SternViews

The Once Venerable British Medical Journal

The media has gone off the deep end many times.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) tried to play with the big guns and shot themselves in the head.

Many medical journals and book authors think that they can write with impunity and with immunity.

Part of the problem here is not only did the BMJ not do their homework, but they were adamant about their accusations and broadcast them to the world.

BMJ out on a Limb

As reported earlier in this blog the BMJ vs Eli Lilly showdown keeps unraveling with the finger strongly pointing back to the venerable BMJ.

Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking Elsewhere for an Answer II

I'll just make this a new category if there are enough examples without being redundant.

If you substitute the word Pharma for the word restaurant, Pharma rep for concierge and doctor for the word guest you get the point pretty quickly. (free registration required)
 

When you ask a concierge about recommendations for restaurants, and tours, etc you do so with a certain amount of skepticism and you should factor their recommendations in with other research you may have done. 

So too with the doctor. You know where Pharma is coming from, and as a doctor, unlike a guest, you have an added responsibility to research, question, and make your own conclusion on what drugs and/or therapies to prescribe.

We need to get off the "Poor Doctor is Naive" bandwagon and get them to be the professionals they claim to be.

 

Looking Elsewhere for an Answer

The appropriateness of a physician being paid to do promotional programs and consulting for Pharma can often be blurred to those in the business for many years.

When you look at it from the point of view of another industry clarity of its
inappropriateness becomes clearer.  (free registration required)

Once again the importance of CME, evidence based and with transparency, come through.

Let's keep going in that direction.

The Truth be Told

An interesting dynamic is playing out between the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ) and Pharma giant Eli Lilly.

The tension between Pharma and the world could find a new truth here or confirm the old. 

Without planning to do so Eli Lilly and BMJ are front and center each representing their respective industries in the battle for who to believe in the debate of "who do you trust."

Will a new truth be discovered in that Pharma is not evil, or will the BMJ reaffirm that we must look to scholars and academicians to provide the comfort and truth about pharmaceuticals we are seeking?

"The drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY) said that internal documents about the safety of its popular anti-depressant Prozac which a British medical journal reported as long missing were given years ago to federal regulators and to lawyers suing the company.

The British Medical Journal said last week it had given U.S. regulators confidential Lilly documents suggesting a link between Prozac and a heightened risk of suicide attempts and violence.

Indianapolis-based Lilly said it received copies of the documents on Monday from the office of U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., to whom the journal had given the records. Lilly said in a statement late Tuesday that the records were the same that had been given to the Food and Drug Administration and other investigators more than a decade ago."   FULL ARTICLE

CME Can Help with Candor

The pharmaceutical industry has taken on a lot over the last few years. 
Going from "Golden Child" to"Evil Twin."

CME, especially now, can help in the process of supplying the candor and transparency everyone is looking for.

We may be embarking on the "Golden Age" of CME. 

Funders, faculty, and learners "All Aboard"  for a new positive experience. 

Keeping Us on Track

 

This graphic nicely represents what we are trying to achieve on a daily basis.

I think we can all recognize that when our programs achieve their maximum success, we have achieved all levels of this hierarchy.

Let's keep this visual in front of us and check each day to see that we are meeting these goals.

Whether your customers are inside or outside these rules hold true.

 

 

 

 

Courtesy of the Phelon Group

A Thousand Words

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Delta Airlines; Beware

I just returned from Mexico traveling on Delta Airlines.

As a business owner it was stunning and apparent to me and to all on the plane that Delta and their employees have given up.

Their planes are dirty, arm rests falling off, seats coming apart, and no meals at all.  Pretzels are served with a pathetic offer of, "take two."

What is most discouraging are the employees themselves. 

Polite, but disinterested, looking sloppy with despair on their face and in their posture.  The pilots barely speak and even when they say "Thanks for flying Delta Airlines," it sounds hollow and faint.

Their Comair (Delta regional jet subsidiary) fiasco on Christmas day just underscores the issues.

It seems to me that when you are in turnaround mode the face of the business should be the one place you don't skimp.

I'll only fly Delta when I have too. 

I hope their maintenance team is well taken care of!

 

Ought to be Worth at Least $59.75

The price of seeing dolphins and whales has increased.
Surely CME could compete with the cost of seeing the world's most intelligent animals?