What are the future opportunities for a better healthcare in Germany? The Young Lions (YL) Health Parliament is a platform for 80 young professionals to brainstorm about the possibilities for a sustainable health care system. The platform has started the first time in the year 2012 for two years – in the year 2016 the second period ends.
Researchers presented findings on the prevalence of the mcr-1 gene, a transferable genetic mechanism of antimicrobial-resistance to colistin - the last resort antibiotic in a number of circumstances. At a session dedicated to late-breaking abstracts on colistin resistance, researchers presented evidence on the prevalence of the gene in bacteria (including Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia…
European countries must stop denying migrants their fundamental right to healthcare, argues a doctor in The BMJ today. Europe is experiencing the largest mass migration of people since the Second World War, according to estimates from the Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Statisticians, computer scientists and medics from the University of East Anglia are launching a new project to predict how long you will live.
Every year, tens of millions of individuals across Europe undergo endoscopic procedures to assist with the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal diseases. However, significant variation in current endoscopy provision across Europe has been reported, with back-to-back colonoscopy studies demonstrating that a concerning 22 percent of all adenomas are missed and that a three-to-six fold…
The growing obesity epidemic, which is predicted to affect more than half of all European citizens by 2030, will be the focus of European Obesity Day to be held on 21 May under the theme: 'Action for a Healthier Future'.
From the beginning the accusation somehow beggared belief. A ‘mild’ virus was blamed for causing hideous malformations in babies’ heads. Brazil, a country suffering its worst recession since the 1930s, as well as political upheaval, became the focus of a worldwide healthcare scare.
Every time I go into a Starbucks in China I’m amazed by the long, slow line of coffee drinkers, mostly young and low to middle wage earners.
With 4,360 transplant operations from 1,682 donations in 2014, Spain broke the country’s own record and confirmed its place as the world leader in organ donations, a position it has held for the past 24 years.
A unique pilot project to promote entry into professional life in Germany for refugees with a medical background might counteract the acute shortage of qualified employees in healthcare. The programme is scheduled to start this spring.
The spectrum of the Digital Health ranges from online information, to the digitisation of processes (e.g. clinical pathways in hospitals), the evaluation of big data (e.g. routine data/secondary healthcare data), medical technology, diagnostics and therapy to billing procedures of payers.
Living in a small Mediterranean island has its own advantages; nevertheless there are certain limitations. In healthcare, for example, resources may be somewhat more limited in such a small country and some of the latest technologies may not always be available to patients.
The current political framework changes healthcare structures and competitive dynamics for medical services providers. These issues were raised at the 11th Management and Strategy Congress MARA (Management in Radiology) in Bonn, in autumn 2015. Dr. Martin Maurer, one of the congress organisers, explained: ‘The objective of the MARA Congress is not to hold pretty lectures but primarily to…
In the USA, there is already talk of an ‘opioid epidemic’. Whereas in the past 20 years some 100,000 people died directly or indirectly through prescribed opioids, reports indicate that more than 16,000 died in 2010 alone. Since the sales of opioid analgesics quadrupled between 1999 and 2010 recent debates have intensified surrounding the use of opioids for non-tumour-related pain in the USA,…
The refugee wave rolls on with no ebb in sight. For many, Germany remains their travel destination. In August and September alone, tens of thousands refugees arrived in Munich, presenting the Bavarian capital with a major challenge: How could the city provide initial medical care for everyone? While the German Asylum Procedure Act governs the appropriate procedures, in this unprecedented…
A new study has found a steep decline in the number of scholarly papers about basic science published in leading medical journals in the last 20 years.
The European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructures – European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC) announce the beginning of an official collaboration.
Post mortems are now rarely carried out within UK hospitals – according to a study that examined all acute NHS Trusts within England, NHS Boards in Scotland and Wales and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, and found that the process has disappeared completely in around a quarter (23%) of NHS trusts. In 2013, the average autopsy rate (percentage of adult in-patient deaths that undergo…
Eurocare welcomes the Council’s call for an EU Alcohol Strategy 2016-2022 on the 7th December 2015. “Prevention of alcohol related harm is a smart investment for the economy as it costs Europe 2-3% of GDP, it cuts long-term healthcare expenditures and at the same time raises workforce productivity,” says Mariann Skar, Secretary General of Eurocare. “The Commission now needs to respond as…
Last week during the United Nation’s Conference on Climate Change, health system representatives from around the world have gathered in Paris to announce a series of commitments to reduce carbon emissions and exert leadership to combat climate change.
Astellas Pharma EMEA today announced that it will host the Antimicrobial Resistance in Europe: Innovating Today to Protect our Health Tomorrow debate at the Bibliothèque Solvay, Brussels, on 3rd December, 2015. The event will convene leading scientists and economists from across Europe to discuss how policy-level innovation can address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – the single greatest…
Around 25 treatments for seriously ill patients with specific cancers listed on England’s National Health Service’s Cancer Drug Fund are to be removed. This large change is likely to affect patients with cancers of the breast, bowel, prostate, blood, upper gastrointestine, brain and central nervous system, as well as gynaecological cases. Report: Mark Nicholls
Access to pain relieving medication varies greatly within Europe. ‘The availability and reimbursement of certain pain relieving medications for patients depends less on medical criteria than luck – living in the right country,’ declared Professor Hans Georg Kress, past president of the European Pain Federation EFIC, speaking in Vienna this September at the 9th EFIC Congress. Report:…
Leading Spanish experts presented the latest developments in hepatitis C management in their country during the May meeting of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC) in Seville. Report: Mélisande Rouger
New studies reveal the heightened risk of death that patients face if admitted to hospital over a weekend. Researchers have studied what effect the day of hospital admission has on death rates across England in 2013-2014, as well as on hospitals in other countries, such as Australia, the USA and The Netherlands. Report: Mark Nicholls
