In the absence of effective drugs that could be used in the treatment of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, behavioral methods of preventing infection have become important in counteracting the epidemic, including wearing protective masks. A historical overview of the epidemic and the introduction of the mask order allows an epidemic to be better understood not only as a biological event, but also as a social process. Many countries have enforced the wearing of masks in public despite conflicting opinions about whether their use could prevent transmission of the coronavirus from one person to another. In Poland, the content of the official message on the effectiveness of wearing masks was changing, ultimately introducing the obligation to cover the mouth and nose with masks or an element of clothing in generally accessible places.
During pandemic COVID-19, politicians responsible for developing strategies to combat the virus play a significant role and make key decisions in this regard. An important role is also played by national experts who advise and provide scientific knowledge to governments to ensure the highest possible level of security for the whole society. The analysis of Polish and American politicians and experts gives a comparison in terms of actions, opinions and positions taken. In both countries, important national expert institutions participated in the fight against the pandemic, and government advisory teams for the COVID-19 pandemic were established. There were numerous problems with both health systems and a lack of consistency between the recommendations of experts and politicians, which resulted in a loss of public confidence. This difficult situation in which all countries in the world find themselves may be a good lesson for future threats.
Contemporarily the increasing role of marketing in the process of hospital management may be observed due to the lastly undertaken processes of systemic changes. The paper describes this phenomena on the basis of the Children’s University Hospital of Kraków, one of the leading polish centers in pediatrics. Authors analyze the case of a public clinical hospital asking if marketing activities should be used in such case. The issues focused on public relations and relations with the most important stakeholders are taken into account with a specific regard to the process of the hospital development, potential support for the hospital’s budget and for the future perspectives of such important provider. The case study explicitly illustrates the importance of different marketing techniques and actions for the process of effective management. The final conclusion underlined hereby, is the existing necessity of making publicly visible the vital role of such hospitals as well as building the positive and publicly accepted image of relationship and cooperation amongst stakeholders. This may be obtained with a great help and contribution of marketing knowledge and practices, specifically public relations and relationship marketing,
Effects of the EU Directive on Patient’s Rights in the sphere of patients etitlements, providers liabilities and services organization, coordination and financing The so called cross border care directive of European Union follows the long process of European Court of Justice judgments concerning regulation of patient’s right in respect to health services delivered outside the country of health insurance, specifically the planned procedures or treatment not available in the country of patient origin. At this moment the directive is still being transformed into domestic systems however, there are still important obstacles and problems caused by the implementation process. The paper concerns some specific aspects of the above mentioned implementation results, showing also the wider context of the previous attempts focused on the matter solving in EU, mostly describing the legal background and crucial political approaches. It briefly describes such questions like: pre-authorization requirements, subjective obstacles regarding implementation, national contact points problems, need for the legislation novelisation, base reimbursement problems, national systems protection, providers responsibility and some coordination of services aspects in relation to the described directive.
The purpose of the article is to present the complexity of the US health insurance system and the changes it brings in Obamacare against the background of reform proposals pushed forward and run by the new US presidential administration (Trumpcare). An attempt will be made to compare the two reform proposals for the health care – Obamacare versus Trumpcare in the light of the assessment of the changes implemented by Barack Obama since 2013 as well as the political implications of the new proposals put forward by current President Trump. The US health care system stakeholders environment is very divided in Obamacare’s and President Trump’s new proposals assessment. The new change is backed by insurance corporations. Meanwhile, the largest American medical association, the American Medical Association, has sent to the leaders of both parties in the Senate a statement stating that it supported Obamacare because it was a significant improvement over its previous status quo. At this stage, presenting the whole formula of a new change is difficult due to unfinished legislative process.
An important problem faced by many healthcare systems is the shortage of medical staff, and in particular doctors and nurses. Their number, competences and qualifications determine the level of availability and quality of medical services. Unfortunately, the demand for medical services is increasing, along with the progressive aging of the population, as well as the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases and frequent reforms of health systems. Employee costs related to healthcare are the most burdensome for the system; therefore, based on the available resources, it is necessary to create effective teams of sector employees. This results in rationalizing employment, or providing new medical and about medical competencies to new groups of professionals, which gives rise to the skill mix phenomenon. A well-prepared and implemented skill mix contributes to improving the quality of patient care, increased patient satisfaction and better clinical outcomes. In the process of mixing of competences, the roles that have been exercised so far are being changed. While some professionals are expanding their existing roles, other employees are required to accept some aspects of the previous roles. In Poland, in order to counteract such negative trends (the shortage of doctors), changes have been introduced to increase access to medical services (e.g., nurses and midwives being vested with the right to issue prescriptions and medical ordinances, paramedics – with the right to perform medical emergency services and provide healthcare services, and physiotherapists – with the right to conduct independent physiotherapeutic visits). A new profession of a medical coordinator has also been introduced.
PL
Problemem wielu systemów ochrony zdrowia jest niedobór kadr medycznych, przede wszystkim lekarzy i pielęgniarek. Ich liczba, kompetencje i uprawnienia warunkują dostępność usług medycznych i ich jakość. Zapotrzebowanie na usługi medyczne zwiększa się wraz z postępującym procesem starzenia się populacji, wzrostem liczby zachorowań na choroby przewlekłe i ciągłymi reformami systemów zdrowotnych. Koszty pracownicze w ochronie zdrowia są kosztami najbardziej obciążającymi system, dlatego trzeba tworzyć efektywne zespoły pracowników sektorowych, korzystając z dostępnych zasobów. Wymienione czynniki skutkują racjonalizacją zatrudnienia lub nadawaniem nowych uprawnień medycznych i okołomedycznych nowym grupom profesjonalistów, czego wynikiem jest zjawisko krzyżowania się kompetencji (skill mix). Dobrze przygotowane i wdrożone krzyżujące się kompetencje pozwalają poprawić jakość opieki nad pacjentem, zwiększyć jego zadowolenie i uzyskać lepsze wyniki kliniczne. W procesie krzyżowania się kompetencji dochodzi do zamiany sprawowanych dotychczas ról. Gdy jedni profesjonaliści rozbudowują istniejące role, inni są zobowiązani do przyjęcia niektórych aspektów poprzedniej roli. Przy krzyżowaniu się kompetencji często pojawiają się też nowe role, nowe zawody, których zakres opracowuje się tak, aby pasowały one do obowiązującej praktyki. Najczęściej krzyżujące się kompetencje dotyczą personelu pielęgniarskiego i położniczego oraz lekarzy i ratowników medycznych. Aby przeciwdziałać niedoborowi lekarzy w Polsce, wprowadzono zmiany, których celem jest zwiększenie dostępu do świadczeń medycznych: m.in. pielęgniarki i położne uzyskały prawo do wypisywania recept i ordynacji medycznej, ratownicy medyczni – prawo do wykonywania medycznych czynności ratunkowych i świadczeń zdrowotnych, a fizjoterapeuci – prawo do realizacji samodzielnej wizyty fizjoterapeutycznej. Powstał także nowy zawód – koordynator medyczny.
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