International Medical Tourism Conference
Sanigest Europe s.r.o., an international healthcare and management consulting company, has organised a two-day international conference to discuss the rapidly growing development of Medical Tourism.
Where abortion isn't illegal, it should be safe and accessible
Each year about 46 million women in the world decide to have an abortion because of unwanted pregnancy. Half of them have no other choice but to access unsafe abortions, leading to the death of worldwide 70,000 women every year - including Europe. At least in areas where abortion is not illegal, this disgrace can be abolished by the access to safe abortions.
Cold and Flu Etiquette
Do you remember your mother saying “cover your mouth when you cough”? Probably you do, because this exhortation accompanies the whole childhood. Maybe it is a kind of protest then, that in adulthood this simple rule is not followed by many. The British Department of Health now started a new campaign “Coughs and Sneezes spread Diseases” and calls for a better cold behaviour.
New Highly Skilled Migrant Programme might lead to NHS staffing crisis
A High Court ruling recently backed the government´s changes to the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in the UK. The changes regarding a new points system will make it more difficult for foreign employees to work in the UK. Doctors already working in the UK claiming the changes will force them to leave.
Company Round-up
Siemens Medical Solutions strengthens its diagnostics devision, J&J wins stent patent appeal over Boston Scientific and Medtronic, Leica extends its product range and GE Healthcare cooperates with Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich as a reference center and strategic partner in developing cell-based assay modes.
“Outlook for the future on healthcare in Europe”
During the course of the EU Council Presidency, Germany is setting a special focus on the health policy with the priorities prevention, innovation and access to health services. The latter was the first topic discussed by European experts from politics, research and health insurances during the conference “The social dimension in the Internal Market — Outlook for the future of healthcare in…
High-tech engineering ensures instrument decontamination
The new single door PG 8527 and two door PG 8528 large-cabinet decontamination units for instrument reprocessing (on sale from March 2007) adapt easily to changing workloads in hospital CSSD units and a variety of other needs, their manufacturer Miele reports. Both units use either the firm's new OxiVario or OrthoVario disinfection programmes.
News • Anaesthesiology
Training for airway management
The recently formed company Trucorp, a spin out from the anaesthetics department in Queen's University Belfast, aims to research, develop and manufacture innovative systems for medical skills training and competency assessment.
Simplifying precise urinalysis
Sysmex urine fluorescence flow cytometers offer a wide variety of clinical benefits to the user, including determination of WBC, bacteria and yeasts to exclude urinary tract infections and/or inflammations very quickly.
News • Nosocomial infections
Study finds stainless steel beats plastic in combating bacteria
Nosocomial infections are all too common in our hospitals. For example, in Germany alone (according to the German Company for Hospital Hygiene - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Krankenhaushygiene), each year 40,000 patients contract bacterial infections, some fatal.
Philips Speech Recognition Systems acquires Kuhlmann-Informations-Systeme
Philips Speech Recognition Systems has acquired Kuhlmann-Informations-Systeme (KIS), a provider of dictation and speech recognition solutions for healthcare.
Dutch doctors close to burn-out
A recent survey of more than 2,000 trainee hospital doctors in the Netherlands has revealed that many are close to burn-out.
Help for the helpers
Healthcare systems in Africa are facing a huge threat in their fight against AIDS - an increasing shortfall of nursing staff. Workers are either infected themselves or can no longer cope with the daily fight against the disease. Despite this, there is hope - the first wellness centre for healthcare workers, which provides medical and psychological help to nursing staff and their families, was…
Helios introduces new generation of quality indicators
The Helios group of hospitals recently introduced a new scheme for a unified, comparable set of indicators to describe the most important services and quality parameters in hospitals. The model is a trend-setting step towards greater transparency - with less administrative effort.
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.
An end to out-sourcing?
As MRSA affects about 300,000 patients and costs UK £1 billion annually, the country's public services union demands the return of in-house cleaners. Report: Peter Howieson
Advancing world hygiene standards
TopLine, the new range of bedpan washers/disinfectors from Meiko set new standards.
Water purity for dialysis patients
UK - Dialysis patients are exposed to 50 times more mains water than well people. The new 33-bed renal dialysis ward at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, uses at least 1,000 litres of water per hour from the mains water supply. To ensure constant flow - and water purity for patients - the ward has installed a water treatment system
Digital speech processing from Grundig Business Systems
One of world's leading manufacturers of professional dictation systems, Grundig Business Systems, has launched a new mobile dictation machine — the Digta 415.
TB - Tuberculosis
Discovery of cell receptor CCR5 might help tackle TB.
A sublime strategy for holistic diagnoses
Professor Erich Reinhardt (below), President and CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions and member of the Board of Management of Siemens AG, discusses the company's current and future strategies.
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
RSNA/US launch for EU healthcare consultancy
Launched in 2005, and introduced to a broader healthcare public at the 2006 European Congress of Radiology (ECR), Agfa Healthcare Consulting is now to be introduced to potential customers beyond Europe - at this year's RSNA in Chicago.
Preventing hypothermia
A new, compact, fully portable Patient Warming System, is '..the most efficient, non-invasive method of temperature control currently available'
PNEUMONIA
It kills more children than any other illness. According to UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) that includes AIDS, malaria and measles combined - yet pneumonia remains a forgotten disease. A report published by the two organisations aims to provoke action to reduce child mortality from pneumonia.
