Health Level Seven International (HL7), one of the leaders in developing interoperability standards for healthcare IT has announced its decision to make much of its intellectual property (IP), includes standards, freely available under licensing terms. The landmark decision represents HL7's commitment to the betterment of healthcare worldwide by ensuring that all stakeholders have equal access to its HIT standards. The new policy is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2013.

A new recommendation has come in for the Indian drug companies.

Apollo Hospitals, Asia's one of the largest health care providers, and Cisco has announced an alliance to help transform health care through Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The joint initiative will help drive inclusive growth and well-being by accelerating access to affordable and high-quality health care via the Cisco HealthPresenceTM Extended Reach technology.

Trivitron Healthcare, one of the largest medical technology solution providers of Indian origin has recently announced its alliance with Johnson Medical, Sweden to manufacture high end and mobile modular OTs and Pendants.

Various state governments are looking at outsourcing MRI services in their district hospitals to private players which is enabling high-quality low cost scanning for patients visiting government hospitals, without any investment whatsoever from the government The growth of MRI as a diagnostic modality in India was limited initially by two factors.

The Indian Government has proposed to increase the allocation for the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) from INR 8,207 million in 2006-07 to INR 9,947 million in 2007-08 in this year budget.

The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has entered its third phase with a three-pronged strategy, as per the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare (India).

Diagnosis of life-threatening diseases such as cancer may become a matter of minutes as scientists have developed a new bio-sensor technology, which they claim provides results within 15 minutes. "The technology uses antibodies to detect biomarkers - molecules in the human body which are often a marker for disease - much faster than current testing methods," said co-researcher Paul Millner from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds.

A recent findings from a national survey in India by Healis-Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, an organisation work in the field of public health in India and other developing countries reveals that exposure to mass media may impact the use of tobacco in India which is a major source of illness and death.

Two fifths of men in developing countries still smoke or use tobacco, and women are increasingly starting to smoke at younger ages, according to a large international study which found "alarming patterns" of tobacco use. Despite years of anti-smoking measures across the world, most developing countries have low quit rates, according to the study in The Lancet medical journal.

According to study conducted at University College London, an ultrasound scan can be used to detect endometrial (womb) cancer before any symptoms occur. The scientists analysed the findings of ultrasound scans of more than 37,000 women to identify thickening of the endometrium, the womb lining.

A Canadian researcher involved in a study that uncovered a drug capable of significantly reducing the risk of breast cancer in high-risk, postmenopausal women calls the finding a "landmark" discovery. The American Society of Clinical Oncology announced that a massive international clinical trial has found the drug exemestane cuts the risk of cancer for such women by about two-thirds.

A study reveals men can stave off the effects of Alzheimer's for longer than women, whose condition deteriorate faster when affected by the disease.