Letter from the Editor
Doctor You You work in healthcare. By nature, then, you tend to be much more aware of the developments, advances, positives, negatives, news, trends and other aspects of this field than your friends, neighbors and relatives. So what are you doing about that? No, seriously—do you share what you know, or let other people linger in ignorance? neil greenberg
I think this is a very important responsibility for those of us who are exposed to information that others don’t get.
For instance, I have a relative with diabetes. Now, it’s true that she has a doctor to give her advice, but that doctor has only so much time to spend with each patient—many of whom also have diabetes. So I consider it my function, as someone who loves her, to be a bit of a nag about telling her the importance of diet and exercise, because, she’s not focused enough on either one of those things. Yes, she heard her doctor’s advice, but a little extra prod from someone who cares can’t hurt. Or what about all those people who think that pharmaceutical companies are more intent on keeping you alive while sick, rather than actually curing you? You’ve heard this, too, I’m sure: “They could cure cancer tomorrow, but then they wouldn’t make as much money off of you!” It’s tragic that so many otherwise intelligent, knowledgeable people really believe this nonsense. And who’s going to help disabuse them, if not us? And then there’s adherence. We’ve run a number of articles in HS&M about how many billions are lost each year because people are “off their meds”—or never even start them! Do you know if those close to you are following their therapeutic protocols? If not, do you know why? Cost, lack of confidence, multiple medications, anxiety about side effects? There are numerous reasons, and they add up to too much unnecessary sickness, not to mention lost revenue. What it comes down to is that, even without a medical degree on the wall, we have the information and, I would argue, the obligation to help those around us understand how to help themselves and how not to be cynical about our industry. Think about it, Doctor You. Who can you help today? We try to keep up with all this, and bring you the people who have a grasp on change. We hope that it will be informative, and assist you in furthering the work you do every day. Let us know what topics will be most useful to you!
Neil Greenberg, Editor To become an HS&M contributing author or provide feedback, please email me at ngreenberg@hsandm.com.
5 | HS&M AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018
