Wars have been happening for years for one reason or another. Yet, the brutality has only increased with powerful countries using all their might to destroy their counterparts.

Peace activists have been trying for years to stop wars in countries like Philistine, Kashmir, Iraq and other war hit regions. Many have given best practices that should be followed. Some of the best ideas are summarized below in five headings.

Peace Offers

History teaches us that war is hardly the solution. The US attacked Iraq and Afghanistan which led to a decade of brutal casualties. The best practice is to avoid wars, if possible, and find a concrete solution. Arbitration and reaching a mutual resolution is the best option.

India and Pakistan can be taken as a good example. The neighboring countries have had a few wars, but ultimately they resorted to peace talks and the situation is slowly improving. Other nations like Israel and America should also encourage such discussions so that international peace can be maintained.

No Innocent Killing

One of the biggest disadvantages of wars is that it ends up killing a lot of innocent people. As per a report released by the UN, military conflicts kill more than 1000 people every year including civilians.

Missiles, guns and rockets do not see whom they are hitting. Quite often than not innocent children and women also become victim to these attacks without any fault of their own. Countries should make sure they stay away from such homicide and fight with prestige keeping human rights in mind.

Safe Passage

This practice should be applied wherever possible. Giving a safe passage to innocent people is beneficial for everyone involved in a war. Those that are not related to the war in any way should be allowed to get refuge elsewhere so that they do not get killed.

No Stringent Policies

They say “all is fair in war”. Nonetheless, most people do not agree with this statement because they emphasize on following human right issues even when a war is going on. Organizations like the UN speak highly against countries that do not let its activists provide food, healthcare and other needed things to war victims.

The aim of a war should not be to wipe out everyone, but instead just wrongdoers. People on both sides should respect this fact.

End It

As mentioned above, wars are devastating for everyone. History suggests that they haven’t brought good to any party for a long period. They often get extended for a long time. The India-Kashmir conflict, Israel-Palestine and America-Vietnam conflict are some of the examples of extended wars. They only result in more killings and wastage of resources.

Wars should be fought with an aim to end them. The solution is to have a table talk so that a mutual solution can be reached. Massacres or use of heavy weapons to put an end to it for good should strictly be prohibited.

Compliance to rules conjured up for safety of the workforce not only guarantees a better production output but also a healthy environment for living. There are a number ways to spread the word of safety within a facility.

Teaching

For laborers working in a factory with heavy machinery or a plant with dangerous chemicals, it is imperative that proper instructions should be given prior to the start of their work. These instructions should involve the methods used to handle dangerous chemicals and life threatening machinery.

Not knowing how a particular piece of machinery is operated results in wastage of time along with potential health hazards.

Proper knowledge of what to do in accidental situations can not only save the employee’s life, but also save the facility from being structurally damaged. Wearing safety gear is of prime importance when dealing with acidic chemicals that may cause permanent disfigurement on exposure. Some chemical fumes are even liable to inducing breathing issues damaging the lungs.

Putting on safety gear whilst working is important because it does not only guard a valuable asset called the employee but it also saves the owner thousands of dollars on insurance payments.

Turning Precautions into Cures

With the health and safety regulations in effect, one has peace of mind when it comes to safety of the workforce. Signs play a huge part in securing safety and regulations within a facility. Even if a person is illiterate, signs are easy to comprehend and can save him from a huge pile of mishap. Signs are visible from far away so a person about to enter a particular area will be able to see the warning before entering danger.

Healthcare Regulatory Bodies in UAE

The healthcare management system in UAE is administered by the Ministry of Health, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Health Authority – Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and the Emirates Health Authority (EHA). Health care is governed at both Emirate and Federal level.

UAE’s Best Practices in Healthcare

The population in UAE is approximately 1.3 million. More than 90% of the population is concentrated in the city. 17% out of the 90% are expatriates from all over the world, most being from the UK, India, Philippines and Pakistan. This is because UAE is one of the most commercialized countries in that region. These expatriates are mostly people involved in businesses with high risks and income.

According to best practices in community medicine, statistical analysis proves that life expectance of women in Dubai is 77.87 years and that of men is 72.73 years. Average birth rate is 12.8% while death rate is 9.2 mortalities per 1000 people.

According to reports prevalence of chicken pox in Dubai was 3,472 cases in 2006 alone. Likewise best practices in laboratory reports prove that 392 cased of Viral Hepatitis had been recorded in the same year. Pulmonary Tuberculosis was also counted to approximately 310 incidences.

Because of a high number of expatriates in the UAE, healthcare is accessible for everyone without limitations. At the same time, due to need for best practices there is private healthcare insurance available for both locals and foreigners. In the case of foreigners, there are two possibilities of best practices. The employer may arrange health insurance policies or foreigner workers obtain those issued by their country. All public healthcare facilities will attend to foreign casualties and patients strictly on emergency basis.

In the past, medical care for foreigners in UAE was free. The consequence of this bad practice was abuse of privilege. More than 75% of patients visiting healthcare facilities were recorded on average per month. Therefore, in 2001 new medical policies were introduced to improve medical services. This best practice was accepted by all hospitals across the UAE. Discounts were made available only for admission cases.

Visitor Information

Foreigners are required to undergo some medical tests and get vaccines against prevalent ailments. These include cholera and yellow fever immunization vaccines. Visitors are informed about basic precautions they can take to prevent problems like heat stroke and accidents. Failure in abiding by basic best practices in healthcare can lead to sever medical problems. Drinking is also discouraged for foreigners in the UAE. Likewise antidepressants and sleeping pills are prohibited in the UAE. Being caught using them without prescription is a serious offence.

People visiting the UAE must ensure compliance with these healthcare best practices.

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.

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.

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.

This reform is to take effect from 1^st January 2012. There will be more new best practices in the form of regulations for providers. Providers of healthcare will now be more accountable for the insurance they provide. It is an essential best practice in universities that students are sponsored for health insurance. It has always been a mandatory best practice over the years. These new reforms will have no effect on the health insurance of students, but will make providers more accountable. Therefore, students are expected to experience minor benefits of these reforms in regulations.

Benefits from Students’ Perspective

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services reported that insurance companies will not have permission to charge coverage limits for a lifetime on health plans for students. Moreover, there are additional best practices that are expected. Insurance companies will not be allowed to drop the health coverage of an ill student when he or she has an error in the application. They will also be unable to deny health coverage to those students that are older than 19 years or that have any pre-existing health conditions.

Earlier on, many students received health insurance under their parents until they were twenty one years old as healthcare best practices. With the enactment of the new health law, students are entitled health insurance under their parents till the age of twenty six. This allows students in Washington University to use their parents’ insurance as a secondary coverage in addition to University Sponsored Health Plans.

Impact of Reform on Physicians

The main impact on physicians is that they will be expected to ensure compliance with these new reforms. Failure to stick to the best practices expected from these reforms will affect their success as physicians. The changes implemented by the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and the PPA (Patient Protection Act) must be followed strictly.

There will be need for best practices in documentation. Moreover, healthcare providers will be burdened with the responsibility of ensuring fraud control. By ensuring compliance with best practices in administration, this can be achieved. However, implementing controls and compliance with the requirements will be a big challenge for both physicians and providers.

Best Practices for Healthcare Providers

Providers will be expected to ensure compliance with the following best practices:

• Refrain from charging students with a lifetime of coverage limit on health plans

• Refrain from dropping ill students with erroneous applications from entitlement to healthcare

• Refrain from denying students above the age of nineteen from healthcare coverage

• Refrain from denying students with pre-existing health conditions healthcare coverage

Compliance with these best practices is in the best of interest of the physicians and healthcare providers. Failure to comply with these reforms as a risk management strategy will lead to severe consequences.

1. Explore the Viewer’s Emotion: Marketers using YouTube must target capturing the emotion of the viewer with the contents of the video as a best practice. Catching the attention of the audience on YouTube is not as easy, because most people are hooked on the television instead. Therefore, the content on YouTube must be one that captures the attention of the audience within the first five seconds. If not the audience clicks away and moves on. For example, the video made by LMC (Lexington Medical Center) on breast cancer awareness was viewed by more than 150,000 YouTube viewers. This video helped LMC win the Medline’s Pink Glove Dance video contest. The same video won 61,000 votes from Facebook users and won the national video contest for its best practices.

2. Promote Your Videos: In order to be able to use YouTube successfully and to make the most out of it, hospital marketers must have a solid foundation on social media. Promoting your videos through the Facebook or Twitter account of your company by using YouTube is the easiest marketing best practice. Most times, internet users do not go out of their way to look for you video. Putting them up on Facebook and Twitter is the easiest and quickest way to get the attention of your viewers. The more the “Like” clicks you get, the more its popularity increases. In addition to these, releasing your videos in press releases is also a promotion best practice. Another latest method of marketing is the QR code. Including this in the link to your latest video, internal and external advertisements that can be printed, is also an effective best practice.

3. Spread Positivity: Most healthcare organizations fear using social media for a number of issues. Most likely, healthcare organizations are concerned with protecting their reputation and do not want to be associated with notorious activities. Sometimes, it is the fear of having unfavorable comments from viewers. Although these are legitimate concerns, it does not mean that not using YouTube to its maximum potentials for marketing is a best practice.

There are bound to be disgruntled and dissatisfied patients that will leave negative comments no matter what. Healthcare organizations can simply deal with this problem by disabling “comments” tags altogether. In addition, make sure the video contents are not negative in any way to attract or spread negative sentiments or emotions in the viewers. Another positive best practice will be responding to the negative comments by asking the patient or person to send you a personal email and details so that you can look into the problem. This way you can make negative comments turn into positive ones.

4. Keep Content Relevant and Fresh: Social media is all about being fresh and relevant. No one likes to see the same content he or she has seen on the website for more than a few weeks. Preferably, keep your websites updated on a weekly basis as a best practice.

These are the four crucial best practices for healthcare marketers using YouTube.

Therefore, there are strategies and tactics that have been adopted by the FDA to ensure compliance with various regulations at various levels. The most important challenge that has come into the spotlights is the use of electrical devices and electronic recording systems to ensure best practices. There have been implementations of reforms in the healthcare sector recently, as economic constraints continue to impact the government. The 21 CFR Part II means the Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations Part II. It is the code that deals with enforcing compliance with medical regulations for technology being used in medical setups to ensure best practices in the health sector.

The 21 CFR Part II code is associated with compliance with regulations for replacement of paper records. It ensures verification of signatures, validity of documents, texts, videos and audio medical records. This code also regulates reports from laboratories and researches that are conducted.

The 21 CFR code assists in compliance with best practices to maintain medical technology at standards that are required for compatibility, reliability and dependability. At the same time this looks out for the integrity of the FDA. In medical institutions, there are standard formats and procedures that must be complied with to ensure best practices. This makes compliance with the 21 CFR Part II a very important requirement.

The design of medical devices must ideally be such that the ease of the end user is the ultimate objective. This is what offers it a greater chance of receiving recognition. For example, there must be password authorization on medical devices for compliance with the HIPAA law. This best practice ensures protection from hacking, compliance with firewalls, and requirements for long term storage of information.

With extensive training and ongoing education on interpretation and use of data is also a requirement for best practices. With auditing as a regular best practice, auditors can make sure that guidelines for procedures and policies are adhered to strictly. Anything that can compromise record keeping and electronic signatures like software bugs must be eliminated for proper best practices.

According to the 21 CFR code, the methods involved in recording, storing and retrieving data must operate in accordance with operating regulations. There must be in the methods to facilitate speedy outcomes and data transfer across the departments to final users. To maintain best practices with data transfer, network connectivity must be up to the standards required.

These are the best practices that help with facing the challenges of medical regulations and the 21 CFR Part II.

The Act:

Discriminating against disabled employees with qualifications is prohibited in the United States of America. It has been mentioned clearly in the act, that this law applies to private, state and local government employment agencies and labor organizations. Individuals with disabilities cannot be treated with injustice during interviewing, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training and other career related processes.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is applicable to organizations with at least fifteen employees. This applies to state and local government organizations as well. The standards set by the discrimination act are also applicable to federal sector employees. Federal employees are protected by the section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act which has its own rules for best practices.

ADA Applies to …

According to the act, an individual is considered for entitlement to the disabilities act if he or she has:

• Any condition recognized as impairment.
• Mental or physical impairment which has a major influence on activities of life.
• A record of the impairment as an official acknowledgement of the condition.

Reasons for not discriminating disabled employees

If the disabled has the capacity to fulfill the following requirements, not hiring him or her will be considered as discrimination. The requirements are that he or she will:

• Make use of the existing facilities used by other employees without need for adjustments by the employer.
• Comply with work schedules and make necessary adjustments for the job requirements
• Adjust to the equipment and facilities or policies while providing qualified services.

At the same time, employers are expected to make necessary and reasonable adjustments to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities for best practices. These accommodations and changes may vary depending on the nature of the business or organization. For example:

• Arrangements made for deaf applicants or employees during a job interview.
• Frequent breaks for diabetic employees
• A reader for blind employees
• Accommodating arrangements for employees with cancer

However, these arrangements are to be made when the employer is capable of providing the necessary arrangements.

Other features of the ADA include the following best practices:

• Employers cannot ask the disabled about the severity of his condition or ask for a medical examination. This can only be acceptable if the requirements for the job apply to everyone.
• Employees with drug or alcohol abuse will not be covered by the ADA.
• Retaliating against an individual with disabilities for opposing employment practices in accordance with the ADA regulations will be considered unlawful.

The ADA guidelines cover many other requirements for both the employer and the employee. Knowledge and compliance with best practices is important in order to avoid legal action and unnecessary risk.