Why the NHS must wake up to the medical technology gap
By Joe Rafferty and colleagues

Advances in medical technology create opportunities to improve care, outcomes and patient perspectives. But variations in regulation, decision-making and funding can cause uncertainty about cost and benefits, creating dilemmas for policy-makers and care planners.

To make informed investment decisions, it is crucial to try and unbundle some of these issues.
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Click here for a copy of the original paper, with an extended version of the article

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3rd November 2005
Clinical Management - measure for measure
By Alison Moore

Mention diagnostic services to many chief executives and they will talk about the improvements they are making in radiology services, the shorter waits for scans and, at a pinch, they may throw in endoscopy or pathology.

But while they are extolling the virtues of the new £1m scanner, the longest waits in their organisations - and the biggest challenge in meeting the 18-week waiting target - may be in the field of physiological measurement (PM).
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More information

• Gilbert Wieringa, diagnostics lead for Greater Manchester strategic health authority, will be among the speakers at HSJ’s Redesigning Diagnostics Services to Improve Waiting Times conference on 7 December in London. Other speakers include Department of Health head of access policy development and capacity Bob Ricketts and director of diagnostic and treatment centres for Bradford South and West PCT Sue Nguyen.

• National Standards, Local Action: Health and Social Care Standards and Planning Framework
  Department of Health, July 2004

• Relevant Chief Scientific Officer bulletins:
  Faster diagnosis vital to new national target
  Encouraging innovatio