Analysis of the question–answer service of the Emma Children’s Hospital information centre

The information centre of the Emma Children’s Hospital AMC (EKZ AMC) is a specialised information centre where paediatric patients and persons involved with the patient can ask questions about all aspects of disease and its social implications. The aim of the study was to evaluate the question–answer service of this information centre in order to determine the role of a specialised information centre in an academic children’s hospital, identify the appropriate resources for the service and potential positive effects. For this purpose, a case management system was developed in MS ACCESS. The characteristics of the requester and the question, the time it took to answer questions, the information sources used and the extent to which we were able to answer the questions were registered. The costs of the service were determined. We analysed all questions that were asked in the year 2007. Fourteen hundred thirty-four questions were asked. Most questions were asked by parents (23.3%), healthcare workers (other than nurses; 16.5%) and nurses (15.3%). The scope of the most frequently asked questions include disease (20.2%) and treatment (13.0%). Information on paper was the main information source used. Most questions could be solved within 15 min. Twelve percent to 28% of total working hours are used for the question–answer service. Total costs including staff salary are rather large. In conclusions, taking over the task of providing additional medical information and by providing readily available, good quality information that healthcare professionals can use to inform their patients will lead to less time investment of these more expensive staff members. A specialised information service can anticipate on the information need of parents and persons involved with the paediatric patient. It improves information by providing with relatively simple resources that has the potential to improve patient and parent satisfaction, coping and medical results. A specialised information centre is therefore a valuable and affordable asset to an academic children’s hospital

25 jaar (uitsluiting van het) Weens Koopverdrag in Nederland

Op 1 januari 2017 was het precies 25 jaar geleden dat het Weens Koopverdrag (CISG) in Nederland in werking trad. Partijen bij een internationale koopovereenkomst kunnen de toepassing van dit verdrag geheel of gedeeltelijk uitsluiten (art. 6 CISG). Van deze mogelijkheid wordt in de praktijk veelvuldig gebruikgemaakt. Een clausule die tot doel heeft het verdrag uit te sluiten, heeft echter niet in alle gevallen het beoogde effect. Is, bijvoorbeeld, sprake van een geldige uitsluiting van het verdrag als de overeenkomst een rechtskeuze voor Nederlands recht bevat? Welk effect heeft de uitsluiting van de CISG in algemene voorwaarden? In deze bijdrage staat de vraag centraal welke vereisten gelden voor de rechtsgeldige uitsluiting van het Weens Koopverdrag

Wet oneerlijke handelspraktijken landbouw- en voedselvoorzieningsketen: "van boer tot bord"

Met ingang van 1 november 2021 zal de Wet oneerlijke handelspraktijken landbouw- en voedselvoorzieningsketen2 in werking treden.3 Deze wet ziet op de landbouw- en voedselvoorzieningsketen en verbiedt oneerlijke handelspraktijken in bepaalde handelsrelaties tussen leveranciers en afnemers van landbouw- en voedingsproducten. Dat betekent dat deze wet voor vele spelers relevant is

Battle of forms revisited: bezien vanuit Europees en internationaal perspectief loopt de Nederlandse wettelijke regeling steeds meer uit de pas

Een bekend thema in het contractenrecht is het gebruik van algemene voorwaarden. In het geval aanbod en aanvaarding naar verschillende algemene voorwaarden verwijzen, rijst de vraag welke algemene voorwaarden gelden: de voorwaarden van de aanbieder, die van de acceptant, geen van beide, of allebei een beetje? Dit is de zogenaamde ‘battle of forms’

Contracts for the International Sale of Goods : Recent Developments at the International and European Level

In the globalizing economy, national borders seem to have disappeared. However, when determining which law will apply to a commercial transaction, the opposite seems true. In 1980, the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (hereafter the CISG) was specifically drafted to apply to contracts for the international sale of goods. Recently, the European Commission also published a document containing provisions that can apply to contracts for the international sale of goods: the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law. This paper compares the scope of application of these legal regimes, it compares the regulation of standard terms in both regimes and addresses the provisions in the EU Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I), which are of relevance for contracts for the international sale of goods which do not contain a valid dispute settlement clause