Gilead Sciences has reported strong results of its financial operations for the second quarter, which ended June 30.

Cardiac Science, a developer of automated external defibrillator (AED) and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices, has addressed outstanding issues with the FDA relating to the corrective AED field action announced on Nov. 13, 2009.

Despite the mounting publicity surrounding rosiglitazone (Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline) and its potential to cause cardiovascular events, the Endocrine Society, American Diabetes Association and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists are urging patients with diabetes who currently take rosiglitazone to speak with their physicians before discontinuing use of the drug, after an FDA advisory committee meeting last week questioned the safety of the drug and its future on the market.

An audit of by the city comptroller of Staten Island, N.Y., has shown that many of the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) placed in city parks and recreation centers are not properly maintained.

Too often in the past, the Alexandria, La., police officers were the first responders on the scene of someone who had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Without automated external defibrillators (AEDs), their efforts at saving these people were handicapped. Like many police departments across the U.S., the Alexandria force has budgeted the money to acquire AEDs for its police vehicles.

Although compliance is slightly more than 50 perecent, patients who wear the cardioverter-defibrillator vest have a high survival rate, similar to that of ICD patients, according to a study in the July 13 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The framework for meaningful use is something that had to be done and has been started intelligently, John P. Glaser, PhD, vice president and CIO of Partners HealthCare System told CMIO. However, the challenges of becoming meaningful users and optimizing health information exchange will require unprecedented levels of communication within organizations and among healthcare systems, he said.

Vancouver won in more ways than one by hosting the Olympic Games in 2010. More than 200 community groups, aboriginal communities, search-and-rescue organizations, ski patrols, hockey leagues, schools and non-profit groups have received surplus automated external defibrillators (AEDs) that were used during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.