The Netherlands - Immediately after the tsunami devastated countries around Asia, three trauma researchers at the Department Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands, as well as from the Department Military Psychiatry, Central Military Hospital in Utrecht, became involved in the care for a group of wounded Dutch patients who had been in Phuket.
Waiting lists, EU limits on working hours, doctor and nursing staff shortages, how could healthcare providers overcome all those hurdles let alone glimpse the winning post ahead?
Switzerland - Dr Margretta Madden Styles, a nurse-scholar recognised as an international leader in nursing education, regulation and credentialing, is to be presented with the Christiane Reimann Prize at the International Council of Nurses Congress in Taiwan, this May.
The Hartmann European Care Award 2004 has been presented to Dagmar Erdkönig, Petra Makara and Claudia Reicher of Austria.
In the first six months of 2004, over 17,000 people sought help and advice from the German Pain Union (Deutsche Schmerzliga), which demonstrates the high number of people, in Germany alone, who have failed to find a therapy that can alleviate recurrent or chronic pains
Most patients who receive health information change lifestyle and believe they reap benefits, according to a study carried out in Europe and the USA.
TB causes three million deaths annually, ranking it higher than any other infectious disease. And TB has resurged in Europe. In August, the British Thoracic Society, British Lung Foundation and TB Alert highlighted its increase in over the last 15 years in the UK alone.
"Céad Mile Fáilte!" said ERS President Walter McNicholas, to greet those about to attend this the 14th Annual Congress of the ERS, (Glasgow, Scotland, 4-8 September 2004).
Interviewed by Daniela Zimmermann, Executive Director of EH, Jean Hooks, General Manager, Global Mammography at GE Healthcare, examined reasons behind the slow uptake of digital technology in some European countries, comparing this with its early adoption in the USA
Germany - Rehabilitation clinics are taking on an increasingly important role, because the country's Social Security Code indicates that, where possible, rehabilitation is preferable to providing pensions and long-term care.
With increasing numbers of nurses specialising the care of lung cancer patients, The National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) was established in 1997 to offer them a network for information exchange and to support nurses working in 'isolation' due to their changing and different roles.
Russia & Netherlands - Immediate echocardiographic assessment during consultation rounds can lead to significant cost savings and can shorten the time to diagnosis, according to a new study carried out by teams at the Dept. of Cardiology, Thoraxcentre, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam and the Dept. of Internal Diseases, Medical Academy of Nizhny, Novgorod.
At this year's ECR in Vienna, Helen Carty, the incoming ECR 2004 president, said she felt both honoured - and rather awed - at being entrusted to lead a congress built on friendship, in which 'disparate nations of many creeds and races, rich and poor, come together to give and to share knowledge, experience and science in this nonconfrontational atmosphere'. Awe is something many radiologists…
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS), carried out through very small incisions, minimises patient trauma and shortens rehabilitation time.
Innovative Technologies are the driving force behind the development of medical procedures aimed at minimum invasiveness with the highest precision and best clinical results.
The diagnosis of kidney and urinary tract problems can be particularly difficult when young patients are involved.
Robotic technology has helped to advance MIS - particularly for the very small anatomies of children. Among the newest innovations is the Socrates Robotic Telecollaboration System, which integrates telecommunication equipment, networked surgical devices and robotics, to enable remote teaching and surgical collaboration.
