A Medical Device Daily
The Fogarty Medical Foundation (Washington) reported that it has donated $250,000 to InHealth: The Institute for Health Technology Studies (Washington), a non-profit organization funding research exploring the role, impact and value of medical technology in society, the economy and peoples' lives.
The Fogarty Medical Foundation was established in 2000 by James Fogarty, MD, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon and entrepreneur, and Rosalee Fogarty, of Portola Valley, California.
Martyn Howgill, executive director of InHealth, said that the grant “will enable us to offer valuable new data and perspectives on the impact of medical technology innovation to the national healthcare debate.” He said it will further InHealth's research portfolio, which includes investigations into devices and diagnostics used in major diseases and related conditions (sensory, musculoskeletal, renal, cardiovascular, and cancer); defibrillators and stents on patients with cardiovascular disease and stroke; and neonatal intensive care. The research encompasses issues in patient care, quality of life, cost efficiencies and the structure of the healthcare system.
One of Fogarty's first inventions, the Fogarty Embolectomy Balloon Catheter, altered embolectomy procedures by enabling doctors to remove blood clots in patients' extremities without performing major surgery, transforming an invasive operation into a one-hour procedure via single incision under local anesthesia and leading the way to a variety of other minimally invasive procedures.
Fogarty's experience and creativity “has saved or improved the lives of millions; his intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm for medical technology innovation is an inspiration to us all,” said Howgill.
In other grant news:
• The Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation (New York) reported pledging $8 million to create the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Medical College ofCornell University (New York).
The Belfer Institute will focus on the translation of laboratory discoveries into more effective treatment strategies for cancer and blood disorders. The gift, a major component of Weill Cornell's recent $750 million capital campaign, Advancing the Clinical Mission, will fund the renovation of the medical college's hematology and medical oncology laboratories, new equipment for its tissue bank and the recruitment of new faculty members. Construction began in March, and the center is expected to open next summer.
The foundation, established by Arthur and Rochelle Belfer, represents three generations of the Belfer, Ruben and Saltz families, whose giving to Weill Cornell Medical has totaled more than $22 million. Robert Belfer has served on the Medical College's Board of Overseers since 1989 and continues to play a role in the college's planning.
Translational research at Weill Cornell is being conducted into cancers such as leukemia and multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, and in bone marrow/stem cell transplantation and tumor immunology. Examples of new protocols include a new oral treatment for leukemia using specific inhibitors of proteins regulating cell survival; radioactive antibody treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer; monoclonal antibody combinations in lymphoma; and new stem-cell transplantation treatments.
• ViPS and WebMD Health, subsidiaries of Emdeon (New York), reported that that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hasawarded the companies a six-month contract to conduct a feasibility test determining how claims data can be used topopulate apersonal healthrecord (PHR).
ViPS will export Medicare claimsdata for conditions, procedures and other clinical and demographicinformation into the secure WebMD PHR. WebMD will serve as a subcontractoron the project to ViPS, which currently maintains multiple data management contracts for CMS.
The content and functionality of PHRs will be evaluated to determine how best to transform CMS claims data into a PHR, and making recommendations about best practices for security, ease of use, authorizations for disclosures, authentication, reporting and other beneficiary services related to the PHR.
WebMD provides health information services to consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans through public and private online portals and health-focused publications. The WebMD Health Network reports reaching nearly 30 million visitors a month through its health sites that include WebMD.
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