While scrolling through my Pharma RSS feed reader early one morning, I found myself gravitating towards those post that I had "Favorited," "Bookmarked," or "Saved for Later" throughout the last 12 months. This lead to a frenzied blog outline, multiple screenshots, and some semblance of an idea of how to give you the information I've stumbled across in the last year in the world of Pharmaceuticals.
Although the holidays do mean great baked goods, Christmas Pajama Parties, and Gingerbread House Making Competitions here at Dickson, it's also a time of giving. Thus, I'm happy to present The Best Pharmaceutical Blog Posts of 2013. Awards style, opinion driven post, but I believe you will be smarter after you read through the list, and then read some (or all) of the articles. No, giving this time doesn't mean a free gift card, but it does mean some free, easily digestible, knowledge.
Best Blog Series: Pharmalot. . . Pharmalittle. . . Good Morning
"Pharmalot. . . Pharmalittle . . . Good Morning" may seem like a goofy name for something taken so seriously as the pharmaceutical industry, but the blog is a necessity for those waking up in the Pharma world. From UBM Canon and PharmaLive, a business information company that describes itself as "The Pulse of the Pharmaceutical Industry," Pharmalot is a blog/website that publishes articles, podcasts, and white papers on recent events in Pharmaceuticals.
What makes it so great:
It beats everybody in consistency and relevancy. Every morning, you can count on a summary to "get you going." The blog features a nice/cute/witty/short introduction, and then a few links that you should read about recent events in Pharma. And no, these links don't just rehash content that Pharmalot has published earlier that week. Rather, Pharmalot has eyes on their "competitors" and acknowledges those competitors through these links. Although the links tend to shade towards the Washington Post and Pharma Times, they are relevant articles that Pharmalot could have either diluted and repackaged, or simply not published. Author Ed Sullivan does this as a service for all of us, and it's not like he has to. Finally, the photos posted are very random/funny.
Best Antibiotic Blog: PharmaGossip for "The Antibiotic Crisis"
This may seem mundane. You may be thinking, "Another blog spouting off about the dangers of using antibiotics too much? Not for me." But I assure you, this one is worth it. Simple and meaningful, it's the post your brain needs to get a refresher on why the news tells you to take all of your medicine when you have an ear infection, and why "modern medicine as we know it," sits on the edge of a cliff. Read it.
Best Scandal Blog: Health Care Renewal for "The Adventures of the Purloined Bequest, the Resident Heiress, and the Hidden Hospital System"
In the spirit of the T.V. Show that took over the internet every Thursday night, this blog award goes out to Health Care Renewal for a post in September 2013 which relates Sherlock Holmes stories to New York Health Care abuses.
Specifically, the blog asks questions after contextualizing the stories as they were reported in The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and other news sources. The post illuminates the "shakedowns," that Continuum Health Partners, a parent organization to multiple hospitals in New York, may have partook in.
What makes it so great:
The end of the blog somewhat predictably outlines the health care abuses by "even larger organizations," and how "if we do not hold the real leaders of health care accountable," we can expected "continued health care dysfunction." The fulfilled expectation isn't a bad thing, just a way to wrap things up for Roy M. Poses, the writer of this particular blog. The truly great thing about this blog however, is how Poses gets to this point: questions and connections.
Best Marketing Blog: Pharma Marketing Blog for "Facebook Likes Pharma. Pharma Likes Facebook. So Why Doesn't FDA Like 'Likes?'"
"Pharmaguy" seized up the most topical blog title and blogger pseudonym some time ago. He seized up this award with his March 11 post titled, "Facebook Likes Pharma. Pharma Likes Facebook. So Why Doesn't the FDA Like 'Likes?'" What critics might call "no stream of consciousness," we call a wealth of information and awareness. This post links Pharma to Facebook to the FDA, and asks the unwritten question, "What's next?"
Pharmaguy also rhetorically challenges Pharma to abide by the FDA's history of online advertising regulations. He touches on Google Adwords, and the differences between the change in Facebook's News Feed and Google's Adword limitations, as it applies to Pharmaceutical companies.
Best Definition Blog: Drug Channels for "Defining Specialty Pharmacy"
Definition Blog? Yup. For most, trying to keep track of Pharmaceutical terms, and the rapidly changing nature of those terms, can make your head spin. Adam J. Fein, Editor-in-Chief of Drug Channels, posted this blog in February to ease that strain. The post shows how Pharmaceutical Blogs, News Sources, and yes, you too companies, can go about bridging the gap between experts and novices when explaining something: a new drug, a side effect, a policy, a merger, etc.
What makes Fein's explanation of "Specialty Pharmacy" so great? The acceptance that terms evolve. Through citing the AMCP's definition of a Specialty Drug and Specialty Pharmacy, and then outlining the contentions one may have with those terms, the post functions as an (intended or unintended, not sure it matters) example of how to talk about something which may soon change.
Think we missed something? Got a comment, opinion, or though on the post? Feel free to comment below.
