Engineers have developed a prototype endoscope which they say could cut the cost of manufacture from £80,000 to just £40. The redesigned device has the potential to revolutionise cancer screening in low-to-middle income countries where the cost of equipment makes screening prohibitively expensive. The endoscope is designed to see inside the upper part of the digestive tract for signs of…
NHS organisations are entering into working partnerships with drug companies, but they are not making the details, and even existence, of many of these deals available to the public, reveals an investigation by The BMJ today. These partnerships are used to support a variety of initiatives, including several projects to review the medication of people with ADHD, and more than 20 projects that…
Carestream Health has signed an agreement with Royal Philips to sell its healthcare information systems (HCIS) business to Philips. This unit includes imaging IT solutions to multi-site hospitals, radiology services providers, imaging centers and specialty medical clinics around the world. The business has developed strong customer relationships in attractive, high-growth healthcare segments and…
Utz Tillmann, director-general of the German chemical industry association VCI, deplores the rejection of the Brexit agreement by the British Parliament: “This vote brings us close to a no-deal Brexit. I very much hope that even in the current heated atmosphere the British politicians will still find a way to prevent a worst case scenario. London and Brussels should remain in dialogue now.”…
Integrated healthcare provider Primary Health Care has joined forces with Siemens Healthineers to deploy more than 70 Atellica Solution immunoassay and clinical chemistry analyzers. This marks Siemens Healthineers largest contract for in vitro diagnostics testing in Australia, and one of its most robust sales of the Atellica Solution. The analyzers are integrated with Atellica Diagnostics IT…
Homecare in the Netherlands worsened. ‘The organisations grew bigger, involving more and expensive management,’ observed nurse Jos de Blok. ‘Registration procedures became unnecessarily complicated. I enjoyed my job when I started in 1986, but that feeling changed. I knew there should be an easier way, without managers and at a lower cost. So, in 2006, I began the Buurtzorg concept.’ This…
Brexit is bad for our health and can be prevented, argue experts in The BMJ today. Public health doctors, Mike Gill and Martin McKee, together with Mark Malloch Brown of Best for Britain and Fiona Godlee, The BMJ’s Editor in chief, say “whatever our views as individuals, or how we voted in the 2016 referendum, we can no longer escape the fact that Brexit in any form so far discussed is bad…
Nearly 70 percent of the U.S. adult population meets the definition of overweight or obese, but a new study by University of Arkansas researchers shows the problem isn’t randomly distributed across the country. Instead, obesity is concentrated in areas with social and demographic factors that create what researchers term an “ecology of disadvantage.”
Plans to bring together University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham - and Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which manages Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals, have been given the green light from the trusts’ respective Boards of Directors, with the decision cleared by both Councils of Governors. The enlarged…
As early detection and treatment of breast cancer improves, more and more women are surviving the disease. However, they still face challenges, which include determining the moment when it might be reasonable to state they are “cured” of the disease, and obtaining life insurance. “In the Netherlands, most applications for life insurance are accepted, but not for cancer survivors. A lot of…
High drug prices as well as the excessive use of imaging and surgical procedures, and excessive administrative burdens contribute the majority to America’s health care overspending compared to Europe, argues policy expert Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, chair of the department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in an editorial…
Laboratory networks are consolidating across the globe as they seek to deliver a more efficient and cost effective service. The latest developments on several continents were outlined at the FiLM 2018 – Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine congress held in Birmingham, UK in January. With consolidation viewed as a way to deliver economies of scale, it was a recurring theme at the congress with…
Drugs, alcohol and suicides are contributing to an alarming drop in US life expectancy, particularly among middle-aged white Americans and those living in rural communities, warn experts in The BMJ. They argue that the ideal of the “American Dream” is increasingly out of reach as social mobility declines, and fewer children face a better future than their parents.
Siemens Healthineers has appointed Dr. Deepak Nath as President of Laboratory Diagnostics effective February 1. Nath succeeds Franz Walt, who served from 2014-2017, and led the business during its launch of the Atellica Solution. Nath will continue the endeavor to transform care delivery in the laboratory by growing the business, leveraging his extensive operational experience in healthcare. He…
Canon Medical Systems Europe B.V. announces the change of ownership of DelftHold B.V. following its acquisition of the company from Canon Europa N.V.. The two companies will be able to build on current strengths and pursue excellent opportunities to expand product ranges, systems, technologies and services for the European market. “With over 70 years of experience, DelftHold has grown to be a…
FUJIFILM SonoSite is helping point of care ultrasound users to understand the total cost of imaging equipment ownership with a recently published article entitled Need to purchase imaging equipment? Consider all the costs of ownership. This concise report, written by FUJIFILM SonoSite’s Chief Operation Officer Rich Fabian, outlines the elements that make up the total cost of ownership (TCO) for…
Siemens Healthineers confirmed that it has completed its acquisition of Fast Track Diagnostics (FTD). The closing of the deal occurred on December 19, 2017, expanding the Siemens Healthineers molecular diagnostics portfolio and underscoring the company’s commitment to this designated growth area. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. FTD’s broad range of CE-marked infectious disease…
With cancer care costs projected to increase 32% from 2010 to 2020, researchers are working to determine the main drivers of costs for treating breast cancer. Breast cancer accounted for the highest proportion (13%) of the $124.6 billion in Medicare money spent on cancer care in 2010. In a study led by Ami Vyas, PhD, MS, MBA (currently at the University of Rhode Island) and published in the…
It is of grave concern that there has been no public consultation on government plans to enable accountable care organisations (ACOs) to operate in England, say experts in The BMJ. ACOs were conceived in the US in an effort to improve care and reduce growing health care costs. They involve government and private insurers awarding large contracts to commercial providers to run and provide…
During our European Hospital interview with specialist in microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology Beniam Ghebremedhin MD, from the University Hospital Wuppertal, spoke about the impact of migration on infections, and ways to tackle the problem of multiresistant pathogens. ‘There is a lack of specialists in infectious diseases, for direct patient care on hospital wards as well as in…
The movement to Value-Based Healthcare gives no value to diagnostic processes, including Radiology. ESR aims to establish a more holistic approach to help Europe’s single-payer systems shift to a new economic model. The organisers behind Value-Based Healthcare (VBH) are gaining ground in an effort to transition public and private payers toward value-based reimbursement.To date, the…
The first health economics data from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the Field – Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) was presented at ESC Congress 2017, organised by the European Society of Cardiology, in Barcelona, Spain.
A health authority in England has sparked a major debate within the NHS after suggesting that obese patients and smokers could be refused surgery to help save Money.
Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, announced it has signed an agreement to acquire TomTec Imaging Systems GmbH (TOMTEC), a leading provider of intelligent image analysis software, especially for diagnostic ultrasound.
The Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI) has become the first UK Life Sciences industry association to create a bespoke membership offering for international companies. The unique programme will help drive growth and investment in the UK.