The COVID-19 pandemic has some potential positive outcomes, including opportunities to increase resilience in children. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in death and serious illness for millions of people. Frustratingly, many of these individuals suffered and died because mitigation efforts, which should have been sensible scientific discussions,...
READ MOREHello, my dear readers, Time flies, and here we are – in April 2021. The last few weeks have been quite emotional because I started to review what has happened over the last 12-13 months, that is between March 2020 – April 2021. I have only so much space to write down my thoughts here, but Jesus – we would need LIVES...
READ MOREThe ICU is one of the most challenging places to work in a hospital. Caring for and treating critically ill patients is as emotionally demanding as it is physically straining. Burdened with serious illnesses, patients in the ICU often need more attention than patients on regular wards. The nursing job has been complex and stressful before...
READ MOREIn February 2020, news started filtering slowly through the media about a fast-spreading virus in China. Within a month it hit South Africa, and the President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team had the unenviable task to warn and educate all citizens about the impending virus. Their initial addresses to the nation was of doom and gloom and instant lockdown...
READ MOREIt’s time to address the Amazon in the room Anyone who has been to the future can predict what Amazon will do next. However, to the skilled observer, all the pieces are laid out—the elements are on the table. It will simply be a connect-the-dots moment to realise the big bang that we are about to experience. For the last 25 years,...
READ MORELet’s start with a quip. When you want to become an oncologist, you only need three or four years of primary school. You need to be able to read and write. The pathologist will tell you what type of cancer the patient has, you can read in the protocol what to do, what the treatment is, and for the dose you need to know: ‘Is it a man or a woman,...
READ MOREIn this space I explore monthly topics, from concepts to technologies, related to the necessary steps to build Digital Healthcare Systems. For the month of April 2021, I have invited João Santinha to co-author a brief article on ‘AI, Medical Liability, in a "Moving" Image’. We dive into the December 2020 topic and focus on the medical liability...
READ MOREImportant response to COVID-19 The thought of returning to pre-COVID conditions is on everyone’s mind. This includes business owners who have been hard hit by the pandemic. However, they have also pivoted and acclimatised well during this period. They have been able to do so through, among other things, digital marketing. The...
READ MOREPower to the Patient It’s there, it’s everywhere, in multiple shapes and forms. Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Cardano... Ever since bitcoin saw the light of day, we have been immersed in the bitcoin fever: the idea of a safe investment or a volatile currency with variable levels of speculation. However, blockchain...
READ MOREIf somebody had asked me this question, “How are you, nurse?” 6-8 weeks ago, I would have probably cried. The situation in Great Britain was pretty tough, worse than in March-April 2020, when the whole crisis of COVID-19 started for us in the UK! I guess no other European country had to go through that bushfire we have to go through with the...
READ MORE“Cancer is a mobile disease. It changes while you look at it. Treat it like tuberculosis; 4 drugs for one year, at the same time!” Professor David Tuveson, CSHL We do not execute what we already know! Patients are dying because the scientific knowledge that is available today is not implemented to improve the...
READ MOREWhy all health organisations need them, how can you become one, and why now? In this space I explore monthly topics, from concepts to technologies, related to the necessary steps to build Digital Healthcare Systems. For the month of March 2021, I choose to discuss education for Digital Health in a brief article ‘Why all healthcare...
READ MOREDr Rafael Grossmann, MD, FACS , is a practicing surgeon in the USA as well as a global speaker, healthcare and education technologist and futurist. Originally from Venezuela, he did his surgery residency in Ann Arbor, MI, USA, and developed as a General, Trauma, Advanced Laparoscopic and Robotic surgeon; he now practices in Maine, USA. His...
READ MOREIn the UK the incidence numbers are going down, which is a relief to see and to feel. I was pretty down at the beginning of 2021 and hope seemed far away. Four weeks down the line, and I am happier again. I can see what the huge vaccination programme (over 13% of the U.K. population has been vaccinated) has brought...
READ MOREA pandemic-free text. In a season of inaugural addresses, I am humbled to have one of my own... As this new year begins, I begin it with the launch of this column – a space where, once a month, I will serve as an observer in this ever-expanding healthcare ecosystem. From my vantage point as a business school law...
READ MOREThe costs of loneliness, and telepresence as a social snack In this space I explore monthly topics, from concepts to technologies, related to the necessary steps to build Digital Healthcare Systems. For the month of February 2021, I have invited Prof. Luisa Lima to co-author a brief article on ‘The costs of loneliness and...
READ MOREDigital technologies are impacting our way of living on a daily basis allowing customers to shop online, make travelling arrangements, use banking services, educational platforms, without physical presence. Healthcare was adopting innovative technologies aiming to increase accuracy of medical outcomes but embracing digital tools for online services...
READ MOREA personal reflection from a COVID-recovered Staff Nurse. Happy New Year! I should scream it from the bottom of my heart to you all, dear readers, but it is only early January and I don’t feel really happy. It is THE NEW YEAR, but my feelings say – it is still March 2020 onwards, when the horror of COVID-19 started in the UK....
READ MOREShortage of skilled manpower is a widespread fact and has indeed not spared radiology. If you are looking into details why radiological manpower is missing, you will find different reasons for it. · Radiology seems not to be that attractive anymore for young doctors · Further, radiology itself gets more and more complex and the ongoing specialization...
READ MOREIn this space I explore monthly topics, from concepts to technologies, related to the necessary steps to build Digital Healthcare Systems. For the month of January 2021, I look onto liability issues of artificial intelligence (AI) use in hospitals; next month we will explore why a ‘Societal Health’ perspective is key in the maturation and resilience...
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