11-Dec-15 Singapore will seek to improve healthcare accessibility for patients, and promote innovation in medical technology, the Minister for Trade and Industry has said. To boost healthcare accessibility, he said the healthcare workforce has to grow by 50% by 2020. Singapore will also add at least 1,700 acute beds and double the number of community hospital beds to 3,000. [image: APACMed]

28-Nov-15 China is planning more and better non-profit hospitals specializing in Traditional Chinese Medicine in a bid to develop rapidly the country's TCM industry. A comprehensive reform will focus on state-owned TCM hospitals at county and city levels while helping them to "better serve the people," according to the National Health & Family Planning Commission and the State Administration of TCM. [image: China Daily]

23-Nov-15 Vietnam's will increase public hospital fees in early 2016, instead of Dec-15, Nguyen Nam Lien, the Ministry of Health has said. With this fee increase, patients will pay two to four times more than when using healthcare services at state-owned hospitals. Currently 73% of the population is covered by health insurance, which means 25 mn people are self-paying. [image: Dantri]

16-Nov-15 An OECD review of Australia's health system said that it was performing "remarkably well" despite its "fragmented nature" and the "sometimes strained" relationship between federal, state and territory governments over health funding. While Australia had improved its standards, it also mentioned: "A surprising lack of data on the quality and outcomes of care." [image: Merimbula News]

29-Oct-15 India's Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has sanctioned grants amounting to more than INR17 crore (USD2.6 mn) towards upgrading and strengthening trauma care facilities in government hospitals in the state of Himachal Pradesh. [image: Fortis Healthcare]