507 results
Posted on 21.04.2010
Patient safety and public perception: transparency, transparency, transparency…
Patient safety and public perception: transparency, transparency, transparency…In scanning the disparate output of the EU machine I came across a thought provoking survey of EU citizens on the subject of patient safety. Perception surveys are scientifically questionable as they deal in the currency of (often poorly informed) individual’s views. Politically and from a policy perspective […]
Musings on markets from weary traveller
Like much of the business community I have had plenty of time for thought and reading. A 24 hour trip to Milan has turned into a five day marathon. Both reading and experience have stimulated thoughts about the operation of markets. Firstly, after several hours on Thursday, I managed to secure a hotel room in […]
Is corruption an ethnocentric concept? My first experience as a guest lecturer
Talking about ethics and compliance as industry understands it within the frame of a course of Health Systems Management given at the Public Health School of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) presented itself as a challenge. On the one hand, Eucomed is putting a lot of efforts into promoting a culture of integrity and […]
Outsourcing R&D and the Medtech industry
In recent weeks within the pharmaceutical industry there has been much talk of both downsizing – GSK and AstraZeneca shedding 11,000 jobs – and outsourcing of research and development, with a whole range of licensing or partnership deals designed to pad out faltering product pipelines. Once again I was prompted to think about the prospect […]
Posted on 10.02.2010
Dreaming of health equality across the EU?
An ageing frequent traveller (this time sat on a plane taking me from frigid Brussels to what I hope will be altogether better conditions in Southern Spain) I am often exercised by what would await me if I were to get sick on my travels. Like most citizens of the EU-15, I would probably seek […]
Posted on 16.12.2009
Avoiding repeats of the ‘Greek Tragedy’
As the true depth of the Greek debt crisis unfolds it is hard to understand why the alarm bells were not ringing long ago. In our sector alone there is something in the region of €2.3 billion of unpaid bills and this has not happened overnight. We were warning of this particular symptom almost two […]
Posted on 29.10.2009
Waste and paying for tomorrow’s healthcare
Yesterday’s report by Thomson Reuters on the real causes of excessive costs in the US healthcare system make interesting reading. Centre stage is over-treatment generated by a litigious culture which encourages patients to sue and, from that, doctors to perform tests and procedures, not because in their clinical judgement the patient needs them but because […]
Posted on 14.10.2009
John Wilkinson at AdvaMed 2009: A view on the US health reforms
A chill wind is blowing through Washington D.C. this morning and it is not just the cold front from the North blowing away the warm Autumn sun of yesterday. Yesterday, the Obama health reforms took their first step on a long and perilous road through the legislature when the Senate Finance Committee passed the preliminary […]
John Brennan: Irish YES to Europe
I put it down to Irish politeness to always say “no” first when asked if we want something and to follow up with a “yes” when asked the second time. “Will you have a cup of Lisbon tea?Oh no thank you, I’ve had quite enough already.Are you sure? I’ve just made some and I can […]