Article • MEDICA 2013
Sustainable financing is a sine qua non
In Germany, policymakers are currently negotiating the cornerstones of a coalition which will impact all stakeholders in healthcare in the upcoming four years.
Article • MEDICA 2013
Two sides of the coin
A one-day course on Infection Prevention and Control (20 November. 9.30 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) will focus on a vital issue at the Medica Education Conference 2013.
French bio-terrorism network of labs
Born in the USA out of the anthrax scare that followed the 9/11 attacks, the formation of a network of laboratories kept on 24/7 alert against potential bio-terrorism was introduced in France at the end of 2001.
Dutch innovation reaches out at MEDICA
The Task Force Health Care (TFHC) was initiated in 1996 by the private sector; the Dutch government acts as a partner.
Despite population decrease, in 2020 cancer case will increase
In the country’s first scientific study to correlate the demographic changes and frequency of tumorous diseases, demographic changes have led scientists to forecast a significant increase in the number of cancerous diseases in coming years.
Responses to six misperceptions
Ageing populations, struggling healthcare systems, medical staff shortages, rising costs – all are well recognised. Thus telemedicine, dubbed the ‘gold rush of the 21st century’ earlier in the year by Jonathan D Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), is gaining momentum.
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.
A European home for emergency diagnostics
The rapidly growing importance of emergency radiology is underlined by the 10-15% annual increase in the number of emergency medicine scans performed in just the last few years. Clearly knowledge exchange in emergency radiology had become necessary.A European home for emergency diagnostics
Patient logistics drive hospital construction
Until recently, hospitals were constructed the way they had been built through centuries. Today, however, hospital design is shifting towards patient logistics, opening up very new perspectives.
ESC recommends implant-based remote monitoring
The highly-anticipated and positive results from the IN-TIME study of home monitoring technology were recently presented in a hotline session at this year’s European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress by coordinating investigator Professor Gerhard Hindricks MD, from the Heart Centre, University of Leipzig, Germany.
7.5% reduced funding for medical analysis laboratories
Despite on-going negotiations with the Government, the Union for Medical Biologists has received a nasty surprise that threatens up to 8,000 jobs in the sector.
Philips and Sectra renew PACS support agreement
Royal Philips Electronics and Sectra today announced an agreement to extend the term of their existing PACS support partnership agreement. This agreement allows Philips to provide continued support for Sectra PACS installations through 2020, and can be extended on a yearly basis thereafter.
Politicization of health care preventing real changes to out-of-control system
Over the last decade, the biggest driver of the high health care costs in the United States has been neither the aging of the population nor the large numbers of tests and treatments being prescribed.
Clostridium difficile infection
The realisation that the fight against C. difficile needs its own specific hygiene management dawned relatively recently. Up to the new millennium a common perception regarding European hospital infection prevention and control was that this bacterium was under control; it was considered a marginal phenomenon, which is why C. difficile was not the focus of problematic pathogen monitoring.
Medical displays
Considering ambient lighting conditions, quality assurance of medical displays requires new standards. As a result of the development in medical imaging over the past 20 years, digital medical imaging has replaced the conventional film imaging in most hospitals.
Smart med-tech radiates from the New North
Although traditionally exporting timber and machinery, today Finland has established itself as a producer of high-tech products. This includes innovative medical technology.
The economics of laboratory medicine
Over the past decade, laboratory medicine developed rapid, accurate tests that help in diagnoses, prognoses, treatments – and the overall theragnostics; but is it economical? This November, at the Journées Internationales de Biologie (JIB) meeting in Paris, that question will shape the medical economics session Medical biology: a key factor in the healthcare effectiveness, organised by the in…
Key medtech information platform celebrates anniversary
The development of this tradeshow embodies the transformation China has gone through during the past decades: from its inception in 1979, CMEF – the China International Medical Equipment Fair – has developed into the largest event for the medical technology and IVD sectors in China and indeed in the Far East.
New UK diagnostic imaging guidelines
United Kingdom – The Royal College of General Practitioners, Royal College of Radiologists and the Society and College of Radiographers have worked together on recommendations that outline improvements for patients by ensuring that timely and appropriate medical imaging services are provided to them and their referring doctors.
Mandatory tumour boards
The government of France takes cancer very seriously. With 150,000 deaths each year, this is the leading cause of mortality in the country. The national health system pays for 100% of the care.
Too many tumour boards?
Multidisciplinary tumour boards (MDTs) are widespread in the Netherlands, and ‘they tend to be proliferating lately,’ according to Professor Folkert van Kemenade, Chair of the Pathology department at the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam.
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.
UK’s hospitals find ways to boost income
This year a further one in six of England’s hospitals started to offer patients the choice of ‘self-funding’ for treatments and services that are subject to restrictions or long NHS waiting times. These include IVF treatment, cataract surgery, varicose veins, carpal tunnel syndrome therapy and hernia repair.
Global financial crisis linked to higher death rate
The current financial crisis is having a major impact on European economies, especially that of Spain. Past evidence suggests that adverse macro- economic conditions exacerbate mental illness, but evidence from the current crisis is limited.