Turning layoff lemons into lemonade
By Mary Gabb (mary.gabb@rxcomms.com) 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…
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HOC People – Ruth Whittington
By David Woods (david.woods@rxcomms.com) 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…
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How to improve staff morale
By Julie Stauffer (julie.stauffer.rxcomms.com) Sustaining staff morale is about much more than delivering a wage slip at the end of the month. If the past few years of restructurings, closures,…
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Pros and cons of direct-to-consumer advertising
By Mary Gabb (mary.gabb@rxcomms.com) Obnoxious, annoying, Big Pharma strikes again – these are just some of the sentiments heard when encountering a direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisement, the myriad commercials on radio…
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W(h)ither the FDA?
By David Woods (david.woods@rxcomms.com) 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…
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How to participate in or lead a panel discussion
By Mary Gabb (mary.gabb@rxcomms.com) 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…
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How to make sense of health economics
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…
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Training programmes: Where do future health economists come from?
By Robert Hand (robert.hand@rxcomms.com) 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…
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HOC people: Patti Peeples Gustafson, PhD
By David Woods (david.woods@rxcomms.com) 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…
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Develop a healthy scepticism about research even in the ‘best’ scientific journals
By David Woods (david.woods@rxcomms.com) 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…
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