Category Archives: Health information

DTC Marketing trends

Posted on October 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

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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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

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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

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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

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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”
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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

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Health care professionals cannot stay out of the conversation anymore

Posted on June 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you watched media reports this week on some of the data coming out of ASCO you would think that we are winning the war against cancer and that soon treatment will be readily available for a whole range of cancers.  This is just not true and but this shallow reporting is now standard for the news industry and is leading to a lot of patient confusion.  Health care professionals cannot sit on the sideline any longer they have to get involved by helping patients sort through the hype and the reality.  It is quickly becoming more of a necessity than a luxury. Continue reading →

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Exemestane cuts breast cancer by 65% (But what is the whole story ?)

Posted on June 5, 2011 | 1 Comment

With new hope for millions of women considered at high risk of developing breast cancer. researchers in chicago announced today that a drug used to prevent recurrents of the disease has now been shown to prevent breast cancer in the first place. Researchers say exemestane cut the risk of developing breast cancer among that high-risk population by more than half. A major study of the drug involved more than 4500 women who were all were postmenopausal and had at least one risk factor from family history to a prior breast abnormality. In addition to cutting the risk of breast cancer, researchers say it does not appear to have serious side effects associated with other drugs like tamoxifen.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information, in the news

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Oncologists to patients: Don’t ask us a question unless you are ready to hear the truth

Posted on June 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you haven’t watched “How to Die In Oregon” on HBO yet I highly recommend you do as soon as possible.  The documentary is essentially about the right of terminal patients to die with dignity on their own term rather than waste away in pain and with loss of body functions.  In the documentary a patient who is meeting with her Oncologist is told “don’t ask me a question unless you are ready to hear the truth”.   This resonated with me because during some research with Oncologists almist 5 years ago we heard the same thing and surprisingly they said “patients want to know the truth more today than ever”. Continue reading →

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There is no consensus on a definition of value in healthcare

Posted on May 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

According to a new report from Quintiles “There is no consensus on a definition of value in healthcare. Stakeholders have internalized the concept of value in very different ways, with biopharma executives as the only group in which a majority includes outcomes as part of their definition. for patients and physicians, the process (quality of care) appears to matter as much as the outcome when it comes to value, although nearly one-third of patients do not feel they can define value.” This is indicative of the clear disconnect between pleasing investors and the Street and patients. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information, Trends in consumer healthcare marketing

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Serious illness not enough to get patients to change lifestyle

Posted on May 23, 2011 | 1 Comment

After a serious illness, lifestyle changes often have the potential to dramatically improve a person’s overall health and quality of life. In fact, lifestyle factors such as smoking, diet and physical activity strongly influence how rapidly many diseases will progress.  Amazingly, people who have already suffered heart trouble, diabetes or other lifestyle-related illnesses —people who intimately know the consequences of their behaviors — often have an especially hard time turning things around.  At least 40% of smokers who survive a heart attack are still puffing away a year later. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

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