Clinical laboratory scientists, the medical technologists of the 21st century, are not only enjoying a rapidly expanding role in clinical work but are also increasingly undertaking non-clinical duties such as consultation, quality assurance, laboratory management, professional advocacy and education.
Long transports, ramps, slopes and heavy patients can all increase the risk of back and shoulder injuries to caregivers. The global company Stryker, among the world´s top 12 medical devices manufacturers, produces a huge range of orthopaedics products, including implants, powered surgical tools and operating theatre equipment, as well as products for other healthcare specialties, including…
The use of IT in Russian medical institutions is still low, partly due to poor funding but also to a lack of understanding among managers of its potential. Most physicians consider treatment is their duty – not IT. They prefer to use special software only for accounting and staffing policy.
Following fierce parliamentary debates last spring, the newly enacted law on Hospital reform is beginning to show concrete moves. One of these is to modify the remuneration system for doctors, in order to reinforce the attractiveness of public hospitals, which are suffering recruitment difficulties.
Der Frauenanteil im Medizinstudium hat mittlerweile die magische Grenze von 60% überschritten. Allerdings bleiben ca. ¼ aller Akademikerinnen kinderlos. Dennoch wird die Frage der Vereinbarkeit von Ärztinnenberuf und Familie zunehmend zur alltäglichen Managementherausforderung im Krankenhaus. Gleichzeitig sind so genannte Vereinbarkeitsfaktoren wichtige Attraktoren bei der…
The economic crisis has considerably intensified the relationship between what is ethically desirable and financially possible. This is clearly demonstrated by the numerous events devoted to the subject of “Financial Crisis and Health Policy” in the scope of the 12th European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG). Around 600 participants in the areas of politics, health administration, medicine,…
Cardiology centres worldwide experience an almost exponential rise in the number of in-hospital follow-ups of patients with implantable devices or heart failure (HF).This not only strains the available personnel resources, it also means a rapidly increasing cost to healthcare payers, especially in fee-for-service reimbursement situations.
Among Germany´s 2,087 hospitals, the country´s 32 university hospitals, employing 180,000 to care for up to two million patients, may appear to play a marginal role. However, their triad of research, education and applied medicine endow the university hospitals with enormous significance, for they not only represent medical science and research but also educate the nation's future physicians.…
Training healthcare personnel is not cheap; losing these human resources to other countries can prove even more costly. Where and why are nurses on the move?
The Leapfrog Group is a U.S. organisation of member companies that pay for healthcare services, e.g. corporations, health insurers and local, state and federal government agencies. Established in 2000, its philosophy is that big 'leaps' in healthcare safety, quality and value to patients will be recognised and rewarded. The organisation mobilises purchasing power of its members, representing over…
Reform of the French healthcare system was placed on a fast track for legislative approval that turned into a six-month marathon of debate punctuated by several street demonstrations. John Brosky reports
Dr Jonathan Fielden, Chairman of the Consultants Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), has called for private management consultants to be "ditched" from the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Healthcare in Germany will suffer if doctors and nurses cannot delegate certain tasks to others. So warned Udo Janssen MD MBA, speaking at the recent Gesundheitsnetzwerker (health network) congress held in Berlin. Blaming the inflexibility of new labour models that make them difficult to implement, Dr Janssen believes they need to be reviewed.
German health insurance funds do not use their customer data sufficiently, according to a study by consultancy agency Kienbaum, which also found that health insurers do not `cultivate a client-oriented culture´. (Clients = the medically insured).
Surgery generates between 25-40% of hospital revenues, and along with surgeons, specialist nurses are vital to the success of operating theatres. It is thus alarming to find that a survey of 600 theatre nurses has revealed that almost 50% of them would not choose the same profession again.
The so-called 2 in 1 educational model is an interesting innovation in nurse training; it aims at an efficient synthesis of theory and practice. Following a course of seven semesters, participants achieve the academic baccalaureate qualification, as well as a licence (in the form of a diploma) to practice in general healthcare.
64% of medical professionals are subjected to threats, coercion and insults. 34.4% have suffered threats and coercion on at least one occasion and 23.8% on numerous occasions. Similarly, 36.6% have been subjected to insults on at least one occasion.
The new Clinic of the University Hospital Eppendorf (UKE) in Hamburg, Germany, which opened on 2 February, is part of a "master plan" to transform the UKE into one of the most up-to-date and efficient hospitals in Europe.
Without developments in computers and information technology, medicine and radiology would not be what they are today. Data processing to an extent that a human being would never be able to manage, and transmission systems that make diagnoses independent of place and person, have made the computer one of the modern radiologist's most important allies. But which one of them is the boss? This…
Key success factors for hospital management
USA - Employment turnover is low and morale high. The level of response to patients call buttons is high - but, if not, patients can tell the hospital CEO. This is a formula that turns an ordinary community hospital into a star-rated healthcare establishment: the patients are happy with what they receive.
From Switzerland, Dr André Weissen reports that there are no consistent hospital guidelines regarding patients' faiths. 'There are neither any directives nor binding rules as to how a hospital is to treat Muslim patients, for example. Nevertheless, everybody everywhere is trying their utmost to accommodate their specific needs.'
Our correspondent Rostislav Kuklik (above) reports that the physician-to-patient relationship is always very specific when it comes to different cultures or ethnics. 'Worldwide, local doctors who care for patients from other than a major cultural background must be prepared to handle difficult situations, and solve truly unexpected issues.'
Anna Köck, Dipl. Rel-Päd (FH), Catholic Hospital Pastor at Graz University Hospital, Head of the Centre for Graz Hospital Staff and Head of the Christians and Muslims in the Hospital symposium, discusses the legal position of Islam in Austria and examines the question of cooperation or conflict between Christians and Muslims in the hospital.
