Personalised medicine
Individually customised drug therapies have been used for the last two years, particularly for cancer patients
Laws & regulations
Article • Vaccination in Europe
Measles and whooping cough cases are on the rise
When country doctor Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand, little did he know that he had started a long lasting revolution in preventive medicine.
RAPS and Eucomed provide common online training
The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS), the largest global organization for regulatory professionals in the healthcare product sector, and Eucomed, the European medical technology industry association, have joined together to provide high-quality online regulatory training to professionals throughout Europe.
COCIR welcomes EU eHealth Action Plan 2012-2020
Rhe European Coordination Committee of the Radiological, Electromedical and Healthcare IT Industry (COCIR) congratulates the European Commission on its new eHealth Action Plan, entitled ‘Innovative healthcare for the 21st century’ as it provides a comprehensive roadmap for smart and sustainable healthcare in Europe.
European Parliament committee for continuing patient access to MRI
The Alliance for MRI welcomed action by a European Parliament committee on Thursday that guarantees continued patient access to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a critical tool for detecting and treating disease.
Physicians fail to disclose conflicts of interest on social media
As the use of Twitter and other social media by physicians and patients rises, more and more physicians seem to forget to do what many consider crucial for building doctor-patient trust: disclose potential conflicts of interest.
The needs of European hospitals are similar
Procedures, financing and cultural philosophies can shape the difference, Michael Reiter, Mark Nicholls, Eduardo de la Sota, Jane MacDougall report
National interests hamper EU cross-border research
Germany hopes for better research conditions as revision of the EU Clinical Trials Directive is nigh
Does Germany top Europe in unnecessary diagnostics
Statistics show significant increase in scans and left heart catheterisations, Susanne Werner reports
Acute hospital care in England could be on the verge of collapse
With growing bed shortages and increased demand on clinical services, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) says that the country’s National Health Service (NHS) is approaching the point where acute care cannot keep pace in its current form, Mark Nicholls reports
Defining Tomorrow’s Legislation on the Privacy
COCIR applauds the Commission’s courageous move to harmonise the EU’s legal framework on data protection through the adoption of a EU Regulation, as proposed earlier this year. COCIR has today published its position paper on the proposal.
Mobile technologies potential in the field of public health
Over the last few decades healthcare costs have been skyrocketing, something often discussed on this blog as it has become a considerable problem for many different countries.
China Medical Service Industry Development Summit 2012
Demand for health services in China is on the surge, and democracy pre-empts an upward trajectory.
Organ donation
Rumour had it for a while, and many found out when the bomb was finally dropped at, of all places, the Congress of the International Transplantation Society, held in Berlin this July – the waiting list for donor organs in the database of the Eurotransplant Foundation had been manipulated.
Gene Therapy in the EU
For the first time, a EU agency recommends a gene therapy drug for commercial release in Europe. The European Medicine's Agency announced in late July 2012 that its Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommends Glybera for commercial release in the European Union
No to Acta, yes to the right to health
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Anand Grover, praised the European Parliament’s rejection of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on July 4 as a step in the right direction to ensure continued access to affordable and essential drugs and medication essential for the fulfillment of the right to health
Integrate – from Day One
Integrated care in Europe is primarily offered in regional networks. An international symposium in Berlin showed that new forms of care require innovative ideas and a tenacious team, Susanne Werner reports
New law raises concerns for Germany’s out-patients
Under a new health delivery Act only seriously ill in-patients will receive out-patient treatment at the same hospital. The rest will have to go to a new ‘medical specialist service’. The new system can only cause problems say medical workers. Report: Susanne Werner.
Italy’s healthcare reform
Italian healthcare is still hitting the headlines. Although Prime Minister Mario Monti announced plans for healthcare reform at the end of 2011 – effectively cutting healthcare spend by €2.5 billion, as well as increasing the retirement age – the on-going exposure of hospitals and emergency care failures is drawing huge attention and has even prompted investigations by state prosecutors.…
Cuts in services for patients are difficult to justify when opportunities exist to improve hospital efficiency
There are many ways in which hospitals could improve efficiency and reduce the need for cutbacks in services for patients, according to a major review of hospital efficiency published today (Thursday) by the UK based health think tank Nuffield Trust.
Ranking healthcare systems worldwide
Does France provide the world’s best health service? How is a good healthcare system defined? Who decides that one healthcare system is better than another? What do we expect from a healthcare system? The answers depend on your perspective, says EH Paris Correspondent Jane MacDougall
Cause for concern: Diagnoses via teleradiology
Whilst the benefits of teleradiology as a diagnostic tool continue to grow, concerns have been raised about the lack of uniformity in reporting protocols across Europe. Mark Nicholls reports
Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology
Step by step, the Helsinki Declaration is being implemented: Great Britain and the Netherlands have made it law. In Germany, it is voluntary. Report: Susanne Werner
The first European Hospital Conference
Directed by the Gesellschaft Deutscher Krankenhaustag (GDK) the EHC will open with an examination of and debate on the current European health policy and the impact of the EU patients’ rights directive. Passed by the European Council of Ministers in February, these guidelines envisage patients having cross-border access to healthcare services, inclusive of a free choice of doctors and…
Radiology in Poland - a constantly developing field
In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Professor Jerzy Walecki explained the implications of that role and the state of radiology in Poland today.
