June 28, 2007 — Doctors could soon be storing essential medical information under the skin of their patients, the American Medical Association says.

Devices the size of a grain of rice that are implanted with a needle could give emergency room doctors quick access to the records of chronically ill patients, the nation's largest doctors group said in a report.

The association adopted a policy Monday stating that the devices can improve the "safety and efficiency of patient care" by helping to identify patients and enabling secure access to clinical information.

June 28, 2007 — A survey of nearly 700 surgical residents in 17 U.S. medical centers finds that more than half failed to report needle-stick injuries involving patients whose blood could be a source of HIV, hepatitis and other infections.

According to the report, appearing in the June 28 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, say most residents in the survey falsely believe that reporting and getting timely medical attention won't prevent infection. Residents also say reporting takes "too much time" and interrupts their work.

June 27, 2007 - Results of a clinical study suggest a sterile barrier sheath system may eliminate the need for nasendoscope high-level disinfection.

One hundred flexible endoscopes using the Slide-On EndoSheath sterile barrier system distributed by Medtronic, Inc. were evaluated for sheath integrity and bacterial contamination after use in patients. The study was conducted at an ambulatory ENT clinic using standard 30 cm flexible nasopharyngoscopes.

June 28, 2007 - Confirma, developer of CADstream and market leader in computer-aided detection (CAD) for breast MRI, today announced research will be published in the July issue of the journal Radiology indicating that CAD for breast MRI may improve standardization and the analysis of benign and malignant lesions.

June 28, 2007 - Medical imaging manufacturers are lobbying Congress to overturn Medicare cuts that took effect in January, which slashed Medicare reimbursements to doctors for performing X-rays, MRIs and other imaging exams.

Reimbursements to doctors for MRI scans, for example, have already decreased by 38 percent nationwide and are expected to save $2.8 billion over five years.