Health

3M & Scotchgard -- The Truth Emerges

by John Stauber — August 13, 2001 - 11:05am

Remember the PR hype and spin about how socially responsible and proactive 3M corporation was in pulling Scotchgard from the market last year? Well, check this out: "New analyses of 3M's own data, some decades old, reveals that the company knew far more, far earlier, about potential health problems from Scotchgard exposure. The (Scotchgard) story is likely to emerge as one of the apocryphal examples of 20th century experimentation with widespread chemical exposures without adequate testing."

Main Source: 
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/PFOS/2001-04pfosproblems.h...

Delicate PR Operation Supports Transplant

by Sheldon Rampton — August 6, 2001 - 12:00am

After Children's Memorial Hospital, a private hospital in Chicago, refused to treat 11-year-old Ana Esparza because she was uninsured and could not afford a life-saving liver transplant, Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital agreed to do the surgery for only $225,000 -- discounted from the normal $500,000 cost of the procedure.

Main Source: 
PR Week, August 6, 2001

A Stand for Scientific Independence

by Sheldon Rampton — August 4, 2001 - 12:00am

Editors at the world's most prominent medical journals, alarmed that drug companies are exercising too much control over research results, have agreed to adopt a uniform policy that reserves the right to refuse to publish drug company-sponsored studies unless the researchers involved are guaranteed scientific independence. The journal editors decided to act after several recent cases involving charges that drug companies tried to withhold research results or present them in the most favorable way.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, August 4, 2001

Hospital Saves Fictional Character!

by Laura Miller — July 26, 2001 - 12:00am

"It was 2:05 a.m. when an ambulance brought Mr. Jacobs and his daughter to Sarasota Memorial Hospital's emergency room," stated a news release from Sarasota Memorial Hospital. "Mr. Jacobs was complaining of difficulty breathing. He was 65 years old, overweight and on medication for high blood pressure.

Main Source: 
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, July 26, 2001

PR Firm's Paxil Campaign Draws Criticism

by Laura Miller — July 18, 2001 - 12:00am

The Washingon Post reported NY-based PR firm Cohn & Wolfe's campaign for Glaxo SmithKline to promote its drug Paxil as a treatment for social anxiety disorder has raised concerns. The campaign calls into question whether pharmaceutical companies, traditionally in the business of finding new drugs for existing disorders, are increasingly in the business of seeking new disorders for existing drugs.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, July 16, 2001; O'Dwyer's PR Daily, July 18, 2001

Minnesota Attorney General Investigates Allina Health System's PR Spending

by Laura Miller — July 12, 2001 - 5:26pm

Minnesota's largest health care system Allina Health System has been under the close scrutiny of the Minnesota attorney general. At issue is whether Allina improperly spent money on outside consultants and executive perks. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Allina spent over $300,000 this spring on "crisis management" consultants.

Main Source: 
Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 12,2001

Poll Shows Americans More Willing To Participate In Clinical Trials

by Laura Miller — July 5, 2001 - 12:00am

A Harris Interactive/BBK Healthcare Poll showed that more Americans are considering clinical research studies as treatment options and they want more education about the federal and international measures designed to protect them. According to a press release on "The Will & Why Survey," 83 percent of the 5000 respondents to the nationwide online survey said they would consider a clinical research study, but only 13 percent said they have had the opportunity to take part in one. "The survey supports the belief that clinical research studies are perceived by the public as treatment options.

Main Source: 
Press Release, July 5, 2001

Geraldine Ferraro Promotes Thalidomide

by Sheldon Rampton — June 25, 2001 - 12:00am

Former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is back in the news as a celebrity spokesperson for thalidomide, the infamous drug that was taken off the market after causing more than 10,000 severe deformities in children whose mothers took it for morning sickness. Thalidomide is now being prescribed to combat multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer from which Ferraro suffers. Dan Klores Communications handled the PR for Ferraro and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Main Source: 
PR Week, June 25, 2001

AMA Weighs Ending Sale of Doctor Data to Drug Firms

by Sheldon Rampton — June 18, 2001 - 12:00am

The American Medical Association is considering putting the brakes on its controversial practice of selling information about its members to the nation's largest drug marketers. The AMA generates more than $20 million in revenue from selling doctors' biographies, which include everything from medical license information and private telephone numbers to federal identification data issued to track controlled substances. This information is an important marketing tool, giving pharmaceutical companies valuable insight into which doctors to target for the latest brand-name drugs.

Main Source: 
Chicago Tribune, June 18, 2001

Front Group Uses PR to Oppose Patients' Bill of Rights

by Laura Miller — June 18, 2001 - 12:00am

PR giant Porter Novelli steps up its efforts to oppose the patients' bill of rights as it makes its way to the Senate floor for a vote. Porter Novelli represents the Health Benefits Coalition, a 3-year-old industry front group made up of 32 organizations such as the Business Roundtable, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers, according to a PR Week article. In preparation for the Senate debate on the bill, PN is doing polling, launching print, radio, and TV ads, creating briefing books, and holding a press conference the last week of June.

Main Source: 
PR Week, June 18, 2001
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