Category Archives: Focus on patients

Does being an empowered patient mean being a bad patient ?

Posted on April 23, 2012 | 1 Comment

I’m reading a couple of books on being an empowered patient and I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the content.  It seems that the author of one books wants patients to question everything because physicians play favorites and don’t tell you everything. Others wants patients to stop making mistakes because one study showed that doctors interrupted their patients an average of eighteen seconds into an appointment. Continue reading →

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Is the future of diabetes about better insulin delivery systems ?

Posted on March 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

Last summer I worked with a client on some market research with Type 1 diabetics and the way they take their insulin.  One key learning was that type 1 diabetics do not like being lumped in with type 2 diabetics and they are all looking towards each other for tips on how to live with diabetes and still remain active.  In other words “how can I live the life I want without having to give up the things I love to do?”

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Women Boomers: Let me do some online research before I fill that Rx

Posted on March 15, 2012 | 4 Comments

44% of women research prescribed drugs using multiple sources before filling a script, a survey found, suggesting that marketing efforts targeting Boomer women, in particular, must focus less on brand awareness and more on the post-script conversation. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Prescription drug DTC marketing

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Memory loss and statins

Posted on February 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Cognitive (brain-related) impairment, such as memory loss, forgetfulness and confusion, has been reported by some statin users and people being treated with statins may have an increased risk of raised blood sugar levels and the development of Type 2 diabetes. Now there are more reasons for patients to be worried about taking statins. Continue reading →

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Should doctors treat towards health rather than the disease ?

Posted on February 23, 2012 | 2 Comments

According to Fortune magazine “A noted USC oncologist and one of Steve Jobs’ doctors has written a book that turns much of what we thought we knew about medicine upside down.”  He suggests that curing cancer starts with preventing cancer and says “that if you keep the soil healthy the bad seed won’t grow”. Continue reading →

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Breast cancer: So far but we still have a long long way to go

Posted on February 7, 2012 | 2 Comments

There comes a time when we have to put politics and business aside and look at the reason the drug industry has so much more to do.  Today two very courageous women lost their fight against breast cancer.  I didn’t know them personally yet I find tears coming down my face as I read about their struggle’s with breast cancer.   Continue reading →

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Pradaxa: Case study on DTC marketing moratorium ?

Posted on January 16, 2012 | 2 Comments

In the first quarter of 2011, the FDA received 40,151 domestic reports of serious, disabling or fatal injury associated with drug therapy. The total represented a 3% increase over the previous calendar quarter, and a 19.5% increase over the first quarter of 2010.   Continue reading →

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Posted in FDA, Focus on patients

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Not another study on a medication that I take !?

Posted on January 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

How much worse can it get for consumers and their healthcare ?  Now a report says that statins increase the risk of developing diabetes in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published in Archives of Internal Medicine. The study provides more evidence and details about the previously reported link between statins and the development of diabetes.  More confusion for patients to work through. Continue reading →

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Drug shortages turn ADHD drugs into valuable product

Posted on January 9, 2012 | 2 Comments

Not too long ago there were a lot of people who said that ADHD drugs were overprescribed. They feel that there are a variety of reasons [ADHD drugs are overprescribed]: Parents are desperate for a fix, drug companies have done an incredible job marketing the drugs as a panacea, and culture has pathologized boyhood, making more people believe something is wrong with their son. But now, with a shortage of these drugs, people are asking “where can I purchase these drugs ?” Continue reading →

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Some medication safety tips

Posted on January 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unintentional prescription drug overdoses have risen steadily since the 1970’s. This statistic magnifies the importance of proper medication use education. Continue reading →

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Content is king but does the drug industry understand that ?

Posted on January 2, 2012 | 3 Comments

When was the last time you though of a pharma brand as an expert or authority on a health condition ?  Chances are it’s been a long time.  One brand, Lipitor, comes to mind when I think of cholesterol but other brands have not made that emotional content connection to be thought of as an authority on health conditions they treat. Continue reading →

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