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Chairing a two day conference on e-health and presenting at a groundbreaking Innovation in Healthcare conference put on by DG Research has further fuelled my enthusiasm for telling the story about the power of technology to enable massive changes to the way that populations are cared for, whilst simultaneously improving outcomes, the patient experience and cost. If all this seems too good to be true just look at what the alternatives might be.

Though we live in countries with well-funded and advanced healthcare settings, we all know that receiving medical treatment inevitably carries risk with it. However, less is known about the procedures in place to minimise the risk of adverse events. Should I be scared to enter a healthcare setting? How do I know if the hospital where I am treated has a procedure in place to minimise risk so that it is not complicated by an infection?

Everybody who has anything to do with electrical medical devices has been watching with interest the progress of the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) Directives through the European political process. RoHS, which should soon be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, has been especially important as the latest iteration of the Directive will see medical devices falling within its scope from about April/May 2014.

Recent events in Brussels are pointing to a fresh, healthy airing of views and more robust debate on the Recast. (By the way, I’ve noticed that everybody says ‘Recast’ but not too many people know what a ‘Recast’ is. So for all those legal and regulatory ‘techies’ among you, click here, all others steer clear!). […]

Just before the Christmas break I purchased a beautiful flat screen television of exactly the same dimensions as one that I had bought four years previously. The price was something like 25% of what I had paid earlier and the picture much better. I also engaged in a renegotiation of my mobile phone contract and […]

The turn of the year brings all manner of analysis of the events of one year and predictions for the year ahead. 2010 will not be fondly remembered by many as it heralded the impact of the 2008 banking crisis on the real world of citizens and business. For those in the public sector and […]

Eucomed published on 23 December 2010 its first Compliance Panel recommendation on the sponsorship of third party educational conferences by Eucomed members. The Panel, an independent body of three external opinion leading experts, was appointed to help provide guidance on the interpretation of the Eucomed Code of Ethical Business Practice as well as drive European harmonisation with […]

A new report by the OECD makes sobering reading as it makes the point that continued expansion of spending in developed countries is unsustainable. Reading the reported highlights, a couple of statements jumped out at me. “Healthcare costs are escalating rapidly, driven by population aging, rising relative prices and costly developments in medical technology. Public […]

In a time when much health industry focus is on the European Commission’s Health Directorate, DG SANCO, EU Commissioner for Research Máire Geoghegan-Quinn chose Covidien’s 20 year celebration of their Galway, Ireland, facility (congratulations to all at Covidien) to emphasise again the value of the Medical Technology industry to Europe and the huge policy and funding support that she and her Directorate, DG Research, provide to the sector.