The rush to Russia's booming med-tech market
As one of the biggest foreign companies, GE Healthcare has about 200 employees in cities across Russia and, up to now, has supplied around 5,100 units to over 2,900 medical institutions.
Economy
Highlights of the Iranian Society of Radiology
In the 30 years since the overthrow of its last Shah (1979) Iranian radiologists have been welcome speakers and research presenters at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR).
Lean principles applied in path labs
Lean Laboratory and Lean Automation are vital ingredients for the efficient and productive running of today's modern pathology laboratories. Automation serves as an essential endorsement to Lean, says Paul M Button, Senior Consultant at ValuMetrix, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics*
European ministers sign charter against inequity in health systems
It was a tough project but in the end the ministers of health of 53 countries - the WHO European Region - agreed on a groundbreaking paper on healthcare, committing themselves to concrete actions to fight the fact that many people have no easy and affordable access to quality healthcare. They will strengthen a system that will allow both their own people and the international community to hold…
NHS cancer care gets massively financed by donations
When it comes to children's cancer care, the National Health Service counts on the concern of others, critics say. In their opinion the Britisch NHS tries to compense financial deficits by falling back on charity support. This could lead to large inequalities between different disease treatments and to over-reliances on local donations and social work.
Surgical disposables boom in Central and Eastern Europe
New analyses from Frost & Sullivan, Central and Eastern European Surgical Disposables Markets, finds that the market generated revenues of $35.1 million in 2007 and estimates this to nearly triple by 2014 to reach $101.5 million.
TI: Corruption and fraud in the German healthcare system
The German chapter of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International had another close look at the German healthcare system. And it didn't like what it found: In an updated policy paper, member of the board of directors Anke Martiny, deplores that "huge amounts of money belonging to the insured are lost" due to lack of transparency, to corruption and fraud.
Private medicine - A Russian evolution
The development of private medicine in Russia has reached a new level, according to Sergej Anoufriev, CEO of the St Petersburg Association of Clinics (set up by 13 private clinics two years ago). Private clinics have become a real part of the Russian healthcare system and people increasingly choose private medical services. However, the state and private organisations solve the same problems…
Gaining ground: Modern financing instruments for hospitals
Cars, cranes, IT - leasing has become a very popular method of financing. And it is about to conquer the ICUs, ORs and imaging departments of hospitals and clinics. According to the association of German leasing companies (Bundesverband Deutscher Leasing-Unternehmen e.V.), in 2005 the leasing volume for medical technology increased by 20 percent compared to the prior year.
SCHILLER group acquires Medilog
On 1st May, Medilog became part of the SCHILLER group. Medilog will be SCHILLER's high-end Holter system. Medilog's additional products are an ideal complement to SCHILLER's present product range. The SCHILLER group very much looks forward to the coming co-operation.
Leica Microsystems acquires Coretech Holdings Scientific
Leica Microsystems announced in May it acquired the assets of St. Louis, Missouri-based Coretech Holdings and McCormick Scientific, LLC (Coretech), expanding its leading position in histopathology. Coretech provides an extensive range of systems, instruments, reagents and consumables for the clinical and research histology laboratory.
Private investments spurred medical imaging equipment in Eastern Europe
The public health sector in Eastern Europe is moving from a erratic and unpredictable system in a favourable environment for private investors. In particular hospitals use private financers to invest in medical imaging equipment - and therefore improve the outlook for medical imaging markets, according to a new analysis from Frost & Sullivan.
Philips to acquire Tomcat Systems
Royal Philips Electronics recently announced it will acquire TOMCAT Systems Ltd., based in Northern Ireland. Terms of this acquisition were not disclosed. TOMCAT offers a software solution to collect and aggregate data relative to the cardiac care of patients, and allows for a comprehensive, patient-centric presentation of this data to care givers such as doctors and nurses.
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Following 12 years of development, German surgeons and technicians have successfully implanted the world's first vision prosthesis in six blind patients.
Strengthening portfolios and customer relationships
After Agfa split its core business units to form three legal entities under the Agfa-Gevaert Group, in January this year, Christian Reinaudo became President of Agfa HealthCare. Speaking with European Hospital representative Gabriela Eriksen, he explained the implications of the business split and future aims for the division he now heads.
AZ Sint-Jan AV Hospital in Bruges adapts to the new IMPAX Cardiovascular Suite
Among its many specialties, the 909-bed AZ Sint-Jan AV Hospital in Bruges, Belgium, has a high level of expertise in cardiac catheterisations and electrophysiology.
Cardiology 'must be evidence-based' says ACC
Ian Mason reports from Chicago
TopClinica
The TopClinica, an international trade fair and congress focused on medical equipment and solutions is a new event on the calendar.
The modern laboratory information and management system
Germany - Managing a lab for out- and in-patient care involves not only mastering increasing pressures in terms of efficiency and cost-optimisation, but also being au courant with ever evolving clinical issues and state-of-the-art lab technology and procedures.
The global Research and Development Centre for Life Science
Olympus, which recently opened the global Research and Development Centre for Life Science in Munich, will invest around euro 15m in this project.
International consolidation
Although much has been done in the last three or four months, iSoft needs to become a stronger global organisation, Gary Cohen emphasised.
Re-inventing the hospital
Over the past few years, hospitals in Germany have been faced with ever new challenges. However, the solutions offered so far are not sufficient. On the contrary - rather than solving problems, they tend to create new ones. A change of paradigm in the organisation of hospitals is imminent and hospitals have to change radically, argues Holger Richter
Vienna: New IT system reduces surgery waiting times
Approximately 150,000 surgical interventions are performed every year in the hospitals of Vienna. Efficient coordination of OR schedules in the individual clinics as well as the reduction of patient waiting times are therefore crucial objectives in successful hospital management.
conhIT: The future place to be for healthcare IT providers?
From 2004 to 2007 VHitG (Verband der Hersteller von IT-Systemen im Gesundheitswesen) and Messe Frankfurt jointly organised ITeG (IT-Messe und Dialog im Gesundheitswesen). When VhitG moved the event to Berlin, this cooperation ended and Messe Berlin came on board as new partner for what is now called conhIT. The organisation team headed by Jens Naumann, VhitG chairman, developed an entirely new…
Outsourcing, co-operation or centralisation
The complete takeover of hospital laboratories through private laboratory service providers is rapidly changing the nature of German laboratories. Taking a closer look at these developments, it becomes apparent that several trends are developing.