Search for: "electronic patient record" - 398 articles found

News • Deep learning analysis of X-rays

AI used to triage patients with chest pain

Artificial intelligence (AI) may help improve care for patients who show up at the hospital with acute chest pain, according to a new study published in Radiology.

News • Osteoporosis bone damage

New model to accurately identify fracture risk

A more accurate approach to predicting fractures due to osteoporosis could help protect patients, particularly people with multiple health conditions, according to new research.

News • Standardisation in healthcare

Study surveys landscape of FHIR apps

A new study is among the first to survey the current landscape of FHIR apps, providing a snapshot of how the standard is used to enable the flow of health information.

News • Evaluation methods for the 21st century

Cardiology leaders: clinical trials need a fresh start

Time for modernisation: The current model for randomised clinical trials must be redesigned for the 21st century, according to leading European and American cardiology societies.

Article • ICU response to the Covid-19 surge

Tele-delivery of respiratory therapy services: a resounding success

In their pursuit of solutions for pandemic challenges, a US hospital system applied telemedicine principles to respiratory therapy – with impressive results.

Article • Imaging resource management

Managing the CT contrast media shortage with clinical decision support tools

On March 31st, 2022, a city-wide lockdown to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus in Shanghai, China, shuttered the GE Healthcare manufacturing facility that produces 80% of the global supply of iodinated contrast media agents iohexol (Omnipaque) and lodixanol (Visipaque). Although the plant was able to operate at 50% capacity by mid-May, the shutdown resulted in a substantial contrast media…

Article • Implementing the electronic patient record in the hospital

EPR: Step by step into the digital future

In Europe, Germany has been bringing up the rear in implementing the electronic patient record (EPR) for years. While the EMRAM score of German hospitals continues to be negligible – on the international as well as on the European level – there are signs of progress that give reason for hope.

Sponsored • Earlier disease prediction and identification

The potential of AI in routine blood testing

It’s widely known that more than 70% of today’s medical decisions involve the results of laboratory tests, but the insights clinicians derive from these tests today may only be scratching the surface of their potential.

News • Presented at ISUOG 2022

New cloud-based image sharing and reporting software for OB/GYN

A new cloud-based ultrasound image sharing and reporting software will utilize image data to convey fetal growth projections and provide a platform for physician-to-physician and physician-to-patient communication.

News • Neurological and psychiatric complications

Increased risk of 'brain fog' and other disorders two years after Covid-19 infection

New diagnoses of disorders including psychosis, dementia, seizures and ‘brain fog’ remain commoner two years after Covid-19 than after other respiratory infections, new research finds.

Article • Preventing clinical errors

Supporting transgender health in the clinical laboratory

Clinical laboratories need to be proactive to attract transgender patients for testing and to ensure that they are comfortable with the services provided. This issue is of great importance to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), which conducted a scientific session on transgender health at its recent annual meeting in Chicago.

News • Wearable sensor array

High-tech vest monitors lung function

To monitor the lung function of patients with severe respiratory or lung diseases outside of an ICU, researchers have developed a vest that records noises with integrated acoustic sensors.

News • Coronavirus infection

Hair and libido loss: list of 'Long Covid' symptoms grows

Long Covid sufferers have experienced a wider set of symptoms than previously thought including hair loss and sexual dysfunction, new research has found.

News • Risk factor identification

AI to speed up sepsis detection

Patients are 20% less likely to die of sepsis because a new AI system developed at Johns Hopkins University catches symptoms hours earlier than traditional methods, an extensive hospital study shows.

News • Workload evaluation

When anaethesiologists are spread too thin, more surgeries go wrong

A new US study indicates that the number of overlapping procedures managed by an anaesthesiologist increases the risk of death or complications after surgery.

Article • Diabetology 4.0

Emerging technologies for diabetes care

This overview introduces connected and continuous glucose sensing technologies, smart insulin delivery systems and more innovations that help patients and doctors monitor and manage glucose levels and guide decision-making in diabetes care.

News • Smart device

Dissolving pacemaker communicates with body-area sensor

Wireless bioresorbable pacemaker bypasses need to extract non-biodegradable leads, eliminating additional risk to the patient.

Article • Advances in cancer risk assessment and prevention

French oncologists pick up the pace after pandemic time-out

Personalised screening, data-driven aproaches: In a dedicated press conference in Paris, French oncologists presented promising research that might bring hope for many cancer patients.

News • Nonfungible tokens

Can NFT technology benefit healthcare?

NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, first made a splash in the art world as a platform to buy and sell digital art backed by a digital contract. But could NFT be useful in other markets such as healthcare?

News • Blood clot screening

AI could help detect pulmonary embolisms with ECG data

A new pilot study suggests that machine learning algorithms which fuse electrocardiogram (ECG) and electronic health record data may help doctors screen for dangerous, lung-clogging blot clots.

News • Phoenix 99 Bionic Eye

Bionic eyes gives hope to the blind

A bionic eye being developed by a team of biomedical researchers has shown to be safe and stable for long-term implantation in a three-month study, paving the way towards human trials.

News • Lesions

'Virtual histology' may reduce need for skin biopsies

A 'new technology shows promise by analyzing images of suspicious-looking lesions and quickly producing a detailed, microscopic image of the skin, bypassing several standard steps typically used for diagnosis - including skin biopsy, tissue fixation, processing, sectioning and histochemical staining.

Article • Medical technology event

Overview: Compamed 2021

Since Compamed could only be held digitally last year, due to the pandemic, the event now takes place publicly again. Almost 500 registrations from exhibitors prove that there is a high level of interest from medical technology suppliers – a huge step towards reaching normality again.

Article • Physicians forecast benefits for healthcare providers and patients

The impact of technology in 2030

How will digital technology impact healthcare in 2030? If challenges to acceptance and utilisation can be overcome, healthcare providers and patients will benefit significantly, according to physicians participating in a recent online seminar on this topic.

Sponsored • Demand for molecular LIMS increases

Lab interoperability is essential

Fast, flexible laboratory information management systems (LIMS) that cope with data and workflow complexities of molecular and genetic testing now work in laboratories internationally. Here, in the first in a new Lab Pinnacle Series, experts from the CliniSys Group, Sunquest Information Systems and Data Innovations (all owned by Roper Technologies), discuss the value of a LIMS in molecular and…

Article • Skin cancer identification

Dermatology & AI: The need to quantify skin tones

Although artificial intelligence (AI) tools and smartphone apps that help identify suspicious moles and potential skin cancers are starting to proliferate, dermatology informatics has far to go before becoming a clinically adoptable technology. Many challenges need to be resolved, not least of which is the need for more image data representing people of colour.

News • Thromboembolic misunderstandings

Covid-19, not vaccination, presents biggest blood clot risks

Researchers from the University of Oxford have announced the results of a study into thrombocytopenia (a condition with low platelet counts) and thromboembolic events (blood clots) following vaccination for Covid-19, some of the same events which have led to restricted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in a number of countries.

Article • Cardiology & AI

Machine learning to predict sudden cardiac death

Could machine learning (ML) help to predict sudden cardiac death (SCD)? According to Dr Sanjiv Narayan, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, California, many exciting studies are using ML to predict sudden death in ways not previously possible. ‘Complex data, such as MRI geometry, very large electronic health records or continuous data streams from wearables, are difficult to probe…

Article • Seeing the advantages

Digital pathology adoption accelerates

Digital pathology (DP) is a game-changer in the workflow, functionality and accessibility of a hospital’s pathology department. As pathologists understand the benefits, and the availability of commercial products and systems increase, alongside data transmission and storage costs decreasing, DP deployment in hospitals is accelerating. Pathology informatics expert Anil V Parwani MD PhD discussed…

Article • Screening, early detection, treatment optimisation

AI techniques advancing oncology care

Cancer care and the treatment clinicians can offer patients is being increasingly enhanced by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technology has a role in diagnosis, with algorithms trained to design and deliver patient care, can match patients to clinical trials they may benefit from, and even help predict outcomes and those at greatest risk.

Article • Workflow optimisation

The potential of AI in breast imaging efficiency

The contribution of Artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential in breast imaging efficiency, Professor Linda Moy MD told attendees at the 2021 Society of Breast Imaging/American College of Radiology (SBI/ACR) Breast Imaging Symposium this April. AI models for breast imaging have focused mainly on the diagnostic classification and detection of breast cancer.

Article • HIMSS

COVID response boosted by digital transformation

Digital transformation has been a significant factor in the way hospitals have responded to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at HIMSS21 European Health Conference, experts were also quick to point out that the approach of the ‘human resource’ to the challenges and changes was a key factor.

Article • IoT in the clinical environment

The smart hospital: A place with ears and eyes

A new platform allows hospitals to deliver improved organisational and financial performance by deploying an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network to collect data and using AI to analyse the gathered information in a HIPAA-compliant way.

Article • Innovation in intervention

The promise and reality about AI for interventional oncology

Is artificial intelligence (AI) technology ready to be utilized as a clinical tool by interventional oncologists? Not yet, but when it is, AI technology’s clinical impact may be as profound as advanced imaging is today, two leading experts agree.

News • CVT risk evaluation

Thrombosis risk after Covid vaccination: actual infection far more dangerous, say experts

Researchers at the University of Oxford report that the risk of the rare blood clotting known as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) following Covid-19 infection is around 100 times greater than normal, several times higher than it is post-vaccination or following influenza. The study authors, led by Professor Paul Harrison and Dr Maxime Taquet from Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry and…

News • Shepherding medical data

Machine learning platform turns healthcare data into insights

Over the past decade, hospitals and other healthcare providers have put massive amounts of time and energy into adopting electronic healthcare records, turning hastily scribbled doctors' notes into durable sources of information. But collecting these data is less than half the battle. It can take even more time and effort to turn these records into actual insights — ones that use the learnings…

Article • Portable ultrasound demonstrates versatility in all specialties

Covid-19 – Testing time for people and devices

Due to the coronavirus, hospitals and medical staff developed new work practices involving, in acute settings, social distancing, rigid use of personal protective equipment (PPE), handwashing, and disinfection of equipment every day. Additionally, portable, highly-mobile and versatile equipment came to the fore in point-of-care (POC) – particularly when wards and operating theatres are spread…

News • Anticoagulants vs coronavirus

Preventive blood thinning could reduce risk of Covid-19 death

Patients given preventive blood thinning drugs (prophylactic anticoagulants) within 24 hours of admission to hospital with Covid-19 are less likely to die compared with those who do not receive them, a new study finds. Clinical trials are now underway to see if prophylactic anticoagulants could be an effective treatment for Covid-19. In the meantime, the researchers say these findings provide…

Article • Covid-19, cybersecurity, AI

Top 10 technology hazards for hospitals (according to experts)

Coronavirus-associated concerns dominate the Top 10 list of important technology hazard risks for hospitals, in an annual report published by ECRI, a nonprofit technology Pennsylvania research firm. The list is derived from ECRI’s team of technology experts who monitor hospital and healthcare organizations, and published to inform healthcare facilities about important safety issues involving…

News • Symptom management

eHealth intervention can help cancer patients

Hundreds of cancer patients have benefitted from using computer algorithms to manage their symptoms and improve their wellbeing in a unique UK trial. The early stage colorectal, breast or gynecological cancer patients took part in the trial of the eRAPID system, developed by the University of Leeds, which allowed them to report online symptoms from home and receive instant advice on whether to…

News • Drug repurposing

AI finds new uses for existing medications

Scientists have developed a machine-learning method that crunches massive amounts of data to help determine which existing medications could improve outcomes in diseases for which they are not prescribed. The intent of this work is to speed up drug repurposing, which is not a new concept – think Botox injections, first approved to treat crossed eyes and now a migraine treatment and top cosmetic…

Sponsored • Tissue cutting

More efficient laboratory processes and faster findings with fully digital pathology grossing tables

Digitisation offers great opportunities in pathology to work more efficiently and faster. Used correctly, it reduces the workload for both pathologists and laboratory staff. Patients receive their findings faster. The prerequisite is a grossing table that seamlessly integrates the digital systems into the work process.

News • Digital health

AI test rules out Covid-19 diagnosis within one hour

An Artificial Intelligence test has been shown to be able to rapidly screen patients arriving in Emergency Departments for Covid-19, using clinical information routinely available within the first hour of coming to hospital. Results of the CURIAL study, published in The Lancet Digital Health, show that the AI test correctly predicted the Covid-19 status of 92.3% of patients coming to Emergency…

News • Immunotherapy side effect

Hope for kidney cancer patients

An autoimmune side effect of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) drugs could signal improved control of kidney cancer, according to a new study by researchers in UT Southwestern's Kidney Cancer Program (KCP).

Interview • Rapid diagnostics

The clinical potential of POCT

In 2019, the Central Laboratory of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry at the Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University Munich, headed by Professor Peter B Luppa, organised the 4th of the internationally renowned Munich Point-of-Care Testing Symposiums. Dr Andreas Bietenbeck is senior physician at the Institute which for many years has been focusing on…

Article • Overheard at AAIC 2020

Exciting Alzheimer's findings: ’flu vaccines and P-tau217

More than 32,000 people from over 160 countries registered for The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2020) in July. This largest and most influential international conference on dementia science had to be held virtually this year, when important highlights were aired. The ability to identify individuals at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), or at early…

Article • Video consultation on the rise

“A patient’s home has to become a mobile diagnostic centre”

There are many reasons why for some patients a visit to the doctor’s office is difficult or well-nigh impossible – limited mobility after surgery, old age, or a handicap. For others, particularly in rural areas, the doctor is often far away and/or difficult to reach due to poor public transport. In times of corona, another important issue emerged: infection protection.

News • Joint Research

AI helps diagnosing Covid-19

Fujitsu and Tokyo Shinagawa Hospital today announced the launch of a joint R&D project for AI technology to support diagnostic imaging via chest CT (Computed Tomography), which represents a promising candidate for the effective diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia.

Sponsored • Distant experts observe adverse signs

Remote cardiac monitoring

For cardiology patients fitted with an implantable cardiac monitor, cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, home monitoring is a blessing. The system also has many advantages for medical staff, as Kristina Rauholt reports. The nurse and Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for Allied Professionals (CCDS) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, has worked with home monitoring…

Article • Improving the role of radiology

Value-based healthcare: AI reveals the bigger picture

Value-based healthcare is gaining momentum and radiologists must increasingly show their contribution in improving patient care. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help them to do so and brings a series of new opportunities, according to Charles E Kahn, Professor and Vice Chairman of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, speaking at a meeting in Madrid in January. AI can do a lot to improve…

News • Shedding light into the 'black box' of AI

Neural network helps explain relapses of heart failure patients

Patient data are a treasure trove for AI researchers. There’s a problem though: many algorithms used to mine patient data act as black boxes, which makes their predictions often hard to interpret for doctors. Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Zhejiang University in China have now developed an algorithm that not only predicts hospital readmissions of heart…

Article • Corona management in Taiwan

Standing united against COVID-19

Despite its proximity to China, Taiwan contained COVID-19 successfully, without a lockdown or movement restriction measures introduced elsewhere. With few new cases reported, life almost returned to normal. Behind the scenes, however, efforts have continued to maintain that positive situation.

Article • Virtual consultations

COVID-19 pandemic boosts telemedicine in Spain

The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the use of telemedicine in Spain with an increase in virtual consultation and positive impact on workflow. The challenge will be to make these changes permanent, according to a panel of experts who took part in a conference last June in Barcelona. Spanish patients and healthcare professionals have widely accepted virtual consultation as a new alternative to…

News • From physical to computational staining

Deep learning accurately stains digital biopsy H&E slides

Tissue biopsy slides stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) dyes are a cornerstone of histopathology, especially for pathologists needing to diagnose and determine the stage of cancers. A research team led by MIT scientists at the Media Lab, in collaboration with clinicians at Stanford University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, now shows that digital scans of these biopsy…

News • DACH, France and Brazil

Agfa HealthCare IT sales selected business parts to Dedalus Group

Agfa HealthCare announces the successful sale of part of its IT business to the Dedalus Group at an enterprise value of 975 million euro. The part that has been sold consists of the Healthcare Information Solutions (Electronic Health Record, the ORBIS platform) and the Integrated Care activities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Brazil as well as specific Imaging IT activities in…

Article • Seeking an ideal lab life

New and old challenges in laboratory medicine

The Central Laboratory at the Medical University Hanover, Germany, is prepared to handle virtually any clinical chemistry task, from a routine test to the most complex analysis. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and thanks to a high degree of automation, the team can process more than 3,000 specimens, mostly blood and urine, in a single day. Professor Ralf Lichtinghagen, European…

Article • Telemedicine

COVID-19 pandemic expedites a cultural change in healthcare

The pandemic has sparked a cultural change in healthcare and telemedicine use will increase much faster than planned in the near future, according to Vicent Moncho Mas, IT Director at Denia Marina Salud Hospital near Alicante, Spain.

News • ultrasensitive detector

New ‘saliva test’ to instantly detect coronavirus with lasers

European photonics scientists are developing an ultrasensitive laser sensor that detects coronavirus at the earliest point of infection from a saliva or nasal swab in minutes.

Patient-centric Vendor Neutral Archive

Fujifilm – Synapse VNA

Synapse VNA is the true-VNA application for the content management of images and medical information at the enterprise level; it is an open storage solution, secure, scalable, standard-based and focused on medical data, DICOM and native non-DICOM objects coming from any medical departmental system. Synapse VNA is a patient-centric Vendor Neutral Archive that can be configured to manage the data…

Article • Integrated diagnostics

Radiologists, pathologists and geneticists gather around a digital table

Radiology, pathology, medical genetics and laboratory medicine under one roof: many hospitals are toying with the idea of ‘integrated diagnostics’ but it was the medical management at Geneva’s University Hospital that dared to take the first step and consolidate all these diagnostic disciplines in a single organisational unit: The Diagnostic Department. ‘Our long-term vision is a…

Article • From diagnostics to research

Clearing secondary use of clinical data

Re-using clinical data for research is an academic and organisational challenge, but there is much to gain from this to advance healthcare. During the January Triangle leadership meeting in Madrid, Dr Xavier Pastor, CMIO at Hospital Clínic – Universitat de Barcelona, explained how his institution developed one of Spain’s first programs to promote real world data use in research projects.…

Article • Cryptography potential

Harnessing the benefits of blockchain to enhance care

Blockchain is a concept that could have significant benefits for healthcare – particularly in radiology – but several challenges remain. Although an effective conduit through which to share data and medical images, particularly across health systems, one drawback is speed, given the amount of data that can be involved. However, Professor Morgan McBee, paediatric radiologist and imaging…

News • Primary care cooperation

Rwanda's ambitious aims for digital health

A partnership between the Rwandan government and Babyl, the country's largest digital health service provider, creates the framework for Rwanda's ascent to be a world leader in digital health. The partnership will allow people over the age of 12 to have a consultation with their doctor or nurse through their phone within minutes. They will be able to receive prescriptions, lab requests and…

Article • Healthcare 2.0 by NVIDIA

Deploying AI in healthcare

With the right tools, physicians could transform the lives of patients and scientists. For Kimberly Powell, Vice President of Healthcare at NVIDIA, artificial intelligence is such a tool, and could meet the increasing demand for personalised medicine and next-generation clinics. ‘AI is the biggest technological breakthrough of our lifetime.’

Sponsored • A country encouraging intelligent medical innovations

Taiwan innovators shine at Medica

Health tech Made in Taiwan is among the mainstays of every MEDICA; this year’s fair is no exception. In co-operation with the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) of the Taiwanese Ministry of Economics and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), 20 world-class healthcare companies are demonstrating innovative medical solutions based on national advances in Artificial Intelligence…

Sponsored • From the "Asian Silicon Valley"

Taiwan's R&D centers deliver continuous innovation in MedTech

From an initial focus on innovative manufacturing, in-house ICT technologies drove production efficiency and quality. Today, Taiwan has advanced to become a leader with its "Asian Silicon Valley" concept. The government also wants to further strengthen Taiwan's key position by independently developing medical products that meet the high demands of international markets – at…

News • Minimally invasive

Improved biopsies with MRI-compatible ultrasound system

Biopsies are standard procedures in interventional radiology, not least for patients with a suspected tumor. In this instance, MRI is increasingly the method of choice for guiding minimally invasive tissue sampling. Yet this involves having to undergo repeated MRI scans, which patients find uncomfortable. In an ongoing R&D project, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a system that…

Article • Availability of electronic patient records

Cross-border exchange of patient data: A digital transformation

‘Compared to other sectors, healthcare is lagging behind in the systematic use of electronic data,’ says Martin Seychell, EU Deputy Director-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and top official at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG). ‘However,’ he adds, ‘this is changing and the digital transformation is happening right now.’

News • Backup from BARDA

Sepsis early detection algorithm receives development funding

Beckman Coulter, Inc. announced that it has initially been awarded a contract of $1.25 million, with potential to be awarded an additional $6.5 million if all contract options are exercised, from the DRIVe (Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures) established by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness…

Article • Laboratory economics

Lab services: Don’t cut the cost!

In recent years, whenever the German media reported on laboratory medicine, questions consistently arose: ‘How can excessive costs for lab services be cut?’ and ‘How could money saved be distributed among other medical specialists and general medicine practitioners (GPs)?’ The questions are myopic in their failure to address two important aspects of laboratory medicine – its…

Article • UK hospital gains single platform data access

Implementing an enterprise-wide imaging strategy

The current introduction of instant access to all patient clinical imaging and medical documentation in one picture archiving and communication system (PACS) for use throughout the Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT), in Essex, UK, lies in the hands of Imaging Systems Manager and radiographer Stephen Townrow. In 2017, Townrow went to his hospital’s Board with a business case to consolidate…

Article • Pushing for integration with radiology

Digital pathology & AI: Multiple viewing improves consultation

Pathology is embracing digitisation just as radiology did over 20 years ago and both specialties are looking at new ways to integrate each other in their workflows. AI could fuel this sparkling alliance, giving it further means to improve cancer treatment.

Article • The Estonian Genome Project

Everyone’s DNA recorded for disease risks

When it comes to genetics, Estonia is considered a trailblazer, as the ambitious Estonian Genome Project (Eesti Geenivaramu) shows. Its objective is to test the genome of every citizen for the risk of diseases. Dr Jaanus Pikani talks about the initial difficulties which the genome project encountered and about its potential for Estonian – and possibly worldwide – healthcare.

News • Artificial selection

Improving clinical trial recruitment with AI

Clinical trials are a critical tool for getting new treatments to people who need them, but research shows that difficulty finding the right volunteer subjects can undermine the effectiveness of these studies. Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center designed and tested a new computerized solution that used artificial intelligence (AI) to effectively identify eligible…

Article • Is the problem also the solution?

Why digitisation pushes (and prevents) physician burnout

Deployment of electronic health records (EHR) are increasingly cited as a factor in physician burnout. However, a senior figure with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) – which supports the transformation of health through information and technology – believes defined use of data and information can help off-set the impact of burnout among health professionals.…

Article • Preview Medical Taiwan 2019

Healthcare exhibition showcases technology from Taiwan

Artificial intelligence clinics and rehab bikes, exoskeletons and stylish protections masks – healthcare in Taiwan has many faces and facets as the international medical & healthcare exhibition Medical Taiwan in Taipei will show from 27 to 30 June 2019. We visited participating companies and hospitals to give you a sneak preview of some of the highlights that might well create a buzz in…

News • mhealth

Faster detection of atrial fibrillation thanks to smartwatch

Atrial fibrillation can be correctly detected using commercially available smartwatches. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) at the University Medicine Greifswald and researchers from the Basel University Hospital.

Article • Medica 2018

The Czech med-tech market is thriving

The Czech Republic has a long tradition of ground-breaking medical innovations. At Medica 2018, the presence of Czech companies and traders underlined that medical devices and technologies from this country have continuing strength and value. Having recorded steady growth over the past few years, the Czech medical technology sector now produces a volume of around €870 million. 13,400 people…

News • On the go

Wearable ultrasound patch penetrates the skin to measure blood pressure

Researchers funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) are literally breaking barriers using ultrasound waves emitted from a flexible patch to accurately measure central blood pressure and help detect cardiovascular problems earlier. For a while now, smart, wearable devices have had the ability to capture how many steps we take in a day or measure our heart…

News • Too much of a good thing

Hypothyroidism: Overtreating could raise stroke risk

For patients who take medication to treat hypothyroidism, being treated with too much medication can lead to an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder associated with stroke, a new study of more than 174,000 patients has found. The findings were presented by researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City at the American Heart…

Article • Innovations

Aiding radiologists to stride forward

Growth! New hardware, new software, richer imaging, enhanced communication and image transfer plus artificial intelligence (AI) are all pushing the pace that medical organisations, radiologists and device manufacturers must run to keep up. We spoke with Dr Erik Ranschaert, President of EuSOMII, about today’s changing face of radiology.

Article • Digitalisation

National initiatives show limited success

Spain has powerful regional e-health projects, but implementing a national strategy remains a complicated task. Lack of interoperability and low resources slow down data sharing across 17 autonomous communities, and sometimes even within the same region, key experts in the field explain. Although Spain transfers skills to its communities, everyone can benefit from emergency and primary care…

Article • Data handling

Blockchain: “Hype will fade but the technology will remain”

A new dimension in data handling is not only emerging, but is already a reality in our lives. However, political discourse about this often lags behind real events. We spoke with two experts who have an overview of clouds, decentralised data flows and the evaluation of personal data with IT help in various areas. Engineer Professor Alexandra Dmitrienko is a Secure Software Systems expert at the…

News • Rare cancer

A simple blood tests could improve diagnosis of myeloma

A pioneering study into myeloma, a rare cancer, could lead to General Practicianer (GPs) using simple blood tests to improve early diagnosis. The study investigated the best combination of blood tests that could be used to diagnose myeloma in GP practices.

Article • Transformation

The USA’s digital healthcare revolution

The digital revolution in healthcare in the United States is marching steadily forward, spurred by federal government regulations and financial incentives, by technological innovations, and by the necessities of increasing healthcare treatment efficiency, of lowering its cost and economic impact, and of elevating communications among providers, patients and payers to the norms of the 21st…

News • AI & Deep Learning

How to escape from data silos

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are poised to transform healthcare, potentially freeing practitioners across many disciplines from routine tasks and saving lives through efficient early detection. Offering insight into the health of both individuals and populations, these ’deep learning‘ algorithms have the potential to process vast amounts of data and identify warning…

News • Neurology

Next-gen EEG could help bring back lost brain function

SLAC and Stanford researchers are developing a device that combines electrical brain stimulation with EEG recording, opening potential new paths for treating neurological disorders. It could help bring back lost brain function by measuring how the brain responds to therapies that stimulate it with electric current.

Article • Data management

Healthcare organisations explore the potential of Blockchain and patient engagement

The emergence of Blockchain technology is set to play an ever-increasing role within healthcare settings within the next two years, according to industry experts. One organisation focusing on its potential is global consultancy and software development company DataArt, which sees more healthcare organisations embracing its applications in the not too distant future. Blockchain is a continuously…

News • Advancing integrated care

Why secure patient identity management is essential

Efficient and reliable patient identify management will be an essential element in making the benefits of integrated care a reality. This was the core message at the launch of a joint new publication from COCIR and the SIA entitled ‘Identity in Healthcare’ at the HIMSS Europe and Health 2.0 conference in Barcelona. The publication brings much-needed clarity and key recommendations to the ID…

News • Increasing prevalence

Oral antibiotics may raise risk of kidney stones - especially in kids

Pediatric researchers have found that children and adults treated with some oral antibiotics have a significantly higher risk of developing kidney stones. This is the first time that these medicines have been linked to this condition. The strongest risks appeared at younger ages and among patients most recently exposed to antibiotics. “The overall prevalence of kidney stones has risen by 70…

News • A disconcerting trend

Obesity is shifting cancer to young adults

A Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher has compiled evidence from more than 100 publications to show how obesity increases risk of 13 different cancers in young adults. The meta-analysis describes how obesity has shifted certain cancers to younger age groups, and intensified cellular mechanisms promoting the diseases. Cancer typically associated with older adults over 50…

Article • Joining strengths

Vaccination and infection control: Two pillars of prevention

Synchronised efforts between preventive medicine and immunology enable powerful vaccination strategies in a Spanish seniors hub. Efficient prevention also comes with proper infection control and regulating antibiotics use in primary care, local expert in preventive medicine explained in an exclusive interview with EH. Working in a small structure has its perks, one of which is that departments…

Article • Innovation convention

High-tech event aims to push progress

In the German healthcare system, innovations are difficult – Xpomet boss Ulrich Pieper is certain of this. Not because the system is different, but because the point of view is wrong. ‘The system assesses innovations according to how much money they save, and not according to whether they achieve healing,’ the industrial engineer explains. Precisely for this reason, he adds, the three-day…

Sponsored • A discipline transforming

Adding value with AI in medical imaging

In the next five to 10 years, artificial intelligence is likely to fundamentally transform diagnostic imaging. This will by no means replace radiologists, but rather help to meet the rising demand for imaging examinations, prevent diagnostic errors, and enable sustained productivity increases.

Article • Healthcare artificial intelligence

AI – Radiology’s next frontier

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its role and future impact on the radiology profession was the dominant theme at RSNA 2017, whether in scientific presentations or in the technical exhibitions. Keith J Dreyer DO PhD addressed this subject head-on in his presentation ‘Healthcare AI – Radiology’s Next Frontier.’ Dr Keith Dreyer, vice chairman of radiology informatics and chief…

Video • Clinical Collaboration Platform

Carestream puts power into the cloud

Carestream Health’s Vue Cloud, a healthcare imaging cloud service based on the Carestream Clinical Collaboration Platform, now manages more than 26 billion images in public and private cloud data centers around the world. Carestream is showcasing this powerful technology at the HIMSS conference (Booth #4829). Carestream Vue CloudHealthcare enterprises, radiology imaging centers and hospitals of…

News • Platform demonstrations

AEGLE webinars take a look at Big Data analytics in Healthcare

In February 20th and 22nd and March 15th 2018 AEGLE is launching a series of webinars with the objective of demonstrating how the final prototype of the AEGLE platform supports the use of big data analytics in healthcare. The tools and analytics that the AEGLE Platform supports can be used for both (clinical) research and clinical practice. The four demos that will take place online through a…

News • Consumer Electronic Show

Blockchain, Blue Button and interoperability among hot topics at CES 2018

The tech world descended upon Las Vegas this week for the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and plenty of health IT’s biggest players were in attendance. While much of the discussion was on consumer-friendly health tools and novel digital interventions, there were still a handful of products and discussions between executives and entrepreneurs focused on healthcare’s largest roadblocks —…

Article • Improved workflow

UK uptake increases in digital pathology

Professor Jo Martin, the newly-appointed President of the Royal College of Pathologists in the United Kingdom, believes the National Health Service (NHS) is on the brink of embracing digital pathology more widely. A number of UK laboratories, he explained, are adopting digital pathology in histopathology – in line with some labs in Sweden and Holland, where it has become routine – and the…

Article • Smarter predictions

Artificial Intelligence helping to detect breast cancer

Scientists are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support more effective breast cancer detection. The researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School, are using the machine learning system to predict whether breast lesions identified from a biopsy will…

Sponsored • BeneVision Patient Monitoring Solution

Envisioning the future of patient monitoring

30 years ago, monitoring in most intensive care environments was via an ECG display with a numeric value for heart rate combined with intermittent manual measurements of blood pressure. Advances in technology have greatly increased monitoring parameters. Eight, for example, are included in the current minimum standards for monitoring under anaesthesia but more than ten further sensors are…

Article • The power of mobile intelligent information systems

Structuring data collection and diagnosis

Today’s healthcare IT market offers myriads of so-called comprehensive solutions to digitise administrative processes. However, in real life, long and verbose diagnoses and medical findings - and even paper-based documentation - are still widespread.

Sponsored • Innovation

Dedicating time to patient care, not to paper work

Intelligent IT solutions are key in meeting today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in healthcare management. Ensuring patients get the attention and individual care they need in time – in light of growing budget constraints and ever-increasing regulations, this is one of the key resource struggles healthcare organisations face today. Healthcare personnel only have as much time on their hands as…

Article • In technology's firm embrace

AI could enhance or disrupt healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has enormous potential to revolutionise the delivery of healthcare, being able to remove the drudgery’ of routine tasks, join up fragmented care records, trigger alerts when abnormal results occur, speed-up the process of identifying clusters of patients by digging deep into electronic health records, and increase efficiency of healthcare staff resources.

Sponsored • Clinical Mobile Devices

Streamlining patient care and making every second count

Connected, high performance tablets enable healthcare anywhere.

News • Vendor-neutral archive

Agfa and Luxembourg hospitals cooperate for national VNA

Agfa HealthCare and the Fédération des Hôpitaux Luxembourgeois (FHL) have revealed an ambitious cooperation: A national-level Enterprise Imaging platform will enable the cross-departmental sharing of medical images across all specialties.

Article • Progress and potential

Digital data: Cardiologists must keep up

Leading cardiologist and healthcare researcher Professor Harlan Krumholz has warned that medical practitioners must embrace the potential of digital data generated by patients if they are to avoid being left behind as the digital revolution moves forward at an ever-advancing pace

Article • Improved monitoring

Intelligent shirts ‘watch’ cardiac patients

A pioneering study has certified that wearable technology produced better results in monitoring cardiac patients and improving their quality of life compared to conventional systems.

News • At-Risk Patients

Text messaging could help tackle high blood pressure

A team from Michigan Medicine developed a health behavioral intervention called Reach Out including mobile-messaging components, which they plan to use throughout a trial.

News • Nano-optics

Spaser can detect and kill circulating tumor cells

A nanolaser known as the spaser can serve as a super-bright, water-soluble, biocompatible probe capable of finding metastasized cancer cells in the blood stream and then killing these cells, according to a new research study.

Article • Congress

Global Forum: Big Data & Analytics in Healthcare

Event location: Millennium Gloucester Hotel London Kensington 4-18 Harrington Gardens, Kensington, London SW7 4LH, UK United Kingdom

News • Preventing errors

Writing prescriptions by hand might be a really bad idea, study says

In a small study of opioid prescriptions filled at a Johns Hopkins Medicine outpatient pharmacy, researchers found that handwritten orders for the drugs contribute heavily to a trio of prescribing and processing errors in contrast to those created electronically.

News • Medication study

Experts: nearly a fifth of antibiotic prescriptions unnecessary

A study examining the impact of antibiotics prescribed for nearly 1500 adult patients admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital found that adverse side effects occurred in a fifth of them, and that nearly a fifth of those side effects occurred in patients who didn’t need antibiotics in the first place.

News • Algorithmic examination

Using machine learning to predict sepsis

A machine-learning algorithm has the capability to identify hospitalized patients at risk for severe sepsis and septic shock using data from electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Sepsis is an extreme systemic response to infection, which can be life-threatening in its advanced stages of severe sepsis and…

Can Big Data Help Cancer Patients Avoid ER Visits?

What if doctors could look into a crystal ball and predict which of their patients might be at risk of getting sick enough to go to the emergency room? What if they could use that prediction to help patients get treatment more quickly, with less fear and uncertainty, and with a greater chance of returning home rather than being admitted to the hospital? For at least one group of patients,…

Article • Diversity is the enemy

x-Health: Demands for real interoperability

Britta Böckmann, Professor for Health Informatics at the Technical University of Dortmund summarises the lack of feeling for terms such as eHealth, mHealth and telehealth with the description xHealth.

Interview • ‘Dr’ Watson

Big data takes a big brain

Agfa HealthCare aims to tap the IBM-Watson super-computer to bring big data analytics to medical imaging. To find out how Watson can be harnessed to help deliver information useful for patient care, European Hospital spoke with James Jay, the Global Vice President and General Manager for Imaging IT at Agfa Healthcare.

News • Stroke Patients

New hope for recovery of hand movement

Stroke patients are starting a trial of a new electronic device to recover movement and control of their hand. Neuroscientists at Newcastle University have developed the device, the size of a mobile phone, which delivers a series of small electrical shocks followed by an audible click to strengthen brain and spinal connections.

Sponsored • Digital applications

Easily integrated and hygienically designed medical solutions

Healthcare organizations are now using modern technologies to enable digital healthcare to improve the quality and efficiency of their services. Digital healthcare emphasizes the provision of patient-centric medical services to deliver a superior patient experience, reduce operation costs, and enhance medical staff workflow. To facilitate digital applications in the medical environment, ADLINK…

Interview • Management

Digitized OR: accessible data without media discontinuity

Defined processes and competencies are essential in the operating room along with the allocation of staff. Yet the OR-Barometer 2015 that is published every other year by the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, reveals that only 47 percent of the surveyed nursing staff in the fields of surgery and anesthesiology are satisfied with the level of organization in operating rooms. In this…

Article • Politics

Britain and Brexit

A largely stunned nation now asks what will happen to its beloved NHS and the EU medical professionals who are here to support it.

Article • Fear defeats progress

To maximise IT benefits team insecurities must be overcome

The development of a healthcare IT infrastructure in European hospitals faces two major hurdles, Ben Giese reports: ‘contradictory return on investment (ROI) reports and the unquantifiable risk of security breaches’.

Article • 4K Technology

Bringing a sharper image to surgery

Sony Medical offers an end-to-end video processing chain for medical-grade 4K surgical visualisation. The conversion will not happen overnight, but 4K is a natural next step for improving visualisation during surgery, according to John Herman, the European Marketing Manager for Surgical Solutions at Sony Medical.

News • e-Health

Agfa HealthCare collaborates with IBM to advance Cognitive Imaging

Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence complements its initiatives on Enterprise Imaging, Big Data and Clinical Analytics, to provide an e-Health platform for Integrated Care and Population Health Management.

News • JIB/ANCBH 2016

Agfa HealthCare showcases its laboratory information system HEXALIS

Bioserveur/Mesanalyses.fr connects 1,400 laboratories, 130 healthcare facilities and 15,000 doctors for sharing information.

Article • Futuristic

Humber River Hospital is oh so smart

‘Humber River Hospital, Toronto, Canada, could come straight out of a science fiction series that provides Star Trek-like healthcare services with hall-cruising robots delivering food, medications and supplies to staff, electrochromic windows, video conference capabilities at patients’ bedsides and real-time location systems, to name but a few futuristic features. Yet, this is now and for…

News • Study

First digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial

North West EHealth announced that its unique Linked Database System technology was used to deliver the world’s first digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in the ground-breaking Salford Lung Study* (SLS). The study relied on bespoke software, developed by NorthWest EHealth and securely hosted within the NHS network, that integrated the electronic medical records of consented…

News • Europe

Medics call for urgent improvements in the quality of endoscopy

Every year, tens of millions of individuals across Europe undergo endoscopic procedures to assist with the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal diseases. However, significant variation in current endoscopy provision across Europe has been reported, with back-to-back colonoscopy studies demonstrating that a concerning 22 percent of all adenomas are missed and that a three-to-six fold…

News • ECR

Record breaking attendance at the European Congress of Radiology 2016

The European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2016 took place March 2 to 6 at the Austria Center Vienna. Over the five days, a new record attendance was achieved: 25,998 onsite and online delegates from 133 countries took part in Europe’s largest medical imaging congress, constituting an increase of 4 percent on last year.

Article • New

The ESR iGuide

Electronic radiology clinical decision support (CDS) systems, designed to help doctors order the most appropriate imaging examinations for patients, offer a way to practice better medicine, to reduce the costs of radiology and help increase patient safety by preventing radiation exposure from inappropriate or unnecessary exams.

Article • Wishlist

PACS and imaging biobank assets combined

Personalised medicine relies strongly on biobanking in which medical data are collected on a large scale. Large scale refers both to the amount of data collected per patient as well as to the large number of patients included in the data collection. Although most attention in biobanking has been given to genetic data, proteomics, metabolomics and other –omics technologies, imaging is also being…

Article • Security

We need to go into clouds

Cloud computing offers various benefits but also entails some risks. Nevertheless hospitals need to adopt new ways to simplify work processes and enhance care.

Article • Community

Giving digitization a head start in terms of trust

Digital transformation is in full swing. Yet digitization remains theoretical in healthcare and not just in Germany. Given the influx of new information technology contributions, the subject of health definitely needs to be reevaluated. As a driver and creator of digital transformation, HIMSS has made this task its mission. The HIMSS Communities play an essential role in this. Report: Melanie…

Article • In Andalucía

Europe’s largest PACS project

Investment in health has been paralysed in the peninsula for the past few years, but Spain will soon have the largest picture archiving and communications system (PACS) in Europe. Accenture and Carestream are currently implementing a joint project in Andalucia, framed within the bilateral cooperation agreement between the Andalucian Health Service and the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism,…

Article • Procurement

Fundus screening enters shopping centres

Telemedicine is taking strides throughout Europe. While in Germany telemedicine projects appear to be off to a slow start (see the electronic health card), in other countries progress is going full throttle. In September, at the German-Dutch symposium ‘Using optimisation potential: Telemedicine and procurement management’ a number of Dutch approaches were presented. Report: Sylvia Schulz

News • MEDICA 2015

JADAK to introduce chart recorder and thermal printer

JADAK will launch the XE-80P, a portable, battery-powered thermal printer and chart recorder, at Medica, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Nov. 16-19, in Hall 13, Suite Room 8. The XE-80P’s unique Charge-on-Demand™ feature allows the user to choose when the printer will charge, which reserves all power for the host device’s functions during a critical event. The XE-80P is the first printer JADAK…

Article • Management

A challenging shift from cure to care

Healthcare systems need to move beyond reform and transform services delivered outside hospitals for the chronically ill patients. After 20 years of reform and reorganization efforts, many countries in Europe continue to deliver antiquated and inadequate care for chronically ill patients, according to Yann Bourgueil, the Director of the Institute for Research and Information in Health Economics…

Interview • Systems medicine

IT is a resource just like water or energy

Systems medicine – the interdisciplinary field incorporating biochemical, physiological and environmental interactions in the study of human body systems as part of an integrated whole – draws heavily on the technological advances in information technology (IT). New ways to use data impact on healthcare and society, says Professor Dr Heyo Kroemer, Dean of the Medical School, Georg August…

Sponsored • CardioSecur

New mobile ECG gives 360-degree view

The conventional 12-lead ECG has certainly proved its worth in displaying rhythm disorders or ischemia. Nevertheless, as the display possibilities of a 12-lead ECG are limited to only about 110 degrees of the heart, an exact location of a cardiac event often cannot be determined.

Liver damage in hepatitis C patients significantly underestimated

The number of hepatitis C patients suffering from advanced liver damage may be grossly underestimated and underdiagnosed, according to a study led by researchers at Henry Ford Health System and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

App helps patients with depression

Approximately 16 million American adults are affected by depression. However, many patients see a psychiatrist only once every two to three months. Recognizing that patients often forget how their moods vary between visits, a team from the University of Missouri, Missouri University of Science and Technology and the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation has developed a smartphone application that…

News • Five ways to improve

Health information exchange in ERs

An emergency physician-led workgroup has published five primary and seven secondary recommendations about how to maximize the value of health information exchange (HIE) in emergency departments. The recommendations were published online Tuesday in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

News • i-STAT®

Increase efficiency, reduce costs & improve care

Abbott's i-STAT® 1 Wireless System is now available for use in hospitals, emergency rooms, physicians' offices and other health care environments in Europe and regions that recognize CE Mark. A portable, handheld blood analyzer, the i-STAT® uses two to three drops of a person's blood to perform common tests right at the bedside. By providing and transmitting test results within minutes to a…

Interview • Connected Care

Improving medication adherence via a patient-centric platform

Dr Stefan Becker, a trained medical doctor with an M.B.A. degree, works as a senior nephrologist and transplant officer at Essen University Hospital and manages its Institute for Drug Safety. In an interview he spoke about his involvement in e-health projects in the field of connected care that he carries out with interdisciplinary teams, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and…

News • Healthcare Technology

IBM Invests in Modernizing Medicine

To accelerate the adoption of Watson cognitive computing technologies in healthcare, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced an investment in Modernizing Medicine, a provider of cloud-based technologies that help physician specialists create, consume and apply medical information in new ways to transform point of care decision support.

Article • Pros and Cons of DMP

France still seeks an electronic health record

The idea of a ‘dossier médical personnalisé’ (DMP, or electronic health record) for every French citizen was first inaugurated in 2004. Now, over 10 years and €500 million later, we can look at the pros and cons encountered during this still incomplete journey and consider if similar projects would be a useful addition to healthcare administration in other European countries, or…

Article • Mobile IT

How secure are your data?

The appetite for mobile information technology (IT) seems insatiable. Boosted by the sales of the iPhone 6 Plus, Apple generated a record $18 billion profit in 2015’s first quarter alone. Social media use is exploding, and dedicated professional platforms, such as Figure 1, a sort of Instagram for doctors, increasingly emerge. These changes are affecting our daily lives, and this is also true…

Interview • Perspectives in Radiology

Future ESR President defines the goals

During an exclusive European Hospital interview, in the run up to ECR 2015, Professor Lluís Donoso-Bach MD PhD, incoming President of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), outlines his plans to tackle challenges facing radiology in Europe – and anticipates a brighter future in Spain.

News • E-Health

Interoperable EHR Can Revolutionize Healthcare Delivery

The growing use of clinical and non-clinical information systems, including patient administration systems, scheduling and billing, is fuelling the demand for electronic health record (EHR) technology in Europe. EHR and ePrescribing are now priority areas in digital health across Europe, accounting for 30 percent of total healthcare IT spending in the region.

News • Market News

Advanced Visualization Solutions Boost Imaging Companies

As healthcare systems across the globe churn out imaging scans in larger numbers, the need for advanced visualization (AV) solutions that enable physicians to effectively visualize and analyze examination results is rising. In the face of growing diagnostic workloads in Western Europe, AV solutions help physicians arrive at accurate diagnoses of pathologies, thereby enhancing patient management.

Article • Data Management

The clinical collaboration platform

‘Customers tell us vendor neutral archiving is a great way to store their images, but they ask what good it is unless they can then access those images where and when they want for planning clinical pathways, or in consultancy,’ explained Christine Kao, Marketing Manager for Global Healthcare IT at Carestream.

EHR to save $78 billion over next 5 years

EHRs (Electronic Health records) will deliver cost savings to the global healthcare industry of $78 billion between 2014 and 2019, becoming an integral part of future digital healthcare initiatives, forecasts a new report from leading hi-tech analyst house Juniper Research.

News • Market

Andalusia Health Service Selects Accenture and Carestream

Andalusia Health Service has selected Accenture and Carestream Health to deploy a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) that will allow clinicians to manage, store and share diagnostic imaging data across more than 1,600 healthcare facilities in Spain. This initiative by the Andalusia Health Service is expected to go live in late 2015, creating one of the largest medical imaging…

Computer-assisted coding

Every hospital does it, but how accurately and consistently coding is done has a major effect on the quality of treatment and also on the bottom line. Traditionally so-called ‘coders’ determine which code to apply for a specific medical service.‘ Report: Cornelia Wels-Maug

Switzerland is not really one country

If implementing an eHealth strategy, Switzerland faces more complexity than any of its neighbouring countries. Its federative structure, reflected in numerous health systems, health legislations and political organisations, calls for a high level of cooperation among involved stakeholders, explains Adrian Schmid, head of eHealth Suisse. Interview: Cornelia Wels-Maug

Germany’s healthcare IT is ‘average’

‘Germany has realised that something must be done,’ Professor Britta Böckmann of Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, concludes, referring to a 2012 study from Accenture that showed this country to be only average in expandable healthcare networking compared with other countries. Report: Chrissanthi Nikolakudi

Article • Healthcare

Small town hospital goes big on IT

Horsens Regional Hospital is a two-hour train ride from Copenhagen in the Central Region of Denmark. Disembarking at the small town’s train station nothing suggests the presence of a pioneering hospital and flagship facility of the Danish healthcare system. Then, meeting Chief Medical Officer Jørgen Schøler Kristensen and Chief Nursing Officer Inge Pia Christensen it is immediately clear:…

Partnership optimises uniform processes

By recognition and early intervention against the most significant risk factors, many heart diseases can be prevented.

Article • by Alisa Gean (published by H&HN Daily)

Preparing for Mass Casualties

The risk of terrorist attacks, nuclear-radiological hazards, power outages and epidemic-pandemic infections as well as earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and fires are increasing worldwide. Mass casualty incidents, or MCIs, provide a constant reminder of why hospitals need a plan in place to be able to function optimally during and after a catastrophe.

More visibility for pathologists

For several decades pathologists worldwide have been under increasing pressure to handle a steady increase in laboratory tests with a steady decrease in finance and staff.

New trends in Pathology Informatics

For several decades, pathologists worldwide have been under increasing pressure to handle a steady increase in laboratory tests with a steady decrease in the amount of financial and staff resources. Add to this the escalating volume of increasingly complex, sophisticated testing and the importance of pathology informatics is evident.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society

The not-for-profit Chicago-based organisation HIMSS aims to boost electronic health records, analytics, mobile and other technologies by ‘meaningful use’ or other financial stimuli. Cornelia Wels-Maug reports on highlights at the HIMSS 14 conference and exhibition.

Only the sky’s the limit for future healthcare devices

About four years ago, Samsung Electronics Co. – specialist in electronic components and mobile phone sets, was recognised by its revenues as the world’s largest IT company, displacing Apple Inc.

Point-care-testing in emergency departments

Over the past decade the use of point-of-care testing (POCT) in European and North American hospitals has steadily increased, stimulated by the objectives of accelerating diagnostic treatment, increasing efficiency and improving patient outcomes.

Intelligent virtual assistants

Starting in the mid-1990’s, PACS technology revolutionised radiology departments. Now, some 20 years later, intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) technology is expected to do the same.

Fujifilm advances tomosynthesis to next generation

RSNA opens a window for one week where companies can showcase the latest technologies ahead of regulatory approval. Fujifilm seized this opportunity to introduce the leading edge in tomosynthesis, the Amulet Innovality that it has launched in Europe, and that once given the green light by the FDA will come to America under the name Aspire Cristalle.

MEDICA and COMPAMED 2013 keeping pace with the market

Good international business contacts are becoming increasingly important for manufacturers of medical technology and medical products.

Tackling MRSA

Decontaminating every patient in an intensive care unit is a far more effective approach to controlling infections in hospitals, according to a new study, Mark Nicholls reports.

Point-of-care-testing in emergency departments

Over the past 10 years the use of point-of-care testing (POCT) in in European and North American hospitals has steadily increased, stimulated by the objectives of accelerating diagnostic treatment, increasing efficiency and improving patient outcomes, Cynthia E. Keen reports

Predictive analysis

The USA’s healthcare system has awakened to the fact that electronically stored health patient data can save billions of dollars. Predictive analysis of ‘Big Data’ is a hot topic.The USA’s healthcare system has awakened to the fact that electronically stored health patient data can save billions of dollars. Predictive analysis of ‘Big Data’ is a hot topic.

Setting a new direction for IT

A Technology Strategy and Roadmap to plot the course of IT within the National Health Service (NHS) over the next few years was unveiled recently by NHS England.

Tailored medical weighing systems and scales

The PC software seca emr flash 101 transmits measurements from seca 360° wireless products to an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system.

Enhancing the patient experience

When it comes to hospital choice, patients no longer rely on their doctor’s advice alone. Improved health literacy and a growing awareness of potential risks (e.g. hospital acquired infections, medical errors) are encouraging patients to choose carefully by considering the quality of care delivered, patient satisfaction scores, patient safety and comfort in general.

Medical images within clinical reports improve treatment decisions

Hans Vandewyngaerde has a sweeping vision for visualising healthcare: images from anywhere made available anytime to anyone involved in a patient’s care.

Simplified documentation results in improved therapy

A large proportion of the patients treated at the Asklepios Schlossberg Clinic are intensive care patients. To track the medical treatment and nursing support which is carried out, an immense amount of documentation is produced.

Interactive patient care

Previously, we outlined how interactive technologies at the point of care support the goals of personalizing the patient experience and improving patient satisfaction.

Put in the frame

It’s no secret that NHS procurement is more often than not a complex and slow process but Helen Parslow, director of business development EMEA at Harris Healthcare talks of her recent experiences and says that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Patient privacy top priority in Norway

The Norwegian Health Directorate has selected FairWarning Patient Privacy Monitoring solution as an integral part of the national roll out of the Norwegian Summary Care Record (SCR).

News • Data Management

Health Information Exchange Systems are Critical to Integration of Healthcare Services

Health information technology providers must develop dynamic and easy-to-install information systems to dispel client concerns about interoperability and compatibility.

Article • New Zealand

The earthquake that shook up healthcare

In recent years the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB), which organises and funds the healthcare of over 500,000 citizens in a remote region of New Zealand, has raised the quality of care and access to care – and the country’s major earthquake contributed largely to CDHB’s IT-supported approach.

Compamed Spring forum offers a taste of the leading trade fair for medical technology

In the meantime, the Compamed Spring forum has become as much a part of the furniture as the Compamed in Düsseldorf - the leading international specialist trade fair for suppliers to the medical technology industry which has been held every year in November since 1992.

Patient data transfer and healthcare policy-making

Now central to most medical and policy-making discussions, cross-border healthcare, telemedicine and e-health are a top priority on the EU’s healthcare agenda, and most Member States are working to develop viable systems in this field

IHE-Europe takes on the world in Istanbul

The movement for interoperability among health information devices and systems has spread across Europe reaching Turkey, which will be host to the European IHE Connectathon in Istanbul this April

Disambiguation

A new system might help to analyse unstructured clinical documentation, such as lab/pathology results, thus tapping a wealth of hidden information.

No image left behind

By creating a single interface with the patient medical record, Agfa HealthCare’s ICIS can bring any type of image and linked meta-data into a patient’s record to be viewed and retrieved.

Carestream opens portal for patients to view images

No more CD or DVDs! MyVue Patient Portal empowers patients to securely access, manage and share their medical images and radiology reports with specialists and healthcare providers.

Work on ELGA continues

Significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of healthcare as well as better access to it: that’s what we expect from electronic health records (EHRs). However, their developers have recently suffered a number of setbacks.

Capturing the pulse of Medica

How healthy are Medica attendees? In Hall 9, Welch Allyn is capturing and documenting vital signs using its Connex vital signs system to find out.

New generation of bedside terminals

Healthcare imaging specialist Barco announces the launch of the JAO ST-185B, the first of a new generation of JAO Smart Terminals for installation at the patient’s bedside.

’French twist’ in e-Health

It seems medical records are too serious to be left to patients. Across hundreds of European e-health projects, the heavy spending in health information technology goes to building an electronic health record (EHR) that can be shared among health professionals.

We‘ll have highly personalised avatars

Petabytes of data on each patient will become the foundation of future diagnostics and therapy. Genetics, imaging and environmental information – toxins, lifestyle – will deliver a precise picture of the individual, allowing for diagnostic precision and targeted treatments.

Sensors facilitate rehabilitation at home

European doctors and scientists are working on the StrokeBack project, a medical system aimed at supporting stroke patients in their rehabilitation. Modern technology helps affected patients to practise their mobility at home.

Sensors facilitate rehabilitation at home

European doctors and scientists are working on the StrokeBack project, a medical system aimed at supporting stroke patients in their rehabilitation.

We‘ll have highly personalised avatars

Petabytes of data on each patient will become the foundation of future diagnostics and therapy.

Work on ELGA continues

As other countries tumble by the wayside, Austria bravely battles on.

Nine UK hospitals participate in a red cell immunohaematology electronic reporting pilot

Nine British hospitals are working with National Health Service (NHS) Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) on an electronic reporting pilot that may offer quicker access to patient test results and data.

Breathing new life into ventilators

Medical Transcription and Health Information Security

In July 2011 the Defense Department of the United States lost approximately 24,000 sensitive Pentagon files in a large-scale cyber attack. If you know anything about the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), you know that it is arguably one of the highest-priority sectors of the American government. Report: Abigale Washford

Tackling cancer information overload

Cancer specialists everywhere increasingly face new findings from molecular biology. Genetic profiling of tumours opens up entirely new perspectives on the disease. How to cope with and integrate new insights into cancer diagnosis and treatment was among key issues discussed at the 2nd European Forum on Oncology, held in Berlin this May

Present and future clinical laboratory management systems

Exit the monoliths, enter diversity -IT for labs is continuously progressing; solutions in the European market are becoming ever more complex and richer in functionality – all occurring in parallel with consolidation of equipment suites.

Article • Caradigm is here

New healthcare IT products reach the market

Back in December 2011, when General Electric and Microsoft announced their joint venture, Peter Neupert, then head of Microsoft’s healthcare solutions group said: ‘This industry needs a Windows-like platform.’ This June their efforts resulted in an ‘all systems go’ for Caradigm IT products, which aim initially to enable hospitals and large private medical groups to use a realtime,…

Weight and height

In many hospitals medical specialists from different fields work closely together. To give them access to centrally held information and patient data collected from admittance to discharge, hospitals increasingly use IT solutions such as the electronic patient’s record (EPR). Such installations demand an extensive data security policy and implementation plan.

Agfa HealthCare’s Cardiovascular Information System

The Impax CV12A, a new version of Agfa HealthCare’s Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS), was introduced this March during the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC’s) 61st Annual Scientific Session & Expo in Chicago, USA.

Ambulance paramedics switch to on the spot electronic reporting

A British ambulance service has successfully made the transition from paperbased patient reporting to a fully electronic system enabling paramedics to capture patient data at the scene of an incident and transmit it to the receiving hospital ahead of arrival at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit.

IT helps ensure patient safety in the ICU – and beyond

Integrated information management reduces risks and cuts cost, Finn Snyder reports. Intensive care units (ICUs) are vital in healthcare. ICUs in US hospitals, for example, treat six million of the sickest and oldest patients annually, according to a document recently published for the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation, which states that choices about how to manage them carry high stakes:

Helping to create the ‘medical home’ EPR

Neuroradiologist and researcher Gregory Sorensen MD, changed roles in June 2011 when, as the new President & CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., he became responsible for the entire Siemens Healthcare portfolio, including therapy, laboratory diagnostics medical imaging and – healthcare information technology.

Describing Community Nursing: Building blocks for improvement

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is delighted to announce the release of a new publication, Community Nursing, in partnership with the Scottish Government and the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland. The publication presents a dataset that has been developed and tested in the NHS Scotland. The dataset is mapped to and encoded with the International Classification for Nursing…

Successful PACS integration in Mauritius

Cardiovascular surgeon Dr Miodrag Todorovic explains how an island hospital – which is a medical centre of excellence and regional reference centre – is further improving medical care for patients there and in six neighbouring states with the help of a new picture archiving system from Visus

US community hospital develops its own unique app

Accessing patient files on smartphones physicians can view laboratory and radiology reports, vital signs and all relevant patient data

Major forces in hospital design and construction

RTKL, the architecture and design subsidiary of Arcadis, handles large hospital projects worldwide, with its medical equipment planning group providing specialist consulting on complex medical equipment and IT solutions implementation. During a recent hospital construction congress (Klinikimmobilien in Frankfurt) we spoke with RTKL Vice President and Global Service Leader for Medical Equipment…

Strong international feedback gives “MedTech” industry tailwind for exports

Summing up results of the world’s biggest medical trade fair after four days (16 – 19 November 2011) Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, said: “The manufacturers of medical device technology, medical products and medical IT have once again used the framework of MEDICA in Düsseldorf to impressively evidence their operational excellence.

Mobility IT

Medical notepads will soon be a thing of the past in doctors' offices and hospitals. More and more medical applications for smartphones and tablet PCs are coming onto the market, and many of them are introduced at Düsseldorf's MEDICA

Welcome to Medica 2011

From 16 - 19 November 2011, the attention of health and medical care professionals from around the world will once again focus on Düsseldorf, as the world's largest medical trade fair, MEDICA 2011, World Forum for Medicine, and COMPAMED 2011, High tech solutions for medical technology, the leading international trade fair for the suppliers market in medical manufacturing, get underway.

All in one and on the wall

Recognised globally for its hand-held instruments, Welch Allyn launched the Connex Electronic Vital Signs Documentation System and portable vital signs monitor at Medica last year. This year the firm is showing its Connex Integrated Wall System, an advanced vitals management and physical assessment solution combining all necessary examination tools in one neat, accessible wall unit. Using it,…

MEDICA 2011 - This year's Trends & Topics!

MEDICA 2011 in Düsseldorf (16 - 19 November) promises an "explosion" of novelties from the medical technology industry. The more than 10,500 new products registered by exhibitors at the MEDICA.de Internet portal are not the only indicators. The MEDICA PREVIEW press event already provided a preview of the most significant trends and product highlights.

Agfa HealthCare teams with Schiller America Inc. to strengthen cardiology reach

Agfa HealthCare announces today it has teamed up with Schiller America Inc., a leading international manufacturer and supplier of electrocardiographs, stress and cardiopulmonary exercise testing, long-term ambulatory Holter ECG and blood pressure recorders, spirometers, medical IT solutions, patient monitors and external defibrillators.

MIR 2011

It was not the sunshine of the Cote d’Azur in September that lured radiologists to picturesque Nice. Far more enticing was the stimulating programme offered by the Annual Scientific Meeting of Management in Radiology (MIR), which, for the first time, also included a Junior Radiologists Course.

ESC roundup: Fixing heart conditions

Devices to treat chronic cardiac disease are winning credibility with new evidence from large-scale patient registries, John Brosky reports

Hospital develops its own app

An original computer application that enables access to electronic patient records (EPRs) instantly via doctors’ smartphones has been designed by the IT team at the Holy Name Medical Centre in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. The app also offers direct phone links to a patient’s nurse and emergency contact person via iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other mobile devices. Report: Mark Nicholls

UK government topples the dinosaur

Led by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, the United Kingdom’s Labour government proudly launched its National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in 2002, a forward-looking plan with huge budget to match. The following year the nation was awed by something akin to a gold rush, as information technology companies scrambled to compete for and gain healthcare IT contracts from the £12 billion project.…

Representing User Interests – on a Partnership Basis

Delivering software for the exchange of information, based on standards – this is the aim of TianiSPIRIT GmbH. The software specialist with headquarters in Austria emerged from the PACS manufacturer Tiani Medgraph AG; the dynamic team focuses on solutions for Health Information Exchange in compliance with the guidelines of the initiative “Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise” (IHE).

Human error – or a fault in the system?

Medication errors sit among the top ten causes of harm to patients. They can, of course, occur in any department, but it’s still a surprise that they happen as frequently in anaesthetics departments, considering anaesthetists’ expertise is in handling tricky medication. However, apparently they are not the fault of the professional, but of the nature of the processes. Report: Karoline…

SWEET news: A paediatric diabetes network

For three years the SWEET project, funded by the EU and the International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), has been preparing the establishment of centres of reference (CORs) for childhood diabetes. Now, the first 12 European CORs that are certified by SWEET have joined forces to promote improved cross-border cooperation in the treatment of young Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.

Well organised against EHEC

In late May, a particularly aggressive and new strain of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) posed an enormous challenge for northern German hospitals. In Hamburg, the focus of the epidemic, more than 1,000 people fell ill, about 180 of them seriously, after getting into contact with the bacterium. Report: Meike Lerner

How can we measure infants' pain after an operation?

It turns out to be difficult to find out exactly how much a child who cannot yet speak suffers after a surgical operation. Researchers at the University Hospital of La Paz, in Madrid, have validated the 'Llanto' scale, the first, and only, tool in Spanish which measures infant pain rapidly and simply.

New window opens on European eHealth

Yesterday a newly redesigned website for IHE-Europe opened a window on the accelerating movement to electronic records across Europe, giving a new visibility to successful programs. The website at www.ihe-europe.net features links to five pan-European initiatives, nine national programs, and highlights success stories from regional implementations.

IHE-Europe Connectathon draws record participation

The eleventh annual IHE European Connectathon set for Pisa, Italy from April 11th to 15th, 2011 has rapidly expanded to a week-long program of activities that is attracting a critical mass of engineers and executives responsible for advancing e-health in Europe.

Hard-wiring e-health

While other industries race towards an all-digital world, healthcare remains frozen in the Analogue Age. However, the success of established, world-leading e-health programmes in Denmark, Andalusia and Lombardy, have built confidence in secure patient data exchanges.

The 360° view

For 170 years, the German firm seca has set worldwide standards for medical scales and measuring stations. Today, its products are used by medical teams in 110 countries, measuring a range of patients from tiny premature babies to adults weighing 300kg and basket ball players soaring to 7’ 4” high.

One system covers all

With over 6,000 employees serving over 50 different departments, the 1,062-bed university hospital UZ Gent is Belgium’s largest single hospital campus. Managing all the imaging data from such a huge institution – as well as establishing a network with about 30 partner hospitals and other caregivers – suggests a quite tricky task. Tricky, but not impossible, as Professor Bart Sijnave, Chief…

seca 360° wireless

When seca gmbh & co. kg presents the new product system seca 360° wireless at MEDICA 2010, the focus will be on saving time when weighing, measuring and analyzing results, preventing measurement errors, streamlining the analysis and presentation of measurements and optimizing patient consultation. Developed specifically in response to the needs of medical weighing and measuring, the futuristic…

DictaTeam integrates smartphones into the HIS

With the new dictation software dictate on demand mobile, DictaTeam UG has brought multi-language, full substitution for voice recorders to the market. Dictate on demand mobile can also be fully integrated into hospital and radiological information systems (HIS and RIS) as well as PACS and patient management systems. The manufacturer’s dictation experts, with their partners Vodafone D2GmbH and…

IT warning!

A senior IT executive has warned hospitals of the need to create an effective healthcare disaster recovery strategy to protect the huge increases in digital information they are now generating. With a growth in electronic patient records and digital imagery, it is now estimated that 30% of the world’s digital storage is found in healthcare.

RSNA 2010

A double-edged sword would be a good analogy for diagnostic imaging in 2010. New ways to utilise imaging technologies are being developed, imaging equipment is doing more, faster than ever, and image processing software is increasingly innovative. Today's radiology exams are ‘slicing’ through the body to reveal anatomy with increasing clarity for better diagnoses and therapeutic treatment…

The 16th IFHRO Congress

Held every three years, a very important healthcare IT event is to be held in Europe after a gap of 14 years. From November 15-19, healthcare managers and suppliers from 37 countries will arrive in Milan to discuss the future of world’s electronic health services at the 16th Congress of IFHRO (International Federation of Health Records Organisations), held in collaboration with the WHO.

Special status award for cobixx

Founded in 1981, IT solutions provider cobixx is a highly successful WLAN solutions innovator, an expertise now recognised by Cisco, a world leader in internet network solutions. Cisco’s Advanced Specialised Partner status is awarded solely to providers with a proven track record of competence in design, construction and maintenance of unified wireless LAN solutions. Denise Hennig reports

Logistics - GSI standards in Europe

Clear transparency of the flow of products and information in hospitals not only results in increased patient safety but also, because the documentation of treatments and recording of products used ensures compliance with legal requirements. The ability to retrace all steps is also an economic asset in terms of comprehensive cost control over product consumption.

HIMSS Europe

Given that European countries have very diverse healthcare systems with special types of hospitals and even special information systems, comparison of healthcare systems and hospital performances is difficult. Thus, the first HIMSS Europe Leadership IT Summit, which took place in Rome, has provided a platform from which to discuss quality patient care based on IT and particularly the…

Agfa at RSNA 2010

Agfa HealthCare is focused on providing excellent imaging solutions to support clinical confidence and improve delivery of health outcomes. At RSNA 2010, the company will demonstrate its engineered solutions that optimize the radiology workflow all along the imaging chain. By bringing the power of IT to radiology, we deliver tools that promote strong collaboration between healthcare providers and…

Predicting future admissions

The aim of the predictive modelling systems being trialled in the UK are to identify which people in a given population are the most likely to be admitted to hospital in the next 12 months and then focus preventive measures on them to try to avoid hospital admission. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which commission hospital services in the UK, are favouring the model as they try to cut costs during a…

Standardised algorithms and protocols for diabetic in-patients

Dr Susan S Braithwaite, a visiting clinical professor in endocrinology at the Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, specialises in the management of hyperglycaemia among hospitalised patients. Hyperglycaemia, the presence of an abnormally high concentration of glucose in the blood, is a common occurrence in adults who are hospital in-patients, especially among diabetic…

Schiller AG - Pace maker of trends in emergency medicine

In Switzerland, they say, the clocks tick a little slower than elsewhere in the world. Not at Schiller AG in Baar, however: The company remains forever ahead of the times. Since 1971, physicist Alfred E Schiller, the company’s founder and managing director, has successfully shown competitors in the tough intensive and emergency care market what innovative progress really means.

Cardiometabolic risk assessment

The identification of cardiometabolic risk is one of the most frequently performed standard examinations, which many European health insurers even require for patients of a certain age. Up to now, physicians had to calculate the value manually on the basis of certain parameters – a time-consuming task. Seca, which specialises in medical scales, now offers 360° wireless, which not only measures…

US health care lags rest of world in EPR systems

The well established, universal health care structures of EU countries with most specialty practices located within hospitals has led to a more advanced electronic patient record environment. Globally, 2/3 of Health Care Professionals have already implemented Electronic Patient Record systems but the US lags with less than half.

More clouds on the horizon

Given the task of archiving today’s huge data files, not to mention additional services demanded of hospital IT staff, cloud computing could reduce many headaches. Via a healthcare IT supplier that offers cloud computing, a hospital would be able to use, over the Web, virtual hardware that provides higher levels of storage capacity and computing resources.

Health informatics in practice

The Health Informatics Congress held in the UK this April, revealed how IT is helping health Trusts across the UK to take innovative steps in the way they respond to patients’ needs. The Clinical Showcase session examined how Trusts are coping with new patient administration and reporting systems and, in particular, how Cerner Millennium and Lorenzo systems are being implemented.

Voilà! French e-health goes online in 2010

The hosting service has been selected, software standards have been published, and on 11 December 2010 any French citizen will be able to open a file and begin creating a secure, personal electronic health record (EHR). If the agency charged with this ambitious programme meets the deadline, France will suddenly jump to the leading edge of e-health worldwide, rivalling advanced national programmes…

EPRs dramatically speed up Chlamydia treatment cycle

The introduction of electronic patient records (EPRs) can ‘dramatically’ speed up the Chlamydia treatment cycle, more than doubling the number of people treated within two weeks of a test result, according to research led by Dr Gary Brook at the Patrick Clements Clinic, Central Middlesex Hospital, London, and published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

PACS and more!

Initiated by Professor Peter Mildenberger and organised by European Hospital, the second PACS and more seminar, held during the DICOM meeting in Mainz, Germany, more than matched its name. Report: Meike Lerner

GE Healthcare at Euroanaesthesia

Clinicians all over the world use GE Healthcare products and solutions to anesthetize patients. The breakthrough ideas of a small Ohio company in 1910, the predecessor to the anesthesia division of GE Healthcare, have evolved into innovations that continue to open new frontiers in anesthesia. Today, GE Healthcare provides anesthesia technologies in many countries worldwide, collaborating closely…

Radiation exposure from cardiac CT - setting the record straight

Recent reports on cancer risk from radiation at CT have sparked new concern and discussion in the medical community as well as in the general public. It has been suggested that CT may be responsible for up to 2% of all cancers.

Dutch cardiology network enables real-time consultations

Physicians connected with the Friesland Regional Cardiology Network can now consult in real- time with specialists at the regional medical centre to determine the best course of treatment for their patients. The cardiology network not only speeds up the referral process and improves both diagnosis and the clinical decision process, but also is credited with reducing the length of stay for…

WoHIT 2010

The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition (WoHIT) -- the first joint eHealth conference of the European Commission and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS Europe) --- was held in Barcelona this March, creating Europe’s largest gathering of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) stakeholder groups as well as end-users, hospital CEOs, practitioners and…

Crossing frontiers

In 2011 more than 30,000 hospital caregivers in 10 European countries will participate in an exchange of electronic patients’ records (EPRs) in the world's largest, first-ever cross-border connection of e-health systems. Brussels refers to this as a ‘large-scale e-health implementation’, and while it is easy to laugh about the bureaucratic language, it was the careful, go-slow approach of…

iSOFT scoops top Financial Times Deutschland award

A telemedicine network project currently being implemented in the Leipzig region has won Australian IT firm iSOFT the top award in the 5th Ideenpark Gesundheitswirtschaft (Idea-park Healthcare) competition, presented by the Financial Times Deutschland at its annual FTD-Health Conference in Berlin. The awards are given for projects that contribute to greater transparency, productivity and…

Tyrolean hospitals share patient data

Seven hospitals in the Tyrol region are now online with an IHE cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS) network centred at Insnsburch University Hospital. About 4,000 patient discharge letters are exchanged daily and 4,000 queries managed.

E-health advances in Austria

Like many others, Austria is in the process of introducing electronic patients’ records (EPRs) for use in and by all healthcare facilities. After a drawn out preparation phase, a company was founded to implement the project and ELGA (Elektronische Gesundheitsakte) is underway. ‘E-health will come, step by step, but inexorably’, said Austrian Health Minister Alois Stöger.

iSOFT signs €4.5m Lorenzo renewal at St Jansdal

iSOFT Group Limited, Australia's largest listed health information technology company, today announced that St Jansdal Hospital in the Netherlands extended its contract for iSOFT’s Lorenzo solution for a further three years, in a deal worth €4.5 million.

HMS - PACS installations in a networked environment

Dr Nicola H Strickland BM BCh, MA Hons (Oxon) FRCP, FRCR, Consultant Radiologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Department of Imaging, Hammersmith Hospital, London, trained in natural science and medicine at the University of Oxford, and in radiology at Hammersmith Hospital, London. Now a staff member at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, she has been…

Philips' Imaging Highlights at ECR 2010

At ECR 2010, Philips launches the GEMINI LXL, the newest PET/CT scanner, offering many of the features available on premium systems for those working in the clinical areas of both radiology and oncology. Also making its European debut is DoseAware, a new dose-saving solution for interventional procedures. Furthermore, Philips presents its new Sonalleve MR-HIFU Fibroid Therapy system, which offers…

US radiologists wake up to risks from high radiation doses

An estimated 70 million CT scans are performed annually in the USA, a threefold increase since 1993. US physicians rely on CT scans and other diagnostic imaging procedures to make accurate and speedy diagnoses and, until recently, they have not questioned the radiation dose exposure the patient receives. However, this attitude is changing, as physicians and other medical professionals realise…

Euromedic International

There are huge differences in the quality of medical IT systems, particularly in some East European countries. However, recent political and economic changes in that region have been accompanied by improved quality standards. In Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Russia, Portugal, Ireland, Turkey and Switzerland, the privately funded group Euromedic…

Is your head in the clouds?

The equation is simple: Hospital IT data is growing exponentially, hospital funds are not. Facing enormous data volumes and less chance of increasing equipment or staff, IT managers inevitably suffer headaches. ‘Cloud is really IT being delivered as a service over the Internet,’ Mark Clark explained.

iSOFT achieves major milestones in the Netherlands

iSOFT has completed the implementation of Lorenzo 3.5 across all surgical departments at St Jansdal Hospital, Netherlands, with the latest release providing tools for patient management, results reporting, requesting and advanced clinical data capture, for 96 nurses and ten surgeons currently.

World of Health IT 2010

The World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition (WoHIT) 2010 will for the first time be held in conjunction with the European Union’s annual High Level eHealth Conference and is being organised by the European Commission, HIMSS Europe, the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy, the Regional Government of Catalonia and Foundation TicSalut.

The USB health card

Entrepreneur Dr Gunter Pollanz was a central figure in the build-up of charter flights to Israel and in the foundation of MAOF Airlines in Tel Aviv. Later, he also developed important export structures from Israel to Europe. However, in 1997 his life took a dramatic turn when he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Prognosis: Although 54 years old he faced just three more months of life. Today, Dr…

Ideaworks

Many years ago, five self-made millionaires were interviewed about their work. The last question posed was: ‘Is there one thing to which you could attribute your enormous success?’ Without hesitation, four answered: ‘Energy!’ The fifth quipped, ‘Luck’. By the law of averages energy is thus a vital ingredient. However, there are many other essential assets and luck is the least of them.

The e-Health Insider Conference

Considering the huge tasks and issues involved, the connection of health services, digitised EPRs, and text messaging via mobile phones, all are progressing -- some slowly, others at a more rapid pace – as many speakers at the e-Health Insider Conference underlined.

RSNA 2009

Quality counts. That's the theme of RSNA 2009, the global annual assembly of radiologists, medical physicists, diagnostic imaging clinical and IT professionals, and more than 700 companies that provide products and services. For six days, over 200 scientific sessions with more than 1,500 presentations, 1,500 educational exhibits, and more than 500 posters, many interactive, can be attended and…

Monitoring CHF patients

Close monitoring of vital signs such as ECG, BP and body weight are vital for many patients suffering cardiovascular disease. MyHeart, an integrated project involving 10 EU Member States, aims to produce better devices and better parameters than currently available, i.e. traditional sensor systems with digital upgrades. The ongoing clinical study has involved six European academic centres and 200…

Simplify information access for medical professionals

Dell announced a Mobile Clinical Computing (MCC) solution that addresses the unique challenges of hospitals when balancing the need to make patient information available to medical staff at the point of care and securing the information in the data centre to promote compliance with stricter compliance and patient data confidentiality regulations.

The HealthCare Summit

At this year’s two-day HealthCare Summit, held in Berlin, 58 representatives of hospitals and healthcare facilities, IT specialists and consultants discussed financing, market orientation, IT solutions and telematics.

Obama plans to digitise medical records within five years

The healthcare sector has been surprisingly slow in adopting information technology when compared to other industry sectors. In the United States, health information technology (HIT) is now being considered by many involved in the re-organisation and improvement of the quality of healthcare as a powerful tool with the dual potential to save lives and reduce healthcare costs.

Patient monitoring as part of the HIS

This October GE Healthcare launched its new Carescape Monitor B 850 at the 22nd Congress of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM). Resulting from the expertise optimised in recent years through the acquisition of Datex Ohmeda and Marquette Electronics, the result is a successful integration of the patient monitoring platform with the inclusion of the hospital information systems…

Russian resistance to IT

The use of IT in Russian medical institutions is still low, partly due to poor funding but also to a lack of understanding among managers of its potential. Most physicians consider treatment is their duty – not IT. They prefer to use special software only for accounting and staffing policy.

Biochips to aid in cancer diagnosis

It is very difficult to predict whether a cancer drug will help an individual patient: only around one third of drugs will work directly in a given patient. Researchers at the Heinz Nixdorf Chair for Medical Electronics at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) have developed a new test process for cancer drugs. With the help of microchips, they can establish in the laboratory whether a…

GE Launches $250 Million Healthymagination Fund

GE announced today the formation of the GE Healthymagination Fund, a new equity fund that will make investments in highly promising healthcare technology companies. The fund will invest in companies globally that have innovative diagnostic, IT, and life sciences technologies aligned with the strategic objectives of GE´s Healthymagination initiative. The fund will also support healthcare…

Wireless technology in healthcare: a multidimensional evolution

Healthcare in Europe is increasingly becoming digitised and there is growing need to develop and deploy sophisticated information systems. However, the wireless technology that is transforming various areas of business today is yet to be fully explored by the healthcare industry to support quality maintenance and improved efficiency.

Win a Dragon Medical 10 speech recognition software

Dragon Medical 10 the speech recognition software from Nuance, helps doctors and other medical specialists to achieve efficient and accurate clinical reporting.

Managing lung malignancies with SonoSite's M-Turbo system

The respiratory unit at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) is using SonoSite's M-Turbo system for management of pleural effusions, particularly in patients with lung tumours.

DICOM 2009

State of the art IT in a vintage venue: From 2 to 4 July 2009, venerable Waldhausen castle near Mainz, Germany, will host an expert forum on future-oriented developments in medical IT and medical technology in the German-speaking countries. DICOM 2009 is the ideal place to obtain first-hand and hands-on information on the newest trends in RIS and PACS as well as DICOM and IHE standards. Professor…

Denmark's healthcare

In current USA debates on healthcare reform referrals to IT use in Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK are frequent and well supported by studies performed by the Commonwealth Fund.

Big disparities in the treatment of arrhythmias across Europe

The latest statistics regarding the use of pacemakers and implantable cardiac devices in Europe was presented at EUROPACE 2009, the meeting of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)1 which takes place in Berlin, Germany from 21 to 24 June. The data show that there is a disparate coverage of diseases and treatments within the EU and the European Society of Cardiology member countries outside…

Malta Medical Tourism Summit

The medical tourism industry has enjoyed rapid growth over the past few years as more and more patients seek better facilities, particularly for surgical, dental and cosmetic procedures, outside their own countries. The Europe Business Assembly's Medical Tourism Summit, taking place from 12th to 14th July in Malta will focus on the key issues and concerns being raised for travelling patients.

Electronic discharge reports

Hospitals that use electronic medical record systems can improve the process of discharging inpatients by implementing electronic reports instead of dictated ones. More information can be provided in a faster, more reliable manner to the patients' caregivers outside the hospital, Electronic discharge summaries standardize the format and content of patient records to primary care physicians at the…

Data management system automates ECG processing and storage

Agfa HealthCare has released the latest version of its IMPAX HeartStation, a comprehensive management system for electrocardiograms (ECGs). Built on standards-based architecture, the system supports most existing and new ECG devices, integrating easily with the legacy hospital and clinic IT infrastructure and ECG workflow, Agfa reports.

Spring IT congresses and the economic outlook

April, the month of showers and flowers, and most importantly for those working in healthcare IT, two European congresses: ConhIT and Med-e-Tel.

MANAGEMENT

More for less: Driving up performance in acute care

From mobile phone to mDevice

Claus Peter Waegemann , CEO of the Medical Records Institute (MRI) in Boston, USA, has promoted the idea of electronic patient records (EPR) internationally for 25 years.

“Health IT is as important as water or electricity”

The Nordic countries have a reputation for being among Europe's avant-garde in the field of digital healthcare solutions. HealthTech Wire talked to Arto Ryymin, executive Vice President of Tieto's healthcare and welfare business, about what the rest of Europe can learn from the Nordic countries and about how health IT companies can support the standardization efforts under way in Europe.

Growing Europe-wide impact of eHealth

The 7th European eHealth conference kicked off on Thursday, February 19,, 2009, with high-profile attendance and a strong determination to bring forward the application of eHealth in the Member States and on a supranational level. Several national health ministers and secretaries of state pledged their clear commitment to further developing eHealth in Europe despite all of the current economic…

The Hospital Manager Symposium

Participation in the Hospital Manager Symposium, which is organized by EUROPEAN HOSPITAL in cooperation with the European Congress of Radiology and which is part of the congress, has increased continuously since its introduction six years ago. Last year about 250 attendees listened to the lectures and discussions.

Better management of complex arrhythmias

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and global company Bard Electrophysiology are starting a collaboration to develop new clinical tools for the work of electrophysiologists and lab staff. The ambitious goals are to improve the workflow with simpler and more intuitive approaches and to gain detailed visualization for interventions within the heart's electrical circuitry.

Recession fears penetrate RSNA 2008

Chicago, November - At first glance, the 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America appeared to be bigger than ever and impervious to the massive economic recession of its host country. RSNA 2008 ate into every inch of Chicago's McCormick Place trade centre. To reduce crowd congestion, technical exhibitions had been expanded to include a third massive…

eFA project gains accolades in Connectathon

The first Connectathon of `eFA´, a hospital-driven German electronic patient record (EPR) project was considered a success by health IT providers and hospital representatives. During the Berlin event, Siemens, iSoft, and Ispro received certificates for implementing basic eFA functionalities in their connected care solutions, writes Philipp Grätzel von Grätz

TIARA enhances therapists' workflow

A new IT system, designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the therapy department at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (ROH) NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham, is reported to have shown clear benefits for therapists, managers and patients.

Despite the poor market outlook Medica 2008 proved a superlative event

Dusseldorf, November — Medica's anniversary had many significant facets: in its 40th year, and for the 40th time, this spectacular international medical trade fair broke its previous year's record in visitor numbers — but, only just. The event was not only struck by the snow and ice of a sudden winter onset, but also by a storm that brought a level of chaos to Messe Dusseldorf's outdoor…

MEDICA 2008 opens its doors

When from 19 to 22 November the world's largest medical fair takes place in Dusseldorf, the entire city is in a kind of emergency state: hotels are bustin' out of their seams, traffic periodically comes to a standstill and at night exhibitors and visitors alike crowd the narrow streets of the Altstadt and the fancy hotel bars and enjoy whatever entertainment North Rhine-Westphalia's capital has…

Cross-enterprise electronic healthcare records (eEPA) in Europe

The creation of standardised cross-enterprise healthcare records in Germany will be increasingly promoted in numerous national initiatives and projects spanning several manufacturers, e.g. by the eFA initiative for the electronic case file headed by the Fraunhofer Institut ISST. By Jens-Uwe Thieme, Business Line Manager HIS & ERP Systems, iSoft Health GmbH

The Hitachi HealthXchange Module and Mawell M7 solution

Increasing populations and the additional storage requirements for a spiralling volume of their medical data cause acknowledged concerns among healthcare organisations.

Real time EPRs go mobile

Medical professionals have immediate access to patients' clinical records. They are able to check results and to ask for internal consultations: This is possible thanks to the Florence Mobile which was presented at the Microsoft Iberia Meeting in Budapest.

epSOS

Members of the EC Information Society and Media Directorate-General, Ilias Iakovidis, Deputy Head of Unit, and Project Officers Flora Giorgio and Michael Palmer, outline the potential of a project set to bring cross-border healthcare into reality.

New solution accelerates patient care decision-making

Hitachi Data Systems and Mawell form strategic partnership to streamline the management of patient records and images: According to recent EU research, ever-lengthening life expectancy means that Europe's pensioner population is set to swell to more than 100 million by 2050.

Further increase in number of exhibitors

The COMPAMED, the leading specialist international trade fair for suppliers to the medical manufacturing market, is held parallel to the MEDICA, the world's largest medical trade fair, each year and showcases the dynamism and innovative power of the medical technology sector. The COMPAMED 2008, High tech solutions for medical technology, will, with around 500 exhibitors from 30 nations, once…

eHealth for safe, high quality and efficient cross-border healthcare

Health systems and health policies across the EU are becoming ever more interconnected which raises many health policy issues. On 2 July 2008, in the context of the Renewed Social Agenda, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a directive on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. Essential precondition for cross-border healthcare is the existence of electronic health record systems…

Scots test telemetry system

The world's first installation of Cisco's telemetry system HealthPresence has been completed at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in Scotland. The system combines video, audio and call centre technology with medical information in a high-security network.

Integration of POCT into the clinical laboratory

Unlike regular laboratory analyses, which is performed by clinical pathologists and technicians in the clinical laboratory, Point of Care Testing (POCT) are devices to perform laboratory analyses in the vicinity of the patient by the attending physician or nurses.

E-health in the Netherlands

The Dutch E-health initiatives have made remarkable progress in recent years, writes Marcel Swennenhuis, President of Topicus HealthCare. Many solutions, such as online medication services, patient portals and web-based disease management initiatives, demonstrate the success of the country's EHR approach.

High risk of contrast-induced nephropathy refuted

The belief that iodinated contrast agents can induce nephropathy has been held for many years, even though most of the clinical literature has not been able to distinguish contrast-induced nephropathy from other causes of the condition.

China Medical Equipment Fair

With approximately 2,000 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors from all over the world, the China International Equipment Fair (CMEF) is Asia Pacific's largest medical device event.

Always under doctor's control

A pressure sensor that is implanted into the heart works with an electronic monitoring system that wirelessly measures patient's pulmonary artery pressure. It allows physicians to track the patient's pulmonary artery pressure while they remain at home

Enjoy the games Enjoy the games — in the best of health in the best of health

To make sure that for athletes and officials the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will not come to a premature end, digital medical and dental imaging systems from Carestream Health, Inc. are available to diagnose and treat any health concerns.

Frost & Sullivan: PACS to capture Europe

A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan estimates that the PACS market in 2014 is set to reach $1,035.3 million in 2014 and forecasts significant opportunities in the European PACS market for vendors who can provide customised solutions and products that support enhanced workflows.

Re-inventing the hospital

Medical services About 90% of hospital income is generated in the 35 weekly working hours of regular day shifts. However, due to new work time regulations fewer and fewer physicians are available for these productive shifts and much of the work time is spent in the 133 working hours of the 'unproductive' night shifts.

Nosocomial infections in the USA

As nosocomial, or healthcare-related infections (HAIs), continue to escalate in the US, and protocols to manage this problem remain complex and confusing, surveillance healthcare IT systems offer hope to gain control of the situation. These offer the potential for data to be uniformly collected, quantified, and assessed. How rapidly they will be implemented enough is unknown.

The modern laboratory information and management system

Germany - Managing a lab for out- and in-patient care involves not only mastering increasing pressures in terms of efficiency and cost-optimisation, but also being au courant with ever evolving clinical issues and state-of-the-art lab technology and procedures.

Kiosk Europe Expo 2008-04-24

Self-service can cut patient services costs, says Anne Warner, who reports for the trade publication Kiosk Europe.

conhIT: The future place to be for healthcare IT providers?

From 2004 to 2007 VHitG (Verband der Hersteller von IT-Systemen im Gesundheitswesen) and Messe Frankfurt jointly organised ITeG (IT-Messe und Dialog im Gesundheitswesen). When VhitG moved the event to Berlin, this cooperation ended and Messe Berlin came on board as new partner for what is now called conhIT. The organisation team headed by Jens Naumann, VhitG chairman, developed an entirely new…

Integrated healthcare IT systems support holistic approach to patient records access

The implementation of an integrated HIS/RIS into a single IT platform facilitates data sharing among the more than 1,300 physicians and support staff who work at East Tallinn Central Hospital (ETCH) in Estonia. ETCH, a municipally owned healthcare delivery network, was formed in 2001 with the merger of four hospitals.

Finland Near Completion of National Electronic Patient Record

A national electronic patient records (EPR) archive that is estimated to manage 550 pentabytes (PB) of data by 2025 is nearing completion in Finland. Its first component, an ePrescription system, is scheduled for implementation in June 2008. The patient record archive will be activated in February 2009, and DICOM diagnostic images will be added to it in the June 2009 time frame.

Flexibility, Convenience, Productivity

At ECR 2008 Carestream Health will demonstrate powerful new digital imaging and IT solutions, which help healthcare providers improve quality and operational performance. Carestream Health is rapidly expanding its presence in European e-health by providing innovative solutions that combine ease of use with advanced functionality, enabling the full benefits of an all-digital workflow to be…

Using a single HIS/PACS platform for patient medical data sharing between healthcare providers

The presentation will provide an overview of patient medical data sharing and distribution between the hospital, general practitioners (GP) and patient, using recent developments in Hospital Information System (HIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

Google enters EPR pilot project

Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit, multispecialty, academic medical centre, is working with Google on a pilot project to test the secure exchange of electronic patient records (EPR - or, known in the US as the electronic personal health record - PHR).

FUNDRAISING

When the Oxford Radclife Hospitals NHS Trust invested £109 million in its new Oxford Children's Hospital, funding for certain special embellishments could not be contemplated. Thus a £15 million Campaign was launched to enable the hospital to be built and equipped far beyond the NHS standard. £13.8 million of that target has so far been received. Who raised that astonishing sum? Its…

The Apollo - this system was designed for all

Draeger reports that the Apollo includes an advanced ventilation capability that provides ICU quality ventilation in the operating theatre (OT), as well as

Radiation dose reduction

US launches a national initiative By Cynthia E Keen

Shedding new light on healthcare: The Siemens Healthcare Solution Center

Siemens Healthcare has entirely redesigned its visitors' center, the Siemens Healthcare Solution Center. On 2,000 sqm the visitors can experience how state-of-the-art medical technology ensures high-quality and at the same time affordable healthcare.

The IT revolution

To meet an ever expanding demand for faster, more efficient healthcare delivery, and therefore better IT solutions, companies are in hot competition internationally. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Dr Andrea Fiumicelli, Head of IT at Agfa HealthCare, discussed his company's aims and position in this vibrant healthcare market

Nursing monitors

IP-based nurse call system provides non-body-contact vital signs monitoring as well as patient movements, a fall and epileptic seizure.

Clinical process management

Agfa HealthCare will present leading healthcare IT and imaging solutions, focusing on clinical process management At MEDICA this year, Agfa HealthCare is demonstrating a …"balanced mix of information about market-leading solutions and innovations for healthcare IT and medical imaging and plenty of opportunity to exchange opinions about market developments".

From the American Heart Association 2007 meeting

Poster data presented at Scientific Sessions 2007 have demonstrated that the application of clinical practice modifications, combined with advanced electronic technologies, can improve the care of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Magnetic Field Imaging improves cardiac diagnostics

Magnetic Field Imaging (MFI) provides cardiologists with an additional tool to detect arrythmia and irregular cardiac blood flow and thus contributes to a more precise diagnosis. While an ECG acquires electric signals produced by the activity of the cardiac muscle, MFI measures the electrophysical function of the heart by determining the magnetic field during a heartbeat.

Magnetic Field Imaging improves cardiac diagnostics

Magnetic Field Imaging (MFI) provides cardiologists with an additional tool to detect arrythmia and irregular cardiac blood flow and thus contributes to a more precise diagnosis. While an ECG acquires electric signals produced by the activity of the cardiac muscle, MFI measures the electrophysical function of the heart by determining the magnetic field during a heartbeat.

Spotlight on patient safety

Medical errors occur in any part of the treatment process and typically involve the wrong medication, improper treatment, or incorrect or delayed test results. At its annual partner meeting, which took place in Berlin, September 27-28, Philips reinforced its commitment to use its leading global position in healthcare speech recognition to drive technology advancements towards reducing medical…

Revised international accreditation standards for hospitals

The Joint Commission International (JCI) has produced a revised set of international accreditation standards for hospitals. Initiated in 1997, the JCI developed out of a need seen by the international community to have standards of care to assure quality and safety for patients. "When these standards were first devised, organisations around the world were trying to apply the US domestic standards…

The most useful EU-supported venture

The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…

Health telematics

Telematics appears to offer solutions for certain complex therapies - and for issues that will become central as populations further swell with age.

Spotlight on patient safety

Medical errors occur in any part of the treatment process and typically involve the wrong medication, improper treatment, or incorrect or delayed test results. At its annual partner meeting in Berlin Philips reinforced its commitment to use its leading global position in healthcare speech recognition to drive technology advancements towards reducing medical errors and improving patient safety…

Baltic Conference on E-Health in Hamburg (Germany)

On September 21 the Baltic Conference on E-Health will take place at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. Representatives from hospitals, governments, health insurance organizations, service providers and media throughout Europe find a cross sector forum to discuss the common challenges associated with affordable quality care.

Most DICOM-CDs do not meet standards

Germany - 74% of DICOM-CDs from 87 different manufacturers do not comply with current standards, according to a joint study by OFFIS (Oldenburger Forschungs- und Entwicklungsinstitut für Informatik-Werkzeuge und -Systeme) and the Deutsche Röntgengesellschaft (DRG), presented at the recent 9th HIS-RIS-PACS and DICOM Meeting*.

Hospital security

An international study to evaluate radio-frequency identification as a hospital risk management tool in medical care.

Fifteen Finnish hospitals go for EPRs

By Kaj Blomqvist MSc (E.E.), electronic engineer for the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), and currently in charge of the `Picis CareSuite Project´, which aims to automate all HUS acute care departments.

Taking a dive into the 21st Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery Congress

Emphasis on advances in the use of computer assisted radiology and surgery (CARS) technologies in clinical diagnoses and therapies, will herald the opening of CARS this year.

Spanish university hospital nets communications

Son Dureta University Hospital, in Palma de Mallorca (Balearics), is Europe's first to use a clinical information system developed from a partnership between Oracle Corporation, Orion Health and Fujitsu Services. Joan Marqués Faner, the hospital's Chief Information Officer, discussed the system with Eduardo de la Sota, our correspondent in Spain.

Healthcare says farewell Prime Minister Tony Blair

]UK — Leading up to his June departure as Prime Minister, Tony Blair highlighted his government's achievements in the National Health Service (NHS), particularly in the way technology has improved and is set to improve patient care.

The Motion C5

Following international pilot studies, Intel Corporation and Motion Computing have released the Motion C5 - a mobile clinical assistant (MCA) for use by nurses.

Speech recognition

Last year the European Commission, DG Health and Consumer Protection, observed that the health sector still lags behind other industries in introducing systematic safety processes and recommended the introduction of the electronic medical record (EMR).

ICT improves patient safety

Improving patient safety and quality of care is of key importance for European citizens, and both the European Commission and Member States (MS) expect great benefits from new, information and communication technology (ICT)-based healthcare solutions.

Article • Merge Healthcare

US firm localises IT systems for European countries

Some 23 years ago, when William Mortimore set up a firm to focus on connectivity, a tool called MergeBox (which allows modalities to speak to other networks) inspired him to name his new business.

Italy

IT introduction is increasingly considered a strategic element, since it is capable of supporting different decision processes at various levels (top management, middle management and professionals) and guiding them towards concrete objectives: cost control and containment, improved efficiency, evaluation and enhancement of service quality.

eHealth week Berlin 2007

Following the success of three previous events the International Forum for Healthcare IT (IteG) expects over 250 specialist exhibitors at its 2007 event. Aimed at IT managers, healthcare decision-makers, doctors and those responsible for IT in nursing, participation in the ITeG specialist programme is free of charge.

Orbis project: FIRST phase concluded

Italy — After five months' work, the first installation phase of Agfa's hospital and clinical information system (HIS/CIS) Orbis for the Gruppo Malzoni (Malzoni Group of hospitals), has been completed at the Clinica Medica Malzoni, in Avellino, and staff are already working with the system.

Out-of-hospital digital documentation

Vital patient-related data must be documented by emergency medical services, disaster relief units and emergency physicians, in out-of-hospital settings, and currently most of this is done entered manually on paper.

The role of anaesthesia in MRI procedures

Currently, to expand and centralise the MRI Department at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Luebeck, Germany, a new building is being planned.

Early warning systems for cardiac care

Various record systems that transfer patient data directly from an emergency site to physicians' monitors for diagnosis of cardiac incidents were demonstrated at MEDICA 2006.

Estonia leads the way in Baltic eHealth links

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, boasts the country's third-largest hospital. East-Tallinn Central Hospital (ETCH) has 587 beds, 26,000 inpatients and last year recorded 425,000 outpatient visits. It dates from 1785 when the former Tallinn Central began to operate as a town hospital. However, in 2001, four hospitals and two polyclinics were merged to form ETCH.

The electronic health card

„Through its engagement in various initiatives and publications ZVEI (the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association) consistently underlines the great potential of IT in the healthcare system — in Germany and Europe. “It's a milestone in German healthcare modernisation within a European context”, says ZVEI

Eye software firm focuses on the US market

Marc Winchester is new President, North America of Digital Healthcare Inc.

Electronic patient records

The UK Health Minister has set out key details of what patients and the public can expect from the NHS Care Records Service.

Networking cardiovascular imaging

There is no lack of IT and software solutions for putting digitisation and networks into practice; however, many hospitals wonder how the implementation will work in practice and whether the investment will prove successful.

Saving time with speech recognition systems

High-profile IT projects aimed at increasing efficiency and improving patient care.

Focus on IT and administrators' needs

This year, EUROPEAN HOSPITAL has produced three separate issues for this, the world's largest medical trade fair.

Virgen del Rocío

Spanish event surprised with a number of high-profile IT projects.

MEDICA 2006

Wilhelm Niedergoeker, Managing Director of the Messe Dusseldorf GmbH, previews this year's events.

Philips From X-rays to Motiva homecare

To learn more about the presence of Philips in healthcare - and particularly cardiology - our Netherlands correspondent visited the company in Amsterdam.

Centralised operating theatre control provides many benefits

Core - the integrated operating theatre concept created by Richard Wolf GmbH, has a modular, networked structure to link various devices in the operating theatre.

The heart of healthcare beats in Dusseldorf

Horst Giesen, the project coordinator of MEDICA, describes highlights of the 38th show, and future plans for the event. Interview by Daniela Zimmermann

Integration for comprehensive solutions

A model for future success?

Volker Hüsken PhD: Following his PhD studies in information technology and economics, in the department of electrical engineering at the RWTH Aachen, Dr Hüsken became a systems engineer at Siemens AG, where he directed the development of the Super Computer Reference Centre. After several years as IT Director with Klöckner Datentechnik and EDS, he became Senior Consultant for strategic…

`Moleculary´ medicine: now and the future

In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Executive Director of European Hospital, Dr Mohammad Naraghi, Head of the Department of Business Development at Siemens Medical Solutions, discussed developments in moleculary medicine, biochips, preventive diagnostics and a comprehensive and integrated health system for the future.

In command of all critical events

Access and monitoring of multiple lab instruments from a centralised location.

Fast forward for clinical reporting

Digital dictation devices can read a patient's data, automatically assign information to the relevant report and interpret human speech into a text version. Armin Scheuer reports

Facing the future

Increase in COPD and chronic respiratory disease patients will challenge the European Healthcare Systems in the future.

Single image/data management system integrates major medical fields

IMPAX Enterprise - a single image and data management system that draws together radiology, cardiology, orthopaedics, and women's care.

Elaborate, evolving network to link radiology and cardiology

During an EH interview, Professor Stefan Osswald MD described this complex system and its future potential

Article • Internationalising IT systems

Agfa climbs over language and healthcare practice barriers

In recent years, Agfa HealthCare has dramatically expanded its IT portfolio in line with its strategy to be an international leader in healthcare IT. At the recent ITeG exhibition in Frankfurt, the company's ambitions were clearly visible: Agfa very much focused on ORBIS, its leading Hospital Information System. Daniela Zimmermann interviewed Eric Maurincomme, Vice President Business…

Bringing Toyota production to the healthcare industry

In a widely publicised, groundbreaking report titled 'To Err is Human', issued in 1999 by the Institute of Medicine in the United States, the magnitude of unwanted deaths resulting from medical errors inside the hospital was uncovered. Since then this has achieved much media attention.

Progressing towards the EPR

Today, the Local Healthcare Company ASL Nº 11, of Empoli, Florence, is a highly advanced public utility, able to face the challenges of technological innovations and to perform long-term objectives with leadership and competence.

France and Spain gain the first region-wide speech recognition systems

In an effort to optimise efficiency and patient service, Spain's Castilla-La Mancha region and the Paris Hospital network AP-HP have become the first in Europe to introduce speech recognition to thousands of physicians and transcribers on a regional level.

Med-e-Tel

Med-e-Tel - the International Exhibition and Conference for eHealth, Telemedicine and Health ICT - will present a multitude of ICT healthcare applications for debate.

Global healthcare report identifies best practices

Health organisations and governments should seek solutions beyond their own borders.

EPR includes images

Germany - The Walldorf-based firm InterComponentWare AG (ICW) launched its hospital networking solution for electronic patients' records (EPR) at MEDICA 2005, reporting that the system can connect existing but so far isolated hospital information systems (HIS) without having to change currently used software.

Decade of IT under-funding in the USA

The destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina was felt so strongly at HIMSS '06, the annual meeting of North America's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, which drew over 24,500 healthcare IT professionals and hospital executives to San Diego in February, that the Society decided to hold its 2007 meeting in New Orleans to bring dollars to the city's damaged economy.

iSite: an insight into advanced healthcare communications

With iSyntax Philips Medical Systems provides a PACS for an advanced medical image and information management system.

Digital operating theatres

World renowned for audio, video, communications and information technology products used for entertainment as well as business communications, Sony has continued to utilise and develop that technological expertise to take an increasing role in operating theatres.

Health Optimum

Downloading digitally signed clinical test results from home is possible and 40% of users residing in the Treviso region in Veneto, do so regularly.

From analogue to digital

Thanks to the convertion from analogue to digital imaging, Kodak Health Group reported a considerable success in Europe.

Performance measurement to improve quality

Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals have long expressed an interest in performance measurement to support quality improvement efforts and to provide a valid base for local, national, and international comparisons.

FDA strengthens device monitoring

Following a 12-month examination of the way medical devices are monitored for safety after approval, the USA's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a new programme to `transform and strengthen´ current monitoring of new technology as well as existing products.

Med-e-Tel

The Med-e-Tel eHealth conference and trade show from 5 to 7 April 2006, Venue, Luxembourg, will again attrackt healthcare professionals.

Catastrophic care - When hospitals are overwhelmed

Paul E Pepe MD MPH FACEP FCCM, Professor of Medicine, Surgery, Public Health and Chair, Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre and the Parkland Health and Hospital System (TSMC&PHHS), Dallas.

The European Commission, DG Information Society and Media

The European Comission was on of the first funding agencies ...

Wireless at the bedside

Italy - The WardInHand project, which set out to provide a tool for medical teams to access a hospital information system (HIS) from wards, does not replace or compete with existing hospital systems but adds mobility and 'ubiquitous computing' to the HIS, by exchanging information with existing tools and updating clinical data in real time.

Telemed for ophthalmology

O-PACS, the first integrated Digital PACS solution and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) developed specifically for ophthalmology, heralds a new era of tele-ophthalmology and could save the sight of thousands of Type II diabetics, says the system's maker ComMedica, of Woking, UK.

Patients in five countries reveal healthcare deficiencies

Disturbingly high rates of medical errors, lack of care co-ordination, poor communication between doctors/patients, and barriers when accessing care, are experienced by patients in the United States (US), Australia, Canada, NZ (NZ) and the United Kingdom (UK).

Mobiles to monitor asthma and diabetes

UK - A hand-sized, electronic peak flow meter, which measures lung capacity and can be connected to a PDA mobile handset is being tested for use by asthma sufferers.

A national electronic healthcare system

The National Health Service launches one of the world's biggest IT projects this month (April) aiming to connect British healthcare providers in 28 strategic health trusts via NHSnet. In the future, the plan “Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS”:

New approaches for gentler healing

By Professor Horst Neuhaus MD, Head of Internal Medicine at the Evangelical Hospital, Dusseldorf, describes highlights during April's 33rd Congress of the German Society of Endoscopy and Imaging Procedures (DGE-BV).