UK Alternative Medicine Market Overview

Complementary and alternative medicine is increasingly becoming popular in many developed countries including the UK. The UK market value estimates for complementary therapies in 1996 stood at $106.4 million, while the sales of herbal remedies totaled $56 million. Homeopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, medical herbalism, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy are some popular CAM therapies.

Read More at: TheMedica

Is Robot Assisted Surgery Better?

Slowly and gradually robots seem to be taking over many of the functions that humans perform. Though it may seem like machines rendering man redundant, in perhaps all cases these replacements are for the better, such as in robot assisted surgeries.

Surgical robots have today made remote, minimally invasive, and unmanned surgeries possible. In addition they have enabled better precision with surgical instruments e.g. scissors, miniaturization, smaller incisions, decreased blood loss, less pain, and quicker healing. As a result have led to better patient outcomes.

Aside from these advantages of robot-assisted surgeries, the following examples of their superiority are worth mentioning.

Better for Heavy Women – Uterine cancer is a medical condition with which about a 100 women are diagnosed each day in the USA. Once diagnosed with the disease, many patients are worried about how the treatment, which often includes surgery, would affect their lives and family. However, it seems that robotic surgery may be a better option than laparoscopic surgery for uterine cancer. Recently the journal Gynecologic Oncology showed that patients undergoing robot assisted surgery, lost 2-and-a-half times less blood, were 6 times less likely to need transfusions, and that the time of their stay in hospitals was halved.

Lower risk of a gastric bypass complication - Gastrointestinal leak is a rare but serious complication arising out of gastric by-pass – a weight loss surgical procedure. Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center, recently conducted a study comparing the conventional laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and a robot assisted operation, and found that while none of the robot assisted surgery group suffered a gastrointestinal leak, some patients from the conventional laparoscopy group did.

Additionally, robotic surgery has also been associated with improved survival rates for prostate cancer patients , with effective treatment of urothelial cancer of the kidney, and more.

All in all, robots with surgical instruments in their hands have a lot to offer to the field of surgery, and that robot-assisted surgery is indeed better in many cases.

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Alternative Medicines Industry Profile

Alternative medicines are also known as complementary and alternative Medicine (CAM) or traditional medicines. In some African and Asian nations about 80 percent of the population gets its primary health care via Alternative medicines. About 12 percent children use CAM in the US such as homeopathic medicines, herbs and yoga for addressing a number ailments. However, CAM usage has decreased for head or chest colds from 2002 to 2007 in the US.

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Can Adjustable Chairs Diminish Neck Pain?

Sitting in a chair for prolonged periods of time is a sure shot recipe for developing back and neck pain. However, if a chair such as your office chair is adjustable, then it may reduce neck and back pain that you could otherwise suffer from.

Back pain from sitting could result from several reasons. For instance, sitting in a chair or stools e.g. hospital stools, for long periods can lead to a buildup of stress on our shoulders, neck, back, arms, legs, and back muscles. In addition, most people tend to slouch while sitting, and a bad posture may make it more likely for pain to develop.

How adjustable chairs could remedy the situation.

Some time back a study published in the medical publication Spine, concluded that adjustable-height chairs that had ergonomically curved seats, had the potential to significantly reduce neck and shoulder pain in garment workplaces. (Spine, Apr 2007)

Garment workers seem to be an apt group for studying the back pain phenomenon because their work entails being seated in a position for seven to ten hours every single day. And not only do they have to work with cloth requiring fine-motor tasks while sewing, but they also have to lean forward and hold their arms and shoulders up.

Based on the results of the study the participants who were provided with an adjustable chairs had experienced a reduction in pain between 0.14 – 0.34 points on a 0-5 scale every month compared to a control group, over a four-month period.

So if adjustable chairs could work for garment workers, whose jobs are extremely physically demanding, then definitely, customizable chairs should benefit many of us who have to sit in our chairs for long hours.

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3 Burning Issues for Hospitals Today

This recession has had quite an impact on hospitals, causing 45% of hospitals to postpone capital projects and 13% to cease any expansion in process, as an American Hospital Association report revealed. But despite the new challenges posed by financial crisis for the medical industry, hospitals have their own health care delivery issues to tackle.

Many hospitals have been purchasing refurbished hospital furniture such as hospital chairs or beds to cut costs. However, in addition, addressing the following issues can lead to long term cost-savings.

1. Hospital Deaths due to Medical Errors

Preventable medical errors caused an average of 195,000 individuals to lose their lives in the USA. This was the finding of a HealthGrades study that assessed 37 million patient records for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002. The associated health care cost of these medical errors is estimated to be over $6 billion per year. Following the study, analysts suggested that just by improving upon four key areas, namely, failure to rescue, bed sores, postoperative sepsis, and postoperative pulmonary embolism. And if their occurrence could be reduced by just 20 percent, 39,000 lives can be saved each year. Whether medical error rates have dropped since the study remains to be seen.

2. Hospitals' Efficiency

The hospitals in the US can significantly improve patient care and also save a minimum of about $4 billion annually, only if they became more efficient. These conclusions follow from an analysis by Thomson Reuters. Key suggestions from the company to save costs include reducing hospital-acquired infections and slashing hospital readmissions. While the minimum savings are to the tune of $4 billion, with some really effective measures in place hospitals could save up to $20 billion over a span of three years. That's about $7 billion a year in savings.

3. Electronic Health Records

The present state of affairs seems pretty dismal as only 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have implemented facility-wide comprehensive health care information technology systems. Further, just about 8 – 11 percent hospitals have at least a single unit with installed with basic health care IT systems. (New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM, Mar 2009).

While smaller budgets, maintenance costs, hesitation among health care professional are said to be the primary reasons preventing the widespread use of IT systems, the long-term effects of installing them need to be taken into account. At the same time, it's hardly any use having IT systems in place when their power isn't leveraged via effective use.

Medical Diagnostics Industry Overview

The medical and clinical diagnostic industry comprises businesses and laboratories that offer analytic or diagnostic services including body fluid analysis and diagnostic imaging. The world market for diagnostics was valued at $22.47 billion in 2000 and was expected grew at an annual rate of about 6 percent to $28.63 billion by 2005. The IVD product, point-of-care instrument and the medical diagnostic kit (MDK) markets have emerged as growing segments of the diagnostic laboratory industry.

Read More at: Themedica

6 Striking Health Effects of Vitamin D

According to Boston University researchers, between 30 to 50% of children and adults in the United States are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency. While this deficiency can lead to rickets in children, in adults, it is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and immune dysfunction.

Experts believe that sensible exposure to sun, an consumption of vitamin dietary supplements may be the best way to deal with this preventable medical condition.

The following are some newly discovered benefits of vitamin D

1. Reduced risk of Fracture - A study found that oral vitamin D supplements taken at a dose of at least 400 international units daily, were linked to a decreased risk of bone fractures in older adults. (Archives of Internal Medicine, Mar 2009)

2. Protection from Diabetes - If you consume the right quantities of vitamin D, it may protect you from diabetes or even delay its onset. Further, it may reduce complications in those who've already acquired the disease. (The Diabetes Educator, 2009)

3. Prevent Heart Attacks - If you are a man and you have low levels of vitamin D in your system, then you may be at a greater risk of a heart attack or myocardial infarction, suggests a study published in the journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, June 2008 issue. Consequently, ensuring adequate amounts of the sunshine vitamin in your system via supplements may offer protection against against heart attacks.

4. Increased Girl Power! - UK researchers recently found that teenage girls with higher vitamin D levels were able to jump higher and faster than those who didn't, indicating an improved muscle performance. Boys, Watch Out! (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, JCEM Feb 2009)

5. Prevent Skin Infection - A study by San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that intake of oral Vitamin D supplements helps the body produce cathelicidin - a protective chemical present in the skin. As a result, offering protection from skin infections that result from atopic dermatitis – the commonest type of eczema. (Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, Oct 2008)

6. Protection from Death! - Well, vitamin D won't quite infuse immortality into you, but could make you live longer. Here's why. Following a review of several studies, French researchers concluded that the sunshine vitamin does lower your risk of death from any cause. (Archives of Internal Medicine, Sept 2007)

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