In a far far away state…..
Posted by BMS on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 8:13 pm
What a meeting. It was a bit of an geographical, meteorological and figurative journey for me: from Downeast Maine to Houston, TX. Let’s just say I did not need my jacket. I did not need good spirits either, since everybody brought plenty! A 3 day intense, fun and educational 3rd annual meeting. Among others, there were great speakers/bloggers like Howard Brody and Merril Goozner, as well as Marcia Hams (from the Prescription Project) and last but not least, former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, who was keynote speaker at the joint AMSA/NPA event. She is hilarious, but clearly not in tune with the Washington establishment, especially the born again kind. Here is just one of her priceless – and true – quotes:
“Condoms will break, but I can assure you that vows of abstinence will break more easily than condoms.”
For the ‘Pharma Taskforce’, the meeting was a success. First of all, it is now called the “Unbranded Doctor” campaign, expanding its original scope of advocating for prescription privacy, to the broader issue of pharma-physicians interaction. It will have its own website, unbrandeddoctor.org, where health care providers can learn about more the campaign and find networking opportunities as well as resources, most importantly the “Unbranded Doctor Toolkit”. There is also an online store where I encourage y’all to buy unbranded T-shirts, mugs, stickers etc.
Missing from the meeting? Pharma Money – it was almost entirely supported by the membership!
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Category: a day in the life of a practicing physician,coalition-building,industry-physician relationships,medical education,pharmaceutical industry-physician relationship
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