Der Medizintechnik-Branchenverband SPECTARIS befürchtet, dass durch die Anpassung des Medizinproduktegesetzes ein erhebliche Steigerung der Kosten auf die Hersteller zukommt. Die in dem Vorschriftenentwurf geforderten Genehmigungsverfahren für Hightech-Produkte seien mit einem unnötigen Mehr an bürokra-tischem Aufwand verbunden.
The next two countries to preside over the EU Presidency - the Czech Republic (first half year of 2009) and Sweden (second half) recently presented the priorities of their presidencies for healthcare at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).
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.
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.
Dräger's new Infinity M300 patient-worn monitor has been installed at major hospitals in the USA and Germany. Though compact and patient-worn by adult or paediatric patients, this telemetry system performs like a full-size patient monitor, the manufacturer points out, adding that it runs on a hospital's existing 802.11 b/g network, saving costs on a separate wireless network.
Surgical Site Infection is the most important problem facing surgeons today, according to Professor Miguel Cainzos, of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, speaking at the 2nd EMEA Symposium on New Non-Pharmaceutical ways to reduce surgical site infection.
A transatlantic survey of more than a thousand healthcare professionals has shown that over a third are unwittingly putting personal information at risk by storing patient records, medical images, contact details, corporate data and other sensitive information on mobile devices such as laptops, BlackBerrys and USB sticks - and not adequately securing them.
NHS managers are refuting a report that ranks the UK 13th for healthcare out of 31 European countries. The Euro Health Consumer Index 2008 puts the Netherlands in first place, with the UK trailing behind countries including Estonia, France and Germany.
Most professionals will recognise issues that call for consideration in a wider context, a context that does not merely consider strictly professional issues, i.e. issues based upon facts and figures, write Johannes Gossner MD and Joerg Larsen MD FRCR, of the Institute for Roentgendiagnostics, Braunschweig Teaching Hospitals, Germany.
Increasing populations and the additional storage requirements for a spiralling volume of their medical data cause acknowledged concerns among healthcare organisations.
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.
The creation of standardised cross-enterprise healthcare records in Germany will be increasingly promoted in numerous national initiatives and projects spanning several manufacturers, e.g. by the eFA initiative for the electronic case file headed by the Fraunhofer Institut ISST. By Jens-Uwe Thieme, Business Line Manager HIS & ERP Systems, iSoft Health GmbH
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.
Presidential candidates use them to persuade voters, drug companies use them to sell their products, and the media spin them in all kinds of ways, but nobody - candidates, reporters, let alone health consumers - understands them.
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB) are joining together for the second time for a conference on major changes facing laboratorians in coming years, under the banner Laboratory Medicine - Into the Future.
By Hans Peter Hartl, member of the Nursing Directorate at the Department of Gerontopsychiatry, Mainkofen District Hospital, Germany.
The safety of medical products, which includes bedding, depends on three pillars: identification of mistakes, updating standards and training.
It is safe to take anticoagulants before core needle breast biopsies, according to a study performed at the Elizabeth Wende Breast Clinic in Rochester, NY.
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.
Tumour ablation - and Radiofrequency (RF) ablation in particular - is getting more and more important in oncology. The therapy option offers benefits in terms of costs, ease of set-up and flexibility so that experts see the need to expand the applications of it.
One of the major nursing congresses in the German-speaking countries is the Southern German Nursing Day which took place on 7 October 2008 at the University Hospital Munich. One focus of this year's event was the question whether and how modifications of and curtailing nursing services will impact patient safety.
Last week, the Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou launched the 'Europe for Patients' campaign in Brussels. The campaign highlights the different health policy initiatives the Commission intends to adopt in the coming months. All these initiatives are bound by a common goal: better healthcare for all in Europe.
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…
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.
Catheter ablation is still associated with a substantial amount of complications, and more failure then sometimes reported. Perforation with catheters is especially important in atrial fibrillation. Robotic navigation could reduce these complications.