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Shared Services Healthcare Inc. recently recognized Standard Register with its Top Medical Surgical Vendor for 2005 award. Shared Services Healthcare, an affiliate of MedAssets, is a group-purchasing organization composed of health care institutions in the southeast United States. The recognition…
Statit Software Inc. recently released Performance Indicator & Management Dashboard (piMD), a new approach to measurement and analysis for the heath care industry. Statit reports that a review of current software options for health care executives revealed a need for a system that would enable…
George Rathbun, director of architecture in Pfizer’s Global Research and Development Informatics group, was recently named chief technology officer of SAFE-BioPharma Association. SAFE-BioPharma is the pharmaceutical-industry–sponsored organization that’s developing and managing a secure digital-…
Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinics recently became the first integrated health system in Asia to earn accreditation from the Joint Commission International. The hospital is a joint venture between Chindex International, a U.S.-owned health care company that operates Chinese hospitals, and…
Precision Wire Components LLC, a medical-component manufacturer, recently received registration to ISO 13485:2003. PWC manufactures guide wires for major medical-device makers, and has been registered to quality standards in the ISO 9000 series since 1997, one year after the company was founded.…
The American Health Quality Association has thrown its support behind the creation of a comprehensive system to measure and report on the performance of health care organizations and practitioners. The Institute of Medicine, a health care trade group, recently proposed creating the new system,…
ANSI/ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is developing an accreditation program for the recycling industry. The scheme, called the Recycling Industry Operations Standard (RIOS) is a comprehensive, integrated standard based on ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It includes six components: general…
Missouri health care provider SSM Health Care recently received several quality awards. The awards were presented by the Excellence in Missouri Foundation, which administers the Missouri Quality Award and Missouri Team Quality Award programs. SSM St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles; SSM St.…
The International Organization for Standardization recently published a new version of International Workshop Agreement 1, which provides additional guidance for the health care sector. IWA 1:2005 has been made more user-friendly by incorporating improvements suggested by health care providers…
Karen Brozowski was recently appointed to the position of East Region medical health services product manager for TÜV America Inc. Brozowski has worked for 20 years in the quality and regulatory industry. Most recently, she was TÜV America’s group vice president of regulatory affairs and quality…
The 2006 PharmaEdge Summit will examine the unprecedented pressures and public scrutiny facing the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The event will he held Jan. 22–24 at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort at Grande Dunes, South Carolina. Delegates will discuss benchmarking, best practices and…
Brooks Software recently formed a new engineering, services, marketing and sales team specifically focused on the life sciences and medical-device manufacturing industries. The team, led by Vice President of Regulatory Compliance Joseph Vinhais, will provide strategic direction and leadership to…
Citing concerns about bioterrorism preparedness, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has discouraged the extension of several prescription drug patents currently being discussed by Congress. Congress is currently being lobbied by drug companies to extend the patents on some drugs, but…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America reports that PhRMA member-companies are helping world governments prepare for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.An important line of defense in the event of an outbreak will be antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, a Roche product, and…
BioMed Realty Trust Inc. recently acquired two new properties, one in San Diego and one in the San Francisco area.The company’s new site in San Diego is it ninth in that area. It purchased the 28,704 square-foot facility for $8.5 million from Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Isis, a public…
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota was recently awarded a contract with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage through its Northern Plains Alliance, a group of six Blue Cross plans throughout the upper Midwest. It will extend drug coverage…
Responding to a growing demand for automated testing tools by life-sciences companies, Genilogix LLC recently released its Validation Accelerator with e-Signature. The device is designed to work with Mercury’s TestDirector for Quality Center product, which enables clients to leverage optimal power…
The balance of trade in medicines for the United Kingdom dipped over the first half of 2005. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry reports that there was a 14-percent drop in the trade balance over the first six months of 2005 as compared with the first half of 2004—from 1.693…
The Optimize Clinical Trial Data Collection and Exchange conference will be held Oct. 24–25 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Kelly Vaillant, Amgen Corp. global head of clinical data management, will serve as the conference chairman. Valliant and Tim Dietlin, Campbell Alliance…
Because of the great confusion about restricted access barrier systems (RABS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering have released a definition paper to elucidate industry professionals on the topic.The paper includes key elements of RABS…
American pharmaceutical companies have donated millions of dollars in cash and medicines to the Gulf Coast region for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The assistance is being sent to both public and private relief organizations. The donations include:
$2 million in cash and $4.5 million in…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America recently launched a new, more patient-friendly Web site. The new site includes stories of patients who are successfully fighting serious illnesses, provides information about the research and development of new medicines, details facts and…
TÜV America recently announced its ability to offer medical device certifications to the new Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (PAL). Effective since April 1, PAL monitors how medical devices are marketed and regulated in Japan. It regulates and classifies medical devices by their level of risk.…
Jacqueline Crew was recently appointed vice president of pharmaceutical sciences quality at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. In her new role, Crew is responsible for leading worldwide quality assurance activities for SPRI in support of global clinical supplies manufacturing, pre-approval…
A recent companywide registration to ISO 13485 marked Accellent Inc.’s commitment to continuous improvement and zero defects, company officials recently reported.The standard applies specifically to the medical device industry and requires continuous improvement and reliable product quality. “This…
