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News round-up (August 13)

News round-up (August 13)

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13th August 2021 about a 3 minute read

Publication of the IPCC’s landmark report on global warming on Monday made grim reading, but trawling the web for some positive stories we’ve managed to find a few to help brighten the future health and care tech landscape. Read on!

 

Landmark UN report warns of ‘Code red for humanity’ as climate goals set to be breached

The world will breach the target in the 2015 Paris climate goals within two decades, a UN report haswarned, unless governments commit to immediate action to cut emissions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a global group of scientists, found that human influence on climate was “unequivocal” and said their conclusions represented a “reality check” for policymakers meeting later this year at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

Prof Ed Hawkins, the report’s co-author and professor of climate science at the University of Reading, said: “We’re already experiencing climate change, including more frequent and more extreme weather events. The consequences will continue to get worse for every bit of warming, and for many of these consequences, there’s no going back.”

 

New collaboration between AHSN Network and NICE looks to strengthen the use of the best evidence-based healthcare in the NHS

The AHSN Network and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have entered into a two-year collaboration agreement to further strengthen the use of the best evidence-based healthcare in the NHS.

The new agreement builds on and formalises previous collaborative working between the two organisations.

 Professor Gillian Leng, Chief Executive of NICE said:  “By working together more closely we can increase the speed at which innovative new medicines and technologies recommended by NICE can be cascaded through the healthcare system.”

  

What healthcare can learn from e-commerce when filling shifts

An expert in AI-based healthcare staffing and scheduling technology explains how e-commerce selling techniques can be used to more effectively manage staffing challenges.

Ike Nnah, co-founder and chief technology officer at IntelyCare, discusses with Healthcare IT News the draw of e-commerce strategies, how healthcare can use these strategies, the role artificial intelligence plays and some examples of all this in action.

There are similarities between the world of e-commerce and healthcare staffing, namely how a consumer purchases a product and how a healthcare provider chooses to pick up a shift. But there are plenty of differences that must be addressed, too, says Nnah.

 

3D-Printed implant for personalised knee realignments

Researchers at the University of Bath have created a framework for 3D printing personalized high-tibial osteotomy (HTO) plates, using a titanium alloy, for knee realignments in osteoarthritis patients.

The researchers have also developed an improved surgical technique, the TOKA (Tailored Osteotomy for Knee Alignment), which they claim should improve the fit of the HTO on the knee and significantly speed up HTO surgery from two hours to approximately 30 minutes.

“Knee osteoarthritis is a major health, social and economic issue and does not receive as much attention as it should. A quarter of women over 45 have it, and about 15 percent of men, so it’s a significant burden that many live with,” said Richie Gill, a researcher involved in the study.