Economy

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EHFG

The programme for this year's European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) - its 10th gathering - covers a far broader range of topics than before. During over 20 plenary sessions, forums and workshops, with about 120 lectures, key topics that embrace European and the national health politics of EU member states will be presented and discussed by experts.

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A vicious cycle

Researcher have found that overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals lead to a failure of MRSA control programmes, which in turn results in increased inpatient hospital stay, bed blocking and further infection control failure.

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LIFE Nutrition founded

B. Braun Melsungen AG laid the foundation stone for a new manufacturing plant for production and development in nutrition solutions. The new production site includes a research lab and costs around 190 million Euro. In the future 270 employees will work on innovative denouements for the world market.

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German healthcare system: lack of transparency

The German healthcare system is designed for corruption, since the its organisation is delegated to statutory health insurers, physicians' associations, etc. which are all self-controlled, says Anke Martiny from Transparency Germany in an interview with EH online. In spite of a whistle blowing system that was established in 2004, it still needs more transparency.

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RFID technology may mess up medical equipment

Considered optimal transportation and identification tools, they have become a symbol for modern hospitals: RFID tags. But according to a new study radio frequency identification devices (RFID) may disrupt medical devices. Moreover, the FDA is concerned that the increase in digital technology might be dangerous for patients.

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Recast of the Medical Devices Directives is “not needed”

The European Medical Device Industry associations resist the European Commission's proposal to build up a centralized European agency for Medical Devices. The new authority is planned to regulate MD affairs, e.g. classification and pre-market approval of “highest risk” devices. According to the MD Industry, the concerns of the EU Commission can be addressed through improved implementation of…

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Re-inventing the hospital

Medical services About 90% of hospital income is generated in the 35 weekly working hours of regular day shifts. However, due to new work time regulations fewer and fewer physicians are available for these productive shifts and much of the work time is spent in the 133 working hours of the 'unproductive' night shifts.

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What makes bedsores tick?

According to a study by the German Aerospace Centre, bedsores are mainly induced by a combination of gravity and immobility. Gravity exerts skin pressure and tissue shearing stress, which in turn provoke pathological changes if patient mobility is not encouraged.

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Private medicine

Olga Ostrovskaya reports on the first St Petersburg medical forum Private medicine in Russia: Problems and ways of evolution, which took place in June. Organised by various medical associations, the main goal was to exchange experiences in private medicine and shape proposals to create a productive state policy in this sphere

Cancer care advances — but at what cost?

Although incremental improvements in cancer care were unveiled at the 44th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology held in Chicago, USA, — the world's largest gathering of cancer specialists, our correspondent Ian Mason writes that, even as new study results were being reported, their cost implications for stretched healthcare budgets were questioned.

Medi-Clinic steps into Europe

Last August, when the South African hospital group Medi-Clinic Corporation acquired Hirslanden, Switzerland's biggest private hospital group, the company not only took its first step into Europe, but progressed its strategy for the geographical expansion of its core business — acute medicine 'in conjunction with superior nursing care'.

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