Advancing Taiwan's Healthcare: AI and Accelerated Computing at NHRI & CGMH
2024 12 Jun
Taiwan’s leading medical centres, the National Health Research Institute (NHRI) and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH), are advancing biomedical research and healthcare through the integration of accelerated computing and generative AI. These institutions are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to revolutionise everything from imaging to patient...Read more
UCSF's IMPACC: Revolutionising AI Monitoring for Enhanced Healthcare
2024 04 Jun
The UCSF Division of Clinical Informatics and Digital Transformation (DoC-IT) and UCSF Health received a $5 million donation from Ken and Kathy Hao to develop the Impact Monitoring Platform for AI in Clinical Care (IMPACC). This platform aims to provide a continuous, real-time, and automated evaluation of AI technologies used in clinical settings,...Read more
50 Years of Immunisation: Global Vaccine Impact and Future Challenges
2024 04 Jun
The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), established by the World Health Assembly in May 1974, aimed to extend vaccination benefits globally, initially focusing on smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, and measles by 1990. Motivated by the successful eradication of smallpox in 1980, the program has since expanded...Read more
Toward a Healthier Europe: EU Lawmakers Pledge to Increase Healthcare Access
2024 30 May
As the European Union prepares for the upcoming elections, the issue of healthcare takes centre stage in the electoral debate. Two prominent lawmakers, Tomislav Sokol and Tilly Metz, engaged in a thought-provoking discussion presented by MSD, highlighting their visions for a healthier Europe. Towards Universal Healthcare: Addressing Europe's...Read more
Optimising Capacity and Data Liberation for Healthcare Access
2024 30 May
Patient access to healthcare has been a longstanding concern, one that predates the digital revolution and the current challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. It's a multifaceted issue stemming from various factors like affordability, transportation limitations, and the availability of appointments. While the healthcare system grapples with capacity...Read more
US and Europe Gear Up for H5N1 Bird Flu Vaccine Deployment
2024 30 May
Amidst the potential pandemic threat, the United States and Europe are taking proactive measures to acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines. This strategic move not only aims to safeguard at-risk populations but also promises to mitigate the looming threat of a widespread outbreak. Global Collaboration in Strengthening Defenses Against...Read more
Enhancing Specialty Healthcare Access: A Collaborative Model for Virtual Care Delivery
2024 22 May
Access to specialty healthcare in the United States is already strained and projected to worsen due to a significant physician shortage. This is especially pronounced in rural areas. Henry Ford Health, a large metropolitan health system, offers advanced tertiary and quaternary services, but access gaps persist, particularly for complex cases like...Read more
UK to Ban Tobacco Use For Young Generation
2024 17 Apr
The UK is on the brink of a monumental shift in its approach to smoking, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spearheading efforts to usher in a "smoke-free generation." This ambitious initiative, now backed by MPs, aims to drastically reduce smoking-related deaths and create a healthier future for the nation. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill: A Blueprint...Read more
Accelerated Approval in Oncology: Efficacy, Trends, and Patient-Centric Considerations
2024 09 Apr
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves new drugs that are deemed safe and effective when their benefits outweigh their risks. The accelerated approval pathway, developed in response to the HIV epidemic of the 1980s, allows promising drugs for unmet medical needs to reach the market faster. This is based on surrogate measures that are...Read more
Impact of 21st Century Cures Act on Patient Access to Radiology Reports
2024 09 Apr
The 21st Century Cures Act, a landmark legislation signed into law in 2016, aimed to revolutionise healthcare delivery by addressing information blocking and promoting patient-centred care. A crucial aspect of this legislation was ensuring patients' timely access to their electronic health information, including radiology reports. Implemented in...Read more
Electronic Health Records Improve Scheduling Accuracy & Resources Utilisation
2024 13 Mar
Operating rooms (ORs) represent a significant investment and resource-intensive aspect of hospital operations, with approximately 60% of admitted patients undergoing treatment in these facilities. Precise scheduling of OR time slots is crucial for optimal resource utilisation. Accurate predictions of elective operation durations are essential to...Read more
Cancer Prevention Through Vaccination: EU’s Plan for 2024
2024 09 Feb
Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is a political commitment to turn the tide against cancer and another stepping stone towards a strong European Health Union and a more secure, better-prepared and more resilient EU. In 2020, 2.7 million people in the European Union were diagnosed with cancer, and another 1.3 million people lost their lives to it, including...Read more
WHO Unveils Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP) as Successor to C-TAP
2024 06 Feb
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the establishment of the Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP) as the successor to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP). This initiative aims to ensure equitable and affordable access to essential health products globally. WHO leverages pandemic experience into expanding access to...Read more
NHS Plans to Improve Access to Primary Care
2023 29 May
The government will invest £645 million over two years to expand community pharmacy services. For the first time, patients who need prescription medication will be able to directly receive it from a pharmacy, without a GP appointment. This will be allowed for several common conditions including earache, sore throat, or urinary tract infections....Read more
WHO Report: Record Decline in Childhood Vaccinations
2022 19 Jul
Official data published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF show the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years. The number of children receiving three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) has decreased by 5 percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81%....Read more
FDA Approves COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Under Five
2022 19 Jun
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children under five. Vaccine advisors at the CDC have voted unanimously in support of the measure. As a result, the COVID-19 vaccine can now be given to children as young as six months old. The Pfizer vaccine is good for...Read more
Vaccines Provide Everyone a Chance to Live a Fulfilling Life
2022 25 Apr
The World Health Organization (WHO) will focus on the theme of ‘Long Life for All’ for World Immunization Week, 24-30 April 2022. The goal is to bring people to understand that vaccines let us to pursue our dreams, protect our loved ones, and make it possible for us to live a long & healthy life. Every April, World Immunization Week brings people frRead more
Europe’s Unvaccinated Are Dropping Out of Society
2022 18 Jan
After little over two years, governments worldwide are still dealing with the challenge of ending the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, vaccines have been available for a year, but a loud minority has refused them and the vaccination certificates that accompany them. Many nations have imposed stricter rules and restrictions on the unvaccinated to...Read more
Phase 1 Trial for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Vaccine Begins
2022 11 Jan
Cleveland Clinic researchers along with Anixa Biosciences have initiated a phase 1 clinical trial to test a vaccine intended to prevent triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC). This trial is a first of its kind. TNBCs are named so because they test negative for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and excess HER2 protein. Since these are...Read more
Supreme Court Fight Looms for U.S. COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
2021 23 Dec
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments challenging the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates for businesses with at least 100 workers and health care workers on 7 January. This follows a recent ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which lifted an injunction that blocked the Occupational Safety and Health...Read more
EU Approves 5th COVID-19 Vaccine, by Novavax
2021 22 Dec
The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation for Novavax’s COVID-19 Vaccine for individuals 18 years or older. The U.S. biotech, Novavax , currently holds emergency use authorisations for its two-dose vaccine in the Philippines and Indonesia and has received emergency use listing from the World Health Organization. Unlike...Read more
EHMA Webinar: Person-Centered Healthcare, Access, and Sustainability
2021 13 Dec
On 9 December, the European Health Management Association (EHMA) held its second webinar on ‘Health Management: managing the present and shaping the future’. The session was moderated by EHMA Board President Dr Axel Kaehne, and EHMA Executive Director Mr George Valiotis, who also gave opening remarks. The webinar session, building upon the insights...Read more
Austria Imposes Full Lockdown and Compulsory Vaccination
2021 20 Nov
Austria is the first EU country to go into full lockdown this season after COVID-19 cases surged. Whereas incidence rates weeks ago were less than 250 cases per 100,000, it now exceeds 1300 per 100,000 and continues on a steep upward trajectory. Hospitals have been overwhelmed with many new COVID-19 patients, and deaths have been rising again, too. ...Read more
Cervical Cancer Cut by 87% in HPV-Vaccinated Women
2021 05 Nov
New research, funded by Cancer Research UK and published in The Lancet, found 87% lower cervical cancer rates in English women who were offered the Cervarix human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine vaccinated at ages 12 and 13 than unvaccinated women of similar age. This study provides the first direct evidence of Cervarix‘s effectiveness in lowering cervical...Read more
Pfizer Uses COVID-19 Vaccine to Leverage Terms to Governments
2021 31 Oct
Last February, Pfizer was accused of bullying Latin American governments over COVID-19 vaccine supplies. Public Citizen, in investigating government supply contracts, found that Pfizer retains the right ‘to silence governments, throttle supply, shift risk and maximize profits in the worst public health crisis in a century.’ Their analysis included draft...Read more
U.S. FDA Backs J@J COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters
2021 19 Oct
On Friday, 15 October, a U.S. FDA advisory committee unanimously recommended that all adults that received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine get a booster shot at least two months after their first shot. J&J now joins Pfizer and Moderna in gaining an FDA recommendation for a booster. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna recommendations which...Read more
Portugal’s Eligible Population Is 98% Vaccinated
2021 03 Oct
Last January, Portugal’s healthcare system was undergoing collapse, with hospitals overflowing and intensive care beds running out. At that time, Portugal’s COVID-19 incidence peaked at 164 per 100,000 (28 January), but Portugal had fewer ICU beds per 100,000 than the rest of Europe. Since Portugal’s ICU could only accommodate 672 COVID-19 patients,...Read more
Two Doses Make Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine 94% Effective
2021 22 Sep
In July, New York University researchers published results (Tada et. al, 2021) indicating the one-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine was less effective at preventing Delta variant infections. Although the study is not yet peer-reviewed, this finding is troubling given that the Delta variant now accounts for most US COVID-19 cases. Booster doses were...Read more
Pfizer Says COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Children Ages 5 and Up
2021 21 Sep
Given that children and adolescents can get sick with COVID-19, attending K-12 schools in-person remains a risk. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children accounted for 25.7% of US cases for the week of 16 September (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2021), while hospitalisations averaged 311 children/day (Centers for Disease Control...Read more
EMA’s Conclusion on Janssen Vaccine and Blood Clots
2021 21 Apr
The European Medicines Agency has completed its safety review for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen giving conclusions similar to those on AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria. You might also like: EMA announced that the single dose Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in individuals 18 years of age and older in the European...Read more
