Patient management

News • New curriculum against exploitation

Teaching medical students to identify human trafficking victims

Human trafficking is a growing international public health concern. An estimated 400,000 people in the U.S. are affected, with as many as 88% of victims having seen a health care professional while they were being trafficked. As human trafficking evolves as a health concern, medical schools are starting to include the topic in education. However, it’s still in the early stages, says a Mayo…

News • Smart diagnostic tool

CLEOS: The AI that listens to the patient

A new digital tool that tailors specific questions based on a patient's medical history could improve the safety of diagnosis and effectiveness of care, according to a new study at Danderyd Hospital and Karolinska Institutet. "The AI ensures the patient is asked all relevant questions for that particular individual," says doctoral student Helge Brandberg, one of the developers behind…

News • Vascular PSP survey

Giving patients a say in vascular conditions research

A new survey will give patients, carers and members of the public the opportunity to have their say in what they think is important for future research for vascular conditions. The Vascular Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) survey, developed in partnership with the James Lind Alliance aims to identify unanswered questions about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of vascular conditions from…

News • Patient management solutions

Philips acquires start-up Medumo

Royal Philips announced that it has expanded its patient management solutions in the US with the acquisition of Boston-based start-up company Medumo. Founded in 2013, Medumo has developed a diagnostic patient management platform for healthcare providers to deliver patient engagement and education services. “Efficient digital health services for a superb patient experience and enhanced…

News • High blood pressure

Hypertension: treatment disadvantage in the south

Healthcare in low- and middle-income countries is poorly prepared for the increasing number of people with high blood pressure, with more than two-thirds of people affected going without treatment – a new study reveals. Researchers studied health data for one million people in the Global South, discovering that less than half of those affected are diagnosed with high blood pressure or…

Article • Holistic concept

Healthcare in Taiwan: Between high-tech and tradition

Within a groaning 140-tonne particle accelerator a patient receives proton therapy, whilst down a few corridors, acupuncture needles are being placed and herbs mixed. Tradition and high tech walk hand in hand in Taiwanese healthcare. That’s what we learn during our visit to several facilities near Taipei.

News • Computational medicine

Using virtual populations to create safer medical devices

The current innovation process for medical technologies risks stifling the development of new devices, a leading researcher has argued. Alejandro Frangi, Professor of Computational Medicine at the University of Leeds, says the present system was geared towards small, incremental changes to existing technology or the development of new technologies that work for ‘most’ people but are…

Article • 'Is it safe?'

Effective communication on radiation risks

Communicating radiation risks is not only a legal requirement, it is also a moral obligation, asserts Dr Shane J Foley, radiographer and assistant professor at the UCD School of Medicine in Dublin, Ireland. Passing on radiation information has its pitfalls, but several helpful tools can improve communication, some of which the expert highlighted during ECR 2018.

Article • Digital PET imaging

Digital Photon Counting improves diagnostic accuracy

Built as the first commercially available scanner to deliver truly digital PET, the Vereos PET/CT, from Philips, offers revolutionary Digital Photon Counting technology. The science behind this scanner evolution is ‘quite complicated’, agrees Piotr Maniawski, Director of Clinical Science Nuclear Medicine at Philips Healthcare, yet the improved performance is significant, particularly when…

Pressure mattresses to avoid ulceration

A UK company that specialises in the development and manufacture of ‘zero pressure’ technology is showing its full range of mattress solutions at Medica this year. Over the last few years, Rober Ltd of Chesterfield, has invested heavily in R&D to develop a complete range of pressure ulcer mattresses that cater for a variety of needs, including patients who are immobile, bariatric or have…

App helps to break language barrier

Language difficulties become even greater when a patient is foreign and in need of medical care. To improve communication between international patients and medical staff, a new translation app – Medicospeaker – is undergoing its first in-hospital tests at Muenster University Hospital (UKM) in Germany. The system aims to translate dynamic conversation processes, explained Lukas Fortmeier, CEO…

News • Medical errors

Burnout in doctors has shocking impact on care

Burnout in doctors has devastating consequences on the quality of care they deliver, according to a large-scale systematic review and meta-analysis. The study, by experts at the Universities of Manchester, Keele, Leeds, Birmingham and Westminster, looks at 47 papers which together analyse the responses of 43,000 doctors. It finds that doctors with burnout are twice as likely to make mistakes,…

News • Express care

Affidea opens new ‘walk-in’ clinic

Affidea Group, the leading European provider of diagnostic imaging, outpatient and cancer care services, announces the opening of a new ExpressCare Clinic in Tallaght in Dublin for minor injuries and minor illnesses, after an investment of €2 million. This is the second Affidea ExpressCare Clinic to open in Ireland this year, with the other clinic operating in Cork, and this adds to its network…

Article • Patient blood management

Blood transfusions: Patient groups should be precisely defined

Although blood transfusion today is a well-established and safe procedure, the medical science community has not yet arrived at a consensus regarding appropriate patient blood management (PBM) methods. ‘Many PBM approaches have not yet been scientifically validated; consequently over- as well as under-transfusion might be associated with adverse events and complications for the patient,’…

Article • Risk assessment

Predictive potential of Big Data in the lab

Big Data can be a critical tool in helping clinicians develop advanced patient health risk assessment and stratification models as well as leading to a new level of patient empowerment. Professor Josep Roca outlined the benefits of Big Data in a laboratory context during the European Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (EFLM) Strategic Conference held in Mannheim, Germany,…

Article • Questioning the Genetic Diagnostics Act

Self-help healthcare or face a penalty?

The fact that genetic research can reveal hereditary diseases has been transferred to medical practice for some time and, since 2010, the Gene Diagnostics Act (GenDG) has regulated permissible DNA tests in medical diagnostics and pedigree in Germany. The procedure has great potential, says Professor Jochen Taupitz - but also great risks are associated with it.

News • Advancing integrated care

Why secure patient identity management is essential

Efficient and reliable patient identify management will be an essential element in making the benefits of integrated care a reality. This was the core message at the launch of a joint new publication from COCIR and the SIA entitled ‘Identity in Healthcare’ at the HIMSS Europe and Health 2.0 conference in Barcelona. The publication brings much-needed clarity and key recommendations to the ID…

News • Study results

Triggers of acute heart failure vary globally

Triggers of acute heart failure vary globally, according to late breaking results from the REPORT-HF registry presented at Heart Failure 2018 and the World Congress on Acute Heart Failure, a European Society of Cardiology congress. REPORT-HF is a global, prospective registry comparing regional differences in causes of acute heart failure, therapies, time to treatment, and outcomes. Professor Sean…

Article • Hospital tracking system

Embracing technology to improve patient flow

Digital bed management systems being trialled in NHS hospitals to improve patient flow are showing early signs of success. Innovations such as patient tracking and real-time location of equipment and staff to help make hospital stays more efficient are being tested at 10 sites. Project leader Bernard Quinn is particularly optimistic about technology that monitors bed availability and patient flow.

Article • Rising up

Anaesthesia is a story of great success

Technical innovations and the implementation of quality standards in anaesthesia have immensely increased patient safety. ‘Over the past 60 years, patient safety during anaesthesia has improved more than in any other medical discipline,’ according to Professor Achim von Goedecke MD MSc, Director of the Institute of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at Landeskrankenhaus Steyr in Upper Austria.

News • Uncommon causes

Abdominal pain? Try thinking outside the box

Early detection of mesenteric ischemia increases treatment options and the possibility of a full recovery, but the condition’s rarity may lead to a delay in diagnosis while more common causes of abdominal pain are explored. An article in the February 2018 issue of Critical Care Nurse (CCN) aims to heighten nurses’ knowledge of mesenteric ischemia and infarction (MI), which are infrequent but…

Article • Virtual reality

VR glasses could ease trauma of waking up in an ICU

A patient walks slowly into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He sits on a hospital bed, hears unfamiliar beeps and other sounds. Doctors and nurses arrive to talk about all the surrounding machines and how things work in an ICU. Everything is calm and without stress for the patient as he listens to them. Then the virtual reality (VR) glasses he is wearing are removed, and he returns to reality. The…

News • Digital assistance

Chatbot campaign for flu shots bolsters patient response rate by 30%

Communicating with patients can be tough. Reminder pamphlets often go straight into the rubbish and emails are deleted before they are read. But one doctor found that chatbots could be a key to patient outreach. Brett Swenson, MD, is no stranger to digital health. He runs a concierge practice in Arizona and started working with EMRs about 20 years ago when they were first introduced. He said he…

News • Lesbian, gay, bi, trans

Should all patients be asked about their sexual orientation?

In late 2017, NHS England released guidelines recommending that health professionals ask all patients about their sexual orientation in order to improve services for non-heterosexual patients, but should they? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today. After decades of campaigning from lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) charities, sexual orientation is now a protected characteristic that is…

News • Less is not always more

Nurse numbers strongly linked to patient confidence in hospital care

Patients’ unfavourable views of hospital care in England are strongly linked to insufficient numbers of nurses on duty, rather than uncaring staff, indicates observational research published in the online journal BMJ Open. Increasing the registered nurse headcount may boost satisfaction with the quality of care, conclude the researchers, who base their findings on national survey data from…

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