By Clare Gurton ([email protected]) A sentence should not only make sense but should also be capable of standing alone as a complete unit; a good sentence will also have shape and form. Sentence length is important in any piece of writing. While there are no set rules for this, shorter sentences are better. If the…
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By Robert Hand ([email protected]) For a variety of reasons, pharmaceutical manufacturers often do not conduct head-to-head studies of their drugs versus the competition. On the other hand, head-to-head studies are the ultimate choice for people who have to make comparative assessments of drugs. In the absence of head-to-head studies, decision makers generally have to make…
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By Mary Gabb ([email protected]) The term “adherence” (or sometimes “compliance”) – the extent to which patients take their treatment as prescribed – has been understood to be a nagging clinical issue, but is now seen as a major cost driver in many therapeutic areas. A recent report from the National Council on Patient Information and…
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By Clare Gurton ([email protected]) When the Harvard Business Review published an article on emotional intelligence several years ago, it attracted a higher percentage of readers than any other article published in that periodical in the last 40 years – and the pace of growth continues. This year The First International Congress on Emotional Intelligence will…
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By Kevin Frick ([email protected]) As we provide and interpret pharmacoeconomic (PE) evaluation results for decision makers in different settings around the world, we should consider the standards being followed. And there are several of these: the ISPOR website presents a summary of international standards , grouping them into two broad categories: “PE guidelines” and “submission…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) US News and World Report calls him a patient safety guru; Modern Healthcare has repeatedly named him among the top 100 most powerful people in American healthcare; his curriculum vitae runs to more than 70 pages, of which one whole page is devoted to his multiple honours and awards. Dr. David…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) Weblogs, or Blogs, have been around for about a decade. Generally viewed as quirky or even anarchic, they may now be gaining a new respectability and power … as evidenced by their influence in bringing about the defeat in US elections of pro-Iraq-war Democrat, Joe Lieberman. Blogs are also playing a…
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By Clare Gurton ([email protected]) During a coffee-break at a recent medical conference, I went outside and almost immediately became aware of the familiar sounds of swifts high above. As I looked up, a whole group of them flew past in an amazing display of aerial acrobatics. The experience served as a timely reminder that there…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) Newly-installed ISPOR president Diana Brixner, RPh, PhD, has put together a challenging agenda for the society during her term of office. The central point of that agenda, she tells HOC, is to bridge the gap separating academics and outcomes researchers from the people who actually make economic decisions. Achieving that, she…
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By David Woods ([email protected]) The Institute of Medicine, which made headlines some years ago when it estimated that medical mistakes kill as many as 98,000 patients a year, followed up more recently with a report on the major cause – medication errors. The Institute believes that one way to prevent such errors is through computerised…
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