By David Woods ([email protected]) While the Golden Age of the pharmaceutical industry is over, and its reputation similar to that of the tobacco and oil industries, there is hope at hand – according to former Merck CEO Roy Vagelos. In a keynote address to the third annual meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication…
By Mary Gabb ([email protected]) Nowadays, healthcare is hotly debated, and not just for US presidential candidates. Virtually every western country is now grappling with the challenge of how to pay for healthcare for its citizens. The US has garnered much attention in this debate, as it is the only western country that does not have…
By Ruth Whittington ([email protected]) The World Healthcare Congress, held March 10 – 13 in Berlin, always provides interesting insights on the ways governments, clinicians, and healthcare providers perceive healthcare delivery. In the same congress last year, held in Barcelona, two themes dominated the presentations and networking discussions. The first was the concept of an electronic…
By David Woods ([email protected]) The pharmaceutical industry is too often blamed for the stratospheric costs of healthcare — particularly in the United States. Yet, according to a series of surveys conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health, pharmaceutical products account for only about 10% of the total…
By Mary Gabb ([email protected]) With all of the recent news about job cuts or outsourcing in the pharmaceutical industry, health economists maybe worried about their own employment, as the downturn in Big Pharma will have ripple effects in many other healthcare-related industries. However, a forced job loss can also be an opportunity to pursue a…
By David Woods ([email protected]) With this the 26th issue of HOC, we are well overdue in featuring our energetic, globetrotting CEO of Rx Communications, Ruth Whittington. I can say this with only a minor fear of being labeled a sycophant or worse, but Ruth is a model boss: knowledgeable, hard-working, and above all nurturing and…
By David Woods ([email protected]) There has been much written lately about the perceived failings of the FDA. The Wall Street Journal claims that “the place is a mess,” and a physician who served in the FDA from 1979 to 1994 commented in a letter to the New York Times: “the agency’s most significant problems are…
By Mary Gabb ([email protected]) As health economics plays a more prominent role in medical research and public policy, participation in panel discussions – either in front of a live audience or behind closed doors – is becoming part of the job description. Done well, panel discussions can provide important insights into a topic and can…
By David Woods ([email protected]) Dr. Patti Peeples: what a perfect name for the subject of HOC people! She tells me that the origin of the name is from Peebles, in Scotland. Patti founded a website, www.healtheconomics.com, 16 years ago; and that made her one of the early adopters of the Internet. Today, she says, it’s…
By David Woods ([email protected]) The Wall Street Journal published an editorial last month titled “The Lancet’s Political Hit.” It described how that venerable medical journal had published a study exaggerating the number of casualties (by an estimated tenfold) in the Iraq war. It turned out that the study was funded by billionaire George Soros, a…