Magdalena Syrkiewicz-Świtała

Perspectives for the Use of Social Media in e-Pharmamarketing

The Internet has become a common and global medium. It contains vast information resources and a wide range of communication instruments. One of the communication channels are social media, which increasingly are also used in the business field. Social media combined with mobile technology introduced new challenges to marketing activity. This trend is also observed on specific and highly regulated drug market. The aim of this article is to describe the perspectives for the use of social media in e-pharmamarketing. We find that this require personalized communication, the use of online promotion tools, in order to perform advertising in contact with a demanding client. Currently pharmaceutical companies use social media to communicate basic information on their life, but they still do not appreciate it sufficiently as a tool to build the image of company or products. It is therefore considered that these companies should attach greater importance to the presence in this type of media, especially in the light of dynamic changes in the way people communicate.

Znaczenie mass mediów w promocji zdrowia

Background. The mass media significantly intensified their impact on society. Due to the intensive development of technology, the mass media has become an important source of information about health for the average person, and the promotion of health an important issue in public debates. Nowadays, in order to improve their effectiveness, activities related to health promotion are necessary for interaction with the media. Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to assess the importance and the role of the mass media in promoting healthy behaviour in modern society. Material and the methods. The study group comprised 300 people from the city of Katowice, aged over 18 years, and was conducted by the method of in-depth interviews, with the use of a questionnaire designed by the author. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistica software and the χ2 test for categorical variables. Results. The data on respondents’ preferred means of communications, the method and frequency of use was analyzed. Data on the effects of the media impact on the behaviour of respondents, according to the health-related information, was also examined. The largest group of respondents were aged between 18–30. Most of the respondents declared that their dietary habits changed under the influence of the mass media. The great majority of respondents declared sharing their health prevention knowledge with others. Conclusions. The type of media and its use varied depending on gender, age, education and monthly income. The media influenced the level of knowledge of health promotion.

Health systems and their assessment. A methodological proposal of the Synthetic Outcome Measure

The effectiveness of health systems is an area of constant interest for public health researchers and practitioners. The varied approach to effectiveness itself has resulted in numerous methodological proposals related to its measurement. The limitations of the currently used methods lead to a constant search for better tools for the assessment of health systems. This article shows the possibilities of using the health system synthetic outcome measure (SOM) for this purpose. It is an original tool using 41 indicators referring to the epidemiological situation, health behaviors, and factors related to the health-care system, which allows a relatively quick and easy assessment of the health system in terms of its effectiveness. Construction of the measure of health system functioning in such a way allowed its presentation in dynamic perspective, i.e., assessing not only the health system itself in a given moment of time but also changes in the value of the effectiveness measures. In order to demonstrate the cognitive value of the SOM, the analysis of the effectiveness of health systems in 21 countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the transformation period was carried out. The mean SOM values calculated on the basis of the component measures allowed to differentiate countries in terms of the effectiveness of their health systems. Considering the whole period, a similar level of health system effects can be observed in Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Macedonia, and Albania. In the middle group, Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Armenia were found. The third group, weakest in terms of achieved effects, was formed by health systems in countries like Ukraine, Moldova, and Russia. The presented method allows for the analysis of the health system outcomes from a comparative angle, eliminating arbitrariness of pinpointing a model solution as a potential reference point in the assessment of the systems. The measure, with the use of additional statistical tools to establish correlations with elements of the external and internal environment of a health system, allows for conducting analyses of conditions for differences in the effects of health system operation and circumstances for the effectiveness of reform processes.

Mapping Health Needs to Support Health System Management in Poland

In Poland, following the example of other EU countries, the first maps of health needs prepared by the Ministry of Health were presented in 2016. The maps constitute a foundation for rational decision-making in the management of health care resources, being potentially useful for all actors in health system. This refers in particular to the institutions responsible for distribution of funds and contracting health service, but also for decision-makers, who determine the scope of funds to be utilized in the health system, or the structure of benefits provided to patients. Service providers are also addressees of the maps, to give them a basis for planning future activities. The article presents a structured assessment of the current state of affairs, based on recent experience and sets out likely directions for the development of health needs in mapping in Poland in the future. We discuss the criticism addressed toward maps by representatives of various groups acting in health care. It includes the lack of recognition of some of the key health needs, or wrong emphases, where much more attention is paid to the recognition of current resources in the health system, instead of making prognoses regarding the future developments of health needs. Nonetheless, we find that this instrument is potentially of high usability, in case of elimination of the existing weaknesses.

[Time based management in health care system: the chosen aspects].

Time-based management (TBM) is the key element of the whole management process. For many years in health care systems of highly developed countries modern and effective methods of time-based management have been implemented in both primary health care and hospitals (emergency departments and operating rooms). Over the past two decades a systematic review of Polish literature (since 1990) and peer reviewed articles published in international journals based on PubMed/Medline (2001-2011) have been carried out. The collected results indicate that the demographic and health changes in the populations are one of the main challenges facing general practitioners in the nearest future. Time-based management needs new and effective tools and skills, i.e., identification of priorities, well designed planning, delegation of the tasks, proper coordination, and creation of primary care teams that include additional members and human resources management. Proper reimbursement of health services, development of IT in health care system, better collection, storage, processing, analysis and exchange of information and research findings will also be needed. The use of innovative technologies, like telemedicine consultations, provides the possibility of reducing waiting time for diagnosis and treatment and in some cases could be applied in terms of secondary care. To improve the efficiency of operating rooms it is necessary to introduce different solutions, such as operating room coordinator involvement, application of automation to guide decision-making or use of robotic tools to assist surgical procedures. Overcrowded emergency departments have a major detrimental effect on the quality of hospital functions, therefore, efforts should be made to reduce them. Time-based management training among physicians and health care management in Poland, as well as the implementation of practice-based solutions still applied in highly developed countries seem to be necessary.