which includes clinically relevant oncology biomarkers for comprehensive cancer management.

For more information, call 1-858-587-5870 or visit www.bioTheranostics.com.

About bioMerieux

Advancing Diagnostics to Improve Public Health

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 45 years, bioMerieux is present in more than 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2011, revenues reached euro 1.427 billion with 87% of sales outside of France.

bioMerieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are used for diagnosing infectious diseases and providing high medical value results for cancer screening and monitoring and cardiovascular emergencies. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

bioMerieux is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris market (Symbol: BIM – ISIN: FR0010096479).

Other information can be found at www.biomerieux.com

FOR INFORMATION:

bioTheranostics
Tim Schofield
Tel: + 1 858 587 5890
tim.schofield@biotheranostics.com

bioMerieux
Koren Wolman-Tardy
Tel: + 011 33 6 13 94 51 14
media@eu.biomerieux.com

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NEW YORK & PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Bionest Partners, a premier strategy and management consulting firm for life science industries, and a recognized leader in personalized medicine strategy consulting, announces the publication of an article in a supplement to the Dec. 23, 2011 issue of Science. The article, co-authored by Dr. Edward Abrahams, President of the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), focuses on how best to optimize decision-making for personalized medicine research and development (R&D) and commercialization strategies.

The adoption of personalized medicine strategies could bring great benefits to patients, medical service providers, payers, and the manufacturers of personalized medicine products (e.g., pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies). The article discusses the complexities and uncertainties that personalized medicine introduces for pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, and how they can address those challenges from commercial, operational, scientific and clinical perspectives. The authors highlight the use of quantitative modeling and decision-analysis tools. In addition, they emphasize the importance of the “soft art” of communication and consensus building within the organization.

Dr. Sean X. Hu, Head of Bionest USA and Managing Director, North America, and lead author, points out that “the key to success lies in the mastery of both the science and the art of personalized medicine strategy decision-making. This article summarizes the combined approach we employ to help companies make the right decisions in a still emerging field.”

Dr. Edward Abrahams adds: “The field of personalized medicine has come a long way over the last decade, to the point that it is now embedded in nearly every major pharmaceutical and diagnostic company research or product portfolio. Nevertheless, companies are struggling with how to navigate a still uncertain regulatory and payer environment, and formulate effective market strategies. The tools and approaches we refer to in this article are an important step toward providing a ‘GPS’ for making the right strategic decisions.”

Bionest is sponsoring the upcoming PMC reception at the InterContinental San Francisco on February 22, 2012, concurrent with the Molecular Medicine TriConference. For further discussions with Drs. Hu and Abrahams on personalized medicine strategies, either at the PMC reception or at another time, please contact Dr. Rachel Laing (rlaing@bionest.com).

Bionest has become a powerhouse in personalized medicine strategy consulting, experienced in a broad spectrum of project types, from the corporate level (personalized medicine business models, commercialization capability building, R&D and commercialization business processes, and organizational structure) to development and commercialization strategies for individual drug assets and companion diagnostics.

In addition, Bionest has been driving thought leadership on personalized medicine, with many articles published or in development on the strategic, commercial and technical aspects of personalized medicine.

For more details, please visit www.bionest.com, (navigate to section Strategic/Strategic Practice/Personalized Medicine Strategies).

About Bionest Partners

Bionest Partners provides advisory and management services exclusively for the life science industries, and helps pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, diagnostics, biotechnology, and medical device companies and their shareholders to maximize the value of their assets and investments. The company, founded in 2003, has offices in Paris and New York. Its broad customer base includes more than 100 clients ranging from large established companies to biotech start-ups and private equity firms, such as Pfizer, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, BiogenIdec, Millennium, MedImmune, Idenix, ProStrakan, Stallergenes, Innate Pharma, Genfit, Jubilant, Sequenom, Axa Private Equity, Blackstone, Candover. The company focuses on providing actionable strategies through its expertise in management consulting, including corporate, franchise, portfolio and product commercialization, organizational and marketing strategies, due diligence, surrogate management, as well as entry into European and US markets. Bionest has a global network of consultants and associate members deployed to address specific client assignments and geographical markets in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

About the Personalized Medicine Coalition

The Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC), representing scientists, patients, providers and payers, promotes the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine concepts, services and products to benefit patients and the health system. For more information on the Personalized Medicine Coalition, please visit www.PersonalizedMedicineCoalition.org.

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Bionest and PMC Address Optimization of Personalized Medicine Strategies

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 15th
Society of
Hospital Medicine Anniversary Annual Meeting is expected
to draw record attendees in San Diego, CA, April 1-4 as more than
2,700 hospitalists and healthcare
professionals meet to advance the field of hospital medicine and
improve patient care in the hospital.

Healthcare providers from across the nation will come together
to re-energize and focus their practice with the latest
research, best practices and newest innovations the field has
to offer. The meeting will provide an opportunity to connect
and collaborate with a community of healthcare professionals
dedicated to inpatient care.

“The energy around patient safety and innovation in the
hospital continues to build. This is an exciting time to be
part of the rapid expansion of hospital medicine and the
transformation in the way healthcare is delivered,” says SHM
President, Joseph Ming Wah Li, MD, SFHM. “Caregivers –
physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and
hospital administrators — at the annual meeting are dedicated
to improving the quality and safety of patient care by
providing evidence-based techniques and resources to create
real change.”

Attendees will hear from keynote speakers who are some of the
most renowned healthcare visionaries and change agents
including:

Patrick H. Conway, MD, MSc, FAAP, SFHM, Chief Medical
Officer & Director, Office of Clinical Standards and
Quality Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Norman J. Ornstein, PhD, MA, BA, American Enterprise
Institute for Public Policy Research

Robert M. Wachter, MD, MHM, Professor and Associate
Chairman, University of California San Francisco and author of
Hospital Medicine

The meeting will offer nine educational tracks with more than
90 educational sessions and seven pre-courses. New this year,
pathways will provide attendees a way to build a focused and
diversified schedule to maximize the value of content and
networking opportunities.

Some of the most cutting-edge ideas in improving patient care
will be presented at the popular and now expanded Research,
Innovation, and Clinical Vignettes (RIV) poster session. During
the meeting, the Society of Hospital Medicine will also
announce four new elected board members, the 2012 Fellows class
and six 2012 Award of Excellence recipients.

Learn more about Hospital Medicine 2012 by visiting
www.hospitalmedicine2012.org.

About SHM

Representing the fastest growing specialty in modern
healthcare, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is the
leading medical society for more than 34,000 hospitalists and
their patients. SHM is dedicated to promoting the highest
quality care for all hospitalized patients and overall
excellence in the practice of hospital medicine through quality
improvement, education, advocacy and research. Over the past
decade, studies have shown that hospitalists can contribute to
decreased patient lengths of stay, reductions in hospital costs
and readmission rates, and increased patient satisfaction.

For more information about SHM and hospital medicine, visit

www.hospitalmedicine.org.

Note to media: Media contacts may register for HM12 for free.
Contact Jacqui Petock at
jpetock@hospitalmeidine.org or by phone at 267-702-2646.

Brendon Shank
Associate Vice President

Communications and Marketing
Society of Hospital Medicine
267-702-2639

bshank@hospitalmedicine.org

About SHM

Representing the fastest growing specialty in modern
healthcare, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) is the
leading medical society for more than 34,000 hospitalists and
their patients. SHM is dedicated to promoting the highest
quality care for all hospitalized patients and overall
excellence in the practice of hospital medicine through quality
improvement, education, advocacy and research. Over the past
decade, studies have shown that hospitalists can contribute to
decreased patient lengths of stay, reductions in hospital costs
and readmission rates, and increased patient satisfaction.

For more information about SHM and hospital medicine, visit

www.hospitalmedicine.org.

This information was brought to you by Cision

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Researchers are making progress bridging the soft, wet world of
the human body and electronics.

The National Science Foundation today
released a video giving the latest news from researchers
trying to
develop flexible electronics that can be placed on the skin
or embedded in the body. The hope is that these devices can be
used to diagnose or provide care to patients.

The group is testing prototype circuits that can detect muscle,
heart, and brain activity with a skin-attached temporary
“tattoo.” These devices, made from small curly wires embedded
in flexible membranes, perform as well as rigid electrodes,
according to the NSF.

A group of researchers, including Northwestern University
professor Yonggang Huang and University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign professor John Rogers, last year published a
paper
in Science on “epidermal electronics” which could be
attached to patients' skin and still function as the body moves
and stretches the skin.

In the video prepared by the National Science Foundation, which
partially funds the research, Rogers said he is experimenting
with electronics embedded in the body for providing treatment
to the heart, brain, or muscle tissue.

One is an “electronic sock” wrapped around a heart that could
inject current to prevent an irregular heartbeat. Another
application would be a circuit implanted on the brain to
prevent seizures.

The group also intends to build elastic electronics with an
onboard power source and wireless networking to aid in
diagnostics and treatment, Huang said.

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New medicine: Electronic tattoos

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We Have to Change the Medicine Given to Greece: MP

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The economic and societal
forces that have transformed the medical profession over the
past decade open the door to new approaches to income
protection, according to
The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
(Guardian), a market leader in
individual disability insurance, which
announced a new offering today.

Physicians and other medical professionals have long been
aware of the need for this type of coverage – which protects
one’s ability to earn an income even if a work-stopping illness
or injury strikes – because they witness the lifestyle changes
caused by unexpected disabilities every day in their work. Many
are also motivated to protect the significant investment
they’ve made in their education. But all professionals whose
families depend on their income will benefit from the product
innovations just launched by Guardian.

“The changes we’ve observed in the marketplace,
reinforced by what we’ve been hearing in focus groups across
the country, confirm that one size doesn’t fit all,” said
Gordon Dinsmore, President of Berkshire Life Insurance Company
of America, the Guardian company that issues its individual
disability insurance policy.

“Just as there is no longer one path to practice
medicine, in the
21stcentury, no matter
what profession you’re in, there should be multiple ways to
secure this important protection – ways that take price into
account – without compromising the quality of the coverage,” he
added. “We are confident that Guardian now has the broadest
disability insurance product portfolio in the industry.”

Changing Landscape for Medical Providers

While demand for medical services in the U.S. continues
to
increase due to the aging population,
the face of who is providing that care – and how it is
delivered – is changing rapidly. The high cost of electronic
health records, downward pressure on medical reimbursement and
soaring levels of medical-school debt mean that many doctors
are opting to join hospital staffs and large medical practices
as
salaried employees, rather than opening their own
practices. At the same time, growing numbers
of female physicians –
50% of medical school students are
women, compared to just one-third 30 years ago
– as well as the
recent influx of Gen X doctors into the
marketplace has underscored the
priority on work-life balance.

All of these trends have brought on yet another
significant change: the expanding role of non-physician
professionals such as physician assistants and nurse
practitioners in providing more and more medical services.
The
U.S. Department of Labor projects that
jobs within this category of skilled mid-level providers will
grow 20-50% by 2018.

Having monitored these market developments over the past
several years and verified their impact on income protection
requirements through national research, Guardian has increased
the breadth of its flagship ProVider Plus individual disability
insurance portfolio to accommodate the total needs
spectrum.

“Solo medical practitioners are essentially small
business owners, operating on a high risk/high reward basis.
They have significant earnings potential but are likely highly
leveraged in their practices, and should therefore have
top-tier income protection coverage in place,” explained
Dinsmore.

“On the other hand, staff doctors and non-physician
medical professionals may not need as many bells and whistles
on their disability policies, but they don’t want to compromise
on the expectation that the coverage will be there when they
need it most,” he added. “Now, thanks to Guardian, they don’t
have to.”

Aligning to Price Sensitivity While Maintaining
Value

To better serve this value-focused segment of the medical
market – as well as those individuals in other professions for
whom affordability is a concern – Guardian has
introduced
ProVider Plus Limited, an individual
disability insurance policy built on Guardian’s well-known core
contract. With package-exclusive configurations and a host of
optional riders, policy owners are able to customize coverage
to fit their income-protection needs, while not having to pay
for features their situations don’t require.

At the same time, Guardian has strengthened its
traditional
ProVider Plus individual disability
insurance policy by introducing a patent-pending Lump Sum
Disability Benefit Rider, an option not available anywhere else
that is designed to provide benefits after the policy expires
(at age 65 or 67), a time when the full impact of even a brief
disability during one’s working years can make itself felt as
retirement begins.

How does it work? Guardian’s exclusive rider pays a
one-time, lump-sum benefit equal to 35% of all disability
benefits paid over the lifetime of a policy. Policy owners
don’t need to even be disabled at the end of their contracts in
order to qualify for this benefit. So, a 47 year-old
professional who is in a serious accident requiring multiple
surgeries and extensive physical therapy, who returns to work
after two years and remains healthy until his or her
retirement, will still receive this additional payment when the
policy expires at age 65 (or 67), as long as it remains active
until that time.

Finally, Guardian has enhanced the flexibility of both
its ProVider Plus and ProVider Plus Limited offerings by giving
consumers the option of selecting a true own-occupation or
modified own-occupation definition of total disability for
either product – enabling an unprecedented level of coverage
customization.

“Everyone’s personal and professional circumstances are
unique, and the disability insurance they obtain to protect
their ability to earn an income should be tailored to their
needs, not the needs of the doctor or lawyer across the hall,”
explained Dinsmore.

About Guardian

A mutual insurer founded in 1860, The Guardian Life
Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries are committed
to protecting individuals, business owners and their employees
with life, disability income and dental insurance products, and
offer 401(k), annuities and other financial products. Guardian
operates one of the largest dental networks in the United
States, and protects more than six million employees and their
families at 115,000 companies. The company has approximately
5,000 employees in the United States and a network of over
3,000 financial representatives in more than 80 agencies
nationwide.

For more information about Guardian, please visit:

www.GuardianLife.com.

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Four Top Functional Medicine Doctors Appear on “Dr. Oz’s Disease Detectives”

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Approximately one-third of all
high-tech imaging performed in the United States proves
medically unnecessary. Specialty benefits management provider
HealthHelp announced today the launch of a new program
designed to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure and to
promote cost-effective treatment planning for the best
possible outcome. The education-based program targets
emergency departments in particular, where utilization
remains high because of defensive medicine practices and a
lack of standardized high-tech imaging protocols.

The Emergency Medicine Program will work to improve ordering
patterns of emergency department physicians. Participants
will learn more about radiation exposure and the potential
harm associated with high-tech imaging, as well as about the
best uses for the technology and the importance of timing in
relation to patient management. The program will focus on
five indications commonly handled in the emergency
department.

“This program will help emergency department physicians
determine the right test to order to obtain the necessary
clinical information, resulting in a more accurate diagnosis
that will positively impact patient management and reduce
unnecessary radiation exposure,” explained HealthHelp
president and CEO Cherrill Farnsworth. “As with any
quality/safety initiative, the reduced cost to the hospital
system or health plan will result in savings.”

Physicians will earn continuing medical education (CME)
credits for their participation in the program.

The Emergency Medicine Program joins HealthHelp’s existing
suite of innovative and successful specialty benefits
management programs for radiology, cardiology, and oncology.
To learn more visit

http://www.healthhelp.com/specialties/.

About HealthHelp®

HealthHelp, a leader in specialty benefits management,
generates significant savings and return on investment for
health care payers by enhancing physician knowledge,
improving quality of care, and reducing unnecessary radiation
exposure. Each of its programs addresses a different aspect
of radiology, cardiology, oncology, emergency medicine,
musculoskeletal, and sleep care. The clients of Houston-based
HealthHelp administer local, statewide, and national health
care plans across the country. For more information about
HealthHelp’s programs, visit

http://www.healthhelp.com.

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HealthHelp Launches Emergency Medicine Program