Featured Blog Posts (364)

Pharma Brand Launches & Herding Cats

Thinking Pharma is delighted to Welcome it’s new SEVP of Thinking Pharma – Sally Church.

Dr Sally is an eminent Blogger and Marketeer. Sally’s own enterprise, Icarus Consultants, will continue as we complete the transition into Thinking Pharma in the mean time enjoy Sally’s Thoughtware.

“Anyone can herd cattle” is like saying, “Anyone can go through the motions of a… Continue

Added by Rebecca Caroe on August 11, 2009 at 10:13am — No Comments

Open Letter to President Obama in Support of Web 2.0, Social Media & Participation

Colleagues,

On the 70th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s letter to President Franklin Roosevelt encouraging attention to atomic technology and science, Ben Shneiderman, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, and several colleagues decided to offer a new version. The following is an open letter to President Barack Obama encouraging exploration of technology-mediated social… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on August 4, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

World Class Health Care at Walter Reed

Last fall I was asked by Maryland Senator Benjamin Cardin to join a group evaluating whether the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center [WRNMMC], when completed in a few years, would be “world class.” The group, a subcommittee of the Defense Health Board, met multiple times to learn about the plans and develop a report for Congress. The report is now available at http://www.health.mil/dhb/meetings/NCR%20BRAC%20HSAS%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf . Here is a brief summary. The Base… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on July 26, 2009 at 3:23pm — No Comments

West Coast “Venture” vs. East Coast “”Stimulation” … Time to Bridge the Gap?... Read on & Comment

Colleagues,

Is it time to think differently about the “Valley of Death” ? The gap in capital and talent that prevents so many companies from successfully translating their promising medical technology from research to mass market success?

I think so, and here is why

In the last month, we at MedTech-IQ have experienced a number of illuminating encounters. On the U.S. West Coast, we spoke to numerous venture capitalists, investors, corporate… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on July 18, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments

Latest Institute for e-Health Policy educational seminar on NHIN

The Institute, under the leadership of Neal Neuberger, hosted an education luncheon titled "Progress Toward A Nationwide Health Information Network: Linking Agency-Held Data Now – Providing Patients With Secure Access to Their Government-Held Personal Health Information Next". Vish Sankaran and David Riley of Federal Health Architecture and the CONNECT project, Jim Traficant of Harris Corporation, and Denny Porter, Exec in Residence at the Institute spoke at the event. See an archived webcast… Continue

Added by Reginald Wayne Humphries on August 1, 2009 at 8:09pm — No Comments

Guest Blog: Do 297 hospitals really use social media? Should you?

Colleagues,

Interesting guest blog from Roberta Rochman, RN, MBA in Examiner.Com on the spreading use of Health 2.0 tools by top flight medical institutions such as Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic and Duke University...

ENJOY!

CC

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Yes, indeed, 297 hospitals use some form of Social… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on August 8, 2009 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Friendship Strained ???

Apple and Google are much alike. There is a natural kinship, with very similar corporate cultures. But ... something of late has been changing. Recent events suggest a major rift may be developing, with a "touch" of national politics being injected into the mix. PC magazine reports on the latest.

Added by Clymer/JR on August 5, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Top 100 Web Sites of 2009 (PC Mag.Com)

Colleagues,

As reported in PC Magazine .. Some things stay the same, others change rapidly. The PC Magazine list of the Top 100 Web Sites reflects that. They have selected 50 classic Web sites that many of us already know, and 50 new and/or undiscovered sites that you may not have heard of yet ...For your convenience the sites are broken down into categories: Applications, Information, Technology, News, Shopping and Fun.

They also provide a download application to add all… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on July 28, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

A visionary for the future of Pharma marketing? Or just slow progress

Jon Richman has done a fine column in Advertising Age about the future of digital marketing for pharma. He is drawn into five major predictions

1. Patients will have a portable network tool showing recommendations from trusted friends

2. Service companies who match patients with similar conditions to each other using opt-ins from electronic medical records

3. Pharma will abandon their own websites… Continue

Added by Rebecca Caroe on August 5, 2009 at 5:08am — No Comments

eHealth Initiative Releases Results From 2009 Survey on Health Information Exchange

National Health Information Exchange Survey Shows Increased Activity, Cost Savings, Positive Impact on Physician Practices

More Initiatives Exchanging Data Leads to New Improvements in Quality and Returns on Investment

WASHINGTON DC (July 22, 2009) The exchange of health information electronically between physicians, hospitals, health plans, and patients has increased substantially in the last year and is reducing the cost of care and positively impacting physicians, according… Continue

Added by Bari Shein on August 4, 2009 at 2:33pm — No Comments

World Class Health Care - A Medical Imperative

In appropriating funds for the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Congress determined that the military should receive only “world class healthcare” but did not define the meaning of the term. When the Health Systems Advisory panel of the Defense Health Board described in the previous blog was assembled, it decided that its first order of business was to establish a benchmark for world class. After much discussion, research and debate,… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on August 2, 2009 at 4:23pm — No Comments

Personal Behoviors and the Costs of Medical Care

A very important reason for medical care cost escalation has to do with our own personal behaviors. We are a country of people who are overweight --one-third are overweight and one-third or more are frankly obese --, under-exercised, poorly fed from a nutritional perspective and highly stressed. And it gets worse each year. Even children have progressively declining physical activity from about three hours per day at age nine to less than an hour by age fifteen. And this will correlate to… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on July 31, 2009 at 9:08am — No Comments

US Healthcare learnings from Cuba

Listening to President Obama’s recent speeches on healthcare reform it is clear that the US approach to healthcare requires a radical change in thinking.

The US is now spending over $2 trillion a year on healthcare – almost 50% more per person than the next most costly nation.

Americans are most definitely not getting “bang for their buck,” as the President himself puts it, and are… Continue

Added by Rebecca Caroe on July 29, 2009 at 12:25pm — No Comments

Lack of Care Coordination Hinders Care Quality and Escalates costs

The switch from acute to complex chronic diseases and the wide variation in care patterns are closely related. It is the complex chronic diseases that need the most attention and hence are most expensive to treat. But as a country we have long had the tradition of the independent, autonomous practioneer in the community taking care of us. This was fine for acute illnesses. The physician could either treat you him or herself or else would refer you to a particular specialist for needed care.… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on July 20, 2009 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Thinking Pharma Thoughtware: Pharma Social Media – Trouble in Grandstand

Ever watched two kids splitting hairs about something that they are actually both agreed upon and then mum arrives to sort things out and somewhat misses the point completely?

The principles inherent in a recent blog post interchange between Jonathan Richman, Fard Johnmar… Continue

Added by Rebecca Caroe on July 27, 2009 at 5:48am — 1 Comment

The Deportation of our Best and Brightest

The Deportation of our Best and Brightest

By Kelly Lewis

7/17/2009 - 12:21:58 PM

The annual Pennsylvania state budget extravaganza showcases the mega-recipients of state aid conducting their annual fear-mongering stunts, billboards and media blitzes. This year the cuts will be real and deep, but the extravaganza is like crying wolf after so many years of sky-is-falling, false crisis creation.

We do not advocate tax or fee increases. Instead we advocate a… Continue

Added by Kelly Lewis on July 19, 2009 at 11:48am — No Comments

America's Top 20 Hospitals: the 2009–10 Honor Roll (US New & World Report)

Colleagues,

As compiled each year by RTI International for the U.S. News and World Report, please see this year's top 20 ranked hospitals in the United States ... In this year's rankings a total of 4,861 hospitals were considered; hospitals were scored on reputation, death rate, patient safety, and care-related factors such as nursing and patient services; Johns Hopkins Hospital tops the list, as it has every year since 1991...

1 Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore

2… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on July 19, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

Manage Your Patent Resources Part 1: The Patent Prosecution Highway is Open

The Patent Prosecution Highway (“PPH”) is under development by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), along with several foreign patent offices, to combine resources and expedite allowance for willing and knowledgeable patent applicants. The PPH may be an ideal and cost-effective route to expedite allowance of qualifying applications, instead of utilizing the more-costly accelerated examination process.

The PPH is open between the US and Korea – traveling both ways… Continue

Added by Sandra Thompson, PhD on June 28, 2009 at 7:51pm — No Comments

Number of Physicians Using Smartphones More Than Doubled Over the Past Year.

Colleagues,

As reported in Health Leaders Media ... According to an April report by Manhattan Research, the number of physicians using smartphones more than doubled to 64% over the past year.

The results of the survey indicate that physicians ... are spending more time online using smartphones to access medical and pharmaceutical resources during the course of their busy day.

"It's rare for me to have an encounter—whether it's a phone visit, a virtual visit, or… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on July 13, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Use of Social Networking Tools Growing in Medical & Nursing Schools

Colleagues,

As reported in HealthCare IT News... Social networking tools are becoming more popular in medical and nursing school curricula, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association ... The study found that 53% of nursing schools and 45% of medical schools include Web 2.0 tools in their curricula. The survey also found that 58% of nursing schools plan to implement social networking tools in their curricula in the upcoming year, compared with… Continue

Added by CC-Conrad Clyburn-MedForeSight on July 13, 2009 at 10:10pm — No Comments