12th International Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Compliance Congress
This May, the 12th International Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Compliance Congress will take place in Vienna, Austria, at the Hotel Savoyen, from the 14th through the 16th.
Keynote speakers for this conference include: Nicola Bedlington, Secretary General, European Patients Forum (EPF), Former Director, European Disability Forum, Brussels, Belgium; Jan Oliver Huber, General Secretary, Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry (PHARMIG), Vienna, Austria; Camilla de Silva, Joint Head of Bribery and Corruption, Serious Fraud Office, London, UK; and George “Ren” McEachern, CFE, CAMS, Managing Director, Exige...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 20, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
The Skeptical Oncologist
By BISHAL GYAWALI, MD
Why conduct post approval studies at all?
Atezolizumab previously received accelerated approval in second-line metastatic or advanced urothelial cancer based on response rates from a single arm trial. The results of post approval confirmatory phase 3 are now published and demonstrate that atezolizumab did not improve survival versus chemotherapy (11.1 v 10.6 months, HR 0.87, p = 0.41). The concept of accelerated approval is to grant early and conditional approval and access to drugs in diseases of unmet need, and that the decision to fully approve or revoke be made based on results of confirmato...
Source: The Health Care Blog - February 7, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
More Evidence of the High Collateral Damage of a War on Cash
The leading arguments for banning large-denomination currency notes are those made in a much-cited working paper byPeter Sands and at book length byKenneth Rogoff. They have been rebutted persuasively byPierre Lemieux andJeffrey Hummel in their respective reviews of Rogoff ’s book. I have previously offered my own rebuttalshere andhere.The justification for returning to the topic now is that two recent reports, issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and by theEuropean Central Bank, provide new evidence on the public ’s use of large-denomination notes. This evidence is essential to any serious evaluation ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 26, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Lawrence H. White Source Type: blogs
The 1000th Thread!
This is the 1000th presentation to my bioethics blog since starting on Google Blogspot.com in 2004.There has been many topics covered. Though comments by the visitors has always been encouraged and, since as a "discussion blog", comments leading to discussions I have felt was the definitive function here. Virtually none of the thread topics have gone unread and most have had some commentary, some with mainly particularly strong and emphatic opinions http://bioethicsdiscussion.blogspot.com/2013/01/should-pathologists-be-physicians.html, some with extensive up to 12 years long continued discussion http://bioethicsdiscussion....
Source: blog.bioethics.net - December 24, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Maurice Bernstein, M.D. Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
A Few PIRLS of Wisdom on New Reading Results
The latest international academic assessment results are out —this time focused on 4th grade reading —and the news isn’t great for the United States. But how bad is it? I offer a few thoughts—maybe not that wise, but I needed a super-clever title—that might be worth contemplating.The exam is theProgress in International Reading Literacy Study—PIRLS—which was administered to roughly representative samples of children in their fourth year of formal schooling in 58 education systems. The systems are mainly national, but also some sub-national levels such as Hong Kong and the Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium. PI...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 7, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Neal McCluskey Source Type: blogs
Varian ’s New Flagship Radiotherapy System Now in Europe
Varian has released its Halcyon image-guided volumetric intensity modulated radiotherapy system (IMRT) in Europe at University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. The system, recently FDA cleared, is designed to be speedier during prep, while delivering therapy, and providing an assessment of results. The number of steps that technicians have to undertake for each patient have been reduced to a third, compared to previous Varian systems. The first patient in Europe to be treated with the Halcyon was a 80-year-old with head & neck cancer.
The system essentially includes a CT scanner within the device, providing volumetric imagi...
Source: Medgadget - October 26, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Radiation Oncology Radiology Source Type: blogs
Corporate Tax Cuts and Tax Revenues
The Republicantax reform framework envisions cutting the federal corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent. There may be pressure in coming weeks to scale-back some of the framework ’s pro-growth provisions in order to hit revenue targets, but policymakers should stick with their corporate rate target.Various groups have modeled the revenue effects of proposed corporate rate cuts, but they generally do not account for the full dynamic effects of reform. We can get an idea of the full effects by looking at actual reforms abroad.Sharp corporate tax rate cuts inCanada andBritain do not seem to have lost those governments muc...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 16, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Chris Edwards Source Type: blogs
Belgian Sunshine Act Decrees Issued, Providing Guidance
On June 23, 2017, the Belgian “Sunshine Act” became law, requiring life science companies to disclose relationships with healthcare actors in the country. The Decree confirmed that the first publication of data under the statutory transparency regime will cover transfers of value for the year 2017 and will be published on betransparent.be by June 30, 2018.
The June 23 Decree notes that the provisions of the Sunshine Act apply to “premiums and benefits granted during calendar year 2017 to healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations and/or patient organizations.”
A second Decree was issued on August 22, 2017...
Source: Policy and Medicine - October 10, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
World ’s Densest Neural Probe to Power Brain-Computer Interfaces, Implants
Imec, a nanotechnology and digital technology research institution in Belgium, has developed the world’s densest neural probe. The ability to build ever more complex and capable brain-computer interfaces and neural implants requires being able to interface with as many neurons as possible. The new neural probe is so densely packed with electrodes that individual neurons can be read and stimulated using the new device.
“Our goal was to fabricate a brain probe that would enable a breakthrough in the level of detail by which micro circuits of the brain cortex and also deep brain structures can be studied,” s...
Source: Medgadget - October 3, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Rehab Source Type: blogs
Case of the Week 462
This week I am introducing an exciting new collaboration with Idzi Potters and theInstitute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp. This renowned institution has provided health care and research in the field of tropical infectious diseases for more than a century and has accumulated a wealth of marvelous instructive cases. We will share a case from their archives on thefirst Monday of each Month.This month ' s case is of a 60 year-old Belgian woman with a long history of travel to sub-Saharan Africa. She presented with persistent upper abdominal discomfort and radiologic imaging revealed a large liver cyst. Below are representative...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - October 2, 2017 Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs
Thelaziasis
The following background data on Thelaziasis are abstracted from Gideon www.GideonOnline.com. Primary references are available from the author.
Thelaziasis (“oriental eye worm”) in humans was first reported in China in 1917, and autochthonous cases were initially limited to Asia. Over 1,000 cases of human infection were estimated for Asia during a 20-year period (2016 publication) Cases have since been reported in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The condition is most common during summer and fall, and involves proximity to dogs. 61% of patients are either elderly adults, or children ages three to six...
Source: GIDEON blog - September 23, 2017 Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Dr. Stephen Berger Tags: General Source Type: blogs
International Conference on End of Life Law, Ethics, Policy, and Practice (ICEL3) – Belgium 2019
I have been to the first and second International Conference on End of Life Law, Ethics, Policy, and Practice (ICEL1 and ICEL2). Both included world experts from a wide range of disciplines. I encourage you to plan to participate in the third ICE... (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - September 20, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
3D-Printed Robotic Arm for Sign Language Translation
A team of engineers at the University of Antwerp in The Netherlands has developed a 3D-printed robotic arm that can act as a sign language translator for deaf people.
Sign language interpreters are often in short supply, and so this research team set out to develop a low cost automated system that can translate text into sign language. “A deaf person who needs to appear in court, a deaf person following a lesson in a classroom somewhere. These are all circumstances where a deaf person needs a sign language interpreter, but where often such an interpreter is not readily available. This is where a low-cost option, can offe...
Source: Medgadget - August 21, 2017 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Rehab Source Type: blogs
End-of-Life Healthcare Sessions at ASBH 2017
Conclusion: Patients with LEP had significant differences and disparities in
end-of-life decision-making. Interventions to facilitate informed
decision-making for those with LEP is a crucial component of care for this
group.
THU 1:30 pm: “But She’ll Die if You Don’t!”: Understanding and
Communicating Risks at the End of Life (Janet Malek)
Clinicians sometimes decline to offer interventions even if their refusal will
result in an earlier death for their patients. For example, a nephrologist may
decide against initiating hemodialysis despite a patient’s rising creatinine
levels if dea...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - July 26, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
Health Affairs Briefing: Advanced Illness And End-Of-Life Care
Few areas of health
care are as personal, or as fraught, as care for people with serious
illnesses who are approaching death. At a point in their lives when their
needs are often as much social and spiritual as they are medical, people
are confronted with a fragmented, rescue-driven health care
system that produces
miraculous results but also disastrous failures.
As the nation’s population of individuals over the age of 65 is expected to
reach 84 million by 2050, addressing these challenges becomes increasingly
important, requiring coordination across multiple sectors and levels of
government. ...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - June 29, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
