Human-induced climate change is threatening basic needs, living conditions and development of future generations. The health system itself is a substantial contributor to global warming, either directly through greenhouse anesthetic gas emissions or indirectly by high consumption of energy and single-use medical devices, and the generation of large quantities of waste. The present narrative literature review briefly synthesizes updated major data on the negative environmental impact of energy-intensive operating room activities. More positively, the review recapitulates some of the most recent initiatives, successfully implemented to reduce the carbon footprint and pollution associated with anesthesia and surgery departments, following the 5Rs rule: reduce, recycle, reuse, rethink and research.
How are our Belgian hospitals, including the physicians who work in them, being funded? How are these funds calculated and allocated? Herein, the article’s author has presented his book covering this topic. In brief, he has further explained the components of Belgian hospital financing, comparing it to what is done abroad, exposing both its strengths and weaknesses, and discussing the ambitious reform that is being scheduled by Minister Vandenbroucke.
The collection of authors at the origin of classic disease description in the medical dictionary compiled the biography of American authors whose origins proved to be multiple: emigrants, descendants of immigrants, or native Americans. These emigrants and descendants of immigrants were mainly of European origin and of Jewish faith; their immigration, a consequence of anti-Semitism in Europe, significantly favored the medico-scientific development in the United States.
Our health care system is not sustainable anymore. A new ecosystem is absolutely mandatory. The key elements of this new system are as follows: Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence, as well cloud and blockchain. In such a system, patients become connected “objects” within the IoT and, hence, produce a real continuous tsunami of data. To transform this enormous amount of data in useful information, we need artificial intelligence. This will allow for the evolution towards refined and personalized diagnostics and treatment decisions.
Worldwide demographics are at the origin of the shift towards connected health care and “offshoring”, both for primary and specialized care. The connection of patient results within a continuous data flux characterized by big volumes, variability and velocity. In order not to bias artificial intelligence, we must ensure data veracity. Automation becomes mandatory in all sectors of human activity, inclusive health care. This will likely be a perfect opportunity to come back to the real values in health care: communication, teamwork, and human empathy.
Despite the sustained discussions and consultations of these recent years about hospital networks and the role of different hospitals, still much ambiguity exists as to the role of academic hospitals. This analysis puts innovation in medicine forward as the primary mission of these hospitals. Academic hospitals currently face a multitude of challenges, such as the lack of financial resources for academic missions and the concentration of complex and rare diseases, to only name the most important ones.