Healthcare Archives - Page 15 of 15

Change management in business transformation

14 March 2024 by Cyprus Mail

– 70% of digital and business transformation initiatives fail.
– Andreas Papadopoulos is a Workforce Transformation and Consultant at PwC Cyprus.
– Recognizing and addressing the challenges of change is crucial for successful transformation.
– It’s important to acknowledge that some individuals may lose out in the process of transformation.
– Clarity about the future is necessary to prevent rumors, tensions, and resistance.
– Effective leadership involves envisioning the future, anticipating change, and planning for it.
– Traditional leadership approaches are insufficient for navigating transformation complexities.
– Empowering middle management is essential for operationalizing vision and enabling swift decision-making.
– Transformation should not be treated as a mere destination but as a continuous journey that requires constant rethinking.

Is AI-Powered healthcare finally here? Introducing Welzo , – The first AI-powered Healthcare Marketplace

13 March 2024 by Cyprus Mail

Welzo is a healthcare marketplace that uses AI big data to connect patients with suitable healthcare professionals or services through its unique algorithm, Welzo-AI. It complements human interactions rather than replacing them. Founded by CEO Adonis Hakkim, Welzo aims to make healthcare accessible, efficient, and personalized. It offers a range of services including online GP appointments, healthcare products, and remote health tests. Welzo’s AI technology provides personalized health insights, recommends tailored healthcare products, and predicts potential health issues. It addresses the disconnect between patients and healthcare providers by creating a centralized marketplace and uses AI algorithms for efficient matching. Welzo also improves healthcare accessibility by providing services online and delivering products directly to homes, focusing on affordability and transparency. Despite its achievements, Welzo is at the beginning of its journey with potential for growth in the AI-powered healthcare market. Adonis Hakkim’s leadership is instrumental in Welzo’s success, focusing on innovation and the democratization of healthcare.

Kidney patients in Cyprus struggle despite medical progress

13 March 2024 by PhileNews (Cyprus)

The Cyprus Nurses Association (PASYN) is advocating for better access to kidney healthcare in Cyprus, pointing out issues such as delayed early diagnosis, insufficient healthcare coverage, lack of awareness among healthcare workers, and the high cost of medications. On World Kidney Day, March 14th, PASYN highlighted the need for a comprehensive strategy to improve kidney and heart health and overall patient well-being. They noted advancements in treatment that could prevent or delay chronic kidney disease and its complications. PASYN emphasized the importance of public awareness and specialized training for healthcare professionals. Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 850 million people worldwide and was the cause of over 3.1 million deaths in 2019. It is the eighth leading cause of death and is projected to become the fifth by 2040. To increase awareness, an event is planned for March 20th, organized by TONONE/PASYN, the Cyprus Friends of Nephropatients Association (Limassol Branch), and the Cyprus University of Technology’s Nursing Department, to be held at the Cyprus University of Technology.

Central Prisons: CoE report flags overcrowding and conditions

9 March 2024 by PhileNews (Cyprus)

The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) released a report highlighting concerns about overcrowding in Cyprus’s Central Prisons and deficiencies in detention conditions across prisons, police holding cells, and Mental Health Services. The report points out issues such as understaffing due to overcrowding, with prison populations exceeding a thousand inmates, and inadequate detention conditions, where cells meant for fewer detainees now accommodate more. The CPT also expressed concerns about insufficient medical personnel in prisons, leading to staff members assuming nursing duties, and suggested increasing efforts to assess incoming prisoners to address suicide and attempted suicide incidents. The Deputy Director of Central Prisons, Haris Philipides, acknowledged the overcrowding problem and stated that measures are being promoted to alleviate it and improve conditions for prisoners and staff. An action plan has been developed for the Committee’s recommendations, with specific timelines to monitor implementation.

Working in Cyprus: an essential guide for expats, remote workers

8 March 2024 by Cyprus Mail

Cyprus is a strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa, making it an attractive destination for professional expansion. The work landscape in Cyprus includes employment with a Cyprus company, self-employment, and working for a foreign company. Employees in Cyprus sign a contract of employment, are subject to Income Tax, Social Insurance, and contributions to the General Healthcare System, with a tax-free threshold for salary income set at EUR 19,500. Self-employment involves a contract of services, with taxation based on annual profits and mandatory registration for Social Insurance and the General Healthcare System. Working for a foreign company in Cyprus involves considerations regarding tax residency, with over 183 days spent on the island likely resulting in Cyprus tax residency. Non-Cyprus EU employers may need to register as local employers, while non-EU employers might need to establish a branch or company in Cyprus.

Government to boost support for rare diseases

28 February 2024 by Cyprus Mail

The government of Cyprus, through its national health scheme Gesy, is actively seeking ways to improve services for patients with rare diseases, as stated by Health Minister Michael Damianos. This effort includes enhancing diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic services through specialized clinics and scientific centers in both public and private sectors. The health ministry aims to support healthcare professionals specialized in rare diseases and has approved the expansion of neonatal screening programs to include eight additional diseases for a three-year period, with a subsequent two-year evaluation. The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) and the paediatric centre Amerikos Argyriou will conduct lab work, while Makarios Hospital will handle the clinical part. For patients diagnosed with rare diseases that require treatment not available locally, the health ministry will facilitate care through specialized medical centers abroad.

WHO plans more evacuations from Gaza hospital as bodies buried on grounds

23 February 2024 by Cyprus Mail

Aid agencies, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), aim to evacuate approximately 140 patients from Gaza’s Nasser hospital. The hospital, located in Khan Younis and essential to Gaza’s health services, ceased operations last week due to an Israeli siege and subsequent raid. The WHO has managed three evacuations, transferring 51 patients to hospitals in southern Gaza. Despite Israeli forces withdrawing from and then re-entering the hospital, efforts to evacuate critically ill and wounded patients continue. The hospital has faced severe challenges, including a lack of power, oxygen, food, drinking water, and medical supplies, and flooding with sewage water. Currently, only 13 of Gaza’s 34 hospitals are partially functioning, amidst a humanitarian crisis affecting the region’s 2.3 million residents.

EC revises Cyprus GDP growth forecast upwards for 2024-2025

15 February 2024 by PhileNews (Cyprus)

The European Commission has published its Winter 2024 Economic Forecast, which lowers the growth outlook for this year and sets inflation on a lower downward path than projected last autumn. In Cyprus, real GDP growth slowed down to 2.5% in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to 5.8% for the same period in 2022. However, demand for tourism services continued to rebound in 2023, with arrivals increasing by 20.1%. Private consumption remained robust, supported by real wage increases and employment growth. For the whole of 2023, economic activity is expected to have grown by 2.4%. In 2024 and 2025, real GDP in Cyprus is expected to grow by 2.8% and 3% respectively. Harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation in Cyprus is set to moderate to 2.4% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025.

Cyprus healthier than EU but health spending less

14 February 2024 by Cyprus Mail

Cyprus is outperforming the European Union average in various public health metrics. The average life expectancy in Cyprus is 81.7 years, which is higher than the EU average of 80.7 years. Older people in Cyprus live longer without activity limitations compared to the EU average, with men expecting 19.1 years and women 21.5 years without limitations at age 65. Cyprus has the lowest rate of preventable and treatable deaths in the EU, at less than 200 per 100,000 people. It also has the lowest rate of unmet needs for medical care in Europe, with less than one percent of people reporting unmet healthcare needs.

Despite these positive outcomes, Cyprus spends less on health than the EU average, with 9.4 percent of its GDP going to health expenditure and a per capita annual spend of €2,686, compared to the EU average of €4,028. The proportion of healthcare costs paid out of pocket in Cyprus is 10 percent, lower than the EU average of 15 percent.

However, Cyprus faces challenges with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with 43 percent of people with bloodstream infections testing positive for such bacteria, nearly three times the EU average of 15 percent. The number of nursing graduates is also low, with 15 per year per 100,000 people, resulting in 4.8 practicing nurses per 1,000 people, which is below the EU average of 8.5. Conversely, Cyprus has five doctors per 1,000 people, which is above the EU average.

Regarding lifestyle factors, 23 percent of people in Cyprus smoke daily, which is higher than the EU average of 19 percent. Only four percent of Cypriots reported heavy drinking, significantly lower than the EU average of 19 percent. The obesity rate in Cyprus is 15 percent, slightly lower than the EU average.