Building an effective competitive intelligence system for health care service providers

With the increasing competitiveness of the health care marketplace, the need for information by service providers has increased concomitantly. In response to this need, strategic and competitive intelligence systems have emerged as a vital source of information. This article establishes a basis for the development and operation of a competitive intelligence system. Initially, strategic and competitive intelligence systems are conceptualized, then followed by a discussion of the areas which are candidates for inclusion in the intelligence system. The remainder of the article focuses on system development and operation. Attention also is directed toward information utilization and integration.     

The Dutch Dental Association's vision of dental training

The Dutch Dental Association (NMT) feels very involved in dental schooling and advocates as broad an education as possible with explicit attention to the 'gatekeeper' function of the dentist in general practice, diagnostics and the development of motor skills for complex, restorative treatments. Attention is demanded to place individual professional practice in a wider context of dental staff and a network of opportunities of referral. The NMT wishes to develop a system for the profession in which guidelines, intercollegial testing and effective accredited provision of further training, systemic opportunities and guidelines for the promotion of expertise are given in the areas of technical methods, organisation of practices and professional attitude. They wish to support the newly-qualified dentist through the introduction of a year of practical training linked to study, so that an 'educational continuum' of education, training and continual further training develops, and to make a contribution not just organizationally, but also regarding the content of the curriculum, certainly where it concerns the sociological aspects and the needs of the professional group.     

Preliminary assessment of the Con-Bio laser in vivo

A variety of lasers are available for the treatment of pigmented and vascular lesions. This paper presents our preliminary evaluation of the Q-switched 532 nm Con-Bio laser (Continuum Biomedical, Livermore, CA) in a murine model. Mice were anesthetized with intraperitoneal pentobarbital. Laser impacts (10 nsec, 150 mJ max.) were created on the ears at fluences of 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 J/cm 2. Acute study animals were sacrificed 15 min postinjury. Tissues were fixed in formalin and examined via light microscopy. Chronic study animals were allowed to heal for 3 weeks postoperatively. Parameters analyzed included the presence or absence of blistering, hemorrhage, visual assessment of thermal injury, microscopic evidence of vascular coagulation, or disruption and cosmesis. Acute vascular disruption and coagulation were present in all samples. Healing and cosmesis were good at all fluences tested. Tests of the laser in a prefocused mode produced a tissue cavitation effect with a depth of coagulation of 0.73 +/- 0.44 mm and hemorrhage of 0.68 +/- 0.41 mm. A chronic study of the vascular effect on larger vessels (1-2 mm) was conducted on a rabbit ear. Acute disruption was observed, however, all vessels were recanalized when examined grossly and histologically at 3 weeks. These preliminary results suggest that this new laser may be useful for the treatment of cutaneous vascular lesions. Further studies and clinical trials are warranted.