“Patients deserve the best possible care, but they also deserve the best possible experience”, says Diederik Zeven – General Manager of Philips Healthcare Middle East & Turkey. “At Philips, we simplify healthcare by combining our unique clinical expertise with insights into how patients and clinicians experience healthcare. In response, we develop more intuitive, and in the end better technology solutions to help take some of the complexity out of healthcare, and reduce the burden. This helps to drive better diagnosis, more appropriate treatment planning, faster patient recovery and long term health”, he adds.

During the show, Philips will be highlighting technologies that focus specifically on the patient, in addition to advanced networking tools that facilitate greater collaboration between radiologists and referring physicians.

Clinical collaboration to drive innovation and efficiency in radiology

The Imaging 2.0 concept is poised to address a dilemma that exists in healthcare today: more consumers are demanding quality healthcare, yet there is less money to treat them. Based on feedback from clinicians, Philips’ approach to this dilemma is to enable enhanced and smarter collaboration through advanced technology with the intention of better patient outcomes and lower costs for the healthcare system.

The driving force is to create a healing environment in which multiple modalities integrate caregivers into a consolidated workflow. This integration leads to less cost and greater efficiency. It marks a new world of collaboration, which can be seen in hybrid labs, combining modalities such as x-ray, ultrasound, PET and MR.

Women’s Health

No two women are alike, and neither are their cancers. Philips understands that breast cancer is a different experience for every woman it touches. Studies and guidelines suggest a multimodality approach for comprehensive screening, diagnosis and management. Philips offers a complete solution including mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and PET/CT supported by leading-edge information management.

For more than forty years, mammography has been the most common screening tool used for the early detection of breast cancer. Philips is showcasing the next generation of digital mammography – MicroDose Mammography. According to clinical reports, Philips MicroDose uses a substantially lower average X-ray dose than other full-field digital mammography systems. ^{1, 2}; In fact, it allows for a reduction in radiation dose by up to 50%.

Innovation in Emergency Care

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.³ Without immediate treatment, the majority of SCA victims will die, with the chances of survival reducing by up to 12% with every minute that passes.^{4, 5} Defibrillation is recognized as the only definitive treatment for the abnormal heart rhythm, which is most often associated with SCA.

During the show, Philips is demonstrating their continued commitment to innovation in this area with the introduction of the HeartStart FR3 in this region, raising the bar for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) by addressing the evolving needs of professional responders, so they can respond to patients swiftly and with confidence. Recognizing that time-to-therapy matters, the Defibrillator is designed to help professional responders make lifesaving faster, easier, and better.

From pregnancy to labor, hospital to home

Maternal and neonatal health care faces longstanding challenges. Neonatal mortality comprises nearly 60% of infant deaths, and nearly 40% of deaths in children under-five years of age.  Philips recognizes the profound importance of caring for new mothers and babies, and is dedicated to keeping them healthy.

From the obstetrician’s office to the hospital to the home, Philips Mother & Child Care provides simple, reliable health care solutions for parents and clinicians.

All Philips Healthcare New Product Introductions at Arab Health 2012 can be found at www.philips.com/arabhealth, or also viewed at the show by visiting Sheikh Saeed Hall 2 booth S2C10, at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

People who don’t smoke and those who do sports and are not overweight should pay lower health insurance premiums the government is to be told.

To prevent the charges becoming too expensive for those on low earnings, the council will recommend that the basic health insurance premium should be income-related.

The council points to the fact that that over one-third of illness in the Netherlands is caused by unhealthy lifestyles. However, the major health insurance companies reject the idea of a range of premiums, saying such a system would be difficult to put into practice. They also argue that penalising unhealthy living risks making the Dutch health care system divisive.

Health Minister Ab Klink has already come out against higher premiums for unhelathy lifestyles.