The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health, Lord O’Shaughnessy, has revealed a new package of support worth over £85 million, intended to assist British businesses with developing medical innovations.
It is then hoped that the technological breakthroughs will be utilised within the NHS system.
The funding can be considered the first step in the implementation of recommendations made in the Accelerated Access Review.
This document was intended to ensure that... Readmore
A new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis could be made available on the NHS in the foreseeable future.
Regulators ruled Eli Lilly’s Olumiant to be cost-effective meaning that some patients could benefit from the treatment in the coming months.
Draft guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommend Olumiant (baricitinib) as an option for treating severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adults whose disease has responded inadequately to intensive therapy with conventional... Readmore
Writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Dr Jeremy Howick and Dr Sian Rees of the Oxford Empathy Programme, say a new paradigm of empathy-based medicine is needed to improve patient outcomes, reduce practitioner burnout and save money.
Existing digital technologies must be exploited to enable a paradigm shift in current healthcare delivery which focuses on tests, treatments and targets rather than the therapeutic benefits of empathy, according to the eminent physicians.
Empathy-based... Readmore
St Michael’s Hospital achieved a significant milestone in East Ireland’s journey towards digitally enabled healthcare by going live with an electronic patient management system in its Emergency Department (ED).
The new system will effectively make the ED paper-lite as the core clinical and administrative processes move from being paper-based to electronic.
And representatives from St Michael’s state that this was achieved with no disruption to patient care.
The new software, referred... Readmore
An expert on cyber security has warned that the Scottish government must spend significantly more if unavoidable cyber attacks on NHS computer systems are to be avoided.
The comments of Prof Bill Buchanan follow a ransomware attack on 11 health boards in Scotland last month.
This so-called WannaCry attack also impacted on computer systems worldwide.
Buchanan believes that this incident should be considered a wake-up call to the government and health authorities.
While ransomware is a serious... Readmore
Researchers have reportedly identified a new type of immune cell which could have a massive impact on lung cancer.
Scientists say that it will be possible to predict which lung cancer patients will benefit most from treatment with immunotherapy by utilising the newly discovered cell.
Cancer Research UK has been involved in the funding of the study, which has been published in the journal Nature Immunotherapy.
And researchers demonstrated that lung cancer patients with a high level of tissue-resident... Readmore
A new clinical trial conducted on prostate cancer has delivered powerful results according to researchers based in Britain.
Early intervention with a drug intended to relieve the deadly condition produced excellent results, according to a new study.
The trial assessed abiraterone as an additional treatment in patients with prostate cancer who were about to start long-term hormone therapy.
Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, with researchers finding that the treatment... Readmore
Wales is the destination for the UK's first high-energy proton beam machine.
Proton Partners International (PPI) delivered the technology to its new location in Newport.
The cancer-treating machine will be located at the Rutherford Cancer Centre.
PPI proclaims the technology to be the "most-advanced piece of cancer machinery" in the UK.
It is hoped that the proton beam machine will transform the treatment of 500 cancer patients annually.
This will be a real boost for Newport and could... Readmore
A new GP pilot application is set to play a key role in the future of surgeries, but its founder states that it will never entirely replace human doctors.
Ada enables patients to create a profile, with the software utilising an artificial intelligence engine in order to make a diagnosis.
Personalised reports are provided by Ada, along with the suggested steps.
Patients are able to have a supplementary video consultation with a human GP once the process has been completed.
Ada founder... Readmore
Royal Bolton Hospital has utilised a mobile application in order to improve patient care.
The hospital uses Patientrack to better manage care for patients at night, improve vital communication between nurses and doctors, and manage staff workloads.
And the trust is the first in the country to use the technology solely to help manage the hospital at night.
The technology is playing a major role in improving patient safety and saving important time in co-ordinating crucial interventions for patients... Readmore
Almost 20% of healthcare organisations have cancelled preparations for EU General Data Protection Regulation because of Brexit.
The regulation, which has been in the pipeline for some years, is designed to harmonise data protection regulation throughout Europe and provide citizens with more control over their personal data.
It has been ratified by the UK and is due to come into force in May 2018; almost certainly before Britain completes its exit from Europe, despite the recent triggering of Article... Readmore
Public Health England (PHE) has made a strong statement about data sharing within the healthcare system, indicating that it runs the risk of undermining public confidence in the NHS.
The authoritative healthcare body particularly points to the pooling of personal information by NHS commissioners and healthcare providers, stating that this could have unintended and serious consequences for patients.
In a series of letters published by the Health Select Committee, PHE and the National Data Guardian... Readmore
