News • Ebola-Protection

Protect Our Nurses! - ICN calls for greater support for frontline healthcare workers

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) reissued its call for increased support of and safer working environments for nurses and other healthcare workers on the frontlines of healthcare. The call follows a preliminary report issued by the World Health Organization which states that of the 815 healthcare workers who have been infected by the Ebola virus since the onset of the epidemic, more…

News • World Health Assembly

DITTA calls for action on NCDs and paediatric imaging safety

DITTA, the Global Diagnostic Imaging, Healthcare IT and Radiation Therapy Trade Association is, for the first time, attending the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Sixty­‐Eighth World Health Assembly (WHA) from 18-26 May 2015 since DITTA granted the status of NGO in official relationship with WHO.

Engineering bacteria to design vaccines

The EU-funded MycoSynVac project combines gene engineering and biotechnology to design a novel veterinary vaccine chassis based on the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Sponsored • Powerful partnership

Driving proton and carbon therapy worldwide

A global collaboration to expand access to advanced particle therapy worldwide was agreed this April between Belgian firm IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) and the Toshiba Corporation.

News • Donation

Henry Schein supports Nepal earthquake relief efforts

Henry Schein, a provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, announced today the Company's commitment of $500,000 in product donations to support relief efforts for victims of the devastating earthquake in Nepal. In addition, the Company has opened the Henry Schein Cares Nepal Disaster Relief Fund through the Henry Schein Cares…

Article • Cardiology III

Restrictive ruling on cardiac procedure

In the future, TAVIs can only be carried out in German hospitals with cardiac surgery departments and cardiac wards, as decided by the German Government’s Expert Panel on Health (G-BA) last January. An interim arrangement in force until 2016 is anticipated for Heart Centres that currently carry out the TAVI procedure without cardiac surgery departments on site. The Federal Ministry of Health is…

Article • Neuroradiology

More freedom, more responsibility

She is a neuroradiologist, professor, researcher and now the Medical Director of the Department of Neuroradiology at Dresden University Hospital. Her objectives are ambitious – be it in patient care, research or teaching. Professor Jennifer Linn MD wants to increase the quality of care, drive breakthroughs in research, ignite enthusiasm in students for their future profession and last, but not…

Article • Management I

Successful TopSharing

In the late 1990s, management consultant Julia K Kuark and Swiss communication consultant Hans Ulrich Locher coined the term ‘TopSharing’ – as in job-sharing but, in this case, to describe splitting a senior management role. In Germany, Dr Ulrike Ley, who coaches female doctors, considers the TopSharing model, expanded over a decade by Kuark, is a valid management model for hospitals.…

Article • KIMES 2015

The Far East’s highly international event

KIMES, Korea’s leading medical and hospital equipment exhibition, continues to expand internationally, shown this year in the larger number of visitors from the greater Asia-Pacific region as well as buyers from, for example, far off India. Europe and the USA drive that continuing development. Exhibitors also reflect internationalisation – for example a first-time German pavilion presented 12…

Article • Nosocomial infections

Hygiene begins between the ears

"Infection prevention and control is a matter of awareness and continuous education," says Dr Ernst Tabori, Medical Director of the German Consulting Centre for Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control (BZH), at the University Hospital Freiburg, specialises in building hygiene in hospitals and outpatient healthcare facilities, as well as surgical units. Report: Anja Behringer

Article • Excellence Award

ESCMID honours Médecins Sans Frontières

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) today issued a special excellence award for outstanding achievement to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The award was bestowed in Copenhagen at ESCMID’s annual congress, on behalf of all its members, in light of the charity’s huge contribution to global health over the last 40-years, and in special recognition of…

Article • Hygiene

Meet Mr Clean Hand

They call him Mr Clean Hand. Professor Didier Pittet MD, Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève and Head of the Clean Care is Safer Care programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO), is known as the ‘Father of Modern Hand Hygiene’. Report: Michael Krassnitzer

Article • IVD regulations

'We will need a lot more regulators'

The proposed EU draft IVD regulation looks set to have major implications for IVD manufacturers and laboratory-developed tests (LDTs). Replacing a current system that is inflexible, unresponsive and does not effectively protect patients, the new regulation will apply directly to all 28 EU countries and govern the manufacture and marketing of in vitro diagnostic devices (IVDs).

Article • DRUG resistance

Cut prescriptions and choose treatments wisely!

Prescribing antibiotics for a viral infection with fever, a cold and a cough? There is no point! This is the best-known example of over-use in medicine. There are also numerous examples of diagnostic procedures and therapies that are pointless, yet still being doled out in surgeries and hospitals – sometimes even harming a patient. This is set to change, according to the German Society of…

Article • Patient Safety

Expert highlights hospitals vulnerability to hacks

Is your network safe? This loaded question made delegates shiver during Inforsalud 2015, the annual meeting of the Spanish Health Informatics Society, which was held Feb 17 - 18 in Madrid. Report: Mélisande Rouger

Bio-Rad Laboratories and Beckman Coulter expands cooperation

Bio-Rad Laboratories, a global provider of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, announced that Bio-Rad is extending its agreement with Beckman Coulter and has named the company exclusive global distributor of Bio-Rad's Access HIV combo assay and the Access hepatitis C virus (HCV) assay in select geographies.

News • ECCMID 2015

Curetis launches next-generation pneumonia application

Curetis AG, a developer of next-level molecular diagnostic solutions, announced the successful completion of the clinical and analytical CE performance evaluation of its next-generation Unyvero P55 Pneumonia Application. The upgraded cartridge will launch at the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID, April 25 – 28, 2015 in Copenhagen, Denmark) and is…

News • HIMSS

26th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey Infographic

Key findings from the 26th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey are summarized in the report infographic.

News • New guidance

Contact precautions for hospital visitors

Leading infectious diseases experts have released new guidance for healthcare facilities looking to establish precautions for visitors of patients with infectious diseases. The guidance looks to reduce the potential for healthcare visitors in spreading dangerous bacteria within the healthcare facility and community. The recommendations are published online in Infection Control & Hospital…

News • Clostridium difficile

Evidence supports success of fecal transplants in treatment

Research published in the open access journal Microbiome offers new evidence for the success of fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) in treating severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a growing problem worldwide that leads to thousands of fatalities every year.

Safe return to base decontamination process with Bioquell

Protection of employees handling patient-exposed medical and diagnostic equipment returned for servicing/refurbishment is highlighted in two online case studies from leading decontamination expert, Bioquell.

News • Cooperation

Strategic alliance between Agfa HealthCare and Hitachi Medical Systems

Agfa HealthCare announced that it has entered into a sales and marketing agreement with Hitachi Medical Systems America, Inc. (Hitachi) whereby Hitachi will promote Agfa HealthCare's complete portfolio of Direct Radiography (DR) and Computed Radiography (CR) solutions to its large and growing community of MRI and CT customers in the United States, including hospitals, imaging centers and…

News • ECCMID

Scientists gather to fight infectious diseases

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) announces that the globe’s most prominent infection specialists will be gathering in Copenhagen to explore solutions to the biggest infection problems during its annual congress – the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) taking place on 25-28 April 2015.

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.

News • Standards of clinical evidence

MedTech: New EU think-tank

The joint European Forum for Good Clinical Practice (EFGCP) and MedTech Europe Working Party announced the launch of its Workshop Report and resulting “Roadmap for Medical Device Development in Europe” on March 13th 2015.