Listen to the podcast from CBC Radio and then voice your opinion on this latest phenomenon called
'social medicine'.What is 'social medicine'?"That's when health professionals blog and tweet and text, not only to each other -- but to their patients. Some even go as far as making friends on Facebook ..."
CBC Radio program
"White Coat, Black Art" presents the pros & cons.
Labels: communication, health policy, health professionals, health technology, law, medical ethics, patient-physician communication, social media, social medicine
Has the Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) movement "driven the study of health care policy-making into a conceptual cul-de-sac"?The goal of EBM has always been to find and implement the best medical research evidence to ensure best patient outcomes. In effect 'bridge the know-do gap'. A smooth unimpeded path for new research knowledge to be translated to patient care and beyond to health care policy, has been the default expectation.
Should this be, or does this have to be a 'cul-de-sac' situation? This has been a growing argument in some circles (no pun intended), and one put forward by an
interdisciplinary research group based out of the UK. Studying the science and nature of evidence with a wide-angle lense, this group takes policy studies in general and health care policy-making in particular, beyond simple 'decision science'.
"...we have argued that it is time to problematize the notion of 'evidence' in the heath care policy-making process and to legitimize rather than devalue the place of practical judgement."
Login to the EBSCO database for the full text of this interesting article from the
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy (UK) .
Citation: Russell, J., Greenhalgh, T., Byrne, E., & McDonnell, J. (2008). Recognizing rhetoric in health care policy analysis. (pp. 40-46). doi:10.1258/jhsrp.2007.006029.
This all brings to my mind the infamous word's of Inspector Clouseau,
"Facts Hercule, nothing matters but the facts..." Labels: evidence science, evidence-based medicine, health care policy, health policy, policy-making
"The
Emerging Health Threats Forum is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, established with support from the UK’s Health Protection Agency.
Their mission is to make a significant contribution to the preparedness for and response to emerging health threats by:
~ identifying and tracking emerging health threats.
~ publishing original research and critically reviewing other published research on emerging health threats.
~ providing early and accurate risk assessments for policymakers, fund-holders, and other public-health officials, particularly those charged with emergency planning and crisis management.
~ identifying and highlighting for policymakers and fund-holders potential deficiencies in present or future resource allocation.
~ providing an international forum for health-protection officials, scientists, and policymakers to debate emerging health threats.
~ publishing the latest best thinking on disaster preparedness and crisis management.
~ uniquely publishing strategic lessons learned in disaster and crisis response.
~ interpreting scientific developments for the media and general public.
~ providing an international forum for scientists concerned about the dual use of science."
Read the latest Emerging Health Threats Journal issue, the latest weekly newsletter, and sign up for RSS feeds from this informative site.Labels: crisis management, disaster preparedness, emergency planning, emerging health threats, health policy, health protection, knowledge transfer, risk assessment
Read the latest editorial from
PLoS ~ The Public Library of Scienceand their ~
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) JournalWaging Peace through Neglected Tropical Disease Control: A US Foreign Policy for the Bottom Billion by Peter J. Hotez1 & Tommy G. Thompson.
[click on main title]The
Public Library of Science or PLoS provides this and other excellent open access peer-reviewed journals such as:
PLoS Medicine.
PLoS PathogensPLoS GeneticsPLoS ONEPLoS BiologyLabels: global health, health policy, medical education, neglected tropical diseases, open access journals, PLoS, Public Library of Science, tropical disease research, tropical medicine, US foreign policy
Listen to the podcast from CBC Radio and then voice your opinion on this latest phenomenon called 'social medicine'.
