Medical News

August, 2003 — Remote patient monitoring, especially telecardiology, is poised to become an integral part of the European healthcare market. Initial acceptance has, however, been stymied by the more conservative elements in the healthcare profession.

An ageing population and high rates of cardiac disease have overlapped with escalating costs of healthcare technology. These trends have coincided with the promotion of market-oriented policies by European governments. Together, these factors have created a framework favourable to telecardiology?s acceptance into the European healthcare system.

Persuading the more reluctant forces within healthcare funding bodies of the possible long-term cost savings and improved patient care held out by telecardiology and other remote patient monitoring technologies remains an ongoing challenge. Rather than adopt a total-cost-of-treatment model over a patient’s lifetime, healthcare funders have followed a short-term approach wherein telecardiology appears to be expensive on a per patient basis. Changing this mind set has, therefore, become an immediate compulsion.

Frost & Sullivan?s Industry Analyst Chris Cherrington comments, ?Whilst it should be the case that an organisation publicly-funded and nationally-provided should strive to reduce the total amount of money it spends per capita by the prevention of disease rather than its treatment, this is rarely the case.?

?Historic based budgeting is the primary reason for this short-sightedness. At the same time individual politicians tend to have tenure of less than ten years encouraging them to concentrate on short-term targets,? he adds.

The failure to take a long-term view and to have a strategic overview of healthcare spending remains a limitation of all European governments. One cause for optimism is the possibility that health insurance companies, impelled by financial motives, will promote the use of telecardiology to reduce costs. By demonstrating the financial advantages of new, remote patient monitoring technologies, health insurance companies are expected to bolster public sector approval.

The more conservative healthcare providers have been sceptical of developments in IT. However, as IT becomes increasingly reliable, affordable and more mainstream, this resistance is expected to weaken and greater receptivity to IT-driven remote patient monitoring technologies is anticipated.

At the same time, the relatively smooth entry of remote patient monitoring technologies into the U.S. market is likely to assuage fears of litigation arising from misinterpretation or incorrect transmission of patient data.

Even as vendors try to convince the medical community and governments of the efficiency and cost savings potential of remote patient monitoring, Philips? Paxiva service is projected to have a positive impact on market growth.

The success of this service, currently available in Germany and Italy, is expected to motivate more widespread adoption of telecardiology among governments and funding bodies. Paxiva?s likely success is also poised to inspire a flurry of competing product launches.

According to current Frost & Sullivan estimates, 1.5 percent or just over 50,000 post-trauma cardiac patients are being remotely monitored in Europe. By 2011, over four million patients are expected to be remotely monitored.

In the longer term, remote patient monitoring is forecast to have wider applications than just telecardiology. Apart from patients of coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure, other categories of end-users are likely to include the ?worried well? and the elderly.

As public sector healthcare providers increasingly adopt remote patient monitoring, commercial vendors are set to benefit from two important revenue-generating opportunities. These include the supply of hardware and equipment to facilitate telecardiology as well as the provision of professional services to install and operate telecardiology procedures.

?There is a real and unstoppable trend towards the joining of modern communications technology and medicine,? concludes Mr. Cherrington. ?What is required in this market is to achieve a critical mass of existing patients, which provides the proof of the efficacy of telecardiology. With the current Philips project looking set to achieve this, a bright future for remote patient monitoring is assured.?

Publication Date: August 2003

Background
Frost & Sullivan is an international marketing consulting company that monitors a comprehensive spectrum of markets for trends, market measurements and strategies. This on-going research is utilised to complement a series of research publications to support industry participants with customised consulting needs. Interviews and free executive summaries are available to the press.

For unlimited access to constantly updated healthcare market news written exclusively by Frost & Sullivan?s team of industry experts visit http://healthcare.frost.com.

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Katja.feick@frost.com
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August 26, 2004 — Research and Markets announces the addition of Psoriasis Therapeutics 2004 to its offerings.

With the worldwide prevalence of psoriasis estimated at nearly 14 million people in 2004, there is increasing demand for therapeutics that control disease symptoms with greater efficacyand longer time duration, treat the disease on a much more comprehensive level, and improve the quality of life for patients.

The worldwide psoriasis therapeutics market is estimated to reach $1.085B in 2004 and will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 23.6% to reach approximately 3.12B worldwide by 2009. Growth will be driven by the introduction of several biologic immunosuppressivesalong with Amgen?s currently available Enbrel, BiogenIdec?s Amevive, and Genentechand XOMA?sRaptiva.

This report includes in-depth analysis on physician perspectives and incorporates an assessment of clinical usefulness and strength of current market players to competitively benchmark products that will reach the market by the end of 2009. In addition, the study provides the financial analysis and detailed assumptions used to determine major company market shares and to estimate the industry-wide revenue forecast.

For a thorough analysis of this market, the report:
- evaluates leading current and emerging therapeutics
- assesses the results of a 15 physician panel survey and examines their usage of current treatments and attitudes toward emerging therapeutics
- provides a market forecast and revenue model from 2004 through 2009 with detailed revenue assumptions for each therapeutic as well as the industry as a whole
- analyzes the strategic positioning of 8 emerging psoriasis therapeutics

For a complete index of this report click on http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/222284

About Research and Markets Ltd.
Research and Markets Ltd. are Europe’s largest resource for market research. R&M distribute thousands of major research publications from the world’s leading publishers, consultants and market analysts. R&M provide you with the latest forecasts on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest market trends.

For additional information on ResearchandMarkets.com, their range of reports or their value-added services, visit their web site at http://www.researchandmarkets.com or mailto:press@researchandmarkets.com

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A new study from the American Cancer Society finds that while breast cancer death rates are decreasing for white women in every U.S. state, for African American women, death rates are either flat or rising in at least half the states. The study, published early online in the journal Cancer Causes and Control, finds breast cancer death rates among African American women are decreasing in only 11 of 37 states with sufficient numbers for analysis and in the District of Columbia. In the rest, death rates are either flat (24 states) or actually increasing (two states: Arkansas and Mississippi)……..

Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org

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A new study from the University of Pennsylvania points to increased health risks for women owing to their higher level of discomfort about being weighed in public. The study showed that college-age females, more than their male counterparts, experience high degrees of discomfort at the prospect of being weighed in the presence of others……..

Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org

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The identification of two cellular receptors that likely contribute to the genesis of hormone-dependent breast cancer points the way to new, highly targeted therapies against the disease, says a team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. The finding also helps explain how daily use of medicines such as aspirin might help keep these breast tumors at bay……..

Original post by Health news from medicineworld.org

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Sacramento, CA, - August, 2003 ? Announcing, say-goodbye-to-rosacea.com has opened for business. The web site features an exclusive title, an alternative method, how-to, electronic information product, that makes a bold claim. This ebook reveals the secret for what could arguably be called an alternative method cure for rosacea. The target readership is anyone wanting to take a no-nonsense approach to permanently ending the problem of rosacea with 100% clearance.

Say Goodbye To Rosacea can help both men and women tackle the unsightly problem of rosacea, with a sense of complete control over the problem, and with confidence that once and for all, a final solution has been found. The ebook outlines a simple, straight-forward, step-by-step technique for the total elimination of this common condition. The process is 100% natural, with nothing unsafe, or artificial to buy or use. Everything required is easily available at any local full service grocery outlet.

The process is a revolutionary skin-care technique, that should appeal to just about anyone dealing with rosacea. Particularly, those who do not want to spend a lot of time and money experimenting with products that will not work, or products that only cover up. In addition, unlike many other remedies for rosacea, this is not a solution that must be used on a continual basis, over and over again. Some of these types of products must be used indefinitely to “control” rosacea. Thus, the person suffering from rosacea can avoid experiencing mounting frustration, because they will not be dependant on the suppliers of repetitive use products.

Most other remedies fall loosely into a single category. They must go through some form of processing, packaging and/or preservation. Through all of this, key molecular components, or other major vital factors, that are important in the healing of the condition, may be destroyed, or substantially reduced in their effectiveness.

With the Say-Goodbye-To-Rosacea technique, the raw power of nature’s mix is not curtailed in any way. The secret is, . . . nature’s mixture is completely intact and whole at the time of its use, because nature’s “product” is used right from its original natural packaging.

So what can be learned from this? Well, when you think about it, that is perhaps the major number one reason why so many other products, that contain “natural ingredients” as their active component, fail to deal a knockout punch to this condition. In the process of cultivating, harvesting, processing and in the packaging of these substances, for their medicinal qualities, many of their valued properties are weakened. In other words the potency of these healing substances is undermined in one way or another. Thus, they only cover-up, or provide “temporary relief.” They must be used over and over again, and as mentioned before, sometimes indefinitely, and quite often at great expense to the person seeking relief.

The technique described in Say Goodbye To Rosacea is different. We are very passionate about the healing properties of this natural technique. One of the major components of this process is from nature itself, and has been used as a skin-care remedy for thousands of years. In many countries today it is still commonly used, and is highly recommended. In order to obtain the desired results, the “natural product” must be used as provided by nature. It cannot be preserved, bottled, or processed in any way. It must be applied in its fresh natural, whole state. If any attempt is made to capture through extraction, or preserve any targeted substance containing the curative properties, those valued properties lose much of their effectiveness.

Most of the ebook is unlocked. You will find an explanation detailing how the technique was derived. There is a charge for the information directly outlining the technique itself. A password may be purchased through Paypal.com. Results are guaranteed. If the person ordering a password, and using the information detailed on the locked pages of the ebook, does not experience 100% clearance, their money is cheerfully refunded upon request, no questions asked.

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MINNEAPOLIS ? July 24, 2002 ? With the release of Office Medic(TM) International, QRS Diagnostic enables physicians in international markets to use its patient information management software and high-tech medical devices for diagnostic testing and patient monitoring. QRS now offers eight language choices: English, King?s English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese (Portugal), and Portuguese (Brazilian).

“Physicians worldwide can now use our affordable and reliable devices for diagnostic testing, with the added advantages of digital storage of physiological data and instant results reporting,” says Spencer Lien, founder and chief executive officer, QRS.

“We are initially selling Office Medic International primarily in Europe, where our products carry the CE-Mark required by European Community regulations, as well as in Spanish-speaking countries,” says Bradley Sorenson, president and chief operations officer, QRS. “By expanding globally, we advance our position as the leader in innovative design and development of software-based medical device technology.”

Office Medic International is a new version of QRS? Office Medic(TM) Workstation, a patient information management system that delivers real-time diagnostic testing. The system complements QRS PC Card medical devices.

With QRS PC Card medical devices, Office Medic provides caregivers with the flexibility and mobility to perform accurate diagnostic tests on any standard desktop or laptop workstation. Test data is acquired and accessible in seconds at the point of care.

“With our patented technology, we build the intelligence of physiological data acquisition and analysis into PC Cards,” says Patrick Lichter, chief technology officer, QRS. “The QRS PC Cards, with integrated sensors, slide into the PC Card drives of desktops or laptops. This makes standard workstations operate as fully functioning medical devices.”

Office Medic International is offered with QRS PC Card medical devices, including SpiroCard(R), OxiCard(R), SpirOxCard(R), and Universal EKG(TM). SpiroCard is a spirometer that measures the volume and velocity of airflow from human lungs. Spirometry is essential in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. OxiCard is a pulse oximeter that provides real-time assessment of pulse rates and oxygen saturation in the blood, and SpirOxCard is the world?s only combination spirometer/pulse oximeter. It measures pulmonary function and monitors blood oxygenation with one convenient device contained entirely in a single QRS PC Card. Universal EKG turns off-the-shelf computers into lightweight, portable, 12-channel electrocardiograph heart monitors for the diagnosis and management of heart conditions, including Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

About QRS Diagnostic

Founded in 1994, QRS Diagnostic, Plymouth, Minn., uses innovative software technology to design and develop FDA-approved medical devices that simplify and reduce the costs of diagnostic testing and patient monitoring. With our patented PC Card technology platform, QRS turns standard desktop, laptop and Pocket PCs into modular, upgradeable medical devices and streamlines the collection and communication of precise physiological data. We enable primary care physicians to cost-effectively practice high-tech medicine while delivering the accuracy that specialists and hospitals demand. The affordability, durability and mobility of QRS devices also advance diagnostic testing and patient monitoring for disease management, home healthcare and personal health management. For more information on QRS, please visit www.QRSdiagnostic.com.

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Note to Editors: A QRS corporate backgrounder and digital photos of QRS devices are available upon request. QRS executives are available for interview.

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