New chip makes testing for antibiotic-resistant bacteria faster
Researchers at the University of Toronto design diagnostic chip to reduce testing time from days to one hour, allowing doctors to pick the right antibiotic the first time.
Hospital
Test could identify resistant tuberculosis faster
The time needed to genetically sequence the bacteria causing tuberculosis (Mtb) from patient samples has been reduced from weeks to days using a new technique developed by a team at University College London (UCL). This could help health service providers to better treat disease, control transmission of this infection, and monitor outbreaks.
Article • OR goes digital
The entrance of PACS-Surgery
Picture Archiving and Communications systems (PACS) are well established for managing radiology images. Could this robust and mature technology now become the backbone for creating the digital operating theatre? Report: John Brosky
Article • Management I
Successful TopSharing
In the late 1990s, management consultant Julia K Kuark and Swiss communication consultant Hans Ulrich Locher coined the term ‘TopSharing’ – as in job-sharing but, in this case, to describe splitting a senior management role. In Germany, Dr Ulrike Ley, who coaches female doctors, considers the TopSharing model, expanded over a decade by Kuark, is a valid management model for hospitals.…
Article • KIMES 2015
The Far East’s highly international event
KIMES, Korea’s leading medical and hospital equipment exhibition, continues to expand internationally, shown this year in the larger number of visitors from the greater Asia-Pacific region as well as buyers from, for example, far off India. Europe and the USA drive that continuing development. Exhibitors also reflect internationalisation – for example a first-time German pavilion presented 12…
Article • Nosocomial infections I
Microbes vs. viruses
In European acute care hospitals, on any given day, an estimated 80,000 patients – roughly six percent of all patients – receive antimicrobial treatment to fight a healthcare associated infection (HAI), according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Report: Walter Depner
Interview • Connected Care
Improving medication adherence via a patient-centric platform
Dr Stefan Becker, a trained medical doctor with an M.B.A. degree, works as a senior nephrologist and transplant officer at Essen University Hospital and manages its Institute for Drug Safety. In an interview he spoke about his involvement in e-health projects in the field of connected care that he carries out with interdisciplinary teams, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and…
News • New guidance
Contact precautions for hospital visitors
Leading infectious diseases experts have released new guidance for healthcare facilities looking to establish precautions for visitors of patients with infectious diseases. The guidance looks to reduce the potential for healthcare visitors in spreading dangerous bacteria within the healthcare facility and community. The recommendations are published online in Infection Control & Hospital…
News • Clostridium difficile
Evidence supports success of fecal transplants in treatment
Research published in the open access journal Microbiome offers new evidence for the success of fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) in treating severe Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a growing problem worldwide that leads to thousands of fatalities every year.
News • Connected care
Practicing nursing care in a virtual world
Oculus Rift, a gaming headset, can help teach nurses how to communicate better, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have found.
News • Medical devices
Pacemakers with Internet connection
The ageing of society needs new, more cost-effective solutions to improve the life quality of patients and cut the burden that is placed on the social welfare system. In modern western societies the fitting of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) is growing rapidly.
News • Brain bleeds
America's aging population will require more neurosurgeons
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center project a national influx of patients who will need immediate treatment.
Telemedicine allows acute stroke trial
Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) were able to enroll patients at other hospitals into an acute stroke clinical trial.
News • Surgery
Sedatives for patients receiving general anesthesia questioned
Although sedatives are often administered before surgery, a randomized trial finds that among patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia, receiving the sedative lorazepam before surgery, compared with placebo or no premedication, did not improve the self-reported patient experience the day after surgery, but was associated with longer time till removal off a breathing tube…
News • Surgical program
Hospitals participating in ACS NSQIP significantly improve
The majority of hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Project (ACS NSQIP®) improve surgical outcomes over time, and improvement continues with each year that hospitals participate in the program.
Article • Study
Hospital design has little effect on patient satisfaction
Contrary to previous reports, a study led by Johns Hopkins researchers found that patients’ satisfaction scores only modestly improved based on the newly remodeled design of a hospital.
News • European focus
Cross-border intensive care medicine
Anyone who becomes seriously ill or has an accident while on holiday would like to be treated as well as they are at home. It is vitally important for the patient that the doctor has been well trained, in particular in intensive care medicine
News • Scan quality
Instructional DVD reduces MRI scan patients' anxiety
A DVD designed to help people prepare for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, including guidance on how to relax, led to more successful scans. The patients receiving the DVD also felt less anxious during the scan says a paper published in the British Journal of Health Psychology.
News • Hygiene
Hand washing focus in hospitals leads to more dermatitis
Researchers from the University's Institute of Population Health studied reports voluntarily submitted by dermatologists to a national database which is run by the University (THOR), between 1996 and 2012. Sixty percent of eligible UK dermatologists used this database which is designed to report skin problems caused or aggravated by work.
News • Study examines
Link between quality improvement program and complications
David A. Etzioni, M.D., M.S.H.S., of Mayo Clinic Arizona, Phoenix, and colleagues compared rates of any complications, serious complications, and death during a hospitalization for elective general/vascular surgery at hospitals that did vs did not participate in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP).
News • Patient safety
C-suite and risk managers struggle with patient safety
Maximizing patient safety is the top priority for hospital c-suite executives and risk managers in the United States - but, "lack of teamwork, negative culture and poor communication" will present barriers to patient safety in the future - according to a new survey commissioned by American International Group (AIG) in consultation with patient safety expert, Dr. Marty Makary, MD, MPH.
News • Quality
Hospital readmissions are not tied to errors in care
A study from Northwestern Medicine and the American College of Surgeons suggests that penalizing hospitals for patient readmissions following surgery may be ineffective, and even counterproductive, for improving the quality of hospital care in America.
News • Cooperation
University partnerships can increase research capacity
Developing national health research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a key element toward strengthening their health systems. Collaborations with universities in high -income countries may be an important tool in building research capacity, but often suffer from imbalanced power relations.
News • Report cards
Hospital report cards have no impact on surgery outcomes
JAMA study shows death, complication, readmission and costs are no lower at hospitals in American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, a prominent quality-reporting program.
News • Communication
Communication is key to Emergency Department success
The high-risk, rapidly changing nature of hospital Emergency Departments creates an environment where stress levels and staff burnout rates are high, but researchers at St. Michael's Hospital have identified the secret sauce that helps many emergency clinicians flourish - communication.