Users’ satisfaction with the primary health care information system in Croatia: a cross-sectional study

AIM: To evaluate the primary health care information system from the general practitioner's (GP) point of view. ----- METHODS: Sixty-seven Croatian GPs were distributed a questionnaire about characteristics of the GP's office, overall impression of the application, handling of daily routine information, more sophisticated information needs, and data security, and rated their satisfaction with each component from 1 to 5. We also compared two most frequently used applications--application with distantly installed software (DIS) and that with locally installed software (LIS, personal computer-based application). ----- RESULTS: GPs were most satisfied with the daily procedures and the reminder component of the health information system (rating 4.1). The overall impression ranked second (3.5) and flexibility of applications followed closely (3.4). The most questionable aspect of applications was data security (3.0). LIS system received better overall rate than DIS (4.2 vs 3.2). ----- CONCLUSION: Applications received better ratings for daily routine use than for overall impression and ability to get specific information according the GPs' needs. Poor ratings on the capability of the application, complaints about unreliable links, and doubts about data security point to a need for more user-friendly interfaces, more information on the capability of the application, and a valid certificate of assessment for every application

The Inclusive Growth and Development Report 2017

Around the globe, leaders of governments and other stakeholder institutions enter 2017 facing a set of difficult and increasingly urgent questions:With fiscal space limited, interest rates near zero, and demographic trends unfavorable in many countries, does the world economy face a protracted period of relatively low growth? Will macroeconomics and demography determine the world economy's destiny for the foreseeable future?Can rising in-country inequality be satisfactorily redressed within the prevailing liberal international economic order? Can those who argue that modern capitalist economies face inherent limitations in this regard – that their internal "income distribution system" is broken and likely beyond repair – be proven wrong?As technological disruption accelerates in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, how can societies organize themselves better to respond to the potential employment and other distributional effects? Are expanded transfer payments the only or primary solution, or can market mechanisms be developed to widen social participation in new forms of economic value-creation?These questions beg the more fundamental one of whether a secular correction is required in the existing economic growth model in order to counteract secular stagnation and dispersion (chronic low growth and rising inequality). Does the mental map of how policymakers conceptualize and enable national economic performance need to be redrawn? Is there a structural way, beyond the temporary monetary and fiscal measures of recent years, to cut the Gordian knot of slow growth and rising inequality, to turn the current vicious cycle of stagnation and dispersion into a virtuous one in which greater social inclusion and stronger and more sustainable growth reinforce each other?This is precisely what government, business, and other leaders from every region have been calling for. Over the past several years, a worldwide consensus has emerged on the need for a more inclusive growth and development model; however, this consensus is mainly directional. Inclusive growth remains more a discussion topic than an action agenda. This Report seeks to help countries and the wider international community practice inclusive growth and development by offering a new policy framework and corresponding set of policy and performance indicators for this purpose

Living and Working in Europe 2017

[Excerpt] Eurofound’s new multiannual work programme was launched in 2017, initiating a series of research and communication activities in the areas that the Agency has identified as critical to progress in the upward convergence of living and working conditions across Europe. These six strategic areas for intervention are: 1. Working conditions and sustainable work 2. Industrial relations 3. Labour market change 4. Quality of life and public services 5. The digital age: Challenges for work and employment 6. Monitoring convergence in the European Union Labour markets are healthier than they have been in a decade, with more people in work than ever before and the number of people active in the labour market at an all-time high. Unemployment is decreasing across the Member States, and youth unemployment fell dramatically over the course of 2017. While these are undeniable achievements, other dimensions of the employment narrative, highlighted by Eurofound’s labour market research, also demand our attention: the fact that there are not enough jobs to meet the demand for work, that too many workers struggle with poverty, and that a large group of people are completely alienated from the labour market, all of which is socially destructive. The social impact of economic change and political decisions was set out in the first major output of Eurofound’s programme – the results of the 2016 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). This rich data source describes a Europe that has rallied from the wreckage of the recession. Across many dimensions of quality of life, Europeans are doing at least as well as before the economic crisis, if not better. But as well as heralding good news, the EQLS sends a clear signal that groups within our society are being failed by the economy, the labour market and social policy, that significant social inequalities remain, and that many citizens are anxious about the future