Rogue Dutch doctor prompts calls for EU early warning system
There are too many loopholes that allow bad or fraudulent physicians to beat the system.
Staff management
The pros and cons of tabletcomputers in radiology
Although not yet suitable for primary readings, tablet technology does offer potential for second opinions, sharing information with patients and clinicians, and seeking expert support, according to radiologist Dr Erik Ranschaert from the Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Den Bosch, The Netherlands
Male and female Doktors
Whether it was a constitution of sorts writ on cavernous rock at the dawn of mankind no one knows. What is clear is that since the inception of the first rudimentary societies the male always expected to rule and the female to follow and obey.
Europe’s pressing need for transcultural competence
Patients with a migration background can create underestimated difficulties in healthcare systems in Western countries.
‘The perfect murder is one that isn’t actually discovered’
Austrian specialist: If the science is not used the impact on crime detection will be negative.
Tonio Borg appointed as commissioner for health and consumer affairs
On Wednesday, 21 November, the Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of Commissioner-designate Tonio Borg following a period of extensive investigation.
Increased automation speeds up results
Siemens platform provides tracking, biochemistry, haematology, serology and coagulation services in a single automated laboratory solution
MBAs versus MDs
Are physicians poor managers? Do trained managers kill humanity? EH sought answers from Dr Markus Schwarz from the international executive search consultancy Egon Zehnder. Report: Michael Krassnitzer
“Work-life balance not yet a topic in thoracic radiology”
This year sees the 20th anniversary of the European Society of Thoracic Imaging’s inaugural meeting. However, the ESTI 2012 in London will not only look back at the beginnings of the organisation but, as always, towards the future of thoracic imaging.
ICN stresses critical need for evidence-based approach to nursing services
On the occasion of International Nurses Day 2012, the International Council of Nurses calls for an increase in evidence-informed decision making and practice. Nurses are often best placed to supply important information not only about care but also about context, population health and the role of key policy and social factors.
Seeing eye to eye
Heidelberg’s doctor/nurse equal partnership concept raises staff/patient satisfaction. For the past decade the surgery and anaesthesiology departments at Heidelberg’s 340-bed University Hospital have encouraged cooperation between doctors and nurses that has set the standard for other hospitals within its remit.
The Max Harry Weil Lecture at the ISICEM 2012
With his clinical and experimental research on the acute care of critically ill patients through round-the-clock monitoring of the vital functions Max Harry Weil revolutionised intensive care medicine and became known as its founding father. He died in 2011 in California, aged 84. Thus the first Max Harry Weil Lecture will be held in his honour at this ISICEM.
Fylde Coast Medical Service is one of the first out-of-hours care providers in England
Fylde Coast Medical Service (FCMS) is one of the first out-of-hours primary care providers in England to pilot the Department of Health’s new initiative, NHS 111, using Advanced Health & Care’s (Advanced’s) Adastra system.
Birmingham hospital leads the way on hourly nursing rounds
Patients in the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham are already enjoying the benefits of the scheme which aims to tailor nursing care to their individual needs via hourly nurse rounds. The Care Round initiative was introduced to all 28 inpatient wards at the hospital in March 2011 with the aim of supporting nursing on the wards.
Europe`s healthcare sector faces strained labour relations
Current staff crises are leading Europe`s hospitals to show strong interest in talent management, according to human resources management software provider unmantis.
World’s first Curve Image Guided Surgery system now operating in Germany
This week, university hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar in Munich, Germany, is the first hospital in the world to operating Brainlab’s Curve Image Guided Surgery system. Curve is Brainlab’s latest generation of image-guided surgery systems. The new technology provides surgeons with better guidance and control during surgery enabling faster, more precise and safer interventions.
Of mounting importance
They are rarely noticed but nevertheless they carry a lot of weight in a hospital: intelligent mounting solutions for medical equipment and monitors. While the eyes of physicians, nurses and patients alike tend to be fixed on the device, hardly anybody ever looks at the way, the device is fixed to the wall or the ceiling. The engineers of CIM med, based in Munich, Germany, however did have a…
EHFG 2011 - ‘There are too many unnecessary operations!’
Participants at European Health Forum Gastein 2011 (EHFG) agreed: the tendency in Germany and Austria is to operate far too soon (particularly for hip, knee and disc surgery), and many surgical interventions are unnecessary, posing a particular and increasingly urgent problem especially in industrialised countries. Hans-Christian Pruszinsky reports
The role of hospital management consultants
‘Public hospitals are not yet acknowledging the necessity of engaging management consultants in the same way as private institutions. Management and organisational consultancy is particularly important in hospitals as it is not just undertaken for the benefit of staff but also the benefit of the patients’’ explains Verena Krassnitzer, Vienna-based management consultant and supervisor,…
Diverse views, similar aims
The 1st European Hospital Conference (EHC) will see three important organisations face up to their differences in what promises to be a great debate: During our interview with Dr João de Deus, President of the European Association of Senior Hospital Physicians (AEMH), he pointed out that AEMH, the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE) and the European Association of Hospital…
RESPONSE trial results
Studies show that when a nurse follows patients after a cardiovascular crisis those patients stay healthier, live longer and reduce the risk of returning to hospital. Now the challenge is how to convince insurers to pay for this care, reports John Brosky.
The best hospitals are run by physicians
Top-performing hospitals are typically ones headed by a medical doctor rather than a manager. That is the finding from a new study of what makes a good hospital. The research, to be published in the elite journal Social Science and Medicine, is the first of its kind. Its conclusions run counter to a modern trend across the western world to put generally trained managers -- not those with a…
Identifying risk, averting risk
The introduction of comprehensive risk management to a hospital is challenging. Although initiating quality and safety processes is often easy, the structural changes in a microcosmic hospital are harder to crack. However, successfully integrated risk management can represent a decisive, competitive advantage in the healthcare market. By Karoline Laarmann
Nurses need annual physical and psychological fitness tests
England – ‘Wheelchairs receive better care than nurses’; they need annual physical and psychological tests to ensure they can cope with job demands. The subject, discussed this April during the Annual Congress of the Royal College of Nursing, followed the publication (11/2010) of the Government’s NHS Health and Wellbeing Report (pub: 11/10).