The privatization of spa companies in Poland - An evaluation of policy assumptions and implementation.

The aim of this article is to present the course of privatization of spa companies in Poland during the period 2001-2011. We discuss assumptions of the privatization process, as well as actual implementation, having identified the process as chaotic and inconsistent with prior legal provisions. We found that in its applied form the process resulted in limitation of the therapeutic potential of spas, and reduction of the State's ability to implement health policy in a legally determined form. We also found that privatization potentially improved spa infrastructure standards and increases the tourist potential of spa resorts. We recommend that clear eligibility criteria are applied to institutions in the privatization process, as well as the provision of legal guarantees for access to spa services financed from public resources. Such guarantees should be made a public obligation, to ensure the availability of services for insured persons, and there should be an obligation to maintain a specific part of a given institution's potential for the needs of patients funded by public health insurance.

[Spa facilities and legionellosis: legislative structure and state of the art in Apulia (Italy)]. / Strutture termali e legionellosi: quadri normativi e stato dell'arte in Puglia.

A number of factors, for example water temperature, can encourage the growth of microorganisms such as Legionella spp in spa facilities. Individuals who attend this type of facility are often subjects at risk for infection who are undergoing inhalation therapy and hot tub treatments. A very accurate management of these facilities is therefore required to avoid infection by Legionella spp. The purpose of this study was to verify the current Italian national and Apulia regional legislation regarding the control of contamination by Legionella spp. in spa facilities.

[The organization of provision of spa-and-resort services for the population of the russian Federation (part 2). Spa and resort institutions].

The main principles of the organization of medical activities of spa and resort institutions including children's and tuberculosis (phtysiatric) ones are discussed in conjunction with the relative normative and legal acts.

[On the selected problems of the involvement of spa-and-resort facilities in the implementation of territorial programs of compulsory medical insurance].

The inclusion of spa-and-resort facilities in the sphere of compulsory medical insurance is in accordance with the law "On the compulsory medical insurance in the Russian Federation". However, this work implies serious preparatory activity aimed at estimating the requirements of different groups of the country's population in the follow-up treatment and rehabilitation based at the spa-and-resort facilities as well as the available resources for this purpose, modes of payment, rate structure, etc. The spa and resort-based treatment within the framework of the compulsory medical insurance system must be made one of the components of the regional programs of medical rehabilitation.

[The present-day organization of spa and resort services for the population of the Russian Federation (Part 1)].

The main principles underlying the present-day organization of spa and resort services for the population of the Russian Federation are described. The emphasis is laid on the procedures for the selection and referral to spa and resort facilities of the patients, both adults and children, in need of balneotherapeutic treatment. The relevant normative and legal regulations are discussed.

Medical-legal considerations in the medical spa environment.

A better understanding of the medical-legal considerations of the medical spa environment plays a role in promoting a successful medical spa. The medical spa setting is ideal for the performance of procedures that are incision-less, provide minimal discomfort, create little to no skin wound, and are performed in less than one hour. The procedures that fit this model include those that promote antiaging, those that lead to rhytid treatment, and hair removal.

[Fine tuning of the many regulations of quality system: the role of the quality in the thermal medicine]. / Messa a punto delle varie normative che regolano il Sistema "Qualità": il ruolo della Qualità nel sistema termale.

In the last decades, quality has imposed itself as a competitive need for firms, and also as a new normative parameter to guarantee the production process and the final product which the costumer buys. In the case of health services, the importance of quality is even greater because of the special value of this service, and the special relationship between the supplier and the costumer/patient. This relationship is often mediated by the State which has to provide the health services and the financial support for them. Thus, also in the case of Thermal Medicine, quality and its certification play a key role for the evaluation of the efficiency of the health service, and tend always more to be part of the health service accreditation process. In this article, we review the development of the idea of quality of service from the ancient Egyptian until the 20th century and we briefly recall the main European and Italian norms. We also examine the norms for the accreditation of the thermal health structures, and we review the main indicators of quality in Thermal Medicine, and the role of scientific research. Finally, we indicate that the cost of the lack of quality can be so prohibitive that the firms which do not follow the new standards, are put out of the market.

[Thermal-spring parks within the ambit of protected areas: general trends in morphology and botany]. / Parchi termali nell'ambito delle aree protette: orientamenti generali di morfologia e botanica.

It is remembered that, in contemporary era, the thermal parks arose in U.S.A. and in Canada: they represent the first example of national parks in the world. Are described legislation, classifications and various types of protected areas. The species of recommended plants for the formation, increase and/or improvement of italian thermal are mentioned.