Health

A trial co-ordinated by the University of Birmingham has identified an alternative and more effective pain relieving drug for women in labour, which could significantly reduce the number of women requiring an epidural.

Experts decry record-breaking scepticism towards vaccines across the EU and plead with member states to monitor attitudes and work to build public confidence

By measuring and comparing patient outcomes, a hospital group in the Netherlands has cut down on unnecessary x-rays, reduced surgical complications and delivered better results for cancer patients. Payers have taken note

The need to adopt a more value-based approach to healthcare is pressing, but some question if it is right to map the patient-centric model proposed by Harvard economist Michael Porter onto Europe’s universal health systems

Prostate cancer survival rates are the same across Germany, but by using outcomes data to drive improvements, Hamburg’s Martini-Klinik ensures better quality of life post-surgery. It is a pioneer and role model, says Michael Porter, father of value-based healthcare

ICHOM standards will soon cover half the global disease burden. Christina Åkerman, head of the consortium tells Science|Business their application will highlight inequalities, give greater priority to quality of life and help healthcare systems extract more value from restricted budgets

Pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of collecting and utilising patient-reported data, and showed there are benefits of doing so.