When equal measures of good and bad events, regardless of size, are present in our lives the psychological effects of the bad events outweigh the good. Ian McGarry discusses how to look on the bright side of life to improve management skills.

There has been a lot written about the industry’s apparent move to Key Account Management and its impact on call rates and targeting. David Round provides a welcome break from the rhetoric and concentrates instead on the facts.

Discounts, rebates and patient access schemes are increasingly prevalent features of the NHS drug purchasing landscape. In the latest of his Matrix Revolutions articles, Omar Ali looks at the implications for pharma of the new cut-price culture.

As the reforms continue to gather pace, Thoreya Swage outlines the schedule for the introduction of Any Qualified Providers and what they’ll need to do to be selected by the DH.

As his working day finally comes to an end in part IV of his diary, Omar Ali discusses the new methods pharma needs to use to interact with its customers and how to ensure formulary is gained for its products.

Information, and more importantly access to it, has been identified as being key to delivering better care, better outcomes and improved efficiencies in the NHS. Health informatics systems have a major role to play in making the transition towards an era of ‘shared decision-making’. But success will not be achieved by technology alone. Michael Thick looks at the journey ahead.

The hardest part of effecting meaningful change is not in the strategy, but in the execution. Tony Swift examines critical success factors in change management and how they can drive performance in pharma’s transformation towards a Key Account Management structure.

In Part III of his diary, Omar Ali discusses the significance of process mapping and the wide reaching influence of health technology assessments and regulatory bodies.

In the UK joint working is being encouraged to develop innovative services and propagate best practice. But in France, new legislation is placing significant barriers between pharma and its clients. Jérôme Guermonprez explains the implications for market access strategies in the country.

Despite the ongoing criticism of the Health Bill as it passes through the House of Lords, structural changes are still happening at ground level. Dr Thoreya Swage outlines the timescale for changes as PCT clusters switch responsibilities to CCGs.