April 26th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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They’re here: Creeping researchers who see the opportunity that’s social media. Publications, position papers, professional guidelines and policies on social media are appearing faster than you can say ‘ARA grant opportunity.’ A simple search will show that some of these authors have little more than a token feel of what its like to be a doctor in the social space. And they’ve got just enough of a footprint to fool the editors. “They’ve actually got a Twitter account. They must know what they’re talking about.”
The next time you see a policy or a guideline coming from a society or medical professional organization, deep search its authors. Look to see if they have the experience and social scars to guide you as a professional. If you’re a professional society or journal, be sure to do the same. Thoroughly vetting the social media experience of authors should be part of peer review when it comes to medical research and policy generation in social media. Otherwise expect those who have never experienced social media to position themselves as the new voice of authority. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
April 13th, 2011 by Linda Burke-Galloway, M.D. in News, Opinion
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This post is written as a follow-up to The Hijacking of Pregnant Women.
It is said that sometimes you have to rock the boat in order to shift the course of progress. Well today pregnant women have reason to celebrate. The winds of change are apparent.
Bowing under pressure, K-V Pharmaceutical Company reduced the price of Makena from $1500 to $690. Makena is the trade name for hydroxyprogesterone caproate or 17OHP. It is a drug recently approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce premature deliveries before 37 weeks if it is given before 21 weeks gestation. It has been used for years as an off-label drug and costs approximately $10 to $20 to make by compound pharmacists. When the FDA gave K-V an exclusive right to manufacture the drug, their integrity flew out the window. The pricing strategy of K-V is a case study of corporate greed. Most drug companies will use the “research and development” logic to explain their rationale for marking up the cost of a drug. In the case of Makena, that excuse is valid. The research and development of Makena had already been done by Squibb Pharmaceuticals who had sold the drug for years. Is it any wonder why U.S. citizens will cross geographic borders and purchase drugs from their Canadian and Mexican neighbors?
Kudos are in order to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) who took the lead in questioning K‑V’s pricing strategies. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Linda Burke-Galloway*
April 11th, 2011 by Michael Craig Miller, M.D. in Better Health Network
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As many who were children before the era of cell phones will remember, contacting a friend by phone often involved mastering at least the following script: “Hi, Mrs. Doe. Is Johnny home?” Not so today, in the world of cell phones, texting, email, Facebook, and Twitter.
If you are a parent and don’t use or understand the new technologies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has just issued a guideline saying that you probably should. More than half of teens connect to a social media site at least daily. Three-quarters have cell phones that they can use for social networking as well as texting. In a guideline published in March, the AAP makes the important (if obvious) point that today’s children are growing up on the Internet. Since children and adolescents now spend a great deal of time there, parents have good reasons to know what the place is like. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*
April 11th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Medblogger Shout Outs, Research
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It seems for many doctors Twitter activity is an outpost connected to some other online place. 48% of physicians on Twitter link to their blog according to Katherine Chretien’s recent study published in JAMA. Doctors apparently understand that different types of information flow better in different channels.
If you had asked me I would have estimated that this Twitter-blog association was much lower. Of course I like to believe that I understand the social doctor better than I actually do. And this is why we need original research like Katherine Chretien’s.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
April 5th, 2011 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Humor, Opinion
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No, not the shoes. The British TV series.
Martin is surgeon, whose glittering career comes crashing down around him when he develops a phobia which prevents him conducting operations. He makes a life changing decision to retrain as a GP, and applies for a vacant post in the sleepy Cornish hamlet of Portwenn, where he spent childhood holidays.
Doc Martin is as grumpy, short-tempered and brilliant as House, and while he has no cadre of residents to torture, he does have a town full of varied and wonderful characters to annoy him. And of course, there’s a love interest.
We’ve barely started watching, and already there have been these memorable lines –
Patient – Am I your first official patient?
Doc Martin – You are indeed. Collect a thousand loyalty points and you get a free coffin. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog That Ate Manhattan*
