Improvement of Reimbursement Policies for Medical Products Through Health Technology Assessment

Reimbursement policies for medical devices in EU and health technology assessment (HTA) are at the heart of this article. Their development is the result of coordination of many institutions - the European Commission, the European Parliament, the government, agencies and their importance is key. The financial instruments in the reimbursement policies for medical devices in the EU are becoming more and more avant-garde, with the key importance of those from donations or crowdfunding, fundraising for patient organizations and others. The authors emphasize the role of public administration in the formation of effective reimbursement policies for medical devices in line with trends and good practices in the field of medical devices and active participation in the processes, together with European institutions and programs. The authors of the article discuss alternative and innovative approaches, budget impact assessment and reimbursement policies for medical devices in Europe and the EU based on HTA.The authors focus their research on the European experience, the synchronization with European regulations, the harmo-nization of management methods and the role of HTA in the field of management of public funds by institutions and public organizations in Bulgaria.The authors of the publication examine the experience of international institutes in the field of HTA-experience of Great Britain, Germany, France, given the benchmark they have and the need to educate health professionals, administrators, companies in Bulgaria

Die Macht der Erzählung als Mittel zur Entwicklung der literalen Kompetenz

In this paper we tried to demonstrate the power of a story in the function of language literacy. We are going to build up our argument from the general premises of the cultural psychologist Jerome Bruner dispersed in many of his books, which postulate that our experience of ourselves and the world is structured in a narrative form – like a story. We think that the best way to acquire language literacy is to start from a story and then to proceed to language. Listening to stories (told or read by a teacher) equips students with the skills and attitudes that afterwards enable easier acquisition of pre-reading and reading skills. Such pre-reading skills are making distinction between written and spoken language, recognition of articulation, intonation and diction in language, and understanding that language is always entangled in meaning. The studies have shown that having access to imaginative and properly structured stories adequate for students’ developmental level is very important and beneficial for understanding of how language works. Language and stories are essentially interconnected and one cannot exist without the other and that is why the structure of narratives discloses the structure of language.U ovom radu pokušat ćemo prikazati moć priče u funkciji jezične pismenosti. Izgradit ćemo naš argument iz općih premisa kulturalnoga psihologa Jeromea Brunera zastupljenim u mnogim njegovim knjigama koje pretpostavljaju da je naše iskustvo o nama samima i svijetu strukturirano u narativni oblik – kao priča. Smatramo da je najbolji način za stjecanje jezične pismenosti početi od priče, a zatim prijeći na jezik. Slušanje priča (koje je učitelj ispričao ili pročitao) razvija kod učenika vještine i stavove koji će im kasnije omogućiti lakše stjecanje predčitalačkih i čitalačkih vještina. Takve predčitalačke vještine čine razliku između pisanoga i govornoga jezika, prepoznavanja artikulacije, intonacije i dikcije u jeziku te spoznaje da je značenje bit jezika (da nešto znači). Istraživanja su pokazala da je pristup maštovitim i pravilno strukturiranim pričama koje su primjerene razvojnoj razini učenika vrlo važan i koristan za razumijevanje funkcioniranja jezika. Jezik i priče u svojoj su biti isprepleteni i ne mogu postojati jedno bez drugoga i zato struktura narativa otkriva strukturu jezika.Diese Arbeit versucht die Macht der Erzählung als Mittel zur Entwicklung und Förderung der literalen Kompetenz darzustellen. Unsere Argumente bauen auf den allgemeinen Prämissen des Kulturpsychologen Jerome Bruner, die in zahlreichen seiner Schriften vertreten sind und die voraussetzen, dass unsere Selbsterfahrung und die Erfahrung der Welt in narrativer Form – als Erzählung – strukturiert ist. Wir finden, der beste Weg zur Aneignung literaler Kompetenz ist, mit der Erzählung anzufangen und dann zur Sprache überzugehen. Wenn Schüler Erzählungen, die der Lehrer erzählt oder liest, zuhören, entwickeln sie Fertigkeiten und Einstellungen, die ihnen später einen einfacheren frühen Schriftspracherwerb und die Aneignung der Lesefertigkeiten ermöglichen. Diese Vorläuferfertigkeiten des frühen Schriftspracherwerbs machen den Unterschied aus zwischen der geschriebenen und gesprochenen Sprache, des Erkennens der Artikulation, Intonation und Diktion in der Sprache sowie der Erkenntnis, dass Bedeutung der Kern der Sprache ist (dass sie etwas bedeutet). Untersuchungen zeigen, dass der Einsatz phantasievoller und korrekt strukturierter Erzählungen, die dem Entwicklungsstand der Schüler angemessen sind, sehr wichtig und nützlich ist für das Verständnis der Funktionsweise der Sprache. Sprache und Erzählungen sind in ihrem Wesen ineinander verflochten und können ohne des anderen nicht existieren. Deshalb enthüllt und offenbart die Struktur der Narration die Struktur der Sprache

THE METHOD OF GLOBAL READING FROM AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE

Primary literacy in Macedonian education is in decline. This assertion has been proved both by the abstract theory, and by the concrete empirical data. Educational reforms in the national curriculum are on their way, and the implementation of the method of global reading is one of the main innovations. Misunderstanding of this method has led it its being criticized as a foreign import and as unnatural and incongruous for the specificities of the Macedonian language. We think that this argument is wrong. That is why this paper is going to extrapolate and explain the method of global learning and its basis in pedagogy, philosophy, psychology, anthropology and linguistics. The main premise of this paper is the relation of the part to the whole, understood from the different perspectives of philosophy, psychology, linguistics and anthropology. The theories of Kant, Cassirer, Bruner, Benveniste and Geertz are going to be considered in the context of the part – whole problem, by themselves, and also in their relation to the method of global reading

Bulgarian Society of Individual Psychology

Навършват се две години от основаването на Българското общество по Индивидуална психология, което беше създадено по инициатива на преподаватели и студенти от Тракийски университет. Това е поводът да бъдат представени целите на дружеството и дейността му през изминалия период.It has been two years since the Bulgarian Society of Individual Psychology was founded on the initiative of Trakia University faculty members and students. On the occasion of its first anniversary, the goals of the Society and its activity over the course of the last year will be presented in this article. Language: Bulgaria

Una aproximación al análisis de la relación entre el crecimiento económico y el cambio demográfico en España

El siguiente estudio se ha centrado en analizar la influencia del cambio poblacional -especialmente los cambios en la estructura por edad de la población- sobre el crecimiento económico. Y en un análisis posterior centrado en el caso de España, donde observamos la posible ocurrencia de su primera Transición Demográfica a lo largo del siglo XX, y la consecución de las ventajas derivadas de su primer Dividendo Demográfico. Por último, observamos la evolución de la población española a lo largo de los años, centrándonos en uno de los grandes retos mundiales: el envejecimiento poblacional; y la posibilidad de un segundo Dividendo Demográfico.Grado en Economí

Estudio de las complicaciones derivadas de la donación de sangre extraída en Unidades Móviles. Prueba piloto en Aragón

La sangre es uno de los principales líquidos de nuestro organismo, que, a día de hoy, sigue siendo imposible de sintetizar, siendo la donación de sangre el único método para la transferencia de una persona a otra. A lo largo de 2014, el Banco de Sangre y Tejidos de Aragón gestionó más de 45000 donaciones, de las cuales, 32000 fueron extraídas gracias a la labor de las unidades móviles de donación. El propósito de éste estudio es analizar las Compli- caciones Relacionadas con la Donación CDR acontecidas durante las sesiones de donación en las diferentes jorna- das de donaciones y Describir el perfil de donante que sufre complicaciones según edad y sexo, y la frecuencia con se producen las CRD y si existen diferencias entre do- nantes nuevos y habituales en función del número total de CRD acontecidas. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal sobre las complicaciones acontecidas durante el proceso de hemodonación y/o recuperación. Se diseñó un registro electrónico tipo “Typeform” para su registro y evaluación. De las 1997 donaciones registradas, 52 sufrieron com- plicaciones, siendo con mayor frecuencia las venopun- ciones fallidas y presíncopes tras la donación. El proceso de donación de sangre es completamente seguro, ya que, la tasa de complicaciones es prácticamen- te nula

Profile of the blood donor in the Mobile Units of the Banks of Blood and Tissue of Aragon

Objetivo: obtener un perfil detallado del donante de sangre que acude a un punto móvil de extracción de sangre en Aragón. Método: Se trata de un estudio transversal con periodo de recogida de datos entre septiembre y diciembre del año 2015 durante las jornadas de donación en los diferentes puntos de donación de sangre externos a las instalaciones del Banco de Sangre y Tejidos de Aragón. Las variables estudiadas principales son: edad, sexo, tipo de donante y ámbito de donación. El análisis de los datos se realizó a través de Microsoft Excel y SPSS v21.0. Resultados: Los resultados hallados muestran un total de 2255 donaciones, de las cuales, el 60% del total fueron realizadas por varones, el 88% del total fueron posibles gracias a la colaboración de donantes habituales, y el 63% del total se realizaron en el ámbito rural. Conclusiones: El perfil del donante que acude a un punto móvil de extracción de sangre es de un varón, donante habitual, con edad comprendida entre 41 y 50 años, cuya residencia se encuentra en el ámbito rural.Aim: to obtain of a detailed profile of the blood donor who comes to a mobile point of extraction of blood in Aragon. Method: This is a cross-cutting study with data collection period between September and December of 2015 during the donation days at the different blood donation points outside the facilities of the Bank of Blood and Tissue of Aragón (Banco de Sangre y Tejidos de Aragón). The main variables studied are: age, sex, kind of donor and regard to donation. The analysis of the data was done through Microsoft Excel and SPSS v21.0. Results: The results found show a total of 2255 donations, of which 60% of the total were made by men, 88% of the total were possible thanks to the collaboration of regular donors, and 63% of the total were made in the rural area. Conclusions: The profile of the donor who comes to a mobile point of extraction of blood belongs to a male, habitual donor, with age is between 41 and 50 years, which residence is in the rural area

How do patient characteristics influence informal payments for inpatient and outpatient health care in Albania: Results of logit and OLS models using Albanian LSMS 2005

Abstract Background Informal payments for health care are common in most former communist countries. This paper explores the demand side of these payments in Albania. By using data from the Living Standard Measurement Survey 2005 we control for individual determinants of informal payments in inpatient and outpatient health care. We use these results to explain the main factors contributing to the occurrence and extent of informal payments in Albania. Methods Using multivariate methods (logit and OLS) we test three models to explain informal payments: the cultural, economic and governance model. The results of logit models are presented here as odds ratios (OR) and results from OLS models as regression coefficients (RC). Results Our findings suggest differences in determinants of informal payments in inpatient and outpatient care. Generally our results show that informal payments are dependent on certain characteristics of patients, including age, area of residence, education, health status and health insurance. However, they are less dependent on income, suggesting homogeneity of payments across income categories. Conclusions We have found more evidence for the validity of governance and economic models than for the cultural model.</p

Wettability and corrosion of [NTf2] anion-based ionic liquids on steel and PVD (TiN, CrN, ZrN) coatings

Thewetting and corrosion behavior of three bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids: 1-Dodecyl-3- methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [C12MIM][NTf2], tributylmethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [N4441][NTf2] and methyltrioctylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [N1888][NTf2] are tested in this research. The surface tension was measured for temperatures of 293–353 K resulting in the expected linearly decreasing behavior with temperature increase. In addition, contact angle measurements were made on AISI 52100 steel and three coatings (TiN, CrN and ZrN) obtained by PVD technique, finding the regular behavior in hydrophobic (non-polar) systems: high contact angles led to high surface tensions. Complementary parameters like spreading parameter and polarity fraction were calculated to enhance the wetting evaluation of these ionic liquids. [N1888][NTf2]/TiN resulted as the best IL-surface combination for a good wettability, due to the higher dispersion of the charge on the large size cation in this IL and the higher values of total and polar component of the surface free energy for this coating. Finally, SEM-EDS analysis determined that [N1888][NTf2]/ZrN was the best option in order to avoid corrosion problems. The evaporation of water, present as impurity in the ionic liquids, was found the main reason because of corrosion did not occur in the tests carried out at 100 °C