01-Oct-16 By using technology to let staff check out medical equipment like supermarket produce, Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore saves 4,640 manpower hours a year. It is rolling out an inventory management system in general wards. With Singapore's greying population, such innovations help mitigate the shortage of healthcare professionals, said Minister of State for Manpower Teo Ser Luck. [image: Healthcare Purchasing News]

26-Sep-16 Full implementation of National Health Insurance in Indonesia (JKN) is targeted for 2019. Substandard healthcare service represents investment opportunities and records show surging demand for medical services since the JKN program rolled out. Siloam plans to reach 10,000 beds with 22 new hospitals by 2017, while Mitra Keluarga plans to expand its network to 18 by 2020. [image: The Jakarta Post]

23-Sep-16 Philips, Macquarie University's MQ Health, and Emory Healthcare of the US have announced Australia's first remote intensive care unit (eICU) monitoring program, aimed to help high risk patients in need of 'round-the-clock' observation. "We aim to transform the delivery of care to address growing clinician shortages while improving patient outcomes," said Kevin Barrow, Managing Director of Philips Australia. [image: HIT Consultant]

30-Sep-16 By 2030, the number of elderly people in Asia is forecast to increase by 200 mn, a more than 70 percent increase in contrast to 31 percent in Europe and 55 percent in North America. Marsh & McLennan estimates the cumulative cost of elderly healthcare in Asia over the next 15 years could reach USD20 tn. [image: VOA News]

30-Sep-16 German medtech firm Biotronik opened an expanded production plant in Singapore. The firm produces implantable pacemakers, defibrillators and stents. "This small nation of 5.5 mn people is the fourth-largest exporter of high-tech goods in the world... We will be manufacturing components for Biotronik's latest and most innovative products for distribution around the world," said Erik Trip, Managing Director. [image: Biotronik]