Strategic interaction of original equipment manufacturers between outsourcing and purchasing in a quality-differentiated market.

Economic globalization has swept the whole world. To focus on their main business, enterprises that are referred to as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) outsource non-core production activities to contract manufacturers (CMs). By constructing a two-level supply chain consisting of two competing OEMs and one upstream CM, the strategic interaction of the OEMs between outsourcing and purchasing is studied. Specifically, the CM can offer custom- and predefined modes of original equipment manufacturing (namely, CO mode and PO mode, respectively). The former mode enables OEMs to determine product quality, while the latter only allows them to purchase from several quality configurations. The results show that, first, since the CO mode allows the adopter to lead the product design, whether to choose this mode depends on the required R&D cost. Interestingly, however, a lower R&D cost does not necessarily result in the adoption of the CO mode if the product quality difference is small under the PO mode. Second, the optimal purchasing strategy of an OEM is indifferent to the outsourcing mode (CO and PO) of its rival but significantly affected by the quality cost. However, compared to the PO mode, choosing the CO mode would cause the competitor to suffer more profit losses. Third, differing from the prior literature, this paper finds that when the downstream OEM can make quality decisions, although this may lead to profit loss of the contract manufacturer in some channels, it could benefit the CM overall.

Impacto de la pandemia COVID-19 en los servicios de Nefrología españoles / Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Spanish Nephrology Services

La pandemia de la infección por el coronavirus tipo2 del síndrome respiratorio agudo grave o SARS-CoV-2, causante de la enfermedad por coronavirus de 2019 (COVID-19), ha precisado una transformación drástica de los hospitales y, por consiguiente, de los servicios de Nefrología de España. Desde la Sociedad Española de Nefrología se ha realizado una encuesta a los jefes de servicios de Nefrología de España abordando la reorganización de los servicios de Nefrología y la actividad en la época de mayor afectación por COVID-19. Hemos preguntado por la integración de los nefrólogos en equipos COVID-19, la actividad asistencial de hospitalización de Nefrología (ingresos programados, biopsias renales), la realización de cirugías programadas como los accesos vasculares o la implantación de catéteres peritoneales, la suspensión o no del programa de trasplante renal y la transformación de las consultas externas de Nefrología. En el trabajo actual se detallan la adaptación y la transformación de los servicios de Nefrología en la pandemia COVID-19 en España. Durante dicho periodo se han suspendido los ingresos programados en los servicios de Nefrología, la realización de cirugías/biopsias programadas y ha disminuido en más de un 75% el programa de trasplante renal. Es de interés mencionar que las consultas externas de Nefrología se han realizado mayoritariamente telefónicamente. En conclusión, la pandemia ha impactado claramente en la actividad clínica en los servicios de Nefrología españoles disminuyendo la actividad programada y los trasplantes renales y modificando la actividad en consultas externas. Un plan de transformación asistencial e implementación de telemedicina en Nefrología parece necesario y de gran utilidad en un futuro próximo

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, has required a rapid and drastic transformation of hospitals, and consequently also of Spanish Nephrology Units, to respond to the critical situation. The Spanish Society of Nephrology conducted a survey directed to the Heads of Nephrology Departments in Spain that addressed the reorganisation of Nephrology departments and activity during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic. The survey has been focused on the integration of nephrologists in COVID-19 teams, nephrology inpatient care activities (elective admissions, kidney biopsies), the performance of elective surgeries such as vascular accesses or implantation of peritoneal catheters, the suspension of kidney transplantation programmes and the transformation of nephrology outpatient clinics. This work details the adaptation and transformation of nephrology services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. During this period, elective admissions to Nephrology Services, elective surgeries and biopsies were suspended, and the kidney transplant programme was scaled back by more than 75%. It is worth noting that outpatient nephrology consultations were carried out largely by telephone. In conclusion, the pandemic has clearly impacted clinical activity in Spanish Nephrology departments, reducing elective activity and kidney transplants, and modifying activity in outpatient clinics. A restructuring and implementation plan in Nephrology focused on telemedicine and/or virtual medicine would seem to be both necessary and very useful in the near future

The Development of New Diagnostic Tests for Neurologic Disorders in the Commercial Laboratory Environment.

Development of new diagnostic tests in a commercial laboratory for neurologic disorders is challenging. Development occurs in a highly regulated environment. Relevant research infrastructure may not be readily available in-house and may require outsourcing with additional management and costs. Clinically characterized specimens for validation of biomarkers for esoteric diseases may be difficult to acquire, and market size may be difficult to predict. More common diseases with heterogeneous subsets may require better clinical definition. Absence of guidelines may delay health provider acceptance of novel testing. Regulatory agency approval and categorization of tests affects validation requirements and impacts market acceptance and reimbursement.

Evolving Outsourcing Landscape in Pharma R&D: Different Collaborative Models and Factors To Consider When Choosing a Contract Research Organization.

Outsourcing has become an integral part of how research and early development (R&D) is executed in biotech companies and large pharmaceutical organizations. Drug discovery organizations can choose from several operational models when partnering with a service provider, ranging from short-term, fee-for-service (FFS)-based arrangements to more strategic full-time-equivalent (FTE)-based collaborations and even risk-sharing relationships. Clients should consider a number of criteria when deciding which contract research organization (CRO) is best positioned to help meet their goals. Besides cost, other factors such as intellectual property protection, problem solving skills, value-creation ability, communication, data integrity, safety and personnel policies, ease of communication, geography, duration of engagement, scalability of capacity, and contractual details deserve proper consideration. In the end, the success of a drug discovery partnership will depend in large part on the people who execute the science.

Security analysis and secure channel-free certificateless searchable public key authenticated encryption for a cloud-based Internet of things.

With the rapid development of informatization, an increasing number of industries and organizations outsource their data to cloud servers, to avoid the cost of local data management and to share data. For example, industrial Internet of things systems and mobile healthcare systems rely on cloud computing's powerful data storage and processing capabilities to address the storage, provision, and maintenance of massive amounts of industrial and medical data. One of the major challenges facing cloud-based storage environments is how to ensure the confidentiality and security of outsourced sensitive data. To mitigate these issues, He et al. and Ma et al. have recently independently proposed two certificateless public key searchable encryption schemes. In this paper, we analyze the security of these two schemes and show that the reduction proof of He et al.'s CLPAEKS scheme is incorrect, and that Ma et al.'s CLPEKS scheme is not secure against keyword guessing attacks. We then propose a channel-free certificateless searchable public key authenticated encryption (dCLPAEKS) scheme and prove that it is secure against inside keyword guessing attacks under the enhanced security model. Compared with other certificateless public key searchable encryption schemes, this scheme has higher security and comparable efficiency.

One lab, two firms, many possibilities: On R&D outsourcing in the biopharmaceutical industry.

We draw from documented characteristics of the biopharmaceutical industry to construct a model where two firms can choose to outsource R&D to an external unit, and/or engage in internal R&D, before competing in a final market. We investigate the distribution of profits among market participants, and the incentives to coordinate outsourcing activities or to integrate R&D and production. Consistent with the empirical evidence, we find that the sign and magnitude of an aggregate measure of direct (inter-firm) and indirect (through the external unit) technological externalities drives the distribution of industry profits, with higher returns to the external unit when involved in development (clinical trials) than in early-stage research (drug discovery). In the latter case, the delinkage of investment incentives from industry value, together with the ability of firms to transfer risks to the external unit, imply a vulnerability of early-stage investors' returns to negative shocks, and the likely abandonment of projects with economic and medical value. We also find that competition in the equity market makes a buyout by one of the two firms more profitable to a research biotech than to a clinical services unit, and can stimulate early-stage investments. However, this long-term incentive can be minimal, notably if the superior efficiency of outsourced operations originates from economies of scope that can hardly be exploited when a firm takes control of the external unit exclusively for itself. R&D outsourcing thus does not always qualify as a relevant pathway to address the declining productivity in innovation that has characterized the industry over several decades.

[Primary health care and Social Organizations in capitals in the Southeast Region of Brazil: 2009 and 2014]. / Atenção primária à saúde e Organizações Sociais nas capitais da Região Sudeste do Brasil: 2009 e 2014.

This study focuses on the primary health care (PHC) performance of the four capitals of the Southeast Region of Brazil in the years 2009 and 2014 in terms of the indicators of the 2013-2015 Guidelines and Goals Pact (PDM, in Portuguese). Two capitals turned to Social Organizations (OS, in Portuguese) and two kept the provision and administration of PHC through Direct Administration (AD, in Portuguese), configuring distinct management models. Freely accessible secondary data and research on websites subsidized the characterization of the cities and their PHC performance. The characterization was based on demographic and socioeconomic data, PHC management model, health and PHC spending, importance of the Municipal Participation Fund for the budget and percentage of Executive Branch spending on personnel. In order to measure PHC performance, we calculated 13 indicators for 2009 and 2014, in three PDM guidelines: (i) access, (ii) integral care for women and children's health and (iii) reduction of health risks and harms. The comparative performance analysis considered the year 2014 and each capital's evolution during the period we analyzed. The capitals São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with OS management, did not have a better performance in the set of indicators than the capitals than maintained a direct administration. We highlight the rapid expansion in PHC coverage in Rio de Janeiro through OS. In the performance evolution, there was improvement in indicators such as child mortality and hospital admissions due to conditions sensible to PHC in all capitals. The cities are different with regard to many parameters that can influence PHC performance. We did not intend to establish a direct relationship between the administration model and performance.

Este estudo focaliza o desempenho das quatro capitais da Região Sudeste do Brasil na atenção primária à saúde (APS), nos anos de 2009 e 2014, em relação a indicadores do Pacto de Diretrizes e Metas (PDM) 2013-2015. Duas capitais recorreram a Organizações Sociais (OS) e duas mantiveram a prestação e a gerência da APS mediante a Administração Direta (AD), configurando modelos distintos de gestão. Dados secundários de acesso livre e pesquisa em sítios eletrônicos subsidiaram a caracterização das cidades e o seu desempenho em APS. A caracterização foi baseada em dados demográficos e socioeconômicos, modelo de gestão da APS, gastos com saúde e APS, importância do Fundo de Participação Municipal no orçamento e percentual de despesas do Poder Executivo com pessoal. Para medir o desempenho em APS, 13 indicadores foram calculados para 2009 e 2014, em três diretrizes do PDM: (i) acesso, (ii) atenção integral à saúde da mulher e da criança, e (iii) redução dos riscos e agravos à saúde. A análise comparativa do desempenho considerou o ano de 2014 e a evolução de cada capital no período analisado. As capitais São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro, de gestão por OS, não obtiveram melhor desempenho no conjunto de indicadores em relação às que mantiveram a gestão por AD. Destaca-se a rápida expansão de cobertura de APS no Rio de Janeiro mediante OS. Na evolução do desempenho houve melhoria em indicadores como mortalidade infantil e internações por condições sensíveis à APS em todas as capitais. As cidades são distintas em relação a diversos parâmetros que podem influenciar o desempenho em APS e não se pretendeu estabelecer relação direta entre o modelo de gestão adotado e o desempenho medido.

Este estudio se centra en el desempeño de las cuatro capitales de la región sudeste en lo que se refiere a la atención primaria de salud (APS), durante los años 2009 y 2014, respecto a los indicadores del Pacto de Directrices y Metas (PDM) 2013-2015. Dos capitales recurrieron a organizaciones sociales (OS) y dos mantuvieron la prestación y la gerencia de la APS, mediante la Administración Directa (AD), configurando modelos distintos de gestión. Los datos secundarios de acceso libre e investigación en sitios electrónicos ayudaron en la caracterización de las cedads y su desempeño en la APS. La caracterización se basó en datos demográficos y socioeconómicos, modelo de gestión de la APS, gastos de salud y APS, importancia del Fondo de Participación Municipal en el presupuesto y porcentaje de gastos del Poder Ejecutivo en personal. Para medir el desempeño de la APS, se calcularon 13 indicadores para 2009 y 2014, en tres directrices del PDM: acceso, atención integral a la salud de la mujer y del niño, así como reducción de riesgos y efectos dañinos para la salud. El análisis comparativo del desempeño consideró el año 2014 y la evolución de cada capital durante el período analizado. Las capitales São Paulo y Río de Janeiro, de gestión mediante OS, no obtuvieron mejor desempeño en el conjunto de indicadores referentes a las que mantuvieron la gestión vía AD. Se destacó la rápida expansión de cobertura de APS en Río de Janeiro mediante OS. En la evolución del desempeño hubo una mejoría en indicadores como mortalidad infantil e internamientos por condiciones sensibles a la APS en todas las capitales. Las cedads son distintas, en relación con diversos parámetros que pueden influenciar en el desempeño de la APS y no se pretendió establecer relación directa entre el modelo de gestión adoptado y el desempeño medido.

Exploring perceptions, motivations, and practices regarding outsourcing support services by general hospitals in Uganda: A mixed methods study.

Research on outsourcing in a developing country using a mixed methods approach can provide insights on outsourcing decisions and practices. This study investigated motivations, practices, perceived benefits, and barriers to outsourcing by general hospitals in Uganda. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used. Quantitative data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from managers in 32 randomly selected hospitals. Qualitative data were latter collected from eight purposively selected managers using an interview guide. Quantitative data were statistically analyzed using SAS 9.3. Qualitative data were managed using ATLAS ti 7 and coded manually, and content analysis was conducted. Quantitative findings indicate that outsourcing of support services was prevalent (72% of hospitals). The key motivation for outsourcing was to gain access to quality service (68%). Limited availability of service providers was a key challenge during outsourcing (57%). Managers perceive improved productivity and better services as key benefits of outsourcing (90%). The main barrier to outsourcing is limited financing. These findings were confirmed and explained by the qualitative data. Findings and recommendations from this study are critical in developing interventions to encourage effective outsourcing by hospitals in Uganda and other developing countries.

Dependence and power in healthcare equipment supply chains.

Most healthcare organizations (HCOs) engage Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) as an outsourcing strategy to secure their supplies and materials. When an HCO outsources the procurement function to a GPO, this GPO will directly interact with the HCO's supplier on the HCO's behalf. This study investigates how an HCO's dependence on a GPO affects supply chain relationships and power in the healthcare medical equipment supply chain. Hypotheses are tested through factor analysis and structural equation modeling, using primary survey data from HCO procurement managers. An HCO's dependence on a GPO is found to be positively associated with a GPO's reliance on mediated power, but, surprisingly, negatively associated with a GPO's mediated power. Furthermore, analysis indicates that an HCO's dependence on a GPO is positively associated with an HCO's dependence on a GPO-contracted Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). HCO reliance on GPOs may lead to a buyer's dependence trap, where HCOs are increasingly dependent on GPOs and OEMs. Implications for HCO procurement managers and recommended steps for mitigation are offered. Power-dependence relationships in the medical equipment supply chain are not consistent with relationships in other, more traditional, supply chains. While dependence in a supply chain relationship typically leads to an increase in reliance on mediated power, GPO-dependent HCOs instead perceive a decrease in GPO mediated power. Furthermore, HCOs that rely on procurement service from GPOs are increasingly dependent on the OEMs.

Risk-Based Monitoring: Key Conditions in Collaboration Between Contract Research Organization and Sponsor.

Although risk-based monitoring (RBM) high-level definitions and processes are similar across the pharmaceutical industry, the practical implementation, organizational structures, naming of documents and processes, system capabilities, etc. can be different from company to company. Through an alliance-level relationship, Janssen, PAREXEL, and IQVIA have gained experience and developed best practices with RBM operational deployment, particularly regarding RBM setup and collaboration between sponsor and contract research organization (CRO). As part of the operational strategy, Janssen, PAREXEL, and IQVIA jointly developed an outsourcing manual to consistently guide trial delivery. The outsourcing manual recently adopted policies and implementation guidelines for RBM. Clarity around roles and responsibilities as well as a good understanding of system capabilities and data flows, especially where there are shared systems between the sponsor and CRO, are found to be key success factors. Besides possible organizational changes and the development of mutual processes and system capabilities, the human element is not to be underestimated. Managing the changes in processes and change in mind set within both the sponsor and CRO organization is crucial to successful implementation of RBM, and our experience in this regard forms the basis of this paper.

Atenção primária à saúde e Organizações Sociais nas capitais da Região Sudeste do Brasil: 2009 e 2014 / Primary health care and Social Organizations in capitals in the Southeast Region of Brazil: 2009 and 2014 / Atención primaria de salud y Organizaciones Sociales en las capitales de la región sudeste de Brasil: 2009 y 2014

Este estudo focaliza o desempenho das quatro capitais da Região Sudeste do Brasil na atenção primária à saúde (APS), nos anos de 2009 e 2014, em relação a indicadores do Pacto de Diretrizes e Metas (PDM) 2013-2015. Duas capitais recorreram a Organizações Sociais (OS) e duas mantiveram a prestação e a gerência da APS mediante a Administração Direta (AD), configurando modelos distintos de gestão. Dados secundários de acesso livre e pesquisa em sítios eletrônicos subsidiaram a caracterização das cidades e o seu desempenho em APS. A caracterização foi baseada em dados demográficos e socioeconômicos, modelo de gestão da APS, gastos com saúde e APS, importância do Fundo de Participação Municipal no orçamento e percentual de despesas do Poder Executivo com pessoal. Para medir o desempenho em APS, 13 indicadores foram calculados para 2009 e 2014, em três diretrizes do PDM: (i) acesso, (ii) atenção integral à saúde da mulher e da criança, e (iii) redução dos riscos e agravos à saúde. A análise comparativa do desempenho considerou o ano de 2014 e a evolução de cada capital no período analisado. As capitais São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro, de gestão por OS, não obtiveram melhor desempenho no conjunto de indicadores em relação às que mantiveram a gestão por AD. Destaca-se a rápida expansão de cobertura de APS no Rio de Janeiro mediante OS. Na evolução do desempenho houve melhoria em indicadores como mortalidade infantil e internações por condições sensíveis à APS em todas as capitais. As cidades são distintas em relação a diversos parâmetros que podem influenciar o desempenho em APS e não se pretendeu estabelecer relação direta entre o modelo de gestão adotado e o desempenho medido.

This study focuses on the primary health care (PHC) performance of the four capitals of the Southeast Region of Brazil in the years 2009 and 2014 in terms of the indicators of the 2013-2015 Guidelines and Goals Pact (PDM, in Portuguese). Two capitals turned to Social Organizations (OS, in Portuguese) and two kept the provision and administration of PHC through Direct Administration (AD, in Portuguese), configuring distinct management models. Freely accessible secondary data and research on websites subsidized the characterization of the cities and their PHC performance. The characterization was based on demographic and socioeconomic data, PHC management model, health and PHC spending, importance of the Municipal Participation Fund for the budget and percentage of Executive Branch spending on personnel. In order to measure PHC performance, we calculated 13 indicators for 2009 and 2014, in three PDM guidelines: (i) access, (ii) integral care for women and children's health and (iii) reduction of health risks and harms. The comparative performance analysis considered the year 2014 and each capital's evolution during the period we analyzed. The capitals São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with OS management, did not have a better performance in the set of indicators than the capitals than maintained a direct administration. We highlight the rapid expansion in PHC coverage in Rio de Janeiro through OS. In the performance evolution, there was improvement in indicators such as child mortality and hospital admissions due to conditions sensible to PHC in all capitals. The cities are different with regard to many parameters that can influence PHC performance. We did not intend to establish a direct relationship between the administration model and performance.

Este estudio se centra en el desempeño de las cuatro capitales de la región sudeste en lo que se refiere a la atención primaria de salud (APS), durante los años 2009 y 2014, respecto a los indicadores del Pacto de Directrices y Metas (PDM) 2013-2015. Dos capitales recurrieron a organizaciones sociales (OS) y dos mantuvieron la prestación y la gerencia de la APS, mediante la Administración Directa (AD), configurando modelos distintos de gestión. Los datos secundarios de acceso libre e investigación en sitios electrónicos ayudaron en la caracterización de las cedads y su desempeño en la APS. La caracterización se basó en datos demográficos y socioeconómicos, modelo de gestión de la APS, gastos de salud y APS, importancia del Fondo de Participación Municipal en el presupuesto y porcentaje de gastos del Poder Ejecutivo en personal. Para medir el desempeño de la APS, se calcularon 13 indicadores para 2009 y 2014, en tres directrices del PDM: acceso, atención integral a la salud de la mujer y del niño, así como reducción de riesgos y efectos dañinos para la salud. El análisis comparativo del desempeño consideró el año 2014 y la evolución de cada capital durante el período analizado. Las capitales São Paulo y Río de Janeiro, de gestión mediante OS, no obtuvieron mejor desempeño en el conjunto de indicadores referentes a las que mantuvieron la gestión vía AD. Se destacó la rápida expansión de cobertura de APS en Río de Janeiro mediante OS. En la evolución del desempeño hubo una mejoría en indicadores como mortalidad infantil e internamientos por condiciones sensibles a la APS en todas las capitales. Las cedads son distintas, en relación con diversos parámetros que pueden influenciar en el desempeño de la APS y no se pretendió establecer relación directa entre el modelo de gestión adoptado y el desempeño medido.

Contracting-out urban primary health care in Bangladesh: a qualitative exploration of implementation processes and experience.

BACKGROUND: Contracting-out (CO) to non-state providers is used widely to increase access to health care, but it entails many implementation challenges. Using Bangladesh's two decades of experience with contracting out Urban Primary Health Care (UPHC), this paper identifies contextual, contractual, and actor-related factors that require consideration when implementing CO in Low- and Middle- Income Countries. METHODS: This qualitative case-study is based on 42 in-depth interviews with past and present stakeholders working with the government and the UPHC project, as well as a desk review of key project documents. The Health Policy Triangle framework is utilized to differentiate among multiple intersecting contextual, contractual and actor-related factors that characterize and influence complex implementation processes. RESULTS: In Bangladesh, the contextual factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic to the health system, deeply impacted the CO process. These included competition with other health projects, public sector reforms, and the broader national level political and bureaucratic environment. Providing free services to the poor and a target to recover cost were two contradictory conditions set out in the contract and were difficult for providers to achieve. In relation to actors, the choice of the executing body led to complications, functionally disempowering local government institutions (cities and municipalities) from managing CO processes, and discouraging integration of CO arrangements into the broader national health system. Politics and power dynamics undermined the ethical selection of project areas. Ultimately, these and other factors weakened the project's ability to achieve one of its original objectives: to decentralize management responsibilities and develop municipal capacity in managing contracts. CONCLUSIONS: This study calls attention to factors that need to be addressed to successfully implement CO projects, both in Bangladesh and similar countries. Country ownership is crucial for adapting and integrating CO in national health systems. Concurrent processes must be ensured to develop local CO capacity. CO modalities must be adaptable and responsive to changing context, while operating within an agreed-upon and appropriate legal framework with a strong ethical foundation.

Factors influencing performance by contracted non-state providers implementing a basic package of health services in Afghanistan.

BACKGROUND: In 2002 Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and its development partners initiated a new paradigm for the health sector by electing to Contract-Out (CO) the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) to non-state providers (NSPs). This model is generally regarded as successful, but literature is scarce that examines the motivations underlying implementation and factors influencing program success. This paper uses relevant theories and qualitative data to describe how and why contracting out delivery of primary health care services to NSPs has been effective. The main aim of this study was to assess the contextual, institutional, and contractual factors that influenced the performance of NSPs delivering the BPHS in Afghanistan. METHODS: The qualitative study design involved individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions conducted in six provinces of Afghanistan, as well as a desk review. The framework for assessing key factors of the contracting mechanism proposed by Liu et al. was utilized in the design, data collection and data analysis. RESULTS: While some contextual factors facilitated the CO (e.g. MoPH leadership, NSP innovation and community participation), harsh geography, political interference and insecurity in some provinces had negative effects. Contractual factors, such as effective input and output management, guided health service delivery. Institutional factors were important; management capacity of contracted NSPs affects their ability to deliver outcomes. Effective human resources and pharmaceutical management were notable elements that contributed to the successful delivery of the BPHS. The contextual, contractual and institutional factors interacted with each other. CONCLUSION: Three sets of factors influenced the implementation of the BPHS: contextual, contractual and institutional. The MoPH should consider all of these factors when contracting out the BPHS and other functions to NSPs. Other fragile states and countries emerging from a period of conflict could learn from Afghanistan's example in contracting out primary health care services, keeping in mind that generic or universal contracting policies might not work in all geographical areas within a country or between countries.

Managing Risk Aversion for Low-Carbon Supply Chains with Emission Abatement Outsourcing.

Reducing carbon emissions, including emission abatement outsourcing at the supply-chain level, is becoming a significant but challenging problem in practice. Confronting this challenge, we therefore break down the practice to focus on a low-carbon supply chain consisting of one supplier, one manufacturer and one third-party emission-reducing contractor. The contractor offers a carbon reduction service to the manufacturer. In view of the increasing proportion of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions and absence of carbon reduction policies in developing countries, we adopt the prospect of consumers' low-carbon preferences to capture the demand sensitivity on carbon emission. By exploiting the Mean-Variance (MV) model, we develop a supply chain game model considering risk aversion. Comparing the supply chain performances of the cases under risk neutrality and risk aversion, we investigate the impact of the risk aversion of the supplier and the manufacturer on the low-carbon supply chain performances, respectively. We show that the risk aversion of chain members will not influence the relationship underlain by the profit-sharing contract between the manufacturer and contractor, whereas they may extend the supplier's concerning range. Although the manufacturer's risk aversion has a positive impact on the wholesale price, interestingly, the supplier's impact on the wholesale price is negative. Furthermore, we propose a contract to coordinate the risk-averse low-carbon supply chain by tuning the aversion levels of the supplier and the manufacturer, respectively. Through numerical study, we draw on managerial insights for industrial practitioners to adopt a low carbon strategy potentially by managing the risk attitudes along the supply chain channel.

O Sistema Único de Saúde ante as perspectivas da terceirização administrativa / The Unified Health System before the prospects of administrative outsourcing

A garantia do direito à saúde com status constitucional aumentou a demanda à procura de serviços públicos na área da saúde repercutindo na adoção de formas de gestão privada e reforma administrativa do Estado levando à profusão de leis administrativas voltadas à possibilidade de o poder público concretizar parcerias com o setor privado para fins de prestação de serviços públicos de saúde pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. A relação entre as normas de direito público e a inspiração assentada em regras privatísticas deu origem a peculiaridade do mix público-privado presente no sistema de saúde brasileiro, qual seja, parceiras entre poder estatal e setor privado. Com base na noção atual de subsidiariedade constante no artigo 173 da Constituição da República a pesquisa aponta como objetivo questões relacionadas aos entraves enfrentados pelo Estado, sob a ótica da (im)possibilidade fática da Administração Pública realizar "parcerias administrativas" entre o poder público e a sociedade civil a evidenciar o desafio da compatibilização entre a densidade do aparato estatal e a dificuldade de estabelecer formas eficientes e bem planejadas de atuação do Estado na efetivação de direitos. É nessa vertente que este estudo extrai da utilização de análise historiográfica e documental, lei no sentido amplo, livros, artigos científicos, revistas científicas, resenhas, relatórios de gestão e de governança, estudos jurisprudenciais de decisões judiciais, bem como bibliotecas virtuais e bancos de dados, sobre o momento socioeconômico e histórico que influenciou a criação do Sistema Único de Saúde, montando um verdadeiro quebra-cabeça dos pontos positivos e negativos da delegação/terceirização da prestação de serviços públicos de saúde. O resultado do estudo evidencia duas situações incontestes: a terceirização dos serviços de saúde desenvolvido pelo setor privado somente pode ocorrer em atividades complementares, como decidiu o Supremo Tribunal Federal; o ponto de criticidade deste quadro administrativo surge da falha de gestão de governança em traçar metas (eficiência) e resultados (efetividade)