Category Archives: Health information

Is there an opportunity for mobile health apps ?

Posted on January 25, 2012 | Leave a comment

I keep hearing about how mobile is “set to explode” for brands and marketers but is this true for health ? The answer to that it depends if pharma can really deliver on the promise of mobile applications for health which means putting users first. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information, Mobile healthcare marketing & trends

Tagged MHealth, Mobile device

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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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged Health, Statin

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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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged Brand, Pharmaceutical marketing, Target audience

Side effects may cause some women to quit breast cancer drugs early

Posted on December 12, 2011 | 1 Comment

Some women stop taking their breast cancer drugs early, and a study reveals why: side effects from the medication may be more than they can bear. The study included 686 postmenopausal women who were taking aromatase inhibitors, which halt estrogen production in postmenopausal women whose cancer cells are fueled by the hormone, thus reducing the risk of the cancer returning. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information

Tagged Adverse effect, Aromatase inhibitor, Breast, Breast cancer, cancer, Feinberg School of Medicine, Hot flash, Pharmaceutical drug

Alzheimer’s Disease and Boomers fears

Posted on December 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Americans are equally afraid of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease as they are of getting Alzheimer’s disease themselves. Approximately one in two American adults (49%) are as afraid of taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease as they are of getting the disease themselves. Boomers biggest fear when growing old? Loosing their ability to think, reason and remember. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged Alzheimers

DTC Marketing trends

Posted on October 31, 2011 | 1 Comment

Great report on Pharmaceutical marketing via Ad Age Insights. There is no doubt that marketing is changing and evolving but the real question can DTC marketing change and evolve as well ? Read on for some great insight charts. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information

Tagged DTC Marketing 101

Is this medicine or confusion ?

Posted on October 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you ever wondered why so many people are going online for health information look no further than a couple of stories last week in the news. The first story revolves around the current argument around prostate cancer screening and PSA tests the second involves a physician who is using his own spinal medical device on patients and charging a hefty fee. Both stories are confusing patients but more importantly they send a message that maybe they have to rely more on themselves for health decisions and that could lead to trouble. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged cancer, Food and Drug Administration, Medical device, Prostate, Prostate cancer, Prostate-specific antigen, Spinal fusion, The Wall Street Journal

As consumers age there is a shift to health & wellness

Posted on September 15, 2011 | 4 Comments

Chadwick Martin Bailey has released a study called “A consumer perspective on health & wellness” and it has some great information for healthcare marketers. Among the key takeaways is that as consumers age health and wellness becomes more important and websites are a key reference for consumers today. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged Chadwick Martin Bailey, Consumer, Health, Health care, IBM, Marketing, Patient, WellPoint

Fear & ignorance that could cost lives

Posted on September 13, 2011 | 1 Comment

In 2007 (the most recent year numbers are available)—

12,280 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer.*²
4,021 women in the United States died from cervical cancer.*²

To me that is 4,021 women too many who died and 12,280 too many women who were diagnosed. Last night, carrying the mantle of fear and ignorance that are hallmarks of anti-vaccine activists, Michele Bachmann denounced Texas Governor Rick Perry for mandating vaccines for schoolgirls, starting in the sixth grade, against the human papillomavirus. Later Ms. Bachmann ventured deeper into scientific illiteracy, telling Fox News that a woman had approached her after the debate and told her that she had a daughter who had “suffered mental retardation as a result of that vaccine. How many women need to die unnecessarily before someone is held accountable for false information ? Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information

Tagged Andrew Wakefield, cancer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cervical cancer, Human papillomavirus, Michele Bachmann, United States, Vaccine

Web MD troubles starting to surface

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 2 Comments

Earlier this year a client called me to ask my view on a Web MD proposal he received. The cost of sponsoring a page, although they called it a minisite, within Web MD was well into the six figure range and throughout the proposal the only thing that Web MD talked about were it’s numbers. Well Web MD is not the top online health site anymore and investors are suing the company because they say “CEO Wayne Gattinella knew Big Pharma companies were pulling back on their plans to advertise on his site and magazine but let investors think they were in for a rosy year”
Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information

Tagged Business, California, Dissociative identity disorder, Health, Health informatics, Health insurance, Insurance, MarketWatch, New York City, Social media, United States, Wayne Gattinella, WebMD

This is what physicians should be talking to their patients about online

Posted on June 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

Hey doc what the hell does all this mean to me ? When a bunch of new health information comes out that is what physicians usually hear but with less patients coming into see their doctor it’s time for HCP’s to take the message online. Sure, I know about the “risks” of online conversations but I am talking about taking a step back and helping patients sort through all the conflicting media reports on health information. Here is a list of some of the things that physicians should be blogging about to their customers. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

Tagged HCP Blogging