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HealthManagement, Volume 11, Issue 3 / 2009

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Editorial

This is the inevitable question in light of the low turnout at this year’s European Parliamentary elections. The reasons for this lack of motivation to participate in the democratic political structures of the EU are certainly manifold; doubtlessly the expectations that citizens place in the EU play a large part. Press commentaries and public opinion polls reported a lack of interest to the point of euro...

News

The Microbial Threat to Patient Safety in Europe The spread of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics is challenging healthcare. Antibiotics are losing their clinical effectiveness at a much faster pace than could have been predicted even five years ago. This has serious consequences ... Read more...

United Kingdom European Working Time Directive and Junior Doctors Health Secretary Alan Johnson has announced a review into the quality of training for junior doctors in light of the implementation of the European Working Time Directive. The review will evaluate concerns raised by many professionals that the introduction of the 48-hour working week will have a negative effect on junior doctors tr...

European Parliament Commits to Improving Patient Safety The European Parliament has adopted a report backing measures to reduce the number of infections in hospitals. These measures include support for research into this area, better education and information for both patients and staff and also the recruitment of specialised nurses. Patient safety has always been of great concern in the hospital e...

Safety European Union governments are giving a new priority to improving patient safety in hospitals and reducing healthcare associated infections. At their meeting in Luxembourg on 9 June, ministers from the 27 member countries adopted guidelines to help national health systems meet the twin objectives. Although the recommendation, based on a draft tabled by the European Commission last year, is non-bin...

Patient Mobility

An era of fruitful scientific investigation and medical breakthroughs in the early part of the twentieth century stimulated the evolution of modern medical institutions in Europe and North America. The latest technological innovations and clinical advances became increasingly available to the citizens of industrialised countries, however, people in less developed parts of the world continued to have limite...

With the increased number of international patients travelling for medical care comes an increased demand for information about the quality of care provided by a hospital. This article will discuss the relevant indicators of quality for international hospital patients and how they can be communicated. International patients have become a lucrative base for some hospitals, since these patients generally pay...

The provision of cross-border care is a phenomenon that has received considerable policy attention in the last few years. Nevertheless, knowledge on patient-safety and patient-centeredness issues related to patients crossing borders to obtain care remains rather scarce until now. There is remarkably little systematic information on the volume and scope of cross-border care, and in particular on the perspec...

The cover story so far has focused on patient mobility but there is another element in the equation: the mobility and migration of healthcare workers. It is not only the patients who are free to move around the European Union. This is both an asset and a challenge. Indeed it is one of the many challenges the facing health systems and the healthcare workforce in Europe. Launched officially in December...

Competition

Ireland has this year been rocked by the publication of a shocking report into neglect, abuse, cruelty and violence against children who were incarcerated in institutions operated by the all-powerful Catholic religious orders. The Ryan Report revealed a systemic culture of institutional secrecy behind which serious abuse and violence could fester. The cloak of secrecy in Irish public life extends wel...

During last autumn’s economic crisis, the American Hospital Association (AHA) turned to the Colorado Hospital Association’s (CHA) DATABANK Programme for timely data not available from any other sources in the country. The database of monthly hospital information helped the national trade association publish two executive briefs on the impact of the worsening US economy on community hospitals across the...

Management

Imagine the public alarm and local authority response if you discovered a bag of clinical waste lying in the street where you live. Most people would be terrified to come within 10 metres of the bright yellow bag with its official-looking “UN3291” text and biohazard symbol that conjures up the same fear as the familiar radioactive symbol. These images and legal controls are in place to protect us, but...

Through the implementation of the German Diagnosis Related Grouping (DRG) system and the resulting cost pressure, the need for optimised use and operation of the spatial resources in hospitals is growing. The link between primary processes and facility management services however, appears to be missing. In the framework of the research project OPIK – optimisation and analysis of processes in hospitals, a...

Medtech

Information technology and biomedical technology are subject to constant adaptation. This is particularly clear in the field of biomedical technology with its orientation on the narrow level between natural sciences and medicine. Reduced to a common denominator: “The patient should benefit as soon as possible from a technological advance”. This therefore calls for an interdisciplinary team consisting o...

Country Focus: Croatia

Introduction In 2008, immediately after the election and es ta blish ment of the Croatian Government, at the very beginning of his mandate, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare initiated and supported the model of structural innovative reform. In so doing, the ‘’rereform’’ idea was dismissed (that is to say ‘’reverting to the old but maintaining positive solutions’’), and the new ref...

In Croatia, hospitals are funded by monthly payments from the state healthcare budget, controlled by the state health insurance fund (Croatian Institute for Health Insurance, HZZO). Funds have to be accounted for through the issue of bills for medical services. These bills are a combination of fee-for-service (FFS) payments for outpatient services and charges levied under a Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) s...

Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka (KBC Rijeka) is a teaching and patient-centered hospital, providing clinical and empathetic care mostly for patients from Western (Costal) Croatia. The owner of the hospital is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the usual form of organisation for teaching hospitals in Croatia. As an academic medical centre, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka is dedicated to improv...

There is a long held tradition of mergers of healthcare institutions in Croatia. In 1952 pharmacies merged, followed by the merger of medical spas in 1954, and the merger of hospitals and out-of-hospital institutions in 1957. In 1962 the three above mentioned associations joined and formed the Association of Health Institutions. In 1996, after the legislation on mergers in healthcare had been introduced, t...

French

Sommes-Nous L'Europe La participation limitée des citoyens de l’UE à l’élection du nouveau Parlement européen impose la question. Les origines de ce manque de motivation sont nombreuses. Les attentes des citoyens vis-à-vis de l’Union européenne joue... Read more...

Les Microbes Menacent La Sécurité Du Patient En Europe La prolifération de bactéries résistantes aux antibiotiques représente un défi pour les soins de santé. Les antibiotiques perdent leur efficacité clinique à un rythme plus rapide que prévu jusqu’il y a cinq ans, et cela entraîne des consequences sérieuses sur la morbidité et la mortalité mais aussi sur la durée et le coût des séjo...

Tourisme Médical –Le Marché International du Voyage Medical Par Michael D. Horowitz Le marché du voyage médical a été transformé par l’émergence récente du tourisme médical, un phénomène où les citoyens des pays industrialisées contournent les services médicaux offerts dans leur propre pays pour se rendre dans des pays en voie de développement afin d’y recevoir des soins. Des tarif...

German

Sind Wir Europa? Die geringe Beteiligung der EU-Bürger an der Wahl zur Neuzusammensetzung des Europäischen Parlamentes drängt diese Frage auf. Die Ursachen dieser mangelnden Motivation zur demokratisch-politischen Mitgestaltung der EU sind sicherlich vi... Read more...

Die Mikrobielle Gefahr Für Patientensicherheit in Europa Die Ausbreitung Antibiotika-resistenter Bakterien ist eine Herausforderung für das Gesundheitswesen. Nachdem Antibiotika ihre klinische Wirksamkeit schneller verlieren, als dies noch vor fünf Jahren hätte vorausgesagt werden können, sind die Konsequenzen für Morbidität und Mortalität schwerwiegend – nicht zu vergessen die Auswirkungen auf...

Medizintourismus – Der Internationale Medizinreisemarkt Von Michael D. Horowitz Der Markt für medizinisch bedingtes Reisen ist durch das aktuelle Aufkommen des Medizintourismus grundlegend verändert worden. Hierbei handelt es sich um ein Phänomen, in dem Bürger der Industrienationen die in ihrem eigenen Land angebotenen Gesundheitsleistungen umgehen und in Ent - wicklungsländer reisen, um sich d...

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