The Messe Düsseldorf Group is re-focusing their activities on the health market in Brazil and will organize the first MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL from May 5 – 8, 2020 at  the Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo. It will be an annual event. MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL is supported by and staged in cooperation with the Brazilian medical technology manufacturers association ABIMO. Messe Düsseldorf’s foreign representation in Brazil is responsible for organizing the event.
 “With Messe Düsseldorf and ABIMO, two strong partners are working on the mutual goal of establishing MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL as Brazil’s leading event platform. Using our global network of 75 foreign representations and 12 affiliated companies or subsidiaries, we promote the event in over 130 countries and contribute our valuable experience in organizing medical trade fairs,” explained Wolfram Diener, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf. 
The Messe Düsseldorf Group has been organizing successful healthcare events around the globe for many years. In 2017, these healthcare events were grouped under the new umbrella brand “MEDICAlliance” in order to be marketed as a unit worldwide. In addition to the world-leading trade fair MEDICA and the internationally leading supplier trade fair COMPAMED (held concurrently in Düsseldorf, Germany) , the alliance includes MEDICAL FAIR INDIA (Mumbai/New Delhi), MEDICAL FAIR ASIA (Singapore), MEDICAL FAIR THAILAND (Bangkok) and MEDICAL FAIR CHINA (Suzhou).  
For the South American market, MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL is now being added as a further member of MEDICAlliance. Meditech in Colombia (Bogota) already successfully represents MEDICAlliance in South America. 
 “We know the market and are already well connected in the industry in Brazil thanks to our previous commitments. For us, it is strategically important to have a strong presence on this market with MEDICAlliance. Positive growth prospects and Brazilian business partners, who in our experience are reliable and sincere, are the ideal foundation on which to build a top business,” said Horst Giesen, Global Portfolio Director Health & Medical Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf. The Brazilian market’s volume for medical technology is approximately $ 5.7 billion (source: gtai) and the healthcare industry is among the industries with the highest growth rates in the country.
Paulo Fraccaro, Superintendent at ABIMO, is also looking forward to the cooperation for MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL: “The cooperation between ABIMO and Messe Düsseldorf will bring forth a strong alliance. Together, we are creating the ideal platform for companies to present their innovations and meet relevant decision-makers – both those active in health care as well as manufacturers and distributors in other countries.”
Key exhibit categories at MEDICAL FAIR BRASIL are: Medical technology / medical products, laboratory technology and diagnostics, health IT, physiotherapy and orthopedic technology as well as medical services. The trade fair primarily addresses physicians, medical professionals and managers of health institutions as well as health industry service suppliers and experts in the fields of science, politics, trade and industry.
 
http://www.medicalfair-brasil.com
www.mdna.com
http://abimo.org.br

The 43^rd IHF World Hospital Congress kicks off today at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre for four days of insightful discussions and knowledge exchange among health leaders from 59 countries, all gathered together to improve the way we deliver healthcare.
Hosted by the Ministry of Health of the Sultanate of Oman, the World Hospital Congress, under the umbrella of the International Hospital Federation (IHF), is a unique global forum that brings health leaders from across the globe together annually to share views and experiences, network and promote excellence in healthcare and hospital leadership.
“The Ministry of Health of the Sultanate of Oman is delighted to host the 43rd World Hospital Congress and welcome delegates from different countries and cultures to Muscat”, said Dr Qasem Ahmed Al Salmi, Chair of the 2019 World Hospital Congress Organizing Committee.
“In the next four days we will hear accounts about resiliency, investments, and innovations; and understand better the interconnected roles of hospitals, patients, and communities in times of peace and crisis”, said IHF President, Dr Francisco Balestrin. “On 8 November, we will recognize hospitals and healthcare organizations from around the world for their outstanding and innovative programs to improve patient experience and outcomes during the 2019 IHF Awards Ceremony.”
Six keynote presentations will feature world-renowned speakers followed by insightful panel discussions. There are 130 speakers to offer fresh perspectives and strategies from their experiences, as well as examples of current innovations and digital transformations in healthcare from different regions in the world.
If you are interested in resilient health services, you can hear about the challenges of refugee crisis in Palestine from Dr. Akihiro Seita, Director of Health Programme of UNRWA. You can attend sessions covering terrorist attack situations, response and mitigation plans, and how to maintain quality in healthcare even in the most challenging of times,” offered Dr Balestrin.
Topics on health investment for prosperity are spread throughout the four days. Keynote presentations by Dr. Melinda Estes, President and CEO of Saint Luke’s Health System in the USA, and Dr. Agnés Soucat, Director of Health Systems Governance and Financing at WHO Switzerland, will tackle the roles of hospitals, health systems and health services in driving prosperity and in support of population well-being. More sessions under this sub-theme will cover how local hospitals are reinventing themselves and rethinking their plans to improve population health.
“If you are keen about innovation for health impact, a keynote session with Sir Andrew Dillon CBE, Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK, will discuss about the innovation pathway being an alignment between ambition and successful adoption of new health technologies. You can also listen to sessions sharing about the digital ecosystem of Catalonia, the Asian perspective of digital transformation pathway, as well as a presentation of Oman’s e-health achievements”, invited Dr Balestrin.
“This is a great opportunity to learn from each other and share ideas over these four days in the conversation on how we can make healthcare more responsive, supportive and prospective in times of peace and crisis,” commented Dr Al Salmi. https://worldhospitalcongress.org mylene.dayola@ihf-fih.org

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America has issued a new expert guidance on how hospitals and healthcare providers may reduce infections associated with anaesthesiology procedures and equipment in the operating room. The guidance recommends steps to improve infection prevention through increased hand hygiene, environmental disinfection, and continuous improvement plans.
“Even though the demands on anesthesia providers make infection prevention best practices more challenging, there are opportunities for improvement,” said Silvia Munoz-Price, MD, PhD, lead author of the guidance and Professor of Medicine at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin. “We describe how the anesthesiology team and hospital leaders can optimize infection prevention in operating room anesthesia, and we give suggestions for the future, including the need for better equipment design.”
A growing body of research has shown that contamination in anesthesiology work areas is connected to healthcare-associated infections that put patients at risk. A survey of 49 U.S. and international facilities showed infection control policies and practices are inconsistent. A writing panel—consisting of representatives from SHEA, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)—developed the guidance to establish procedures and best practices specific to anesthesia in the operating room
The key recommendations include:
Hand hygiene should be performed, at a minimum, before aseptic tasks, after removing gloves, when hands are soiled, before touching the anesthesia cart, and upon room entry and exit. The authors also suggest strategic placement of alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers.
During airway management, the authors suggest the use of double gloves so one layer can be removed when contamination is likely and the procedure moves too quickly to perform hand hygiene. The report also recommends high-level disinfection of reusable laryngoscope handles or adoption of single-use laryngoscopes.
For environmental disinfection, the guidance recommends disinfecting high-touch surfaces on the anesthesia machines, as well as keyboards, monitors and other items in work areas in between surgeries, while also exploring the use of disposable covers and re-engineering of the work surfaces to facilitate quick decontamination in what is often a short window of time.
IV drug injection recommendations include using syringes and vials for only one patient; and that injection ports and vial stoppers should only be accessed after disinfection.
The authors suggest that implementation of the recommendations requires multi-level collaboration within the hospital, regular monitoring, and evaluation of infection prevention practices with regular feedback for providers as well as clarity in expectations about behaviours. According to the guidance, leadership should define goals, remove barriers to infection prevention, and empower practitioners to meet standards.
ASA President Linda Mason, MD, FASA, said the collaboration between anesthesiology and infection prevention is critical to patient safety: “These guidelines address the evidence base for infection prevention while taking into account the realities of the operating room and the complexities involved in providing anesthesia services.” ASA supports local hospital-level discussions and decision-making regarding the use of laryngoscopes, including disinfection procedures per the manufacturer’s recommendations or use of disposable tools, and emphasizes that practices and local administrators should follow any and all updates to the U.S. Pharmacopeia Chapter, expected in the coming months.
SHEAhttps://tinyurl.com/y52mtrzu