Economy

Raising awareness of in vitro diagnosis values

Labs need to optimise their costs as well as accommodate increasing volumes – and new tests are continuously demanded.

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

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.

Put in the frame

It’s no secret that NHS procurement is more often than not a complex and slow process but Helen Parslow, director of business development EMEA at Harris Healthcare talks of her recent experiences and says that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Interoperability now comes to self-service kiosks in England’s NHS

The “Nicholson challenge" is a set of mandates put forth by the England’s NHS leader Sir David Nicholson. It aims at identifying, and tapping, efficiency potentials in the service.

Article • Great Britain

£250 million for innovative cancer treatment

A major new cutting edge radiotherapy treatment will be available in the UK thanks to £250 million of government funding to build two new facilities in Manchester and London, Public Health Minister Anna Soubry confirmed on August, 1.

Truth behind the thousands of “needless” deaths at NHS trusts

Statistics behind the headlines: Have there been 13,000 needless deaths at 14 NHS trusts?

EuroMedLab 2013

Milan, Italy – The 20th European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine certainly lived up to its claim as the EU’s largest event of its kind – 2,407 visitors and 4,786 delegates from 101 countries plus 82 exhibitors fanned out or arranged themselves over the event’s 3,500 square metres, Hanna Politis reports

China looks inward and outward

From the meetings between the Presidents of China and the USA came the slogan, ‘A new model of cooperation’. One item discussed was the proposed $4.6 billion purchase of a US pork producer by a Chinese company, which affirmed: ‘the acquisition won’t affect the quality of the bacon on stateside breakfast tables’.

LEAN workflow analysis

This year’s EuroMedLab and IFCC-EFLM Congress came at a time when all hospitals face ever-increasing healthcare costs, aging populations and patients and GPs demanding more complex and novel diagnostic tests.

Faster sample analysis for UK and EU hospitals

Run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new automated Medical Laboratory at the Northern General Hospital has drawn a previously fragmented service into a purpose-built centre.

Program May Hold Promise for Reducing Avoidable Hospital Readmissions

Recent federal legislation imposes financial penalties on hospitals that experience excessive patient readmissions within 30 days.

hospitals offers private services to boost income

Figure includes growing number of NHS hospitals offering patients the choice of a new private care option to “self fund” treatments at cut-price rates

News • Data Management

Health Information Exchange Systems are Critical to Integration of Healthcare Services

Health information technology providers must develop dynamic and easy-to-install information systems to dispel client concerns about interoperability and compatibility.

Breast tomosynthesis helps a small radiology centre to compete and grow

Dr Martínez Miravete didn’t set out to change breast imaging in Spain when she first adopted breast tomosynthesis.

Healthcare economics

Research using an analytical health economics model has suggested the current system of screening within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is only moderately likely to be cost effective.

Gastein 2013 on resilience and innovation

‘How can we make European healthcare systems resilient against crises and still remain innovative?’ asks Professor Helmut Brand, President of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), highlighting the core issues of this year’s agenda of the renowned event (2-4 October).

Patient Logistics Drive Hospital Construction

Until recently, hospitals were built the way they had been built through the centuries. Today, hospital design is shifting towards patient logistics, opening up totally new perspectives.

Space: US exams come down to earth

Remote US examinations is not science-fiction; they are now available for real-time diagnostics.

Diagnostic imaging service extended

Medical Equipment Solutions and Applications (MESA) and Euromedic International have agreed to extend their current diagnostic imaging service and maintenance partnership covering Euromedic’s Tier 1 (MRI, CT, PET-CT, Gamma Camera and Angio) and Tier 2 (mammography, ultrasound and other general X-ray) systems.

No systematic link between medtech innovation and increase in healthcare expenditure

MedTech Europe, the alliance of European Medical Technology Industry Associations, welcomes new research from the European Health Technology Institute (EHTI) confirming that there is no uniform relationship between medtech innovation and an increase in healthcare expenditure.

Barco and Ventana offer digital pathology imaging platform

Healthcare imaging expert Barco has signed a worldwide agreement with Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to provide its leading diagnostic and clinical review display systems for use with the Ventana Virtuoso image and workflow management system, offering a best-in-class, turnkey image viewing solution.