Latest news with #ASMS
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Private hospitals' use of publicly-funded cancer drugs will widen inequities, warn doctors
Under 'transitional access' private patients won't have to shift to the public system for 12 months. Photo: 123RF A move to allow private patients to access publicly-funded cancer drugs threatens to increase wait times for those in the public system, warn senior doctors. Under "transitional access", which comes into effect on 1 July, private patients who are already receiving treatment - or about to start treatment - with a newly funded medicine will not have to shift to the public system for 12 months. Associate Health Minister David Seymour, who has championed the rule change, said it would lessen stress on private patients by enabling continuity of care, and pressure on the public system which would no longer have to deal with a sudden influx of patients. However, the move has been criticised by opposition politicians as "a subsidy for private insurers", which already cover the cost of medicines newly funded by Pharmac, and of little benefit to patients. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, which represents 6500 senior hospital doctors and dentists, said its members working in oncology and haematology had "significant concerns" the change would widen inequities for patients. In a letter on June 13 to Pharmac's acting chief executive Brendan Boyle, the union's director of policy and research, Harriet Wild, quoted a briefing to the minister saying the policy change "would not increase volumes of cancer medicines provided in New Zealand, as only the location of treatments will change". "It will simply shift some of the existing capacity to the private system, where patients will need to fund infusion costs out-of-pocket," Wild wrote. "There will be pressure on the public system to ensure a smooth transition in treatment regime, which may mean delaying treatment for other people already waiting on the public list and unable to self-fund to start in private. "This potentially creates a two-tier waiting list and a system where those with more financial resources, will be prioritised for treatment." Furthermore, the shift of resources and inevitable increase in demand was likely to speed up the exodus of staff to the private sector, making public waiting lists even longer. A "back-pocket Q&A" provided to Seymour ahead of a Cabinet meeting on April 7 noted that the current eligibility criteria in the Pharmaceutical Schedule (excluding patients in private settings) was "designed to ensure public funding for medicines was prioritised for those managed in the public health system for cancer treatment, assessed by need, rather than public funding supporting those who chose to access treatment in private facilities. "Often the private treatment is funded from private health insurance that people have paid premiums into." In the same document, the minister said there was no plan to expand the policy to include other types of medicines or treatments "at this stage". "With that said, I've asked the Ministry [of Health] to do further work in this area to explore the possibility of broadening access to all publicly-funded medicines in private facilities - not just newly funded cancer medicines. "I encourage the private health providers and insurance companies to work closely with the ministry to support their understanding of how this might work in practice." Wild said opening access to publicly-funded drugs even wider would pull more staff away from the public system, reducing access for the majority who relied on it. "That would establish a system where a patient's ability to receive timely cancer care would depend on whether they could afford the out-of-pocket infusion costs." The government's 2024 Budget boost to Pharmac to widen access to medicines for patients had not been accompanied by extra resources for Te Whatu Ora to deliver the treatments, when public oncology services were already swamped with demand, Wild said. "Our members are increasingly needing to manage deteriorating patients, who are unable to access chemotherapy infusions in clinically acceptable timeframes. "This is unacceptable and represents a significant failure to invest in a planned and co-ordinated way to enable the public system to meet the needs of cancer patients, including those eligible for newly funded cancer medicines. "Whenever a new cancer drug is funded, it must be accompanied by an increase in the full package of care (staffing, infusion space, pharmacy) so that patients can actually receive the medicines within clinically acceptable timeframes." The Health Minister and David Seymour's office have been approached for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
More than 200 senior Northland doctors, dentist striking over pay dispute with Health NZ
Some senior doctors will remain in hospitals to ensure life preserving services are maintained. Photo: RNZ More than 200 senior doctors and dentists in Northland are striking for 24 hours over their ongoing pay dispute with Health New Zealand. The union representing them - the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists - said its 240 members in Te Tai Tokerau will be striking from 10am on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday. ASMS confirmed that 35-40 senior doctors would remain in hospitals to ensure life preserving services were maintained during the strike period. The doctors and dentists will be staging a mass walkout from Whangārei Hospital on Wednesday morning, and picketing nearby. Staff will also be picketing outside the Kaitaia Hospital. ASMS said it asked for a 12 percent pay rise for staff in the coming year, however it said HNZ's offer averaged to about 0.78 percent increase per year, over a period of three years. It said prior to the current facilitated bargaining, HNZ offered no pay rise for the year starting August 2024, which was when ASMS's collective agreement with HNZ expired. It said the agency offered a one percent pay rise in the second year, and a two percent increase in the third year. ASMS organiser Chan Dixon said the inadequate offer would continue to compromise health services . "A district like Northland is one of the districts in New Zealand where services are falling over, there are huge staff shortages, people are leaving, so we really need to an offer that won't further sink the public health services in New Zealand," she said. The union said HNZ's offer was well below the CPI and the parties were still "far apart" in the current bargaining process. Dixon said there would be longer wait times in emergency departments during the strike period, and that the patient flow would also be harder to manage. She said all elective surgeries would be cancelled during the strike period. During the last nationwide senior doctors strike on 1 May, 28 planned surgeries were cancelled in Northland. Health New Zealand says hospital services would continue today, despite the Northland senior doctors walking off the job. All hospitals in Northland, including the emergency department at Whangārei Hospital, would remain open during the strike action, said chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan. He said clinical staff - including doctors - would still be available to ensure health services for those who need them, though some planned treatments may be disrupted. Patients who had a hospital appointment should come to that appointment unless they had been contacted to reschedule. "We are currently in facilitated bargaining with ASMS, where we are working towards a further offer to senior doctors," he said. "We are disappointed that strike action is occurring while this process is ongoing." Dr Sullivan said Health New Zealand recognised the concerns doctors had raised about workforce shortages "and we are committed to growing our permanent medical workforce". "Across Northland we employ a total of 272 senior doctors and dentists and we currently have approximately 52 vacant positions of which we have filled 10 FTE and these senior doctors and dentists will start in over the next few months." Before the strike on 1 May, Health New Zealand said it had increased the offer on base salaries of first year and second year specialists by 9.5 percent and 6.2 percent respectively. It said it was also offering a lump sum payment of $8000 to doctors with three years or more experience. However an ASMS spokesperson said that about 85 percent of senior doctors were in the higher bands (bands 14 and 15) and would only be receiving a one percent pay rise in the second year, and a two percent increase in the third year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Senior Medical And Dental Officers 24-hour Strike In Te Tai Tokerau
Senior medical and dental officers who are members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists - Toi Mata Hauora (ASMS) and are employed in the Te Tai Tokerau district of Health New Zealand will be on strike for 24 hours from 10.00am Wednesday 18 June until 10.00am Thursday 19 June. During that time and as required ASMS members will ensure life preserving services are maintained across the region's four hospital sites in Whangarei, Dargaville, Kaitaia and Bay of Islands. ASMS has 240 members in the Te Tai Tokerau district. Members voted 83 per cent in favour of the strike. On Tuesday 17 June at 6pm in the Calfer Suite of Forum North in Whangārei ASMS and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation are hosting a public meeting "Your Health System in Crisis" to give members of the public a chance to hear from doctors and nurses about what is really happening in their hospital. At 10am on Wednesday 18 June ASMS members will stage a mass walk out from Whangārei Hospital and picket on the corner of Maunu and Hospital Rds. There will also be a picket outside Kaitaia Hospital on Redan Rd. Both pickets will run for forty-five minutes. This district strike is part of an ongoing industrial dispute. The collective employment agreement between ASMS and Health New Zealand expired in August 2024. Health New Zealand's pay offer is well below CPI . The parties are still far apart and are currently in facilitated bargaining. Facilitated bargaining is a confidential process. On 1 May ASMS members undertook a 24-hour nationwide strike. And on 28 May ASMS members in Tairāwhiti held a 24-hour district strike.
Business Wire
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Bruker Unveils New proteoElute™ nanoLC System and PepSep® Advanced nLC Columns for up to 50% Improved Peptide Sensitivity
BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--At the 73 rd Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics (ASMS), Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR) today announced the new proteoElute nanoLC system, featuring ceramic valves, proteoTrap trapping columns, and next-generation PepSep Advanced nLC columns, further enhancing robustness, sensitivity and proteome coverage in ultra-sensitive proteomics workflows. A. Bruker Introduces the proteoElute Next-Generation Nanoflow LC System for Robust, Ultra-Sensitive Proteomics Workflows with Real-time Monitoring Bruker announces the launch of the proteoElute, a state-of-the-art nanoflow liquid chromatography (LC) system designed for robust and ultra-sensitive multiomics applications. The proteoElute is ideal for single-cell proteomics, immunopeptidomics, microbiome metaproteomics profiling, and many other proteomics methods, ensuring reliable performance even with limited or very complex biological samples. The proteoElute features innovative TwinScape™ technology, which continuously monitors system health in real-time and runs background diagnostics. This proactive approach alerts users to potential issues, providing peace of mind when working with precious samples. Engineered for relentless reliability, the proteoElute includes biocompatible ceramic valves, new porous metal filters, and a proprietary trap column that together enhance robustness, chromatographic performance, and permit sample recovery. The new injector and needle wash system reduces carry-over by up to 3x, a critical advantage for confidently avoiding background signals when analyzing ultra-low input samples. W. Hayes McDonald, Associate Director in the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University, commented: ' The combination of the new proteoElute UHPLC platform along with updated PepSep Advanced columns and the proteoTrap column allows us the flexibility to perform any state-of-the-art proteomics workflow with highest performance. Its remarkable robustness gives us the confidence to execute all proteomics workflows at scale. ' B. Bruker Introduces PepSep Advanced Columns for Sharper nLC Peaks, Higher Sensitivity and Further Enhanced Peptide and Protein Identifications For highest sensitivity and performance of the proteoElute nLC system, Bruker introduces a new generation of PepSep Advanced nLC columns, engineered for precision, robustness, and speed. The columns deliver sharper peaks and higher-resolution separations for even deeper proteome coverage and consistent performance with challenging biological samples. In benchmark studies, the PepSep Advanced columns demonstrated approximately 20% improvements in peptide IDs and typically 10% improvements in protein IDs. Combined with CaptiveSpray Ionization (CSI) emitters, users can extend column lifetime by simply replacing the emitter—ensuring long-term performance and cost efficiency. PepSep columns provide the reliability and depth needed for analyzing complex tissue digests or low-input samples. Lynn Spruce, the Technical Director at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP-Penn) Proteomic Core Facility, said: 'The new PepSep Advanced columns have proven to be robust, and they consistently deliver reproducible chromatography. They produce sharper, more symmetrical peaks with no observable tailing, resulting typically in 7–8% increases in protein group identifications. Combined with the convenience of interchangeable emitters and reasonable pricing, it has become our go-to nLC column. It's essentially plug-and-play.' About Bruker Corporation – Leader of the Post-Genomic Era (Nasdaq: BRKR) Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker's high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and next-gen semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit
Business Wire
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Software Launches for SCIEX OS Ecosystem to Help Scientists Accelerate Discoveries and Streamline Lab Operations
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies and operating company of Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR), announces three software ecosystem enhancements at ASMS. These developments will present new ways to acquire data, new standards for performance, and new practices to extract elevated insights, all supporting the theme that 'all science is data science now.' SCIEX announces three software ecosystem enhancements at ASMS. The new SCIEX OS software version 4.0 is the latest evolution of its powerful software platform. This new Microsoft Windows 11 compatible release drives operability enhancements with speed and automation to improve customers' time to results. SCIEX OS 4.0 delivers advanced hardware support for the latest SCIEX innovations, including today's newly launched ZenoTOF 8600 system. In addition, automated workflow improvements and progressive software functionalities establish the benchmark for efficiency, accuracy, and precision. The intuitive interface empowers operators to seamlessly integrate both new and existing workflows into SCIEX OS. This enables faster deployment and improves operational readiness when compared to previous SCIEX software systems. Administrative features within SCIEX OS 4.0 boosts security and compliance to the ecosystem so labs can produce data with the highest integrity and traceability. AI Quantitation software ushers in a new era of artificial intelligence driven data processing automation. AI Quantitation software is a focused solution that eliminates data process operator bias and accelerates actionable decision-making across the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) workflows. With the power of artificial intelligence, AI Quantitation software automatically predicts the most suitable fragments for MRM analysis of new compounds or analytes and eliminates the need for time-consuming compound standard infusions and manual fragment optimization. The impact of AI Quantitation software reflects SCIEX and Mass Analytica's continued commitment towards drug discovery laboratories with practical, efficient tools. By integrating AI-driven automation into established workflows, this solution helps reduce manual workload, improve consistency, and support faster decision-making. Scientists can now focus more on research and less on routine data processing. To improve accessibility, SCIEX supports the vibrant open-source software community with SCIEX MS Data Converter 2.0. SCIEX strives to offer integrated SCIEX OS data processing so customers can unlock the full potential of their data, whether using open-source tools or their own data processing capabilities. Knowing the rapid innovation of the scientific community, SCIEX seeks to improve the usability, flexibility, and availability of our data to the entire community. SCIEX MS Data Converter 2.0 keeps pace with the latest software languages and ensures the highest quality of collaboration and service we strive for at SCIEX. 'With these updates, we want to empower customers to take the next step in their LC-MS journey. We know software is a critical component of success for scientists, and the SCIEX OS ecosystem continues to prove its ability to provide the insights needed to make impactful discoveries and decisions,' said Chris Lock Ph.D., Vice president of global research and development at SCIEX. 'Our reoccurring theme this year is 'prove it.' The proof is in the data, and we invite you to come explore it with us.' About SCIEX SCIEX empowers our customers to solve the most impactful analytical challenges in quantitation and characterization. With groundbreaking innovation and outstanding reliability and support, SCIEX has been at the forefront of the field for over 50 years. Since the launch of the first-ever commercially successful triple quadrupole in 1981, we continue to develop technologies and solutions that influence life-changing research and outcomes. That's why thousands of life science experts around the world choose SCIEX to get the answers they can trust. Advances in human wellness depend on the power of precise science. For more information, visit Connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram. SCIEX is proud to be part of Danaher. Danaher's science and technology leadership puts SCIEX solutions at the forefront of the industry, so they can reach more people. Being part of Danaher means we can offer unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise and solutions to our customers. Together with Danaher's other businesses across Biotechnology, Diagnostics and Life Sciences, we unlock the transformative potential of cutting-edge science and technology to improve billions of lives every day. The SCIEX clinical diagnostic portfolio is for in vitro Diagnostic Use. Rx Only. Product(s) not available in all countries. For information on availability, please contact your local sales representative or refer to All other products are For Research Use Only. Not for use in Diagnostic Procedures. Trademarks and/or registered trademarks mentioned herein, including associated logos, are the property of AB Sciex Pte. Ltd. or their respective owners in the United States and/or certain other countries (see © 2025 DH Tech. Dev. Pte. Ltd. MKT-35295-A.
