Relationships with industry: critical for new technology or an unnecessary evil?
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International health agencies face major changes requiring basic adjustments in approaches and values. The ethical issues include moral criteria for allocating scarce resources, relation of health to population growth and development, iatrogenic social consequences of health measures, and inappropriate transfer of technology. A proposed new style of international health work is summarized in five principles and ten guidelines. The principles are: development from below; a role shift from adviser collaborator; sequential research, demonstration, and implementation; concentration on problems of motivation; and parternship in approaches to mutually shared complex problems.
This article complements the substantial body of literature produced over the last three decades on the export of hazards from developed countries to developing countries. After reviewing the central arguments proposed by this literature, the authors add to the debate by focusing on the role of national actors in the importation of these hazards, based on the experience of late 1970s' developments in the petrochemical industry in Brazil. The Brazilian case indicates that social struggles and/or interactions among actors in developing and developed nations determine to what extent hazardous technologies are imported without environmental controls and to what extent their hazardous effects are controlled by these nations. This study suggests that the future development of a more inclusive theory of export-import of hazardous technologies and products should take into account the dialectical relationship established between social actors internal to the exporting and importing countries.
Globalization and international trade are important forces at the turn of the century. This article explores how freer international trade will affect developing countries that are net importers of health care goods and services. Four commodities are used as special cases for discussion: pharmaceuticals, health care technologies, pesticides, and tobacco and its related products. The authors discuss the role of international specialized agencies, such as the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, and World Bank, that are concerned with international trade and its health and health care consequences, and argue that closer collaboration is required among these agencies if the negative effects of trade liberalization on developing countries are to be mitigated. The authors pose a number of research questions that could help in developing proactive policies for the South on the trade of goods and services with harmful effects on health as well as those with potential health and economic benefits.
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The future success of the translational research spectrum depends on the clinical research enterprise's ability to break through the barriers that constrain its productivity. As more basic science discoveries emerge, our ability to effectively translate this knowledge into improved patient care rests squarely on the manner in which we answer clinical questions. Informatics--the science of effective information use--is poised to help advance the conduct of science. However, incorporating informatics into the enterprise comes with its own set of challenges. To harness the benefits of improved information use, it is important to first establish how information flows within research. A thoughtful implementation of informatics--one that factors in social and organizational nuances--will undoubtedly lead to a more efficient and effective clinical research enterprise.
Questions dealing with space and/or location have always been integral to understanding and addressing health issues, such as charting the spread of a disease. Health researchers have traditionally used paper maps to explore the spatial dimensions of health. However, due to advances in technology, it is now possible to ask such questions using a suite of computer-based methods and tools that are collectively known as a Geographic Information System (GIS).
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Internet technologies are briefly introduced and those applicable for telemedicine are reviewed. Multicast internet technologies are described. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 'Telemedicine Space-bridge to Russia' project is described and used to derive requirements for internet telemedicine. Telemedicine privacy and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements are described.
Out of 128 surveys mailed to dairy farms that had been identified by the nine DHI processing centers as the top milk producing herds in the country, 61 surveys were returned. The predominant forage being fed was corn silage, followed by legume hay and haylage. On average, 6.7 feed additives and 3.5 alternative feeds were fed. Producers reported the following incidences of metabolic disorders: parturient paresis, 7.2%; displaced abomasum, 3.3%; ketosis, 3.7%; and nonspecific downer cow syndrome, 1.1%. Producers scheduled detection of estrus 3.1 times per day. Only 18.3% of the herds used routine synchronization of estrus. Artificial insemination was used on 94.8% of the cows and 88.5% of the heifers. The most important trait in sire selection was PTA for milk. For mastitis control, 75.4% of the producers practiced predipping, 85.2% used individual paper towels, 93.4% practiced postdipping, and 95.1% treated all cows at cessation of milking. Increased profitability and lower costs or higher returns were the primary motivators of these producers. Veterinarians were the most frequent source of information, followed by farm magazines. Satellite delivery of educational programs was the least acceptable delivery method. Extension professionals need to be cognizant of the producers' preferred information sources and delivery systems to ensure accurate, timely, cost-effective transfer of technological advances.
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Great challenges for occupational health research are set by the rapid changes in the world of work as a consequence of globalization, new technologies, demographic workforce changes, fragmentation of enterprises and work contracts, high time pressures, high demands for learning new skills, and growing worker mobility. The occupational health problems are of 2 types, the persistent and reemerging old problems of occupational injuries and diseases and new challenges from psychological stress, musculoskeletal disorders caused by computerized work, cognitive ergonomics in information-intensive work, the work ability of aging workers, and new trends in occupational allergies. The 3 roles of research, improvement of knowledge, improvement of understanding, and support of the development of work conditions in practice, all call for new initiatives in occupational health research. The new comprehensive strategy for the development and promotion of work ability has been found to respond effectively to these new needs.
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OBJECTIVES: To examine the commercial development of Australian medical patents and identify the determinants of their being used in innovations (new or improved products or production processes). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey with a nested case-control study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 177 inventors listed as the first Australian on medical patents granted in the United States between 1 January 1984 and 30 December 1994, and surveyed in 1998-1999. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A series of predictor variables (including characteristics of the patents; characteristics of the inventors; ideas, advice and funding during commercialisation; and the process of commercialisation) for whether or not a patent became an innovation. RESULTS: Half (89/177) of the medical patents became innovations, with 34% generating a total of A $287 million (13% over $1 million) in annual sales a median of 8 years after the patent had been granted. A patent was more likely to become an innovation if the inventor was employed by industry at the time of invention (odds ratio [OR], 3.2; 95% CI, 1.1-9.2), had invested their own finances (OR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.0-7.4), and if the patent had been licensed (OR, 4.6; 95% CI 1.7-12.7), led to further patents (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.0-10.4) and involved an industry partner in its commercial development (OR, 10.1; 95% CI, 3.6-27.7). It was less likely to become an innovation if finance came from a research funding agency (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.8) and if interest from Australian industry was judged by inventors as "poor" (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Medical patents in the US listing Australian inventors are more likely to become innovations if they originate from industry rather than the public sector, and if inventors are willing to invest their own finances.
OBJECTIVE: To focus on the benefits and importance of research to the practice of health education. METHODS: The paper discussed the potential of quality research as well as the barriers that keep health educators from using, applying, and sharing their work. RESULTS: The basic challenges health educators face in translating their research into practice relate to: becoming well-versed in the science base and previous lessons learned; collaborating effectively; and passing on knowledge by mentoring. CONCLUSIONS: To move forward, health educators need to organize their knowledge and make it accessible. This includes explicit and tacit knowledge, work in progress, and a coordinated research agenda. Finally, health educators need to be flexible so they can enable future research needs.
They're wired all right, and America's 100 most techno-savvy hospitals and health systems share one more thing: a commitment to using technology to link with employees, patients, suppliers, and insurers. "We want to be a health care travel agency for our community," says one chief information officer. "And we see Internet technology as a key."
In "Making Competition in Health Care Work" (July-August 1994), Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg, Michael E. Porter, and Gregory B. Brown ask a question that has been absent from the national debate on health care reform: How can the United States achieve sustained cost reductions while at the same time maintaining quality of care? The authors argue that innovation driven by rigorous competition is the key to successful reform. A lasting cure for health care in the United States should include four basic elements: corrected incentives to spur productive competition, universal insurance to secure economic efficiency, relevant information to ensure meaningful choice, and innovation to guarantee dynamic improvement. In this issue's Perspectives section, eleven experts examine the current state of the health care system and offer their views on the shape that reform should take. Some excerpts: "On the road to innovation, let us not forget to develop the tools that allow physicians, payers, and patients to make better decisions." I. Steven Udvarhelyi; "Health care is not a product or service that can be standardized, packaged, marketed, or adequately judged by consumers according to quality and price." Arnold S. Relman; "Just as antitrust laws are the wise restraints that make competition free in other sectors of the economy, so the right kind of managed competition can work well in health care." Edward M. Kennedy "Biomedical research should be considered primarily an investment in the national economic well-being with additional humanitarian benefits." Elizabeth Marincola.