Every year researchers and scientists find ways to stamp out disease, improve patient care, and utilize technology to make doctors and nurses more efficient, accountable and exact. Thank goodness, or we would still be bloodletting and using morphine-laced syrups to treat teething babies. Can you imagine? Check out these Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs for 2012. They’ll be introduced at the Cleveland Clinic “Innovative to the Bone� medical summit in October. From sterile bugs to CT Scans for lung cancer, it’s pretty cool stuff and we wanted to share. 10. Genetically-modified mosquitos Millions of sterile male mosquitos were release in the Caymans in an attempt to reduced disease-carrying pest populations. It worked! The mosquito population dropped by 80 percent!  Who would have thought sperm-less mosquitos could help eradicate malaria. 9. SGLT2 Inhibitors Waiting for approval by the FDA, SGLT2 inhibitors flush blood sugar out of the body in urine. This massive medical breakthrough has the potential to shift diabetes treatment from insulin to eating habits in an attempt to catch the debilitating disease early. 8. Using Data to Curb Medical Mistakes Healthcare systems crunch data 24/7 in an effort to enhance medical prognosis, diagnoses and therapies; data vital to reducing patient readmissions and improving outcomes. Computerized patient care [+]

Hospital hiring trends may be looking up. Analysts with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) project that private and public hospitals will add more than 500,000 healthcare jobs to payrolls over the next eight years. Robust clinical employment opportunities include ER nurse jobs, med/surg jobs and a bevy of critical care nurse specialties. Director of talent management at the Cleveland Clinic, Lois Bock, told Hospital & Health Networks that during the first two months of 2010, the Clinic filled 500 physician and RN jobs, along with numerous clinical support positions. Hospitals doing well as the economy recovers will be ones focused on quality patient care, said Deborah Bacurin, clinical coordinator for American Traveler Staffing Professionals, a leading employer of ER and med/surg nurses. With healthcare reform’s emphasis on performance and efficiency, Bacurin said, hospital’s looking for maximum reimbursements can’t afford to cut back on staff, as fewer nurses can lead to increased medical errors, a breakdown in patient-doctor communication and a drop in positive outcomes. At University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, patient admissions are up by 14 percent, prompting the hiring of 50 new nurses in recent months, reports the Iowa City Press-Citizen. [+]