8th Swiss eHealthcare Congress
This two-day event, held in Notwil, Switzerland, in September, hosted over 1,600 participants and 80 exhibitors, and attracted about 100 more visitors than in 2007.
EPR/EHR
New solution accelerates patient care decision-making
Hitachi Data Systems and Mawell form strategic partnership to streamline the management of patient records and images: According to recent EU research, ever-lengthening life expectancy means that Europe's pensioner population is set to swell to more than 100 million by 2050.
eHealth for safe, high quality and efficient cross-border healthcare
Health systems and health policies across the EU are becoming ever more interconnected which raises many health policy issues. On 2 July 2008, in the context of the Renewed Social Agenda, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a directive on patients' rights in cross-border healthcare. Essential precondition for cross-border healthcare is the existence of electronic health record systems…
On scandinavian tracks
The World of Health IT 2008 Conference & Exhibition is an innovative and forward-thinking event designed to deepen the understanding of specific healthcare ICT markets in Europe.
E-health in the Netherlands
The Dutch E-health initiatives have made remarkable progress in recent years, writes Marcel Swennenhuis, President of Topicus HealthCare. Many solutions, such as online medication services, patient portals and web-based disease management initiatives, demonstrate the success of the country's EHR approach.
A software for patients privacy
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a software application to automatically "de-identify" medical records. The software might help to allay patients' fears about who has access to their confidential data. It is capable of deleting details which may identify patients while leaving important medical information intact.
Hospital IT director builds in-house HIS
The Torrevieja Salud Hospital, in southern Valencia, serves a population of 200,000 - but this swells to 600,000 in holiday periods.
A small Hospital with a lot of technology
Torrevieja's Hospital, sited on the south coast of the 'Comunidad Valenciana', in the Alicante's Province; starts on October 2006, for a peculiar population, with a media of 200,000 habitants and a maximum of 600,000 on holidays. The challenge of making a versatile hospital, modern and above all efficient, claims the best technologic advances for health services.
conhIT: The future place to be for healthcare IT providers?
From 2004 to 2007 VHitG (Verband der Hersteller von IT-Systemen im Gesundheitswesen) and Messe Frankfurt jointly organised ITeG (IT-Messe und Dialog im Gesundheitswesen). When VhitG moved the event to Berlin, this cooperation ended and Messe Berlin came on board as new partner for what is now called conhIT. The organisation team headed by Jens Naumann, VhitG chairman, developed an entirely new…
Finland Near Completion of National Electronic Patient Record
A national electronic patient records (EPR) archive that is estimated to manage 550 pentabytes (PB) of data by 2025 is nearing completion in Finland. Its first component, an ePrescription system, is scheduled for implementation in June 2008. The patient record archive will be activated in February 2009, and DICOM diagnostic images will be added to it in the June 2009 time frame.
Google enters EPR pilot project
Cleveland Clinic, a non-profit, multispecialty, academic medical centre, is working with Google on a pilot project to test the secure exchange of electronic patient records (EPR - or, known in the US as the electronic personal health record - PHR).
The IT revolution
To meet an ever expanding demand for faster, more efficient healthcare delivery, and therefore better IT solutions, companies are in hot competition internationally. In an interview with Daniela Zimmermann, Dr Andrea Fiumicelli, Head of IT at Agfa HealthCare, discussed his company's aims and position in this vibrant healthcare market
Siemens Medica Press Conference
Siemens in collaboration with the Rhön -Klinikum and the Fraunhofer ISST announced that in December, they will start an electronic case file (eFA) pilot project. For the first time data will be exchanged between two reputable chains of private clinic. This makes Siemens the first industry partner to have realised the eFA specification of the Fraunhofer ISST including peer-to-peer communication…
Clinical process management
Agfa HealthCare will present leading healthcare IT and imaging solutions, focusing on clinical process management At MEDICA this year, Agfa HealthCare is demonstrating a "balanced mix of information about market-leading solutions and innovations for healthcare IT and medical imaging and plenty of opportunity to exchange opinions about market developments".
Spotlight on patient safety
Medical errors occur in any part of the treatment process and typically involve the wrong medication, improper treatment, or incorrect or delayed test results. At its annual partner meeting, which took place in Berlin, September 27-28, Philips reinforced its commitment to use its leading global position in healthcare speech recognition to drive technology advancements towards reducing medical…
Spotlight on patient safety
Medical errors occur in any part of the treatment process and typically involve the wrong medication, improper treatment, or incorrect or delayed test results. At its annual partner meeting in Berlin Philips reinforced its commitment to use its leading global position in healthcare speech recognition to drive technology advancements towards reducing medical errors and improving patient safety…
The most useful EU-supported venture
The Eastern Lithuania Cardiology Project (ELCP) - an integral inter-institutional regional project sponsored by the Lithuanian Government and the European Structural Funds, which began in 2004 - will end this year. In May, those who voted on the Lithuanian EU Support official website (a specially organised event, focusing on all EU-supported projects in all fields) nominated this project as the…
Health telematics
Telematics appears to offer solutions for certain complex therapies - and for issues that will become central as populations further swell with age.
Wireless blood glucose testing arrives
The first wireless POC (Point of care) blood glucose and bedside testing solution for hospitals was launched by Bayer Healthcare during the 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Amsterdam this September.
One of Europe's biggest e-health projects
Following an agreement between Wolfgang Pföhler, Chairman of the Management Board of German company Rhön-Klinikum AG, and Professor Erich R Reinhardt, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and President of Siemens Medical Solutions, the hospital group is to install Siemens' WebEPA, an intra-facility electronic patient file, to link its 46 hospitals and respective medical care centres —…
Bulgaria issues first electronic medical cards
A pilot project begun in February by the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has resulted in Bulgaria issuing its first electronic medical cards. The pilot project is run by the international eHealth specialist ICW* in partnership with the firms Cisco and Kontrax.
Hospital security
An international study to evaluate radio-frequency identification as a hospital risk management tool in medical care.
Software directs data from medical machine to EPR
Medical Interconnect aims to smoothly transmit data produced by medical equipment to the hospital information systems (HIS). Thomas Breig, Head of Distribution - Digital Hospital at Hewlett Packard and Jens Dommel, who is responsible for Healthcare/Communes/Non-profit Organisations at Microsoft Germany GmbH, explained the purpose of this software to Denise Hennig, of European Hospital
Spanish university hospital nets communications
Son Dureta University Hospital, in Palma de Mallorca (Balearics), is Europe's first to use a clinical information system developed from a partnership between Oracle Corporation, Orion Health and Fujitsu Services. Joan Marqués Faner, the hospital's Chief Information Officer, discussed the system with Eduardo de la Sota, our correspondent in Spain.
Fifteen Finnish hospitals go for EPRs
By Kaj Blomqvist MSc (E.E.), electronic engineer for the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS), and currently in charge of the `Picis CareSuite Project´, which aims to automate all HUS acute care departments.