All posts by Turacoz Group

Breastfeeding & Love: How they are the same?

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With the World Breastfeeding Week (1st Aug-7th Aug) towards its wrap for the year 2018, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions brings to you a beautiful story we received from one of the amazing mothers. The narrative is as expressed by her:

I became mother for the first time. It is a feeling I cannot explain. Being a mother is what completes a woman and my baby gave me that feeling of completeness.

3rd April 2018, the day my baby boy was born, is the happiest day of my life. I have been waiting to meet him for so long. During my pregnancy, I took care of everything and learned about the most important aspect of being a mother, Breastfeeding.

After Ansh (my boy) was born, I breastfed him. He is 4 months old now and I make sure to exclusively breastfeed him. I am aware of all the benefits of breastfeeding and want to deliver the best to my baby.

At first, I struggled a lot with it, as my nipples would hurt a lot when he latched onto them, but slowly it began to settle. Never once in mind, this thought of giving up breastfeeding occurred to me. I knew this is the best thing I can give to my baby as his mother.
I had sore nipples and cracks on them in the beginning and I was worried all the time whether he is receiving enough milk or not. But doctors told me that I would settle down with time and so will the baby. I decided to forget about the pain and discomfort and focus on feeding my baby, which he needed the most. Despite the discomfort, I fed him for 30 minutes every 2-3 hours in a day.

Today my baby is all healthy and naughty. The expressions on his face while he is being breastfed are so satisfying to me that I will go to any extent of pain or discomfort to make him happy.

This is my request to all mothers who hesitate in breastfeeding their baby, that, you should not keep your baby away from this wonderful gift. It not only gives your baby the strength and nutrients he needs but also is beneficial for you and completes you as a mother.

This is so right!

Breastfeeding is important for both babies and mothers. Here is why:

For babies:

  • It provides the best nutrition to the babies: this is what they need at least for the first 6 months of their life. Ideally, breastfeeding is recommended for a year, meanwhile, your baby can try different foods.
  • Breast milk is the source of essential antibodies: it gives babies the immunity to fight against bacteria & viruses. Colostrum, the first milk of a mother is very important for the baby and helps the most to build up the immune system. It contains immunoglobulin A, which enhances the immunity.
  • Breast milk helps in minimizing the risk of diseases: if a baby is exclusively breastfed, the chances of him/her being ill gets low. It gives the baby the strength he/she requires to stay healthy.
  • It reduces the risk of obesity: if you are exclusively breastfeeding the baby, it helps in reducing the risk of childhood obesity and helps in gaining weight healthily.

For mothers:

  • Breastfeeding can help you reduce weight: every mother puts on weight during pregnancy. Many studies have proven that breastfeeding helps you shed the extra weight off your body. For the initial 3 months, mothers who breastfeed may lose weight as compared to the mothers who don’t breastfeed.
  • Breastfeeding stimulates the contraction of the uterus: during pregnancy, the uterus expands a lot and post-delivery it goes through a process known as involution, which assists in returning the uterus to its normal size. It happens due to a hormone Oxytocin released during the pregnancy. The mothers who breastfeed have faster uterus contraction.
  • Breastfeeding lowers the risk of post-partum depression: many mothers suffer from post-partum depression which occurs shortly after delivery. Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of suffering from this condition.
  • Breastfeeding prevents you against diseases: breastfeeding can save you against deadly disease like breast & ovarian cancer.
  • Breastfeeding helps restrict menstruation: it provides a halt to ovulation process for some time thus preventing you from menstruating. This acts as a natural birth control.

Breastfeeding is nothing but the love you can give to your baby. Don’t hesitate or restrict yourself from loving your baby. The other name for breastfeeding is surely LOVE.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (a medical communication company) support and encourages exclusive breastfeeding to newborns in their first six months.

‘Feedbacks’ – Key to Improvement

HR,

 

“Feedback is the key to improvement.”

I wish giving feedback was as easy as it is to write down these words. But, why? Why is it that feedbacks are so feared?

During my career, what I could figure out is that giving feedback is an ‘art’. A highly complicated art that involves an exchange of views, based on facts and figures, between the employee and the manager, smartly. Learning this art can help you become a better leader, become more self-aware, understand how others see you, look beyond your own biases.

One of the best ways to improve yourself in any area of life-is to ask for feedback. I strongly believe that “You don’t get better at anything unless you get feedback.”

However, we can always make feedback sharing creative. Following tips can be helpful to receive and give feedback more effectively:

Receiving Feedback

  • Listen to the feedback given
  • Be aware of your non-verbal responses
  • Be open and receptive to new ideas and different opinions
  • Make sure you understand what is being said to you, especially before responding to the feedback
  • Assess the value of the feedback and the consequences of using it or ignoring it, and then decide what you want to do. Your response is your choice
  • Follow up on feedback

Giving Feedback

  • Prioritize your ideas and understand their value.
  • Concentrate on the behavior, not the person.
  • Balance the content. by providing comments on specific strengths, to give reinforcement and identify things the recipient should keep doing, identify specific areas for improvement and ways to make changes. Conclude with a positive comment.
  • Be realistic. Feedback should focus on what can be changed.
  • Own the feedback. When offering evaluative comments, use the pronoun “I” rather than “they” or “one”, which would imply that your opinion is universally agreed on
  • Be timely. Being prompt is key because feedback loses its impact if it is delayed too long.
  • Offer continuing support. Feedback should be a continuous process, not a one-time event.

These tips will work best for more structured feedback sessions but are worth bearing in mind for less planned conversations too.

Constructive and relevant feedback can help an individual learn the existing knowledge gaps.

At Turacoz we believe that effective feedback, both positive and negative, is very helpful and give benefits to the giver, the receiver, and the wider organization. Feedbacks are given and also taken. It helps in clarifying expectations, enable people learn from their mistakes and builds confidence We firmly believe that feedback is an essential part of training and personal development.

To know more about Turacoz Healthcare Solutions click here

 

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions workshop

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On 6th July 2018, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions organized an eventful and interactive workshop on “Best practices for Scientific Writing & Publications” in Canada. The workshop drew a gratifying response from diverse audiences and professionals.

The workshop was a synthesis of discussions, presentations and a one-on-one session on issues associated with creating an original research article, data sharing, publication writing, etc.

All sessions were highly interactive and informative. Dr. Namrata, Founder, Director & Trainer at Turacoz Healthcare Solutions went an extra mile to guide the participants on the technicalities of scientific & publication writing.

It is important for a research article to make the cut and at this workshop Dr. Namrata explained the ways one could accomplish this. The workshop also had career counselling sessions for aspiring medical writers along with the bilateral sessions, presentations & editing support for a drafted or rejected manuscript.

This workshop was a feat by Turacoz Healthcare Solutions to promote quality Medical/Scientific writing and Publication writing and to propel & steer endeavoring medical writers and researchers.

Health Economics and Outcome Research

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Health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) activities comprise of Pharmacoeconomics (PE) research and health technology assessment (HTA) activities. Health economics (HE) is applied to analyze the economic aspects of health and healthcare, with focus on the costs and consequences of healthcare interventions.

PE, a sub-discipline of HE, provides a comparative value assessment between two pharmaceutical products or treatment mix. Outcome research (OR) helps in evaluating the effect of healthcare interventions on patient-related clinical, humanistic, and economic outcomes.

Thus, HEOR is a discipline that helps the stakeholders to fully understand the product value and its potential in real-world clinical practice. In healthcare industry, the stakeholders and payer rely on HEOR to gain market access and remain competitive. For this, pharmaceutical and medical technology manufactures provide clinical development information (i.e. efficacy, safety and quality) and economic evidences to guide decision makers regarding patient access to specific drugs and services. These evidences help in determining whether the treatment is effective in the populations they serve.

Sources of HEOR Evidence

To generate outcomes to monitor and evaluate healthcare services, we need to collect evidences from different sources which can be further used for decision-making processes. These evidences can be collected from different sources as shown in Figure 1:

Health Economics and Outcome Research 2

Figure 1: Sources of health economics and outcome research (HEOR) evidence

Need of HEOR Evidences

The HEOR evidences are helpful in identifying unmet needs and addressing evidence gaps. The real-world data can be used to determine primary randomized control trial (RCT) endpoints (e.g. laboratory test results) which is considered as the most relevant clinical outcomes for physicians and healthcare decision makers. These evidences also help in promoting the patient-centered research and helps in developing and evaluating the cost containment strategies.

Tools for HEOR

There are several approaches which can be applied to the collected evidences through which a meaningful outcome can be achieved. Below are some tools which are used to analyze data.

  • Exploratory Data Assessment
  • Epidemiology study
  • Cost-benefit Analysis (CBA)
  • Cost of Illness Analysis
  • Budget Impact Model (BIM)
  • Cost-effectiveness Analysis (CEA)
  • Satisfaction Assessment
  • HRQL Analysis
  • Assessment of Analysis Compliance and Persistence
  • Market Assessment
  • Pricing Strategy

Types of Outcomes

Generally, the outcomes are of three types namely, clinical outcomes, economic outcomes and humanistic outcomes.

Health Economics and Outcome Research-2Today there is increased emphasis on HEOR activities due to the growing power of payers in the healthcare decision-making. This has led to HEOR professionals covering all aspects of drug development to ensure they have the right data and analysis. This growing importance of HEOR is reflected in the phenomenal increase in the field-based HEOR professionals employed by the pharma companies.

Turacoz Healthcare Solution (THS) aim to deliver the best quality and guideline compliant documents to the pharma and different sectors of healthcare industry. We are dedicated in providing scientific/medical writing support to the industry and academia. With expertise in several clinical trial related documents like Investigator Brochures (IBs), Protocols, Clinical Study Reports (CSRs) Prescribing Information (PI), and Common Technical Documents (CTDs). We also provide services for health economics and outcome research.

Maintaining Work-Life Balance for Healthy and Fulfilling Life

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People have argued about the concept of “Work-Life Balance” for decades and it implies something distinctive to everybody. Some might think that the balance is achieved when they can leave work early enough to eat dinner with family. While others might view it as having a flexible schedule, so that they can incorporate their other interests along with work like studying part-time. Yet some others might feel fulfilled spending their “free” time progressing their career.

‘Work-life balance’ is the term used to describe the balance that an individual need between time allocated for work and other aspects of life. The saying goes that ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’.

Achieving Optimal Work-Life Balance

It can be challenging to attain a great work-life balance, particularly when organizations downsize, and individuals are anticipated to take on additional assignments, or when your obligations at domestic front conflict with those at work.

The methodologies underneath can assist you achieve a balance. A few of them may suit you way better than others, so choose the ones you think will work best for you.

Here are a few ways to improve your work-life balance:

1. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance, there is no ‘perfect’ balance.

When we hear “work-life balance,” we probably envision waking up early, going for work-out, getting meal, heading off to work, have lunch, come home early, cook dinner, and retiring to bed by 9 PM with a nice book and going off to sleep by 10 PM. however, that’s often not the case.

Trying to schedule equal number of hours for work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and ought to be more fluid than that. We should not strive for the perfect schedule but, for a realistic one. Some days, you might focus more on work, while other days you might have more time and energy to pursue your hobbies or relax with your loved ones. Balance is achieved over time and not every day.

2. Be productive at work

The more productive and efficient you are at work, the simpler it is for you to go home at a sensible time.

Make sure you like your job. If you hate what you are doing, you aren’t going to be happy and content. You don’t have to love every aspect of your work, but it needs to be exciting enough that you don’t fear getting out of bed every single morning.

3. Prioritize your health.

Prioritizing your health, will make you a better employee and individual in true sense. Your overall wellbeing should be your fundamental concern. In the event you’ve been struggling with anxiety or depression and you think any treatment would benefit you, fit those sessions into your schedule, even if you need to leave work early or take time off from other activities.

4. Flexibility

Flexibility plays a vital role in maintaining a good work-life balance. Research has shown that people who believe they have flexible jobs look more favorably on their work-life balance than those with the same workload but with no perceived flexibility. It also found that team members who think their jobs are flexible do longer hours before their workload has a negative effect on them.

Another research came to similar conclusions: you are more likely to stay and feel satisfied in your job if you have access to flexible working arrangements.

Ask your boss to permit more flexibility in your schedule. Perhaps, you could work from home occasionally, come in and leave early, or have some flexibility with your working hours. Job sharing, when two people split the responsibilities of one role, is another well-known option.

5. Finding time for yourself

Work-life balance means having time for yourself as well. While your work is important, it shouldn’t be your whole life. You should prioritize work, activities or hobbies that make you happy.

The people and the work that you love deserve your best, and you can only give it when you stay healthy and look after yourself.

To bring more balance in your life, review how you spend your time, identify and eliminate low-value tasks and try to put more efforts on activities that you believe will make difference. Be flexible and add flexibility to your schedule. Discover the reason and fulfillment in whatever work you do.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions understands the significance and importance of maintaining a perfect work-life balance and supports its each employee to ensure that they stay stress-free and enjoy their work without their personal lives being hampered. We also urge every working individual to take charge in achieving the same. Let us all pledge to bring in the perfect blend of personal and professional life.

Medical Writer for Medical Device Industry: Evolving Indispensable Role

White Papers

The medical device industry is undergoing a surge in growth, with new products being developed and
introduced into the market to meet the ever evolving, unmet needs of this industry. The medical writer
in this industry performs a key role in facilitating this process. The key function of the medical writer is to
analyze and present clinical and product specific data into accurate and regulatory compliant documents
using standardized templates, and facilitate submission to the concerned regulatory authorities as part
of the marketing application.

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Desktop Yoga: Don’t just sit there! Start Yoga

Awareness Day/Month, ,

 

With the years passing, International Yoga Day, has received super positive response from people from all walks of life.
Yoga, introduced to the world by India, was developed in ancient India. Current Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi actively performs Yoga and encourages people to take it up. Each year on International Yoga Day, he performs Yoga himself amongst thousands of Indian citizens.

With our lives getting increasingly busy, we hardly find time to devote to our health which leads to increasing health issues. Yoga helps us to relax and rejuvenate and improve our health in the long run.

Current lifestyle of corporate personnels forces everyone to be at their desk for 8-12 hours a day. This sedentary lifestyle among office-goers takes a huge toll on the respective physical health.

How our bodies get affected?
Constantly glaring at the computer screens while sitting might seem normal but alas! For our bodies it is different. Being a couch potato doesn’t help at all. By constantly being seated in the office chair or couch:

  • Our risk of getting a heart disease increases by 64%.
  • We can become prone to specific types of cancer.
  • We are technically wasting 7 precious years of your life.

So, in simple words, sitting is bumping us off.

What must be done?
Not going to office is not the solution. Then what? If we go to office, we need to sit. But worry not, Turacoz Healthcare Solutions lists out a logical and practical way to help you cope with the issue.

While we cannot convert your office seat to a gym, we can do something light yet effective for our body to keep it healthy. Let us all benefit from “DESKTOP YOGA”.

What is DESKTOP YOGA?
Desktop Yoga is simply a string of easy-to-perform exercises based on traditional yoga and are crafted particularly for the community of working people.

These exercises not only helps our body to relax but also re-energizes us helping us to focus better. It’s also appropriate for people who don’t want to put in much effort and exercise. We can perform desktop yoga easily while sitting on your office chair and ensure towards minimizing your stress.

Desktop yoga spots the muscles that are usually affected while we sit for prolonged hours. It is body part specific, so it is up to us in terms of duration in which we want to practice it.

We, at Turacoz HealthCare Solutions practice Desktop Yoga and aim to spread awareness regarding it thus promoting its practice. For us, the well-being of our employees is of primary concern and we sincerely believe that only a fit and healthy employee can perform at his true and best potential.

The following images depicts the different steps and types of “DESKTOP YOGA”

Desktop yoga

Along with performing these basic exercises, we must also follow few basic but golden tips to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally:

  • Must eat healthy food, avoid junk
  • Avoid sitting in one position for too long. We must stand up and take a walk and stretch our body at regular intervals
  • Avoid looking at the screen for elongated hours, must blink frequently to keep our eyes moist.
  • Avoid stress as much as possible and take interest in various hobbies
  • Practice meditation and
  • Stay positive and happy

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions wishes everyone a very happy International Yoga Day and urges all to opt for a healthy and happy lifestyle. STAY FIT, STAY HIT.

Transparency in Scholarly Publishing

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A research publication is considered as the highest-level medium of dissemination of research findings. Scholarly publications play an important role in disseminating findings, thoughts, and analysis to the scientific, academic, and lay communities. Transparency is an ethic that strengthens the credibility and integrity of research work as well as bonding among the scholarly communities. Due to frequent questioning on research credibility, pressure for open access by governments, and high incidences of research frauds, it has become important to form and follow the principles of transparency.

Principles of Transparency

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) together have structured the principles of transparency, discuss all aspects of publication ethics and formulate the best practices to overcome any issue in this regard. The various principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing are described as under:

These principle also help in differentiating the legitimate journals and publishers from the non-legitimate ones.

As per transparency, the scholars should give an access to the research data and methods employed for deriving the conclusion. The data production methods should be shared in a much wider platform. If scholar’s research is based on another researcher’s data, he or she should always cite their data clearly. The rules of data confidentiality, wherever applicable should be followed ethically.

Both the perspectives of transparency, viz. transparency in policy context and transparency in research process should be followed to make the scholarly publishing stronger and more reliable.

Publication plan carrying complete information about all types of publications or articles to be formed from the research or clinical studies also contributes towards ethical practice. A proper and firm publication planning can help researchers follow appropriate publishing practices, in time publication of research and hence, increased transparency.

Turacoz Healthcare Solutions (THS) provides end-to-end medical publication writing support including scholarly or academic publication, research publication, manuscripts, slide deck as well as regulatory writing support for clinical trials which includes Prescribing Information (PI), Investigator Brochures (IBs), Protocols, Clinical Study Reports (CSRs), Clinical Evaluation Reposts (CERs) and Common Technical Documents (CTDs). Our documents are guideline compliant and are as per the current pharma and the healthcare standards. We aim to extend our services to different domains of the industry around the globe.

Chitkara University and Turacoz Healthcare Solutions Pvt. Ltd.: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Centre of Excellence

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On May 2018, Turacoz Skill Development Program (TSDP), a wing of Turacoz Healthcare Solutions signed a MoU with Chitkara University, Punjab, India for initiating training centers for pharma and life sciences freshers and train them as per the industry standards. The trainings would cover the requirements in different industries like medical communication companies, healthcare KPO/BPOs, journals, hospitals, pharma industry, healthcare event management companies, universities/colleges, etc. Turacoz Skill Development Program would run a Centre of Excellence within the University campus and provide paid internship to the students. It would also conduct faculty development programs and organize free seminars within the university premises

Turacoz Conducted a Workshop in 1mg, Gurugram (India)

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Turacoz conducted a workshop on “Literature Search and Lifecycle of a Manuscript” in 1mg Technologies, Gurugram on 10th April 2018. The workshop was conducted by Dr Namrata Singh, Director and Vasudha, Lead Medical Writer of Turacoz. The sessions focused on types of publications, lifecycle of a manuscript, structure of a manuscript, and literature search. The participants really liked the workshop and had great interactions with the trainers.