High-Tech PR Blog >> Beyond the Hype

A Precautionary Tale

Last week during an interview, one of my clients referred to the "precautionary principle" as it relates to the healthcare industry implementing new technological innovations. He loosely stated that healthcare had taken the principle to new heights and that it now seems to operate under the rule, "If any bad result from an action is possible -- at all -- do not proceed with that action."

It got me thinking about the media as it relates to health topics and specifically medical devices: has this principle started to trickle down into the way medical innovations are covered in the press?  The answer to myself was, "To some degree, yes."

I agree that the media has a responsibility to be cautious about setting expectations among patients/consumers related to outcomes and availability. They also need to keep safety in mind and should require clinical data in support of any new procedure or device. But, when national health segments on "Sleep" report on the benefits of dark, cool rooms and debate the pros and cons of hard versus soft pillows, and "Macular Degeneration" segments remind people to take their vitamins, aren't we missing a huge opportunity to introduce patients/consumers to the growing number of proven, FDA-cleared procedures and devices available today?

With more and more patients relying on various media outlets -- rather than the doctor's office -- for their health information, I hope the media hasn't opted for precaution over the chance to educate their audience about sound medical advances.

As the Healthcare Industry Turns

I'm sure I'm not alone in my opinion that most healthcare conferences follow the “soap opera” model. Much like story lines in “Guiding Light” or “As the World Turns,” you may have attended a health conference in 2001 and then another in 2007 – and you find yourself in the middle of the same conversation. While some of this remained true at the recent TiECON event in Boston, it was also refreshing to hear that there’s finally industry movement along a few fronts.

Yes, the experts were still saying things like, “medical devices are hot,” and “healthcare costs are rising.” But, some of the issues that had only been talked about conceptually in the past are actually being implemented, if even on a small scale, today. EDC/paperless trials are finally being conducted on an enterprise-wide scale, most health systems have either already implemented or are considering EHR and everyone across the health and life sciences chain is taking the patient/consumer into account as they try to enhance their business models.

For example, panelists discussed the impact of consumers on health coverage. One of the panelists pointed out that he views the “right” scenario looking something like an Expedia experience – where patients/consumers can log onto the Web to find the right doc and the right hospital for the specific procedure they need. They can look further into the hospital’s and physician’s quality track records and can determine which health plans cover which treatments and where. While the experts think a fully-executed version of this model is about 10 years off, Thomas Summer, CEO of MassMEDIC described what Massachusetts is currently doing along these lines through NEHEN.

Another very compelling discussion centered around the escalating cost and ever-ailing health coverage system in the U.S. Two main themes prevailed: Are we focused on the right patient groups? And, can we finally admit that other countries may be doing things a little better than we are?

One of the panelists in the “Competition and Consumerism” track made the point that even though, in theory, many of the patient-directed programs that numerous employers and payers are offering (things like incentives for working out, incentives for staying healthy), healthcare costs will still continue to rise. Why? Because, “...those programs are targeted at the insured, but they do not address the 45-50 million uninsured in the country – the very group that drives the high costs of healthcare coverage.” In terms of the U.S. vs Europe and other countries, panelists agreed that we continue to pay more and get less. The panel continued by describing the health systems in Switzerland and Australia, which the experts agreed were doing some things very right. While most of these arguments and discussions were good, I didn't walk away with a clear understanding that anyone had the answers. The health/life sciences industry is begging for thought leaders to help clear up all this confusion. Perhaps I’ll attend a conference in 2020 to hear some of the solutions?

Making the World a Quieter Place

You know that technology has reached into all corners of everyday life when you find yourself recommending a product you represent as a PR person when you are on a weekend away with friends.

During a soggy, but very fun women's weekend in New Hampshire, when I joined a subset of the group for an early breakfast on Saturday morning, they were in the middle of a discussion of the problems many had had the night before getting any sleep.  It turns out one of the women, a wonderful person, has a serious snoring problem and the noise was going right through the walls of the lodge and keeping several roomfuls of people awake.  The woman herself acknowledged the issue, so I took a deep breath and approached her separately to tell her about one of our clients, Restore Medical, which has created The Pillar Procedure that is designed to help both snoring and sleep apnea disorders.  I told her that I'm certainly no expert, but that she could ask her doctor about it.  Many doctors have been trained to do the procedure in their office.  She can plug her zip code into a box at the top right of The Pillar Procedure web site and find a doctor near her who can do this.  What I could attest to was the patient testimonials she could review on the web site as well.  I recall some people had found they could dream for the first time in years because they finally were getting really good sleep.  The woman in question commented to me that she never remembers dreaming.  She's a great candidate.

I took the liberty of alerting our Restore team to help her find docs near her to check this out.  Here's hoping this works out for her.  I'll be very popular next year if it does.

Some days being a PR person is more rewarding than others.