authors-blog

Medicine Meets Mademoiselle (or Cosmopolitan?)

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 09:04:08 +0100

So…I thought I would surf the web today and see what the big health topics of the day are. I decided to check out Oprah and Dr. Oz, but I was most interested to check out the website for the tv show, ‘The Doctors” to see what people are buzzing about these days. I have to admit, I was a little let down. Here I was expecting a website featuring an ER physician and other medical professionals to be chock full of good, solid health information that would tackle the top health concerns today but instead I found topics like: ‘Does your wife need to Groom “down there?”’,’ How to hit the gym for a better orgasm’ and ‘Mother nature’s Viagra’. Ugh!

Now I’m not saying these aren’t interesting topics but I would likely find the same articles in this month’s issue of Cosmopolitan. I was particularly disappointed to find these topics in lieu of more timely and needed information like ‘How to prevent a heart attack’, ‘How often should I get screened for colon cancer’ or the like. I would have even settled for a blurb on ‘How to get fit with yoga’ but I was out of luck.

I suppose those big producers know what they are doing, however, or they would not publish and air the stories they do. What kind of health information do you like to read about most? Drop me a line at info@empoweredmedicine.com and let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Grass Roots; Author Needs Your Help!

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:39:58 +0100

Well today is a wonderful, lazy Sunday afternoon. Actually, this whole weekend has been very relaxing. I’ve had some time to reflect on recent projects and issues at hand. One issue I’ve been struggling with is how to best market the book Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers. As a first time author, I knew I had a message to share with the book, but marketing is not my forte to be quite honest. Many authors find themselves in this predicament. Many think if they have a good message, the book will sell itself. This is so far from the truth. People cannot read what they don’t know exists.

I noticed that many people were visiting the companion website www.empoweredmedicine.com and seeing the book advertised there, however, many did not seem compelled to purchase. I’m thinking because at first glance one probably thinks to themselves, ‘Oh look! Another health book!’ and quickly bypass it. I also noticed that once people actually purchased and read the book, they realized that it wasn’t like every other health book on the market. They appreciated that it talked about something no one else was talking about: the official treatment guidelines. They also liked how it had done what no other book had done: summarized the treatment guidelines into terms we can all understand. They loved it!

I finally realized that the best people suited to market a book is not the author or some fancy marketer but the people who have read and appreciate the message the book has to offer. I also wished there was some way I could thank those who had personally recommended the book to others. What I needed was grass roots marketing at its best and the Thank You Program was born.

The Thank You Program basically allows one to email the publisher and request a referral code. Whenever that person recommends the book to another reader, they ask the reader to enter the referral code when ordering the book. When the book gets purchased, the publisher sends $2.00 to the person who recommended the book via Paypal. This not only allows the word of the book to spread but also thanks those who recommend the book. $2.00 may not be a lot to some but just think if 25 people bought the book in this manner. That’s a nice dinner, compliments of the publisher!

I was a little worried that some would find this a little gimmicky or the like. However, I decided not to worry about what people think and enjoy the fun of the project. I think others will also find the whole process fun.

If you want to learn more about recommending the book and earning your referral commission, just visit the publisher at www.smartleafpress.com/thank-you.

Read Up, Then See your Doctor

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:46:29 +0100

As I mentioned in this month’s Empowered Medicine Newsletter, according to a recent article in USA today, the number of people searching for medical information on the internet has doubled in the past 2 years. While books and other printed materials still rank number one, more and more people are looking to the convenience of a forum that is readily accessible, 24 hours a day, no matter what the subject.

This news both excites me and worries me. I’m happy to see that people are taking the initiative to educate themselves regarding their health conditions. I’m pleased to know that people are reading up on their health conditions before visiting their doctor. Then I thought about a conversation I had with a new acquaintance the other day. I had just got done telling this person about the new book I had written, Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers. At the end of our conversation, she relayed to me how she thought it was wonderful that I had written a book on the health guidelines and how people needed a resource to turn to in these tough economic times because they didn’t have the money to visit their doctors as often as they’d like.

As my new friend was telling me this, I thought to myself, “Oh no. This is not good.” The last thing I wanted people to think when they saw the book and looked at the website is that they were meant to be a substitute for the professional advise and care of their physicians. To the contrary, my hope in creating the book and the website was that people would use them as tools to get educated so they could have a more meaningful conversation with their health care professional and take a more active role in their healthcare.

So today I hope to set things straight. In this information age, one should keep in mind that although there is an abundance of health information available at the touch of a mouse, it should be used as a tool and in coordination with the care of trusted health care professionals. If those that read the book and website promise to heed this advice, I will continue to try to provide the very latest evidence-based health information. Deal? Deal.

Everyone Has a Blog These Days....

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:00:11 +0100

Everyone has a blog these days. You can find blogs on just about any subject. Blogs are published for different reasons. Some blogs are solely in existence to make money. Others create blogs to keep family and friends updated on milestones and celebrations. Then again, some bloggers have truly something special they want to share with whoever will listen. So why did I create this blog? There are two main reasons.

First of all, I do wish to share with you something I hold near and dear to my heart. I am a strong believer that one’s doctor should not prescribe medication solely based on what free samples the drug rep just dropped off to his office. I also believe that one’s doctor should not prescribe a medication based on the fact that the drug rep for that drug just bought him a round of golf. Does this sort of thing really happen? I wish I could say it doesn’t but it still does. Why else would a doctor prescribe an expensive, new, brand name, cholesterol medication when there are equally-effective, less expensive, generic medications on the market?

When you’ve been in healthcare for a while you witness scenarios like these and it gets under your skin. What’s worse? As you watch it unfold you realize that the vast majority of the public have no idea what is going on behind the closed doors of the doctor’s office. This is why you will hear me harp from time to time on this blog and on the website www.empoweredmedicine.com about how having a good relationship with your doctor and other healthcare providers is so important. This relationship MUST be built on trust.

The second reason I wanted to start a blog is I think it is only fitting that you should know a little something about the person who brings you the information you enjoy from the website www.empoweredmedicine.com and from my new book Empowered Medicine; A Guide for Consumers (Smart Leaf Press, $14.95). As a pharmacist, I’m very passionate about educating people about medicine. It is so important that one make sure they have the tools needed to get empowered with accurate information so one can work with their doctor in making healthcare decisions. The good thing is, there is a lot of free information available today at the mere click of a mouse. The problem is so much of it is written by professional writers who do not even work in healthcare. Even worse, much of it is written by healthcare professionals who do not follow evidence-based medicine (EBM).

So what is EBM? EBM is the practice of using information from published guidelines and studies from trustworthy sources as a guide for making healthcare decisions. You see there are reputable organizations like the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society who have put forth treatment guidelines for most health conditions. These guidelines are based on years of studies and tell us which medications have been shown to be the most cost-effective for a given health condition. When a doctor practices EBM, the patient can rest assured he/she is getting quality care based on sound, time-tested study. When a doctor does not use EBM, the patient’s health could be jeopardized.

The problem is these guidelines are published in medical journals and written in medical jargon. It is my goal in my writings to translate and bring the valuable information in these guidelines to you in a language we can all understand: plain old English. In coming posts, I will discuss EBM further, however, I hope not to exhaust the subject on this blog. More information on EBM can be found on the website. I look forward to future posts and discussing a variety of healthcare topics. Until next time….