Wellness Update: Europe: E.U. Approves Blood Thinner From Bristol-Myers, Pfizer - WSJ.com

E.U. Approves Blood Thinner From Bristol-Myers, Pfizer - WSJ.com: "European health regulators approved a new blood thinner from Pfizer Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for the prevention of blood clots in people who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

The drug, Eliquis, was approved by the European Commission for sale in the 27 countries of the European Union. It was the first regulatory approval for Eliquis, which analysts think could eventually generate annual sales exceeding $1 billion."

Wellness Update: Europe: Healthy Workplace Campaign

EU-OSHA announces British winner in the 10th European Good Practice Awards : News from The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work: "Tarmac introduced a comprehensive health and safety training programme for new employees and personalised health competency evaluation plan for its maintenance staff. Its commitment to raising the standards of its employees’ knowledge and skills resulted in a significant reduction in injuries, accidents and lost time.

The eight winners are Voestalpine Hytronics GmbH and Voestalpine Weichensysteme GmbH (Austria, iron and steel production) for their use of technology and organisation to achieve safer maintenance; Protón Electrónica SLU (Spain, electrical equipment) for coordinating repair and maintenance with the client; Actavis Ltd (Malta, pharmaceutical products) for its proactive and reactive interventions to improve maintenance safety; Skellefteå Räddningstjänst (Sweden, fire services) for its development of safe work routines for firefighters; Sonae (Portugal, retail trade) for its management of preventative and corrective maintenance; GHT - Glass Handling Technic Vof (Netherlands, Horticulture) for maintaining and repairing horticultural glasshouses safely and effectively; Tarmac Quarry Materials (United Kingdom, mining and quarrying) for its competent maintenance teams and STIB-MIVB (Belgium, transport) for its comprehensive approach to maintenance starting from the design of the work area."

Wellness Update: Europe: Scope - medical blog - Stanford University School of Medicine

Scope - medical blog - Stanford University School of Medicine: "In recognition of International Noise Awareness Day today, take a moment to reflect on how noise might be disrupting your daily life and, possibly, harming your health. According to a recent report by the World Health Organization's European office:
There is sufficient evidence from large-scale epidemiological studies linking the population’s exposure to environmental noise with adverse health effects. Therefore, environmental noise should be considered not only as a cause of nuisance but also a concern for public health and environmental health.
...at least one million healthy life years are lost every year from traffic-related noise in the western part of Europe.

The study breaks out the results into several specific types of noise health impacts. Every year in the EU, noise is estimated to cause:
61,000 lost years of healthy living due to noise-related heart disease
45,000 years lost due to cognitive impairment of children
903,000 years due to sleep disturbance
22,000 years due to tinnitus
587,000 years due to annoyance"

WELLNESS UPDATE: EUROPE: Food & Beverage News: Top Stories - EFSA okays health claims for Tate & Lyle ingredients

Food & Beverage News: Top Stories - EFSA okays health claims for Tate & Lyle ingredients: "EFSA okays health claims for Tate & Lyle ingredients
Friday, April 15, 2011 08:00 IST
Our Bureau, Mumbai


Sugar replacement ingredients polydextrose and sucralose of Tate & Lyle, a leading provider of innovative ingredients and solutions, have received a positive opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for 'reduction of post prandial blood glucose response' and 'maintenance of tooth mineralisation' health claims.

This was published in the result of the EFSA evaluation of a fourth series of 'general function' health claims submitted for use on food and drink products (EFSA Journal 2011; 9(4):2076).

These claims will now proceed through the remainder of the regulatory process for authorising health claims in Europe."

Europe's Failing Health - WSJ.com

Europe's Failing Health - WSJ.com

click for more info

By JAVIER ESPINOZA

Traditional sources of funding health care in Europe have been branded obsolete and unaffordable. The need for innovation has never been stronger and while some countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, are embracing change, others are resisting any significant overhaul. Indeed, the notion of free, state-backed health care is ingrained in the psyche of most Europeans.

Journal Report

Read the complete Innovations in Health Care report.

Reformers want to reduce the state's role in health-care delivery and introduce a competitive element. Those against change are adamant that a health-care system without state involvement is health care without a heart. Good for the rich, calamitous for the poor. It is an issue heavily clouded by emotion. But many feel that without innovation, crumbling state-backed systems will collapse as they struggle to cope with aging populations, soaring overheads and, more recently, mounting budget deficits.

The statistics paint a bleak picture. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union will see an increase in health expenditure of 350% by 2050, whereas at the same time the economy is only set to expand by 180%.

Some work has already been done to estimate the real impact on future expenditures. Friedrich Breyer, a professor of economics at the University of Konstanz in Germany, calculates that in Germany alone between 2020 and 2030 there will be a huge spike in the number of elderly people alongside an enormous drop in young and working-age people. "This will mean a dramatic increase in individuals' payroll tax contribution rates to health care to 20.7% in 2030 and over 23% in 2040," he says. This compares to just 11.4% in 1980.

View Full Image

Reuters

Protesters in London campaign against job cuts and increasing private-sector involvement in the National Health Service.

So which countries offer the closest to a sustainable and effective health-care model and what can others, like the U.K., learn from them? Health-care specialists point to the Netherlands and Switzerland as models to follow in which funding comes from a mixed pool of sources and patients have more control over their health.

Unlike the U.K. health-care system, where the state manages and delivers the services, systems in the rest of Europe, particularly Switzerland, the Netherlands and to some extent Germany, rely more on a system of private insurance. Switzerland has been hailed as the least over-protective system. In that country health insurers are the ones who determine their fees and the services they provide—as long as they adhere to the basic services agreed in the country's Health Insurance Law.

Also unlike the U.K., patients incur fees to cover some ambulance and boarding costs. However, the Swiss authorities also provide subsidies for poorer patients. The system is broken down into the country's 26 cantons (or regions), which largely look after their own services, without relying on a centralized system. Individuals have the advantage of choosing which health service better fits their needs by opting for different competing insurers