St Mary's Hospital Centre
The overall quality of laboratory operations has traditionally been evaluated using a combination of three variables: analytical quality, timeliness (turnaround time) and operational efficiency.
Workflow
Hospitals cannot survive without IT
A study carried out this year by the VHitG e.V. (a German association of IT solutions providers for healthcare) produced the first complete market analysis of systems installed in hospitals, along with an evaluation of the use of IT through the subjective appraisals of the users. The objective of the standardised online questionnaire, in which 480 people participated, was to determine the trends,…
Integrated healthcare solutions
Siemens Healthcare announced the signing of an agreement with Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain, to integrate the use of laboratory diagnostics, imaging and information technology systems with the intent to improve management of patient care from early detection and diagnosis of diseases or conditions to patient treatment.
Mobile computer device for instant access to medical records
At this year's Medica Panasonic presented the world's first* mobile clinical assistant (MCA) device using the Intel® Atom™ processor, further strengthening the company's position in the healthcare market. Based on the Intel® mobile clinical assistant reference platform, the new CF-H1 MCA is designed specifically for clinicians.
Hitachi's virtualised multi-purpose infrastructure solution
Healthcare organisations have suffered for decades due to highly fragmented data, and IT managed by individual departments has resulted in a plethora of incompatible systems.
Advanced management solutions
KMS Vertrieb und Services GmbH, which has offered healthcare knowledge management and consulting services for over ten years, is presenting advanced solutions and products:
Mobile Computing Trolley
Devlin Electronics present the latest addition to their Mobile Computing division. The PC-Cart is a brand new mobile computing trolley specifically designed for healthcare environments. The PC-Cart will be exclusively unveiled at Medica on the Devlin stand (G04-4) which is part of the UK pavilion in hall 16.
Re-organising an operating theatre
In September 2006, Dr Albrecht Bornscheuer (right) changed roles within the Hannover Medical School (MHH): the anaesthetist became a manager responsible for the coordination and capacity utilisation of the school's 41 operating theatres.
UK: Rosie's energy-saving programme saves £-thousands
In May 2006 the Rosie Hospital, in Cambridge, UK, launched a competition challenging staff to suggest ways to save energy or time. Many came up with energy saving ideas. This resulted in the creation of the Rosie Energy Awareness programme. Monitoring energy usage of various items of medical equipment within hospital, for example ultrasound machines, the energy statistics provided staff with a…
Two for one - and one for two
Philips and Steris join forces to provide hybrid surgical rooms: a flexible environment for optimal imaging during open and minimally invasive cardiovasculare procedures that will optimise workflow and streamline room planning.
Carestream Health Unveils First Wireless, Cassette-Size DR Detector
Carestream Health, Inc., recently announced the industry`s first wireless DR detector that is the size of a standard cassette and can be used with existing wall stand or table-based Buckys. The CARESTREAM DRX-1 System, currently a work in progress, is expected to be available in many parts of the world during the first quarter of 2009.
Better care saves hospitals money
Researchers from the Center to Advance Palliative Care and from the National Palliative Care Research Center, New York, found out that US-hospitals can save more than $300 per day and patient receiving palliative care while even enhancing the quality of care. Palliative care programs provide a way for hospitals to meet the needs of these patients while staying financially viable.
First image of a single heart cycle
The Acuson SC2000 volume imaging ultrasound system - reported to be the first system in the world to acquire non-stitched real-time full-volume 3-D images of the heart in one single heart cycle - is launched at the ESC meeting in Munich.
High-res cardiac images available at peak stress
While treadmill exercise stress testing is essential to detect cardiovascular disease, gaining clear cardiac images at peak stress level are not easy to gain using standard testing procedures. Now, however, researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Centre have designed equipment to provide high-resolution cardiac images at a critical testing stage, with results in under one hour.
Integration of POCT into the clinical laboratory
Unlike regular laboratory analyses, which is performed by clinical pathologists and technicians in the clinical laboratory, Point of Care Testing (POCT) are devices to perform laboratory analyses in the vicinity of the patient by the attending physician or nurses.
Leadership tools for healthcare managers
But how is this best achieved? Although various authors suggest methods to attain effective leadership, their approaches are not always uniform. Here he reviews some of the literature and authors' advice.
UK Polyclinic proposals meet opposition
The relationship between England's GPs and hospitals is currently at a sensitive stage, with a review of health services across the country set to impact on the way the two groups work and liaise with one another.
EHFG
The programme for this year's European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) - its 10th gathering - covers a far broader range of topics than before. During over 20 plenary sessions, forums and workshops, with about 120 lectures, key topics that embrace European and the national health politics of EU member states will be presented and discussed by experts.
Efficient processes in the Finnish hospital HUS
The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) is the biggest of 20 hospital districts in Finland. It provides specialised and university level health care services in and around city of Helsinki, with regional responsibility of 1.5 million people.
European debut for Acuson S2000
Siemens Healthcare will show its Acuson S2000, the first ultrasound system in the new product series S, at the ESC*. The system platform includes integration of the newest technologies to optimise workflow, e.g. comprehensive software applications such as new software for breast imaging.
SlideCollector simplifies single cell gene expression
The SlideCollector 48 enables the seamless integration of non-contact Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) and single-cell AmpliGrid assay technology into one continuous, automated workflow. This ensures the highest levels of sample purity for applications in immunobiology, genetics, cancer research, stem cell research and forensics.
Medically sound for benefit of athletes worldwide
Compact ultrasound technology provides greater diagnostic confidence within close proximity of athletes. The portable equipment from GE Healthcare is not much larger than a laptop, and delivers comparable results in terms of display quality to the high-end equipment used in hospitals.
Infection control in many languages
Devlin responds to the growing demand in Europe for infection control products, offering their “CleanKey” infection control keyboard in serveral European languages. Clean Key isolates the keyboard from the PC allowing it to be cleaned immediately without interrupting onscreen activity.
Olympus Analyser most reliable
It runs and runs and runs The Olympus AU640 clinical chemistry analyser is the most reliable analyser considering a period of 12 months. This is the result published in the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency Analyser Monitoring Programme Annual Report 2006-2007.
Iceland's advancing medical services
Today, Iceland counts 53 personal health clinics, widely scattered across the nation, which, despite its relatively small population, encompass a land area nearly the size of the UK.
