A new definition for plastic surgery
Gathering in Austria, plastic surgeons proclaim the need for clarification and standards. Michael Krassnitzer reports
Laws & regulations
MIR 2011
It was not the sunshine of the Cote d’Azur in September that lured radiologists to picturesque Nice. Far more enticing was the stimulating programme offered by the Annual Scientific Meeting of Management in Radiology (MIR), which, for the first time, also included a Junior Radiologists Course.
EHFG 2011 - ‘There are too many unnecessary operations!’
Participants at European Health Forum Gastein 2011 (EHFG) agreed: the tendency in Germany and Austria is to operate far too soon (particularly for hip, knee and disc surgery), and many surgical interventions are unnecessary, posing a particular and increasingly urgent problem especially in industrialised countries. Hans-Christian Pruszinsky reports
The ‘sepsis team’
‘We are all aware of the importance of early diagnosis and rapid appropriate treatment of patients with severe sepsis. Yet, many patients still do not receive satisfactory early management and the application of recent guidelines for sepsis management is still inadequate,’ writes Jean-Louis Vincent MD PhD, from the Intensive Care Department, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles,…
Patients mobility is strong incentive for better quality of care
Patients and health care providers are increasingly crossing borders within the European Union to deliver or receive treatment. New EU regulations are trying to come to grips with what has long been recognised as a right of citizens to do so. Motivations vary among member states and social groups, but specialty treatment and speed of access are important factors. While cross border care is…
Call for action to meet special health needs of migrants
For reasons important to both EU citizens and migrants, greater efforts needed to be made to address the gap in quality health care that exists between the two groups, experts told the European Health Forum Gastein. Improvements would not only benefit Europe's newer arrivals but the well-being of Europeans in general.
Plugging the gaps in Europe?
Professionals back EU-wide action on cross-border health emergencies: A new cross-border Health Security initiative should refine EU preparations for, and response to, health crises ranging from terrorist attacks to SARS epidemics, experts reported at the European Health Forum Gastein. If Europe was to be serious about facing up to major threats a real change of mind-set was of the essence,…
Russia’s new healthcare legislation
The initial bill on The basic principles of healthcare for the citizens in the Russian Federation passed its first reading in the State Duma (the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. Upper house: Federation Council of Russia). The current healthcare legislation came into effect in 1993. Since then, much has changed in Russian society, writes EH correspondent Alla Astachova.
The European Health Forum Gastein
Founded in 1998, the European Health Forum Gastein (5-8 October, Salzburg, Austria) is Europe’s leading health political conference, attracting 600 participants from around 60 countries. Beyond the EU, its leading role is underlined by the participation of active members from the GUS states, south-eastern European countries and Taiwan, Christian Pruszinsky reports.
UK government topples the dinosaur
Led by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, the United Kingdom’s Labour government proudly launched its National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in 2002, a forward-looking plan with huge budget to match. The following year the nation was awed by something akin to a gold rush, as information technology companies scrambled to compete for and gain healthcare IT contracts from the £12 billion project.…
Diverse views, similar aims
The 1st European Hospital Conference (EHC) will see three important organisations face up to their differences in what promises to be a great debate: During our interview with Dr João de Deus, President of the European Association of Senior Hospital Physicians (AEMH), he pointed out that AEMH, the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE) and the European Association of Hospital…
The 1st European Hospital Conference
Visiting European healthcare professionals will be able to enter a strong debate on hospital-related politics as well as medical and economic issues at MEDICA this year when the 1st European Hospital Conference (EHC) will take place at 18th November alongside the 34th Congress of German Hospitals.
A real partnership, with older patients in a central role, is the way forward
Older patients and citizens should play a central role in the design and implementation of solutions for active and healthy ageing, in order to respect their rights and meet their needs. This was the strong message of the participants at the Conference “The Rights and Needs of Older Patients” organised by the European Patients’ Forum (EPF) and the Federation of Polish Patients (FPP).
Battling the bugs
In terms of health politics, no hospital-related subject is more explosive than hygiene. However, although this reaction is common across Europe, approaches towards tackling nosocomial infections varies among our EU countries. Karoline Laarmann reports from Germany and Jane MacDougall from France…
Germany to limit test strips prescriptions
Since the German Federal Ministry of Health did not oppose the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) decision to eliminate reimbursement for urine and blood sugar test strips for Type 2 diabetics not dependent on insulin from the services provided by statutory medical insurers, from this October test strips will only be prescribed in exceptional cases.
Medical devices are not scrutinised enough
United Kingdom – A call has been made for tighter regulatory controls to ensure the safety regulation of medical devices, following joint investigations carried out by the British Medical Journal and the Channel 4 TV programme Dispatches, which were televised and published online at BMJ.com this May.
Lab medicine is on the move, but where exactly is it going?
Facing the fundamental changes that laboratory medicine is undergoing, in early June Roche Diagnostics Deutschland GmbH invited 50 high-profile speakers to a six-day symposium to discuss current research, economic and diagnostic issues in lab medicine with a professional audience. Report: Karoline Laarmann
Diabesity surgery
Morbid obesity is a chronic, lifelong, multifactorial, constitutional disease with negative medical, psychological, physical, social and economic side-effects. Obesity-related secondary diseases are Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or sleep apnoea. Report: Holger Zorn
Sharper scrutiny on valve repair
One year ago interventional cardiologists raised champagne glasses to celebrate the first publication of clinical evidence showing that transcatheter valve implants (TAVI) is safe and effective. In May at EuroPCR 2011, cardiologists raised magnifying glasses to look closer at further clinical results. John Brosky reports from Paris
New EU medical device legislation
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for a single, co-ordinated European system to oversee the evaluation and approval of medical devices. The call is being made in a paper published online in the European Heart Journal reporting on a conference held by the ESC in January 2011 looking to increase the input of medical experts in developing medical device policy.
The British: 64% of are satisfied with the NHS
Public satisfaction with the National Health Service has reached record levels, according to Professor John Appleby, a leading health economist, writing on the British Medical Journal website. He was referring to the British Social Attitudes Survey, in which 64% of people declared they are either very or quite satisfied with the NHS – the highest satisfaction level since the very first survey…
Article • Artificial insemination
France: The country’s first ‘saviour sibling’ is a ‘double-hope baby’
The birth, in France, of its first baby to be conceived by artificial insemination on top of the selection of an embryo based on its blood, has sent new flames into the hot parliamentary debate over the reform of bioethics law.
Nurses need annual physical and psychological fitness tests
England – ‘Wheelchairs receive better care than nurses’; they need annual physical and psychological tests to ensure they can cope with job demands. The subject, discussed this April during the Annual Congress of the Royal College of Nursing, followed the publication (11/2010) of the Government’s NHS Health and Wellbeing Report (pub: 11/10).
New association launched to support Cross Border Healthcare in Europe
In February this year, the European Parliament approved the EU Directive on Cross-Border Healthcare, establishing a framework for patients to exploit their rights to healthcare in other European countries.
The EU Cross-border Directive
When the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Directive on Patients’ Rights in Cross-border Healthcare, Health Commissioner John Dalli, explained that this is an important step forward for all EU patients – i.e. by gaining easier access to good quality and reimbursed treatment across EU borders. Meanwhile, Europe’s healthcare systems will need to deliver ‘more for less’.
