Overuse of sedatives and anti-depressants – A common societal problem?

Another overly sensational story?

Is this merely another overly sensational story? Well, not according to the recently published 2010/2011 National Advisory Committee in Drugs (NACD) survey . In addition to revealing that the use of sedatives and anti-depressants has increased by 40 per cent in the last five years, the survey shows that the “main offenders” come from both extremes of the social divide. Those classified under the survey as A, i.e. professional, senior management and top civil servants, provided 18 per cent of the sample, while those classified under the survey as E, i.e. all those dependent on the State long-term, provided a further 19 per cent of the total sample. Continue Reading →

Derek Chambers, Director of Programmes, Inspire Ireland

“Mental health is a fundamental part of the human condition, part of all of us for better or worse – we need to remind ourselves of that, it’s about all of us.”

Derek Chambers (MA Sociology) is Director of Programmes at Inspire Ireland and a doctoral student in the School of Applied Social Studies in UCC. A former deputy head of the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, he managed the recent public mental health campaign, Your Mental Health, and was lead author of the national suicide prevention strategy. Continue Reading →

First, do no harm… but then what? New guidance issued to medics on ethical interaction with industry

For generations of medics, Hippocrates’ oath to “first, do no harm” was thought sufficient guidance to ensure that those trusted with caring for and treating society’s weakest and most vulnerable operated to appropriately high standards.

Interesting timing then, that amidst ongoing and fraught negotiations over the excesses of consultants’ pay in Ireland (with strong resistance from interest groups), instability in the Ministerial management of health and in the midst of a glut of bureaucratic and ill-defined guidance from regulatory authorities that yet more advice for medics on “Relationships between doctors and industry” was last week issued by the Irish Medical Council.

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The overstated demise of print media in Ireland?

The release of figures showing  current trends in newspaper readership is particularly timely in the week that follows google’s move to take out advertising space in newspapers, to illustrate their position that “traditional” adverts no longer work. Continue Reading →

Dr Shane McKeogh and Dr Darach Ó Ciardha – GPBuddy.ie

We hope that the provision of this comprehensive online resource to all healthcare professionals will allow for more efficient communication between all those involved in patient care in Ireland

In this week’s ‘Expert Insights’ we chatted to Dr Shane McKeogh and Dr Darach Ó Ciardha, founders of GPbuddy.ie. We asked them to update us on the latest site developments and also got their unique take on use of digital media in primary care and pharmaceutical marketing. Continue Reading →

Caroline Cullen, Irish Heart Foundation

 

“…a great result! We really enjoyed the buzz of it all yesterday… really appreciated the opportunity to be part of it, especially on smoking too, quite often I think people forget that it’s a big no-no for heart disease as well.”

- Caroline Cullen, Communications Manager, Irish Heart Foundation

Publicis D Healthcare opens new office in Cork

Publicis D has opened a new Healthcare office in Cork as part of its on-going development, according to John Canacott CEO of Pubicis D. The new offices are in Little Island.

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Whenever you can… count? Measuring social media in PR

25th July 2012:Social media has become a key part of the daily ritual for most of us, with a reported 15% of Irish adults now using Twitter, 53% using Facebook and a further 13% using LinkedIn. Apart from our personal love of online chat (I’ll freely admit to being a total Twitter addict!), commentary and sharing, the measurement of social media by brands has increasingly become a hot topic of debate and disagreement.

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Bernard Kennedy, Mundipharma

“We have found the team at Publicis D Healthcare easy to work with and responsive to our needs. The support we have received during the introduction of iPad and electronic detailing has really helped us launch this important concept within our company.”

- Bernard Kennedy, Head of Marketing, Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Join the Pain Squad!

In an effort to minimise the pain of cancer in children, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto decided it first needed to better understand individual cancer conditions and discover which treatments and medications are working best in each child.

Following cancer treatments many children are too tired to keep a detailed diary each day,  so the hospital has launched a new app to help thousands of children undergoing cancer treatments to log their associated pain information. Continue Reading →

Safe Sex Takes to Social Media

15th June 2012: To mark Irish AIDS Day today, the Dublin AIDS Alliance (DAA) has launched a new social media sex awareness campaign, entitled ‘Just Carry One‘, which aims to promote safe sex through persistent condom use amongst 17-25 year olds. Continue Reading →

You Can Quit With Help

To mark World No Tobacco Day, the Irish Heart Foundation and Pfizer Healthcare Ireland have launched a new campaign to help those struggling to quit smoking whilst raising funds for the charity. Continue Reading →

Dr Michelle Rice, General Practitioner, Expert Insights

Dr Michelle Rice, General Practitioner at The Park Clinic, Cabinteely, Co Dublin, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of health information becoming more and more readily available online. She also describes what she feels are the pros and cons of patients preparing for their GPs visit with research on their potential medical conditions. Continue Reading →