Paul Goldsmith, Jackie Moon, Paul Anderson, Steve Kirkup, Susan Williams and Margaret Gray
Error reporting by healthcare staff, patient-derived complaints and patient-derived medico-legal claims are three separate processes present in most healthcare systems. It is…
Abstract
Purpose
Error reporting by healthcare staff, patient-derived complaints and patient-derived medico-legal claims are three separate processes present in most healthcare systems. It is generally assumed that all relate to the same cases. Given the high costs associated with these processes and strong desire to maximise quality and standards, the purpose of this paper is to see whether it was indeed the case that most complaints and claims related to medical errors and the relative resource allocation to each group.
Design/methodology/approach
Electronic databases for clinical error recording, patient complaints and medico-legal claims in a large NHS healthcare provider organisation were reviewed and case overlap analysed.
Findings
Most complaints and medico-legal claims do not associate with a prior clinical error. Disproportionate resource is required for a small number of complaints and the medico-legal claims process. Most complaints and claims are not upheld.
Research limitations/implications
The authors have only looked at data from one healthcare provider and for one period. It would be useful to analyse other healthcare organisations over a longer time period. The authors were unable to access data on secondary staffing costs, which would have been informative. As the medico-legal process can go on for many years, the authors do not know the ultimate outcomes for all cases. The authors also do not know how many medico-legal cases were settled out of court pragmatically to minimise costs.
Practical implications
Staff error reporting systems and patient advisory services seem to be efficient and working well. However, the broader complaints and claims process is costing considerable time and money, yet may not be useful in driving up standards. System changes to maximise helpful complaints and claims, from a quality and standards perspective, and minimise unhelpful ones are recommended.
Originality/value
This study provides important data on the lack of overlap between errors, complaints and claims cases.
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Antoinette Pole and Archana Kumar
– The purpose of this paper is to seek to segment CSA members based on their motivations to join a CSA.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to seek to segment CSA members based on their motivations to join a CSA.
Design/methodology/approach
Data obtained from an online survey of 565 members belonging to a New York state CSA were analyzed using a combined hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis.
Findings
Based on their motivations to join a CSA results reveal four distinct types of segments among CSA members: No-Frills Member, Foodie Member, Nonchalant Member, and Quintessential Member. Results show all four clusters differ statistically across demographic characteristics including gender, political affiliation, and household income. The clusters differed across psychographic characteristics such as attitudes toward the treatment of animals, treatment of farm workers, pesticide use, the environment, food miles, and limiting factory farm purchases. Quintessential Members emerge as most concerned with food purchasing decisions while No-Frills Members are least concerned.
Research limitations/implications
The study employs a non-random purposive sample of CSAs in New York state. Respondents were recruited indirectly to participate in an online survey. The length and complexity of the survey, absence of an email address for respondents, levels of digital fluency, and technical glitches may result in lower participation rates.
Practical implications
This paper offers recommendations to farmers for retaining and attracting different types of CSA members.
Originality/value
This is the first study that segments CSA members in the USA based on their motivations to subscribe to a CSA, and it differentiates CSA member clusters based on their demographics, psychographics, and food purchasing decisions.
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Irvine Clarke and Margaret Owens
Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global…
Abstract
Parallel importation, the selling of trademarked products through unauthorized distribution channels, can erode trademark image, strain channel relationships and disrupt global planning efforts. With the recent changes in federal court precedent and the landmark 1998 L’Anza Supreme Court decision, the legal rights associated with trademarked products in gray markets have forever changed. Therefore, the authors review the current status of regulatory and judicial decisions affecting gray marketing activities to provide a practical framework for marketing managers. Legal and nonlegal suggestions, for the protection of trademarks in gray market competition, are offered.
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Bríd D. Dunne, Katie Robinson and Judith Pettigrew
This paper aims to examine the relationship between psychiatry and occupational therapy in Ireland through a case study of the development of the occupational therapy department…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the relationship between psychiatry and occupational therapy in Ireland through a case study of the development of the occupational therapy department in St. Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin, from 1935 to 1969. Patronage by psychiatrists was an important factor in the professionalisation of occupational therapy internationally.
Design/methodology/approach
Documentary sources and oral history interviews were analysed to conduct an instrumental case study of occupational therapy at St. Patrick’s Hospital from 1935 to 1969.
Findings
The research identified key individuals associated with the development of occupational therapy at St. Patrick’s Hospital, including psychiatrist Norman Moore, occupational therapy worker Olga Gale, occupational therapist Margaret Sinclair, and social therapist Irene Violet Grey. Occupational therapy was considered by the hospital authorities to be “an important part in the treatment of all types of psychiatric illness” (Board Meeting Minutes, 1956). It aimed to develop patient’s self-esteem and facilitate social participation. To achieve these objectives, patients engaged in activities such as dances, arts and crafts, and social activities.
Originality/value
This study has highlighted the contributions of key individuals, identified the links between occupational therapy and psychiatry, and provided an insight into the development of the profession in Ireland prior to the establishment of occupational therapy education in 1963. Occupational therapy practice at St. Patrick’s Hospital from 1935 to 1969 was congruent with the prevailing philosophy of occupational therapy internationally, which involved treatment through activities to enhance participation in society.
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Abstract
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Margaret Muir, Hannah Cordle and Jerome Carson
Margaret's story concludes our short series on recovery heroes. This series started with Dolly Sen, followed by Peter Chadwick, Gordon McManus and Matt Ward. Four of the five…
Abstract
Margaret's story concludes our short series on recovery heroes. This series started with Dolly Sen, followed by Peter Chadwick, Gordon McManus and Matt Ward. Four of the five people featured were from our local service at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. We have defined recovery heroes as individuals whose journeys of recovery can inspire both service users and professionals alike. Margaret once commented that, ‘all service users are recovery heroes’. It is fitting that the series should end with her own story.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
Timothy C. Weiskel and Richard A. Gray
To provide a brief illustration of how the circumstances of economic underdevelopment and ecological decline are reciprocally linked, we can begin by tracing the post‐World War II…
Abstract
To provide a brief illustration of how the circumstances of economic underdevelopment and ecological decline are reciprocally linked, we can begin by tracing the post‐World War II history of Africa. Political histories of the post‐war period abound for almost all parts of the continent, since it was during this era that many African colonies struggled for and won political independence. Detailed ecological histories of colonialism and the post‐colonial states, however, are just beginning to be researched and written. Nevertheless, several broad patterns and general trends of this history are now becoming apparent, and they can be set forth in rough narrative form even though detailed histories have yet to be compiled.