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.
New Solutions for Imaging, IVD, and Therapy
The healthcare sector is still booming in China: improved access to care remains high on the agenda of the Chinese national government, attracting domestic and international offerings.
Technological Innovation Widens Application of Mass Spectrometry
Double-digit growth in Asia-Pacific and emerging markets to offset stagnation in US and Europe.
Samsung BioLogics Signs a Strategic Manufacturing Partnership with Roche
Samsung BioLogics today announced that Samsung BioLogics and F. Hoffmann-La Roche have entered into a long term strategic manufacturing agreement under which Samsung will manufacture Roche's proprietary commercial biologic medicines at its two manufacturing facilities in Incheon, South Korea, of which one is currently under construction.
European Parliament improves committee report
Plenary session endorsed essential measures that strengthen patient safety and improved the approaches on the approval system. The vote still leaves significant questions regarding the safety level for re-processing of medical devices.
Hospital mortality figures should be calculated differently
The mortality figures as they are currently calculated for Dutch hospitals are not a good measure for the quality of the health care they provide.
COMPAMED 2013
Medical technologies have maintained a leading position in European patent registrations for 15 years.
Rushed deal leaves patients and jobs in second place
Eucomed, the European medical technology industry association, expresses disappointment and strong concern at the outcome of a vote in the European Parliament’s Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).
Chronic disease
There is a global shortage of doctors that is getting worse every year. With the demographic shift in many countries from a predominantly young to an increasing aging population, a steep increase in chronic disease is occurring.
A burden of € 17.5 billion for unnecessary measures
The results of a survey amongst medical device companies in Europe about the financial impact of the upcoming changes in the European medical device regulation show a significant increase in costs for bringing new devices to patients.
Demand for Rapid Results, Non-invasive Methods and Automated Monitoring
Frost & Sullivan is carefully tracking the transforming global point-of-care testing (POCT) market, offering latest information on key opportunities and critical unmet needs by region
Hospital in a lab
The new Hospital Engineering Lab in Duisburg, Germany, which was officially opened in July by Barbara Steffens, Health Minister for the German federal state, is a project of four Fraunhofer Institutes.
Article • Focus: Healthcare Mobility
France: Immigrant medics steadily increase
The number of medical practitioners in France is 216,000, among which 17,835 were trained elsewhere, representing almost 10% of the total, according to the Centre National de l’Ordre des Médecins (CNOM), which registers doctors in practice.
News • Healthcare Mobility
Spanish doctors and nurses emigrate for work
From January 2008 till the end of 2012 around 400,000 Spaniards decided to emigrate to find work, Eduardo de la Sota reports
Interview • Focus: Healthcare Mobility
The dark side of healthcare mobility
Professional mobility has always been high on the EU agenda. But what are the impacts on the medical sector, if physicians and nurses leave their countries en masse? Daniela Zimmermann asked Günter Danner, Associate Director of the European Representation of the German Social Insurance in Brussels
CoreValve banned, Edwards assures valve implants for German patients
An injunction against the sale of Medtronic's CoreValve and CoreValve Evolut systems in Germany went into effect as Edwards Lifesciences posted the bond required the District Court of Mannheim.
Goodbye to needlestick injuries
All hospital professions can be affected by injuries resulting from cuts and needlesticks, whether they are doctors, nurses or cleaners.
UK: Multidisciplinary teamwork will stay
With the effectiveness of ‘tumour board review’ in the USA questioned in a 2012 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mark Nicholls sought the opinion of UK-based consultant urological surgeon Ben Challacombe
Combating surgical infection risks
Shocking: Air quality checks are infrequent and insufficient in operating theatres. The good news: a new device can now measure pathogens circulating during surgical procedures, John Brosky reports
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.
Hygiene: Back to basics
Two statements from publications by Dr Stephanie Dancer, Department of Microbiology, Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride (UK) prompted Ralf Mateblowski to interview Professor Markus Dettenkofer, Acting Director of the Institute for Environmental Medicine and Hospital Hygiene, Freiburg University Medical Centre about environmental and infection control