News • Siemens Whitepaper
Approaches for a successful HR strategy in healthcare
Necessities, challenges and opportunities in recruiting and retaining medical professionals
News • Cleaning hospital rooms
UV rays cuts superbug transmission
In a hospital, what you can’t see could hurt you. Healthcare facilities continue to battle drug-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that loiter on surfaces even after patient rooms have been cleaned and can cause new, sometimes-deadly infections.
News • Screening
Risk-free pre-natal examination
The newly founded Tübingen company CENATA GmbH has been offering the Harmony non-invasive pre-natal test since May 2015. CENATA has obtained a licence from the U.S. company Ariosa Diagnostics, and is now the only company in the world outside the United States that is permitted to conduct the analysis and evaluation. This examination enables pregnant mothers to test their unborn children for…
News • Ultraviolet
The supergerm-zapping robot helpers
Half a million square feet. More than 350 beds. And tomorrow, they clean it all over again. Every day, Environmental Services (EVS) staff members work to disinfect every surface in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preventing infections and keeping patients safe. Now, on top of scrubbing, spraying, mopping and wiping, they can add another action –…
News • Event
EHFG: Cross-border healthcare
At this year's European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), several discussions focused on the increasing demands for new strategies to ensure equal access to high quality healthcare. The funding and pricing of medicines as well as universal access to healthcare were also addressed, as was the role of the EU in this area.
News • Health-care systems
Investors are indifferent to technology needs
Health technologies are not governed by the real needs and challenges of healthcare systems, reveals a new University of Montreal study. "Such concerns are absent from public innovation policies and indeed in the way venture capitalists think," said Professor Pascale Lehoux of the university's Department of Health Administration, who led the research. She was motivated by a desire to…
Article • Politics
Europe faces unprecedented threats
Two of the core tenets underpinning the European vision – the euro and the Schengen agreement – are coming under unprecedented threat through financial challenges and the impact of the refugee crisis across the continent. It is these critical issues that keynote speaker Professor Martin McKee will tackle during the opening plenary session at the European Health Forum in Gastein in…
Interview • Medication
Facing the challenge of multimorbidity
In an interview in advance of the European Health Forum in Gastein, Dr. Stanimir Hasurdjiev, a board member of the European Patients’ Forum, talked about the challenge of multimorbidity and how to make it work for the patient. Report: Michael Krassnitzer
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…
What is the cost of lung cancer in Germany?
With more than 50,000 newly diagnosed cases each year, lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Germany. As yet, however, very few statistics are available on the care situation of lung cancer sufferers and the associated costs. Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have now analyzed comprehensive health insurance data in order to discover the cost of the disease and which…
News • Clinical information systems
Agfa HealthCare selected as approved supplier for NHS SBS
Agfa HealthCare announces that it has been selected as one of the approved suppliers in the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) Healthcare Clinical Information Systems Framework. This four-year, £1.25 billion framework - which can be extended by an additional two years - speeds up and simplifies the healthcare IT systems tender process for healthcare providers.
Article • Roadmap
The German IT security act
German hospitals, having ‘critical infrastructure’ components, are granted a two-year transition period to comply with the IT security act (ITSiG) the German Parliament adopted in June. Many hospitals are already bellyaching about the financial burden being too high with transition period too short. According to the recently published Hospital Rating Report 2015, every sixth hospital in the…
Article • Facility
Reaching into the core of process rationalisation
‘Facilities management is the integration of processes within an organisation to maintain and develop the agreed services that support and improve the effectiveness of its primary activities.’ According to the European DIN-Norm (DIN EN 15221), this defines facility management (FM). As a control tool, FM encompasses all supportive processes within a company, in this case referring to a…
News • Congress
CMEF 2015: Key medtech information platform
China International Medicinal Equipment Fair (CMEF) is a semi-annual tradeshow which presents innovative products from and for China, and a cornucopia of educational congresses, workshops on financing, seminars on regulatory and policymaking issues as well as networking opportunities. The next CMEF will take place from October, 18-21 2015 at the Wuhan International Expo Center.
Refurbishment: a DITTA contribution to circular economy
DITTA, the Global Diagnostic Imaging, Healthcare IT and Radiation Therapy Trade Association, proudly launches a new brochure “Refurbishment of medical devices – Contribution to Circular Economy” in 5 Global languages: English, Japanese, French, Spanish and Chinese.
Needle exchange program prevented 120 new cases of HIV in 2 years
The District of Columbia's needle exchange program prevented 120 new cases of HIV infection and saved an estimated $44 million over just a two-year period, according to a first-of-a-kind study published today by researchers at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University.
Article • Politics
Spain’s response to EU directive
Increasingly resistant bacteria are a global problem and require innovative action from all parties concerned, says Jesús Rodriguez-Baño, President of the Scientific Committee of the annual meeting of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC), which unfolded last May in Seville. EH asked him why the creation of a national plan has become necessary to tackle…
Article • Hygiene standards
A case for better safety guidelines
In recent years a number of hygiene incidents concerning medical practices or hospitals have worried patients across Europe. However, every incident has become a learning experience and heightened awareness of the importance of thorough hygiene.
News • Infection Prevention
Lima Memorial Health System welcomes germ-killing robot
Lima Memorial Health System welcomed Tru-D SmartUVC, the most advanced UVC germ-eliminating robot on the market, as its most recent investment in patient safety and quality of care.
News • Automation
Siemens and Inpeco extend long-term partnership
Today, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics and Inpeco signed a new contract that extends the companies’ long-lasting status as preferred partners in laboratory automation. Siemens and Inpeco will be working closely together to design and deliver complex, custom solutions to help our customers meet their business and clinical needs.
NHS trusts with largest deficits are least able to end costly private sector deals
NHS trusts under the most serious financial pressures are the least likely to be able to terminate expensive private sector deals, warns an expert in The BMJ this week.
News • Global vaccine-development fund
Saving thousands of lives
Ebola is a preventable disease, and yet a safe and effective vaccine has not been deployed. As with many vaccines, financial barriers persist: pharmaceutical companies see high costs with limited market potential, and government support is lacking. But there may be a solution to this vaccine crisis with the ability to save at-risk populations, according to a perspective piece written by…
Article • Congress
CHINA-HOSPEQ 2015
CHINA-HOSPEQ is one of the most influential medical equipment exhibitions in China. It is the only medical exhibition supported by NHFPC.
Could a sugar tax help combat obesity?
Following the BMA’s call for a 20% sugar tax to subsidise the cost of fruit and vegetables, experts in The BMJ this week debate whether a sugar tax could help combat obesity.
Sponsored • Quality Control
Designing an appropriate QC procedure
Quality Control (QC) is a vital process for laboratories to monitor the accuracy and precision of patient sample testing. Without QC, laboratory errors could go undetected, potentially resulting in misdiagnosis and inappropriate or delayed treatment, all of which could be life threatening for the patient.
