The University of Texas Medical Branch is terminating its commercial contract with Aetna because the insurance company does not pay UTMB at a competitive rate. UTMB has sent a letter of termination to Aetna that calls for termination of the contract effective May 6, 2021.
You may not think of hand surgery as a procedure done with the patient awake, alert, and feeling comfortable, but medical and technological innovations have made this type of surgery a preferred option for many common hand conditions.
Men’s health has been a trending topic in popular culture recently, often referring to lifestyle, dieting and a picture of man with six-pack abs on a magazine cover. As a urologist who specializes in men’s health, however, I see a bigger picture.
The current flu vaccines aren’t similar to the swine flu vaccine of 1976; you should absolutely get your flu vaccine (and this cannot be emphasized enough with the current pandemic); and the best vaccine for you depends on your age.
A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has shown a dominant mutation D614G of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhances viral replication in the upper respiratory airway, which may contribute to the increased transmission of COVID-19. This finding is important in understanding the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 as well as in the development of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. The study is currently available in Nature.
Dr. Suresh Bhavnani, a biomedical informatics researcher, was used to dealing with detailed medical data and spreadsheets full of numbers and complex statistics. However, when his mother fractured her hip, the anonymous numbers suddenly became personal.
The University of Texas Medical Branch announced today that Desolyn Foy will join the university on Nov. 2, 2020, as vice president, Audit Services. Most recently, Foy was vice president, Advanced Analytics and Continuous Control Monitoring for Harris Health System.
For some, COVID-19 can come and go leaving no trace and no symptoms. For others, the disease responsible for the worldwide pandemic can lead to a range of painful symptoms, a trip to an intensive care unit, and even death. How to tell who will be spared and who will be hard hit?
Researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered SARS-CoV-2 proteins that suppress the body's immune response, thereby enabling infection and transmission of the disease. The findings, recently published in the major research journal, Cell Reports, are paramount to understanding the biology of Covid-19 and to developing new vaccines against the disease.
Learn more about why screening mammography is important for early detection of breast cancer and how it increases survivability with Dr. Angelica Robinson.
The University of Texas Medical Branch has been awarded a two-year, $1.4 million grant focused on helping reduce teen pregnancies. Nearly a quarter of a million babies are born to adolescent females each year. The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Jeff Temple, says the “impacts of teen pregnancy are substantial and persist across the lifespan.”
UTMB’s Vineet Menachery was named one of the 50 people to follow during a pandemic by Elemental, a health and science publication by Medium. Menachery leads one of the few labs in the country that was studying coronaviruses before the pandemic began.
“We’ve all learned the hard way that every time there is an emergence, that triggers some sort of disorganized scramble,” UTMB's Nikos Vasilakis tells WIRED. UTMB is part of a new network to detect and respond when pathogens jump from wildlife to humans.
A roundup of news briefs in the Houston Chronicle included a mention of UTMB’s Tammy Cupit and the university’s effort to share self-care tips with employees. “Monitor your stress levels and pace yourself,” Cupit says in the piece. The story also links back to UTMB’s RISE Task Force website.
UTMB’s Shawn Nishi was asked to comment on a study on nighttime use of oxygen use in patients with COPD. This news was also reported in MDedge and The Hospitalist.
UTMB’s Susan McLellan was on Houston Public Media’s (KUHF NPR Houston) Town Square program to talk about dating and human interaction in the time of covid-19.
Researchers UTMB found that while the 30-day readmission rate for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has decreased, the mortality rate has increased. Both Daniel Puebla Neira and Gulshan Sharma were quoted in the story. This news was also reported in SOUND HEALTH and Lasting Wealth, The Medical News, Brinkwire, Science Magazine, 7thSpace, Medical Xpress
A $1 million gift from The Sealy & Smith Foundation has established the John Sealy Distinguished Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology at The University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, a professor in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department and vice chair for Innovation and Commercialization, has been named the inaugural recipient.
“If discussions about contraception become more normalized, then improvements in the use of more effective contraceptive methods could potentially occur,” UTMB’s Jacquiline Hirth told Contemporary OB/GYN. Hirth discussed the findings of her survey on women’s choice of contraceptive including some of the surprises gleaned from the data.
When you check your heart rate, track your weight or manage your diabetes with a health app, do you know where the data goes? UTMB's Mohammed Abdullah and Joshua Belillo decided to track it down and found it could be going places you never intended. “Right now, there are no limitations on what companies can do with this data,” said Abdullah. News about their story has been reported widely including in the Sun Sentinel, The Virginian-Pilot, The Register Citizen, Journal Courier, Laredo Morning Times, Big Rapids News, CTPost, Times Union, The Hour, Midland Daily News, Midland Reporter Telegram, Manistee News, StamfordAdvocate.com, Home Health Choices, Brinkwire