Health services research
The German Medical Association aims to evaluate the use of guidelines, the influence of drug companies on studies, the impact of economisation on staff and patients, and ultimately to assess the realities of medical care.
Laws & regulations
Do we need integrated care planning?
In October 2009 this question was posed to German, Swiss, Austrian and northern Italian experts at the European Health Congress. Speaking with Karoline Laarmann, Professor Günter Neubauer, Scientific Director of the European Health Congress, summarised the key features of good medical care and the different care models used in their four countries.
Booking a 2010 holiday?
During a 2nd conference in Germany to focus specifically on medical tourism, about a 100 physicians and representatives from the country’s Department of Economics, University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, met in Sankt Augustin to discuss ways to augment their country’s healthcare attractions for international patients, particularly from the Arab and Russian regions.
The future of MRI in Europe - Safetey yes, exposure limits no
The Alliance for MRI aims to ensure that the threat posed by the EU Physical Agents 2004/40/EC (EMF) to the future of MR is averted and that patients in Europe will not be precluded from state-of-the-art healthcare services. In early 2010 the European Parliament and Council will be sent a proposal from the European Commission to amend Directive 2004/40/EC on electromagnetic fields. This revision…
ESR - a major stakeholder in EU health policies
EU legislation could have a huge impact on medical imaging and healthcare, and the European Society of Radiology (ESR) is playing a key role in safeguarding radiologists and patients' interests. By closely monitoring EU affairs and establishing contacts with relevant institutions, as well as consulting and public affairs agencies, the ESR tries to draw the attention of relevant stakeholders and…
Smoking bans have lowered AMI rates
Strongly enforced legislation to restrict smoking produces rapid and substantial reductions in community rates of heart attack, according to a meta-analysis published in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association.
IT and Telemedicine - Healthcare crosses international borders
Don’t forget – Friday will be an important day for discussions on cross-border healthcare, travel medicine and growing liaisons with India, all subjects highlighted in special sessions at Medica Media.
Obama plans to digitise medical records within five years
The healthcare sector has been surprisingly slow in adopting information technology when compared to other industry sectors. In the United States, health information technology (HIT) is now being considered by many involved in the re-organisation and improvement of the quality of healthcare as a powerful tool with the dual potential to save lives and reduce healthcare costs.
Inequalitites: The public health puzzle
Bettina Döbereiner continues her reports on theories, policy strategies and current projects aired in the Berlin conference Reducing Health Inequalities. What do we really know about successful strategies?
Experts fear for Europe’s medical engineering
When over 3,000 international experts gathered at the World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Munich, Germany to evaluate future trends, they heard that Asia is showing major gains in medical engineering — a field in which computer sciences are a key innovation driver – but that Europe is on the way to innovation leadership in telemedicine and e-health.
Inequalities: The public health puzzle
Bettina Döbereiner reports on theories, policy strategies and current projects aired in the Berlin conference Reducing Health Inequalities. What do we really know about successful strategies?
Russia switches from high-tech medical centres to health centres
Two years ago, "The Health", a national project, began by wanting new high-tech medical centres in various parts of the country, with 15 new hospitals to be built for cardiosurgery, orthopaedics and oncology. Only five have been built. The government has decided to switch the focus of the project to preventive medicine and to create health centres for this purpose
MRI Alert!
The scanner shortage in France is a scandal, says chairman of the French Society of Radiology. New MRIs must be installed in 250 emergency departments
Making public hospitals more attractive for practitioners
Following fierce parliamentary debates last spring, the newly enacted law on Hospital reform is beginning to show concrete moves. One of these is to modify the remuneration system for doctors, in order to reinforce the attractiveness of public hospitals, which are suffering recruitment difficulties.
The 2009 Organ Donation Congress
In 2008, EU organ transplants totalled 27,809, but, as of 31 December 2008, patients still on waiting lists numbered 63,283 and 3,812 of them died on that list. During 5th World Day and 11th European Day of Organ Donation held in Berlin this October, experts and patients from all over the world met to raise public awareness that, despite international transplants progress and successes, and…
Safeguarding the future of MRI
Europe holds a leading position in the research and development of MRI, which has been used for over 25 years, imaging up to 500 million patients without evidence of harm to workers due to EMF exposure. It is also well known that MRI is free from health risks associated with ionising radiation such as X-rays, in many situations the alternative to MRI
Arzt mit Familie - (k)ein Widerspruch?
Der Frauenanteil im Medizinstudium hat mittlerweile die magische Grenze von 60% überschritten. Allerdings bleiben ca. ¼ aller Akademikerinnen kinderlos. Dennoch wird die Frage der Vereinbarkeit von Ärztinnenberuf und Familie zunehmend zur alltäglichen Managementherausforderung im Krankenhaus. Gleichzeitig sind so genannte Vereinbarkeitsfaktoren wichtige Attraktoren bei der…
Co-ordinated policies to tackle cancer
Cancer is a major cause of ill health within the EU, yet co-ordinated attempts to tackle it have been thin on the ground until now. At a dinner workshop at the European Health Forum Gastein*, speakers from the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), set out their plans to tackle this anomaly and to promote collaborative action between all players in the field of oncology - patients, scientists,…
Cancer: Holistic approach is needed
Europe is facing the challenge of an expected dramatic increase in the prevalence of cancer that could reach 15 million Europeans by 2020. Health systems will require the promotion of innovative funding and a rethink in regulation, according to a new study released today at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), the European Union's leading health policy congress for experts and…
Crisis threatens access to health and social services
According to leading economists, the current crises will hit the private sector heavily in 2010. Especially housholds in countries with poor social security networks will be affected heavily and are facing the danger of poverty. For healthcare systems this means an extra challenge additional to the burden of the demographic change. So the global economic crisis poses a massive threat to the…
Investing in medical progress
Talking about medical innovations, new drugs, techniques and technologies are the first things that come to mind, whereas new indications for existing pharmaceuticals, especially biological medicines, play a minor role.
Advancing growth in the European HIS market
Although most European hospitals have some kind of information system in place, very few have a fully integrated and functional hospital information systems (HIS) solution installed. Increasing accountability pressures on the government and regulatory authorities to garner more investments into healthcare IT adoption is boosting the HIS market potential.
Article • Personnel matters
Nurse migrations
Training healthcare personnel is not cheap; losing these human resources to other countries can prove even more costly. Where and why are nurses on the move?
US healthcare
Karen Dente reports on a feverish summer for reformers
Nurses call for drastic action on binge drinking
Responding to the publication of the Public Accounts Committee report, Reducing Alcohol Harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse, Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), renews the call for tighter alcohol regulation. "Nurses have said time and time again that the Government must take drastic action to stop this dire situation spiralling out of control,"…
