05-Jul-16 Malaysian inpatient admissions appear finally to have turned around in the first quarter of 2016 after three consecutive quarters of decline, with IHH Healthcare Bhd up 10% year-on-year and KPJ Healthcare Bhd up 4%. The turnaround suggests that the drag on healthcare business volume from the implementation of the goods and services tax has finally worn off. [image: Bloomberg / Affin Hwang forecasts]

07-Jul-16 China’s pharmaceutical system will struggle to cope with a rapidly aging population and increases in non-communicable diseases says a report by LSE Health and the State Council. The report identifies market fragmentation as a major challenge, with the top five manufacturers holding <15% market share, and finds R&D accounts for only 2% of sales, compared with 14-18% for MNC pharma companies. [image: LSE]

07-Jul-16 Around 61% of people prefer to buy medicines online, a survey in India has showed, highlighting a major change in consumer trends, even as the battle between offline and online chemists has intensified. Over 800,000 chemists recently threatened to go on indefinite strike if the government failed to regulate online sales. [image: Tetra Images / Getty Images]

06-Jul-16 Brazil’s medical devices regulatory agency has announced the registration and approval of medical devices through electronic submission by manufacturers. The new scheme would allow registrants to arrange and submit their applications faster and at a low cost. [image: FDA]

06-Jul-16 There are many new private hospitals up and running in HCMC but a majority of them are grappling with lower-than-expected patient visit rates although their equipment is modern, according to the HCMC Department of Health. This is a paradox, as public hospitals have long been overwhelmed by increasingly large numbers of patient visits. [image: VNA/VNS The Anh]