HFMA and Net.Orange have announced a partnership to assist health economies in the UK implement an integrated care delivery model. The partnership will provide critical advisory services and technology to help commissioning and provider organisations in the NHS to improve health outcomes, reduce acute care dependency (e.g. reducing readmissions) and realise financial and productivity gains.

FairWarning®, the inventor and global leader in patient privacy monitoring solutions, has written an open letter to Dame Fiona Caldicott in response to the consultation process for her Information Governance Review. The letter argues that until it becomes mandatory for trusts to build patient privacy into NHS IT systems, the ever-present risk of major data breaches will remain - and the full patient benefits of electronic based healthcare will not be realised.

By Shane Tickell, CEO, IMS MAXIMS.
As an acceptance grows across the NHS that there is a crucial need for integration across health and social care, the extent to which our National Health Service is disjointed is becoming increasingly clear.

The internationally escalating pressure of costs, pricing and competition, growing regulatory requirements, scarce expert capacities and the strong Franc leave the Swiss medical technology sector faced with enormous challenges. Valuable parts of the supply chain threaten to migrate out of Switzerland. The Swiss Medical Technology Industry 2012 report reveals where the journey leads.

A new report from Housing LIN has been published today, focusing on the role of assisted living technology within general needs housing. The report is the second in a series of Board Assurance Prompts (BAPs) aimed at leaders and decision makers that are responsible for the management of general housing schemes.

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the beta launch of its first social game on Facebook, called Syrum. Syrum will be a new and evolving platform for the research-driven pharmaceutical company to inspire and educate in a changing digital world. In development for more than two years, Syrum has been specifically designed to demonstrate the complex processes around medicine research and development through gaming mechanics. It aims at promoting science and innovation to the digital community in a fun and engaging way.

Millions of people suffer each year from viral diseases such as flu. These ailments develop quickly and can spread rapidly - at huge cost to the healthcare system and sometimes with severe consequences for the patient. Globally, flu epidemics are responsible for at least 500,000 deaths each year, with the very young and the elderly being at particular risk.