What Does Our Healthcare System Look Like?: Decoding Your Medical Bills
Some creative designers would like your opinion on how they see healthcare: To see a full copy of their graphic, please click here.
Is good pharmaceutical marketing possible?
14 years ago (on August 8, 1997, no less), the FDA issued guidelines that allowed for drug manufacturers to advertise. As the NY Times reported that day, Michael Friedman (then FDA’s lead deputy commissioner) had this is to say about the reason for the guidelines: Today’s action can help promote greater consumer awareness about prescription … Continue reading
Is social media good for patient care?
Searching for healthcare information continues to play a key role for using the Internet. According to The Pew Internet Project and California HealthCare Foundation study, “Eight-in-ten internet users look online for health information, making it the third most popular online pursuit … following email and using a search engine.” However, while social media can help … Continue reading
Trust or not trust pharmaceuticals — is there a place for branded marketing?
To paraphrase Hamlet — to trust or not trust pharmaceuticals, that is the question. A recent study shows that use of pharmaceutical branded websites are on the rise, based on web activity from January 2010 to January 2011 as measured by comScore and as illustrated below: Moreover, comScore “found that visitation to a branded website … Continue reading
When should patients not follow the advice of their doctors?
Question — When should patients not follow the advice of their doctors? Answer — Most of the time. Or, at least, that’s what the recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine seems to have found. As Dr Timothy Quill, author of an accompanying editorial in the journal, says: It’s a pretty clear message: There’s a discrepancy … Continue reading
What can make health insurers back down from a fight?
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has just launched a major multimedia campaign in an attempt to improve its image. In its website, BCBS portrays goats and asks us to choose a scape goat for rising healthcare costs: The attempt by BCBS of North Carolina to shore up its reputation comes at an interesting … Continue reading
Is the US healthcare system too litigious or too careless?
In a recent study published in Health Affairs, researchers at the University of Utah and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement found that errors “occurred in one-third of hospital admissions”. Moreover, they “found at least ten times more confirmed, serious events than … other methods.” Commenting on this study, Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Susan Dentzer said: Without doubt, we’ve seen … Continue reading
Are doctors the forgotten factor in improving patient adherence?
Doctors almost seem to be the forgotten player in the healthcare system — perhaps it’s because of the perception that doctors are just pawns of the pharmaceutical industry. For example, there has been a steady stream of news about doctors refusing to see pharmaceutical sales reps and cutting financial ties with pharmaceuticals. Or, perhaps it’s … Continue reading
Can a Patient Adherence Program be Self-Funded?
According to the report “Ensuring Profitable Patient Adherence Programs: Using Analytics and Metrics to Improve the Bottom Line”, pharmaceutical companies spend nearly 97% of their marketing budget to capture initial market share. This means that 3% of their marketing budget is devoted to on-going efforts, like patient adherence. As the report’s author, Dr Andree Bates, … Continue reading
Reminders for patients to take their medications are not enough
The most common opinion of patients who don’t take their medications is they’re forgetful and need reminders. This may be true of some people, but many choose not to take their medication. In a very illuminating study recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, “Effects of Benefits and Harms on Older Persons’ Willingness to … Continue reading
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