While economics is the main ingredient in most healthcare decisions today, health economics still has many pharmacologists, clinicians, physicians and marketing personnel left confused and appalled that quality of life is equated with money. This is primarily because the audience is fearful of the sheer science behind health economics. And so the need to understand…
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By Robert Hand ([email protected]) For those interested in entering or advancing in the field of health economics and outcomes research, and for those looking for newly-minted researchers to employ, it would help to know where training for the field is available. An online search, by no means exhaustive, turned up quite a variety of schools,…
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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…
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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…
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The pharmaceutical industry faces the major issue of top selling drugs losing their patent protection, allowing generic products to replace them at much lower prices.
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By Julie Stauffer ([email protected]) The media can be a powerful vehicle for raising your profile, getting your message out and gaining credibility, but not everyone feels comfortable confronting a reporter’s microphone. If the mere thought makes your palms sweat, take heart. The following tips will help you stay calm and in control during your next…
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Recent reports in the Wall Street Journal and The Economist describe an imminent seismic shift in business models for pharmaceutical companies, as current blockbuster drugs are set to go off-patent and a rapidly dwindling pipeline of new drugs are under development or are being reviewed for approval.
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By Mary Gabb ([email protected]) A frequently overlooked professional skill – especially among scientists – is public speaking, yet the inability to effectively communicate your work can place significant roadblocks in your career. Here are some ways to remove those blocks: Be prepared. It is your responsibility as a speaker to ensure that all of the…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) A pair of economists, Charles Jones of the University of California at Berkeley and Robert Hall of Stanford University, predict that the share of income devoted to healthcare in the US will almost double to 30% by 2050. While some of that increase has to do with an aging population and…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) Call them Sermoans, Sermophiles, or just plain members, the 32,000 physicians enrolled in Sermo could be changing the way that pharmaceutical companies interact with healthcare professionals. Certainly Pfizer thinks so. Having laid off 20% of its US and European sales teams last year, it recently linked up with Sermo – an…
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