As a patient who was asked to speak at the Association of Health Care Journalists 2012 conference, I felt a bit covert. I wasn’t in a “backless gown,” rolling my IV pole down the hall of some hospital’s cardiac care unit. I wore an official lanyard and badge and mixed among health care journalists, yet I felt more like a dugout mom than savvy reporter.

Pradaxa is progress but conduct a search for Pradaxa on Google and right on top in the paid search are two ads for law firms recruiting patients to sue fBoehringer Ingelheim because of side effects. Considering that almost 90% of people looking for health information via a search engine you would think that BI would at least try and address the issue but like most pharma companies they are ignoring this damaging online advertising.

I doubt in 1964 Bob Dylan was forecasting the current landscape of modern medicine but I believe his lyrics tie closely to the changes we are seeing today with the doctor patient relationship. Mr. Dylan speaks of the water rising and sang “you better start
swimming or sink like a stone, for the times they are a changing.”

Drug policy campaigners often call for policy to be re-oriented towards public health, as a more progressive and constructive approach than the criminalising strategy of prohibition. The broad thrust of this type of call is that we should be more concerned about helping sick people, preventing the spread of disease and enhancing well-being, rather than punishing individuals for supposed moral transgressions. On the face of it, who could argue against that?

In recognition of Mother’s Day, Peace Corps volunteers worldwide are engaging in projects to improve maternal health, educate new mothers and support women and children. Volunteers regularly serve in maternity clinics, teach nutrition to new and expecting mother’s and provide information to keep families healthy.