Outreach marketing may be a successful strategy for NHS libraries.

This dissertation study investigates the ways that NHS libraries are currently marketing their services within their organisation and was submitted as part of the MA Library and Information Management at the University of Sheffield in 2019. This paper presents the findings from twelve semi-structured interviews carried out with NHS library managers in the East of England to identify the most and least successful methods, and in comparison with that which is currently in the general marketing literature. The study found that outreach marketing was the most effective and that librarians are currently conducting marketing to the best of their ability, but they lack time and funding to be able to make the most of their promotional campaigns. F.J.

Market Analysis of Medicinal Plants in India.

There has been significant growth in the herbal drugs market around the world, over the last few decades due to growing awareness among people about the rising cost as well as side effects related to the use of synthetic drugs. Herbal medicine has been used in traditional medicinal systems around the world, especially India where the oldest systems of medicine namely Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani make use of more than 90% plant-based formulations. India is rich in medicinal and herbal plants resources that provide for both the health care needs of rural India as well as the source of raw material for therapeutic agents required in the production of traditional and modern medicine. This review article presents an overview of the knowledge of Indian herbal plants based medicine in the national and international market and the trends in its production, sustainability, and promotion.

Virtual day of the midwife: a global 'pyjama party'.

The Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) (www.vidm.org) is an annual online conference designed to break down traditional barriers to continuing professional development (CPD); provide online opportunities for international midwifery networking; and model open access communication and collaboration practices. Whilst the VIDM is designed to reach midwives all around the world, issues of access to the Internet, language and cultural differences prevent some midwives from attending, especially those who live in resource-poor countries. Nevertheless, the VIDM has successfully demonstrated how CPD can be delivered to midwives in a flexible and cost-effective way, as well as bring them together in a truly global open and collaborative environment.

The end of an era? Midwifery conferences.

It has long been accepted that conferences are a useful mode of continuous professional development (CPD) (Russell 2010). Midwives welcome the chance to learn about recent practice developments, and the opportunity to network with each other in a face to face environment. However, barriers such as geographical isolation, time and financial constraints restrict midwives' ability to attend conferences (McIntosh 2007; Patterson and Davis 2007). At the same time, the effectiveness of conferences for CPD has been questioned (Guskey 2000). In these days of financial retrenchment, CPD has to be innovative and creative, offering ongoing support and learning in communities of practice that meet individual learning needs. The Virtual International Day of the Midwife (VIDM) is one such innovation. It is an annual 24 hour international synchronous online conference that celebrates the International Day of the Midwife on 5th May, and is freely open to all. Using the VIDM as a case study, this article discusses how online conferences may support and provide CPD for midwives.

[The user oriented hospital - chances and challenges for the healthcare industry]. / Das "nutzerorientierte" Krankenhaus - Chance und Herausforderung für die Gesundheitswirtschaft.

Hardly any other part of the healthcare sector is under such a pressure to change as the hospital sector. Hospitals are high-performers in coping with complex changes in modernising patient care, process design, quality, cost-effectiveness and service orientation. But, what really makes value to the patient? Currently, this question is raised with new seriousness. Those hospitals which consequently align their portfolio to value based and 'patient driven' healthcare delivery will succeed by both quality and cost-effectiveness. We receive such messages from the USA. In Germany there are on-going and admonishing pleas since the end of the 1990s not to lose sight of the patients' needs while designing new concepts for healthcare delivery. Future challenges imply not only the renaissance of patient centred care, but also demand for a comprehensive user orientation as a key factor to successful hospital modernisation. This is particularly true of concepts of structured, integrated and regional healthcare delivery. But a consequent alignment of healthcare with value for patients clearly exceeds the focus on integrating hospital and outpatient care. In designing new services of coordinated regional healthcare, hospitals gain strategic options for a single-source healthcare delivery. In terms of business development, user orientation does not only yield important impulses for stronger patient centred care, but also opens up chances for better quality and competitive advantages. Nevertheless, it requires a new understanding of innovation processes which considers value for patients and quality of results and outcome as a relevant scale for measuring effects of change management. Finally, the methods of the assessment of user oriented healthcare delivery are an essential challenge for the evaluation of cooperative healthcare services.

[Third level centers in Integrated Health Care: no room, no interest, no needs?]. / Maximalversorger und Integrierte Versorgung: Kein Raum, kein Interesse, kein Bedarf?

Third level health care providers are often highly integrated in the sense that they provide a broad variety of medical specialties. They mostly lack cooperative structures with physicians who are running private practices. By this "isolation", they realize disadvantages in the race for more patients. This is one reason why more university teaching hospitals are growingly interested in contracts for Integrated Health Care. Another field of growing needs for cooperative structures is rehabilitation to ensure achieved therapeutic success especially in highly specialized centers. The paper outlines these growing interests but also formulates preconditions for contracts which should be regarded if university hospitals are to become involved in Integrated Health Care.

[The importance of integrated health care for private hospital owners]. / Bedeutung der Integrierten Versorgung in der Kardiologie für private Klinikträger.

About 60 to 70% of hospital services are non-urgent, elective procedures. At least in those indications, insurance companies can deliberately choose their partners among the providers. This forces hospital owners and other providers to enhance their performance, to sharpen their profile and to improve their image in the emerging market. Image in the market of health care is only acceptable as a race for improved quality and evidence-based clinical pathways with defined steps with full disclosure of the agreed indications. The next step will lead to management corporations as a link between partners, who will take over responsibility for reimbursement, reinsurance and all management tasks. Integrated Health Care is a promising first step.

[Positive and negative aspects of pharmaceutical services in Spain: about antidepressants and antipsychotics]. / Luces y sombras de la prestación farmacéutica en España: a propósito de los antidepresivos y antipsicóticos.

Mental disorders mortality rates are low but they are extremely disabling so that the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness is an important task for public health and it is central in current therapy strategies and sanitary policy. The aim of this study is to analyse conditions influencing antidepressants and antipsychotics use in Spain from 1997 to 2004. Tryciclic antidepressants have been of first-choice in depression treatment for many years but their side effects profile are related to a lack of treatment adherence. Trying to increase tolerance, new antidepressants have been developed and research into new therapeutic uses is being done. These are some of the reasons causing an increase in medical utilization and costs. Medical boxes sold have increased from 14,14 million in 1997 to 26,76 million in 2004, meaning 168,61 and 447,11 million euros respectively. Antipsychotic use has been maintained, 11,74 million boxes in 1997 and 12,65 in 2004; however, there has been a rise in price from 61,84 to 317,46 million euros due to second generation antipsychotics prescription (mainly risperidone and olanzapine) Some conditions have contributed to current situation: increased number of diagnosed patients with depression and other mental disorders, new approved therapeutic uses and a rise in elderly people receiving new antipsychotic agents. Moreover, promotional marketing is causing an increase in new recently commercialised drugs use.

[Social participation and community orientation in health services]. / Participación social y orientación comunitaria en los servicios de salud.

The community participation in the health systems is a concept that develops from the health policy proposals that have led the World Health Organization and that they highlight the fundamental role of health promotion and of primary care to answer to the health challenges from the middle of the XXth century. Its development has encountered big obstacles that have become major from the increasing trend of introduction of healthcare marketing. This explains partly its scanty advance in the developed countries, though there exist very interesting experiences that are based especially on the effort of professionals and social organizations. The fundamental dilemma is one in the option among the assumption of the role like consumers or clients that it supports a relation subordinated of the patients with a major dependence of the consumption, or on the contrary to give voice and vote for the citizens incorporating them into the productive process and turning them into producers of health. There are analyzed also the existing practices of community participation in Spain and offers are realized for its impulse and development.

Luces y sombras de la prestación farmacéutica en España: a propósito de los antidepresivos y antipsicóticos / Positive and negative aspects of pharmaceutical services in Spain: about antidepressants and antipsychotics

Las enfermedades mentales presentan una baja mortalidad pero son altamente discapacitantes, lo que ha hecho que su diagnóstico y tratamiento ocupen un papel cada vez más relevante en la terapia actual y en las políticas sanitarias. En este escenario se planteó este estudio, que pretende analizar los factores que pueden haber influido en la utilización de antidepresivos y antipsicóticos en España durante el período 1997-2004. Los antidepresivos tricíclicos son los fármacos de referencia para tratar la depresión, pero a su perfil de efectos adversos se ha atribuido una falta de adherencia. La búsqueda de una mejor tolerancia, en un mercado en auge, ha favorecido la síntesis de nuevos antidepresivos y la investigación de nuevas indicaciones. Esto explicaría en buena parte el crecimiento del consumo de este grupo, tanto en unidades como en ventas, que ha pasado de 14,14 a 26,79 millones de envases y de 168,61 a 447,11 millones de euros en valor. En el caso de los antipsicóticos su utilización se ha mantenido más o menos estable, pasando de 11,74 a 12,65 millones de envases, pero el aumento de facturación ha sido espectacular: ha pasado de 61,84 a 317,46 millones de euros; la risperidona y la olanzapina son las principales causantes de este incremento. Muchos pacientes tratados con antipsicóticos de primera generación han pasado a ser tratados con estos nuevos antipsicóticos. Algunos factores que han contribuido a la situación actual son el mayor número de depresiones diagnosticadas, así como de otras enfermedades mentales, el aumento del número de indicaciones aprobadas y el crecimiento de la población anciana tratada con los nuevos antipsicóticos. Todo ello, junto con el marketing promocional, ha disparado la utilización de los principios activos de más reciente comercialización (AU)

Mental disorders mortality rates are low but they are extremely disabling so that the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness is an important task for public health and it is central in current therapy strategies and sanitary policy. The aim of this study is to analyse conditions influencing antidepressants and antipsychotics use in Spain from 1997 to 2004. Tryciclic antidepressants have been of first-choice in depression treatment for many years but their side effects profile are related to a lack of treatment adherence. Trying to increase tolerance, new antidepressants have been developed and research into new therapeutic uses is being done. These are some of the reasons causing an increase in medical utilization and costs. Medical boxes sold have increased from 14,14 million in 1997 to 26,76 million in 2004, meaning 168,61 and 447,11 million euros respectively. Antipsychotic use has been maintained, 11,74 million boxes in 1997 and 12,65 in 2004; however, there has been a rise in price from 61,84 to 317,46 million euros due to second generation antipsychotics prescription (mainly risperidone and olanzapine). Some conditions have contributed to current situation: increased number of diagnosed patients with depression and other mental disorders, new approved therapeutic uses and a rise in elderly people receiving new antipsychotic agents. Moreover, promotional marketing is causing an increase in new recently commercialised drugs use (AU)

Defining and refining women's health.

Competition from niche facilities, the rise of health care consumerism and breakthroughs in treatment are prompting hospitals to refocus their women's health programs.

Forecasting the health care future. Futurescan 2001 and its implications for health care marketing.

In his new book, futurist Russell C. Coile Jr. presents predictions about seven aspects of health care for the next five years. Aided by a panel of health care experts, he analyzes likely developments in health care consumerism, technology, managed care, and other areas that raise a number of issues for health care marketers. Even if only a few of these predictions come true, marketers will be forced to rethink some of their techniques to adapt to this rapidly changing environment.

[Wellness holidays--wholesome wish or one-sided reality]. / Wellness-Ferien--ganzheitlicher Wunschtraum oder einseitige Realität.

The term wellness is widely used in European tourism. The principal observations regarding the wellness industry concern an expanding supply of and an insufficiently researched demand for wellness programs. The quality dimension of wellness services is increasingly becoming the decisive competitive factor. For this reason quality management plays an important role. Market research shows that average 3- to 5-star hotels provide fairly comprehensive wellness facilities. Wellness hotels should therefore specialize in health information, individual care and a wide range of cultural and relaxation programs. Although the same hotel can host cure and wellness guests at the same time, these two segments have to be considered separately when deciding on the marketing strategy. We therefore assume that wellness is pursued solely by 'healthy' people, the prime aim being prevention. 'Normal cure guests' aim to heal their illness.

El consultorio una empresa: el dentista su gerente / The office, an enterprise. The dentist, its manager

La Odontología, como cualquier otra carrera, tiene que ser manejada de una manera empresarial, aceptando conceptos como Marketing, Reingeniería y Calidad total como parte del trabajo diario. Sólo así será posible tratar al paciente de manera eficiente

The British quasi-market in health care: a balance sheet of the evidence.

OBJECTIVES: To summarise the findings from a comprehensive review of research on the effects of the three main elements of the quasi-market reforms of the UK National Health Service (NHS) introduced in 1991/92: General practices becoming fundholders by volunteering to purchase elective care for their patients; Health authorities becoming purchasers of emergency, unplanned and elective services, together with a range of alternatives to fundholding operating under their auspices; The conversion of providers of hospital and community health services to NHS trusts separate from their local health authorities. METHODS: Published and unpublished studies which included any data on the impact of the three main planks of the quasi-market changes, produced between 1991 and late 1998, were identified using a combination of electronic databases, library catalogues at the King's Fund, London, bibliographies, reference lists of individual studies, a survey of NHS directors of public health and consultations with subject area experts. Each main element of the quasi-market was assessed in relation to its impact on: efficiency (primarily productivity); equity; quality; choice and responsiveness; and accountability. RESULTS: There was relatively little measurable change that could be related unequivocally to the core mechanisms of the quasi-market. CONCLUSIONS: The incentives were generally too weak and the constraints too strong to generate the consequences predicted by either proponents or critics of the quasi-market. On the other hand, the way in which the NHS operates was changed irrevocably by the reforms.