Yuck factor may boost hand hygiene compliance
The yuck factor may be an effective tool for boosting hand hygiene compliance among health care workers, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
Patient management
News • Telemedicine
The Rapid Growth Of Medical Tourism
Traditionally, medical tourists travel from high-income countries to middle and low-income countries seeking health care at a lower price. With a growing wealthy class in developing countries and increased access to the Internet, more citizens from around the world are traveling to the United States to receive quality health care and advanced treatments.
Interview • Security
Go biometric or risk a botch up
Today most healthcare systems rely on text-based matching: A patient’s ID card or driver’s license is considered sufficient proof of identity. This “identification system” however puts patients at risk of death, improper treatment, insurance abuse and lawsuits the provider and hospital cannot defend. Dr Raymond D. Aller, Director of Informatics at the Director of Informatics for the…
News • Study
First digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial
North West EHealth announced that its unique Linked Database System technology was used to deliver the world’s first digitally enhanced Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) in the ground-breaking Salford Lung Study* (SLS). The study relied on bespoke software, developed by NorthWest EHealth and securely hosted within the NHS network, that integrated the electronic medical records of consented…
News • Inflammatory bowel disease
International consensus report highlights need for improved management of CDI
Results from an international consensus project involving a multidisciplinary group of clinicians have been presented today at 26th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) 2016. A current lack of data on outcomes in patients with IBD who have CDI means that appropriate choice of treatment strategy can be unclear. The consensus examines the issues impacting…
News • Big Data
Could a computer tell you when your time is up?
Statisticians, computer scientists and medics from the University of East Anglia are launching a new project to predict how long you will live.
Article • Risks
Managing the threats of cybercrime
Cases of cybercrime are growing every year, demonstrating a threat scenario not just in the private area, for banks or companies, but also for insurance companies, because criminals steal data and whole databanks with private information. At this years’ HIMSS, Stephen Cobb, Senior Security Researcher at ESET North America, speaks about the growing risk and the need to manage such health IT…
News • Zika virus
Nurses are first point of care for education and community resilience
As the largest group of health professionals in the world, and the first point of care for many, nurses are key to educating patients on prevention and risk of the Zika virus and providing care to those who need treatment.
News • Patient ratio
Higher nurse to patient ratio linked to reduced risk of inpatient death
A higher nurse to patient ratio is linked to a reduced risk of inpatient death, finds a study of staffing levels in NHS hospitals, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
News • MERS
First reported autopsy of patient with MERS provides critical insights
Since 2012, at least 1,500 individuals have developed Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), resulting in more than 500 fatalities. Only now are results being reported of the first autopsy of a MERS patient, which was performed in 2014. Not only do these findings, published in The American Journal of Pathology, provide unprecedented, clinically-relevant insights about how MERS progresses, they…
News • There's an app for that
An easy, fast and reliable way to record causes of death
Researchers from the University of Melbourne have developed a revolutionary new app to capture accurate global cause of death data on tablets and mobile phones.
Multiple sclerosis can be triggered by brain cell death
Multiple sclerosis (MS) may be triggered by the death of brain cells that make the insulation around nerve fibers, a surprising new view of the disease reported in a study from Northwestern Medicine and The University of Chicago.
Helicopter parenting at doctor's office may impact teen health
Majority of parents take control at routine visits, but may impede teens' health care independence researchers from the University of Michigan Health System say.
News • Cancer trial
Suicide gene therapy kills prostate tumor cells
Results from a long-term clinical trial conducted by cancer researchers at Houston Methodist Hospital show that combining radiation treatment with "suicide gene therapy," a technique in which prostate cancer cells are genetically modified so they signal a patient's immune system to attack them, provides a safe and effective one-two punch against the disease.
Lower patient satisfaction in hospitals that employ more nurses trained abroad
Many Western countries including England and the United States have come to rely on nurses trained abroad in times of nurse shortages. Yet little is known about how such practices affect quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Patient mood can impact medical procedure results
Feeling high levels of distress, fear and hostility prior to undergoing an angioplasty or other interventional radiology procedure may lead to a poor outcome, according to new research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Testosterone replacement makes Type 2 diabetic men more sensitive to insulin
Findings demonstrate that testosterone is a metabolic hormone as well as a sex hormone, University at Buffalo researchers say.
News • RSNA 2015
Breast MRI after mammography may identify additional aggressive cancers
Additional breast cancers found with MRI are sometimes larger and potentially more aggressive than those found on mammography, according to a study published online in the journal Radiology.
Article • Telecardiology
Home monitoring in fast action
Every year, worldwide, over a million patients have a pacemaker or defibrillator implanted. Home monitoring systems can significantly improve the safety and quality of life for these patients, says Professor Gerhard Hindricks, head physician in the rhythmology department at Leipzig’s Heart Centre. Report: Sascha Keutel
A thin ribbon of flexible electronics can monitor health
A new world of flexible, bendable, even stretchable electronics is emerging from research labs to address a wide range of potentially game-changing uses.
Researchers discover new way to measure if a person is pre-diabetic
The University of Hawai'i Cancer Center discovery could warn patients years in advance allowing for a lifestyle change.
Bipolar patients' brain cells predict response to lithium
The brain cells of patients with bipolar disorder, characterized by severe swings between depression and elation, are more sensitive to stimuli than other people's brain cells, researchers of the Salk Institute have discovered.
Eating fruits, veggies in youth linked to healthy heart decades later
Eating more fruits and vegetables as a young adult may keep your arteries free of heart disease 20 years later, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
News • Social Media
Twitter offers insights into the experience of MRI patients
Tweets can give medical professionals a window into the minds of patients, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences.
News • Monitoring
'Smart bandage' detects bed sores
Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, are developing a new type of bandage. Thanks to advances in flexible electronics, the researchers have created a new "smart bandage" that uses electrical currents to detect early tissue damage from pressure ulcers, or bedsores, before they can be seen by human eyes - and while recovery is still possible.