Canterbury and West Coast District Health Boards (DHBs) in New Zealand are set to implement a new digital patient observation and alert response system, aimed at helping clinicians identify deteriorating patients earlier. The Patientrack system will be introduced from November and is designed to make patient observations immediately visible to clinical teams anywhere through hospital information systems.

Partly due to positive currency effects, Agfa HealthCare posted solid top line growth for the third consecutive quarter. In the Imaging segment's digital radiography business (consisting of Computed Radiography (CR), Direct Radiography (DR) and the hardcopy business), the DR product range's revenue continued to grow strongly, while the hardcopy product range also performed well.

Mental health disorders are the 'single largest cause of disability in the UK', said life science minister George Freeman when he announced the creation of a £650,000 prize fund to develop new mental health apps. Using technology to support greater self-care is a key part of the NHS' digital vision for both physical and mental health.

Opinion Article by Robert Dunlop, Clinical Director, Elsevier Clinical Solutions.
Good care costs less, the health secretary announced. How much less? According to NHS productivity lead Lord Carter, around £5 billion a year less. That is the amount that the NHS could save if it reduced the amount of unwarranted variation in clinical care.

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) and Mackenzie Health, a regional healthcare provider serving Southwest York Region in Ontario, Canada, announced a CAD 300 million (approximately EUR 210 million), 18-year large scale alliance that will advance Mackenzie Health's medical technology procurement and maintenance programs for the existing Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital and the future Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, which will be completed in 2019.

Overweight patients are more difficult to image using ultrasound because greater amounts of tissue weaken sound waves as they pass into the body, which hinders the ability to achieve high-resolution images. Carestream's Touch Prime and Touch Prime XE Ultrasound Systems can provide deep penetration of the abdomen and other areas, which is especially important for large or obese patients.

SYSTEMA Deutschland GmbH, a 100 percent subsidiary of the global leading eHealth company CompuGroup Medical AG (CGM), concluded a contract for the 100% acquisition of LMZSOFT AG in Saalfeld, thus expanding its market leadership as a software provider for rehabilitation and specialty clinics.