Consulting about dietary supplements

Patients seem to always have questions regarding dietary and nutritional supplements. For some reason, this seems to be especially true if you live in an affluent area where people are constantly on the Internet researching different products. They are seeking health information from various sources and they want to learn how they can improve their health and reduce their risk for serious diseases. For instance,  we've recently seen many reports talking about the health benefits of fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids. We've also seen many health-related websites pop up such as http://www.omega3.org and others.

Patients may frequently ask questions about dietary supplements. You may encounter questions like:

• Should I be eating more fish to avoid heart attacks? 
• What if I'm allergic to fish?
  
• Should I take omega-3 fatty acid supplements?
• How much should I take?
• Which type of omega-3 supplement should I buy?
  
• What do you think about websites like http://www.omega3.org?
  

On this topic - let me pause and note that some physicians have set up an online business where they are selling dietary supplements on the Internet. It's very easy to set up a business on the Internet, but I won't comment whether physicians should be selling products directly to their patients because now we're getting into some ethical issues (we're not talking about the Stark Law, but I think you get the idea).

When it comes to fish oil and omega-3, we have fairly robust clinical data regarding the cardiovascular effects of omega-3 fatty acids. We may not know how it impacts inflammatory markers like hs-CRP, but we know how omega-3 impacts triglycerides, HDL-C, and LDL-C. Patients can learn about omega-3 fatty acids by visiting sites like http://www.omega3.org. 

Are you interested in teaching patients about the use of dietary supplements? One way you can do this is to publish some online content that focuses on patient education and consumer health. You can write about the health effects of omega-3 fatty acids on blogs and informative consumer health websites if you have strong writing skills.

Get published online in the New Year

There are many benefits to getting your name published online. It's easy to write your own blog, but will people find your content? Will people recognize your name as someone who is a subject matter expert in a certain field? More and more consumers are looking for health information and you can generate content and get your name published on various types of online articles, blog posts, editorials, etc.

If you'd like to get your name attached to some online articles, allow me to help you by inviting you to submit a short editorial blog post for one of these websites:

• http://www.MedicineandTechnology.com/ 
• http://www.MedicalSmartphones.com/ 
• http://www.MobileHealthComputing.com/ 

These websites are a part of HCPLive, a comprehensive Internet portal for healthcare professionals managed by Intellisphere, LLC.  If your articles get published on these sites, then you can add this as "writing experience" on your resume. I can provide you with more details about that.

Publishing articles on the Internet will:

• Show potential employers your ability to write in an informal, non-academic setting. This is important on a variety of levels, ranging from marketing to consumer health education.
  
• Demonstrate your ability to develop consumer-friendly content. (physicians traditionally are known to struggle with this, because they tend to speak in scientific jargon and they forget to address important health literacy concerns)
  
• Reveal your familiarity (or expertise) in the specific domains, such as health IT, mobile technology, health education, biomedical informatics, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), iPhone, etc.
• Show that you are comfortable with computers and web-based content (physicians are traditionally considered technology-ignorant by many potential employers).
• Improve your presence on the Internet. By publishing articles on the web, these articles will pop up when people search your name on Internet search engines like Google and Yahoo. 
  

Contact me if you'd like to get something published on one of these sites and grow your online presence in the New Year!

Why do I blog about non-clinical jobs and careers for physicians?

You may be wondering why I blog about non-clinical jobs and offer career counseling services for physicians. Like many of you, I went to a well-respected college and a US medical school. I studied engineering at MIT and went straight into medical school upon graduating from college. When I was a medical student, I began to meet a variety of physicians who were leaving clinical practice and pursuing other ambitions. After recognizing that clinical medicine was not the “right fit,” I went on to explore my options in different non-clinical health care industries. By that time, I had gotten to know many physicians who had left clinical medicine to pursue jobs in industries such as: pharma, biotech, medical communications, consulting, medical writing, medical devices, market research, etc. Therefore, I was able to find non-clinical job opportunities relatively quickly because I knew what types of options I had and I also knew how to find these jobs. I leveraged my growing social network and landed my first full-time non-clinical job in a consumer health company.

Over the years, I’ve worked for several different companies that have allowed me to blend my clinical background with my passion for education and technology. I’ve had experience working with small companies, medium-sized companies, and large companies. I've been a salaried full-time employee and I've also consulted for several medical start-up companies. I’ve also had the opportunity to create my own company and learn about entrepreneurship. I am currently employed full-time in a medical education company and I spend my nights and weekends blogging and working with physicians who wish to transition into non-clinical careers.

I realize that many physicians do not personally know other physicians who work in non-clinical industries. Therefore, it may be difficult to know what’s feasible. Where do you get started? What kind of income could you make? Are you even qualified for certain jobs if you don’t have additional formal education or training beyond medicine? If you’re struggling with these types of questions, I believe I may be able to help you because I’ve had the opportunity to personally work with many physicians who have transitioned from clinical practice into full-time and part-time non-clinical positions. As they have encountered various questions and barriers along the way, we’ve navigated through all types of obstacles and challenge that you may also face as you look for non-clinical jobs.

Please note that I do not claim to be an expert about all the different non-clinical industries that are available. I routinely refer physicians to “subject matter experts” within specific industry domains. For instance, if you have very specific questions about the medical consulting industry, I would introduce you to a medical consultant who is willing to work with you and answer your questions about careers in that particular industry. I’ve personally had a significant amount of experience working in the following industries: medical communications, medical writing, health education, disease management, blogging, health IT, and medical consulting. I also frequently discuss topics related to social media and technology since I find that it improves your ability to get hired if you demonstrate that you’re familiar with these topics.

I also currently serve on the MIT Institute Career Advisor Network (ICAN) and also on the MIT Educational Council. I frequently speak with prospective MIT students, current MIT students and MIT alumni about career issues in the health care industry and I hope to have the opportunity to help you make a successful transition into the non-clinical sector.

Webinar on patient education and adherence

I spent some time in the past working in a health IT consumer health company. We developed computer-based educational modules that were designed to motivate patients to change behavior, improve disease self-management, and learn why they should adhere to therapy. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Well, if you're interested in a career that involves some element of patient education and treatment adherence, then you may wish to participate in an upcoming free webcast/webinar titled, "Views on Patient Adherence." It's sponsored by Catalina Health Resource and the main presenter will be Paul Wilson, Analytics Group, Catalina Health Resource LLC. This is NOT a certified CME/CE activity, but you may still gain some useful insights from it.

Here's a brief description of this webcast:

Ensuring patient adherence to prescribed pharmaceutical therapy can play a significant role in improving the health of both individuals and the general public, and is essential to maintaining pharmaceutical brand market shares. This Webinar, led by Paul Wilson of Catalina Health Resources' analytics group, will present research on some of the demographic and psychological factors that should be taken into account when designing successful patient adherence programs. A case study based on predictive modeling in the hypertension market will demonstrate how to identify low adherence segments for patient education programs. Mr. Wilson will show how these results can be applied to other products and therapeutic areas and make recommendations on the most effective message content for both new and experienced patients.

Key Learning Objectives:
• Identify low adherence segments for patient education programs
• Develop effective messaging for both new and experienced patients

About Catalina Health Resource:

Catalina Health Resource reaches 125 million customers with 1.3 billion highly-relevant messages each year because of our longstanding relationships with the top pharmaceutical, over-the-counter and consumer package goods companies.

As the world's largest personalized health media network, our advanced data management makes it possible to create highly relevant messages based on the most likely needs of a patient. Most often, we deliver these messages via a printed PatientLink® every time a patient fills a prescription in one of the 17,000 pharmacies within our network.

To learn more about this upcoming webinar, visit this link.

International medical consulting opportunities

There are many international health consulting opportunities out there. Do you know where to find them? How well do you understand the health care issues that other countries face? Are you familiar with the needs of Honduras? Kenya? Italy? What about China? Thailand? Vietnam? In many countries around the world, we see models of universal health care coverage. Other countries have huge health care disparities due to a lack of access in rural areas. Here in the U.S., we often see gaps in care related to different cultural and ethnic factors that may influence patient behavior. As we try to tackle some of these public health issues that are culturally rooted, it often feels like an international health consulting project.

I've recently had the opportunity to work with a small group of physicians on an international health IT consulting project. Many countries are looking for ways to effectively leverage information technology to improve health care delivery. As computers become more affordable throughout the world, there are a growing number of consulting opportunities where we can help countries improve their health care delivery and educate consumers about disease prevention and self management.

So, back to the original question: do you know where to find these types of consulting projects? It has to start with your connections. One of my recent projects came about through a friend from my MIT college days in Boston. He was working on something with several business school classmates and had pulled together a group of physicians and IT consultants. This is a classic example where a team was formed through a series of professional and alumni social networks. If you're not expanding your social network and reconnecting with old friends, then you may be missing some great opportunities.

Working on a consumer health project

I sent an e-mail today to almost 900 health care professionals who are members of the social network "Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals." I'm recruiting a team of physicians for a small project and I've gotten quite a remarkable response. I want to thank my readers and those who are members of the "Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals" for being so responsive to my request. I hope to help physicians and other healthcare professionals improve their exposure on the Internet and so they can find opportunities in different non-clinical areas. My hope is to find additional projects for physicians who are interested in "getting their feet wet" in different non-clinical areas of medicine. It's often difficult to "break in," but I may be able to help by providing opportunities where you can work on some projects, gain exposure, and list certain accomplishments on your CV.

This current project deals with consumer health, but future projects will focus on the use of electronic health records (EHRs), data integration, and other technology-driven solutions. I also anticipate other projects in medical writing, consumer health education, etc.

To hear about future opportunities, I encourage you to join the free "Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals" network and meet almost 900 other physicians and health care professionals who have an interest in non-clinical careers. By joining this social network, you may find an opportunity to explore the non-clinical world of medicine.

J&J buys HealthMedia

What is J&J up to? They just acquired HealthMedia, an online consumer health company that offers computer-based wellness programs. How would your health improve if you had an online "virtual" health coach reminding you of important health facts and guiding you through some of your medical decisions?

It's just a matter of time before all the online wellness companies are acquired by either a managed care organization or a pharmaceutical company.

InfoMedMD

Has anyone tried visiting InfoMedMD? Looks like a very interesting site that offers to provide immediate medical information for your symptoms. This site appears to be unique compared to other consumer health sites by tailoring information.

Will this company gain traction? According to Compete.com, this site has been getting a respectable amount of traffic over the last few months.