Regulation


Regulation refers to a law, rule, or other order prescribed by authority. Financial regulations are a form of supervision which subjects financial institutions to restrictions, guidelines and certain requirements aimed at maintaining the integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization.

Generally, the specific aims of financial regulators are:
1. To enforce applicable laws
2. To prosecute cases of market misconduct
3. To license providers of financial services
4. To protect clients, and investigate complaints
5. To sustain confidence in the financial system

Bank regulations, on the other hand, are a form of government regulations which subject banks to certain guidelines. The capital requirement sets a framework on how banks must handle their capital in relation to their assets. At an international level, the Bank for International Settlements’ Basel Committee on Banking Supervision influences each country’s capital requirements.

The most common objectives are:
1. Prudential- to reduce the level of risk bank creditors are exposed to
2. Systemic risk reduction- to reduce the risk of disruption resulting from adverse trading conditions for banks causing multiple or major bank failures
3. Avoid misuse of banks- to reduce the risk of banks being used for criminal purposes, such as laundering the proceeds of crime
4. To protect banking confidentiality
5. Credit allocation- to direct credit to favored sectors

Impact of Regulation Best Practices on Social Media Healthcare


Social media’s growth has not been limited to financial institutes alone. Even healthcare facilities have taken great steps to adopt social media best practices. There is no denying of the fact that there are numerous benefits of compliance with social media. Lots of businesses have excelled to great heights by adopting social media. This is why healthcare organizations and ministries have finally decided not to get left behind.

When we address healthcare institutions, we must think about the two wings of healthcare. These are Pharmaceuticals and Medical Healthcare Institutions.

Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is one of the most crucial best practices. The coming of these two on social media has raise many concerns regarding the ethics of medicine. Social media is a platform where people have access to one another’s information. As such, most renowned medical organizations have raised questions regarding sharing of sensitive information. Using social media does threaten the values and ethics of medicine. However, it seems there will be greater good from healthcare providers using social media. There can be a change in perspective to consider this a healthcare best practice.

If it is considered a best practice, then it means that patients can access healthcare via social media. Social media has become part of everyone’s lifestyle. In fact for some people social media is a need. Therefore, providing easy access to medical attention via social media will prove convenient, cost effective and time saving. The fact is that statistics of people who die waiting or medical attention each year are staggering. Using social media has offers a chance to reduce this ugly side of failures in best practices in the medical world.

In order to ensure the success of best practices there have been medical regulations e.g. Compliance 101. With introduction of social media in the medical world, new regulations have been implemented. These have been established to protect sensitive patient information while they use social media to get in touch with medical professionals.

There are applications like ZocDoc, Hello Health and TIAA-CREF for social media platforms like Facebook. These ensure that patients get sufficient privacy to discuss sensitive cases. Professionals using social media avoid offering diagnosis and treatment of severe ailments. Such cases must seek proper consultation. However, minor ailments can be treated through compliance. This has saved billions of dollars in the healthcare sector since social media was introduced in the medical world in 2011.

In the Pharmaceutical industry however, it seems there are more gray areas about what can and cannot be done on social media. The PR chief of Pfizer Company complained that The Food and Drug Administration had not provided sufficient regulations to help with compliance best practices on social media. However, two essential regulations FDA said are applicable include:

  1. Side effects due to pharmaceuticals or medical devices must be reported to the FDA immediately.
  2. FDA requires pharmaceuticals companies to include benefits and side effects in every advertisement.

The impact of regulation best practices on healthcare social media is that healthcare is more accessible and safe.

Government Regulations on Pharma – Social Media


Government regulations cannot be ignored in any form of business; especially when it comes to pharmaceutical industries. In recent months, it has become common practice for medical professionals to offer medical advice to patients through social media. Patients are frequently discussing medicines and healthcare best practices on Twitter and WebMD.

Medical doctors are taking the lead on social media, unlike pharmaceutical agencies and professionals. Even with all the empowerment in recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has not been able to participate on social media. This limitation doesn’t come from regulations or laws. The main hindering factor is undefined regulatory guidelines that prevent successful marketing. Marketing today means eminent presence on social media and other websites.

The FDA was reported to have issued warning letters for fourteen companies in April 2011. The reason was failure of compliance with best practices. They had violated regulations governing presentation of a fair balance between benefits and side effects of medicines in advertisements. In order to resolve this problem, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America proposed a new best practice. It was suggested to place a universal logo on social media sites. This best practice will indicate whether that information meets FDA regulations or not.

Compliance with this regulation has proved beneficial in the past few months. On social media networks wherever medicines are discussed, people must check for the PhRMA. An additional benefit of this best practice is that pharmaceutical companies began to be moderate and responsive to social media. This facilitated marketing of genuine drugs and educating patients about both benefits and side effects. Patients who use social media as a means of obtaining healthcare can easily identify authentic FDA approved pharmaceutical information.

These new regulations didn’t only make things better for pharma-social media. It also ensured best practices with compliance with the FDA regulations. In the long run, this has led to introduction of other best practices to assist pharmaceutical agencies on social media. For instance, new software applications have been designed in conformity with these regulations to protect both patient and the company.

Therefore, abiding by the regulation to ensure a balance in information available via advertisement and while marketing is very important. This best practice cannot be ignored. Failure of compliance with this will lead to legal action and consequences.

Healthcare Regulations on Pharmaceutical Sales


Every business enterprise has its own terms and conditions about sales to ensure best practices. Pharmacies, hospitals, IT companies and other manufacturing companies vary in products and services. Therefore, guidelines about sale also have to vary.

In pharmacies, medicines are the main items sold. There are rules and regulation governing sales of medicines. To be more specific, over-the-counter drugs and control/prescription drugs cannot be sold in the same manner. For prescription drugs, there has to be a legal, signed document by the physician. Unless a proper prescription form is presented, control/prescription drugs cannot be sold. In a standard hospital, there should be compliance with instructions about where to keep control/prescription medicines. They must be out of reach of unauthorized personnel. Only few people must be allowed access to the stock. Moreover, while making sales proper documentation is recommended for best practices.

Documentation must include proper information, especially the date on the prescription form. Here is an example to explain the importance of this best practice:

With control medicines that are addictive, patients return at a later date with the previously dispensed prescription. Therefore, when sales are made, pharmacists dispensing must stamp “sold” on the prescription. The name of the patient must also be entered correctly. There have been cases where addicts send others to buy the medicine. Therefore, it is important that the patient presents proof of identity.

This also why, for best practices certified pharmacists must be employed to make sales of medicines. They know what medicines are over-the-counter drugs and those that need a prescription. Besides, these professionals are trained to identify medicines based on the generic components. Employing people who haven’t studied pharmacy can be a big risk. This is especially seen in African countries, due to economic crisis and high unemployment rate.

The consequence of this is drug abuse. Non-professional pharmacists work at the counter in most under and undeveloped countries. They dispense control/prescription medicines without knowing their pharmacological effects. Most control drugs are addictive and patients often start abusing these medicines.

In the United States, there are strict healthcare regulations about buying and selling control drugs. Moreover, to preserve best practices in pharmacies there are consequences. If one fails to ensure compliance with regulations it can give rise to legal issues. Before a pharmaceutical store can sell medicines, they have to be registered and licensed to do so. There are bodies that regulate compliance with pharmaceutical terms and condition.

Therefore, in healthcare having guidelines on terms and conditions about sales of medicines is a highly recommended best practice. Failure to do so is taking a huge risk and putting patients at an even greater risk.

Usury Regulations in the US


Usury has been part of human history since Christianity came into existence. Over centuries, there have been regulations that were established to restrict misuse of usury. These best practices continue to exist today, but vary across the United States.

Definition of Usury

Usury is defined as a practice in which one charges excessive and unreasonable interest. The rates are often too high and therefore usury is considered illegal. Creditors are often unable to pay-off their loans when usury is applied. Often, this has an unfavorable impact on the economy of countries as well. However, there have been times when regulations on usury were bent for economic reason.

Back in time, churches had banned usury because it simply meant charging an interest. Any rate charged on borrowed money was considered illegal and against religious teaching. Usury was once known as “Ribbit” which corresponds with the Arabic word “Riba”. Today however, there is no business that can be done without charging an interest. However, it should not be mistaken as a best practice.

Usury Ruling in the US

Each state in the Unites States of America has its own ruling on usury (interest). Each state has a charge that must be used by anyone before it can be called unlawful or usurious. When a lender or business institution charges an unlawful interest, the court will take action against the lender. If a creditor defaults and the case is presented in the court, the lender will be sued for charging usury. This makes it important for financial institutions and lenders to comply with the state regulation on usury.

However, there have been times when separate rules were applied to most banks across the US. In 1978 the Supreme Court in US allowed compliance with the National Banking Act of 1863. The act allowed chartered banks to charge high usurious rates as part of best practices. The same was experienced in 1980 due to inflation when the Congress passed the Monetary Control Act. This over-ruled local and state laws on usury. To preserve best practices in governance this regulation has been over-ruled a number of times.

Usury Ruling in Canada

The Canadian government permits an interest rate of 60% per annum. To ensure compliance with this best practice, there are written legislatures. Canadian courts are authorized to intervene whenever any ambiguity is reported.

Punishment for Usury

When usury is proved with evidence in the court of law, the debtor can face a range of penalties. These could include forfeiting the debt, criminal prosecution and time behind bars or other penalties.

Therefore, as a form of risk management best practice avoiding usury is highly recommended. This is especially important for banks and lending agencies.

In this section we will discuss:


Contact Links
Copyright 2009 Best-Practice.com. All Rights Reserved.