View details here.

You can visit Pharma Live's Med Ad News Web site to download two podcasts on healthcare issues by John Kamp, the Coalition's Executive Director.

The first is on the defeated but still looming ad tax bill.  The second is an overview and analysis of the "New FDA".

You can download them here: http://downloads.pharmalive.com/

MedAD News plans to present three more podcasts in this series.

A new study by four researchers from the Cleveland Clinic showed that industry support of continuing medical education created no bias among participants.

The study is available here:CME_Kawczak_Acad Med.pdf

Healthcare industry expert Peter Pitts has enlightening comments on the paper in his DrugWonks blog on the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest Web site. You can view his comments here: http://drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/7182

We invite your comments! 

Healthcare blogger Peter Pitts (Drug Wonks) wrote a clarifying piece, which begins:
"Much brouhaha about the DDMAC letter sent to Dr. Leslie Bauman about her, um, enthusiastic comments about a yet-to-be-approved anti-wrinkle injectable.

"At first blush this seems like regulatory creep and cause for First Amendment agita. But it isn't.  This is not a case of the FDA trying to stifle unregulated speech by an individual without "interest." Dr. Bauman is a clinical investigator for the product she's been touting. That's "interest" whether the trial sponsor paid her to do so or not. (In this instance, there was no "pay for play.") In any case, it's an unambiguous regulatory no-no."
Click to read more.  Your comments are welcome here.

The February issue of MM&M magazine spotlights Policymed.com blogger Tom Sullivan.
Read the article here:sullivan_mmandm_feb1_10.pdf

Your comments are encouraged.

Sudler & Hennessey started the ball rolling and soon other healthcare communications companies joined the effort to help the people of Haiti. So far they have raised over $100,000. To contribute, send email to Scott Cotherman: scott_cotherman@corbettaccel.com.  For more information see the article by James Chase on MM&M's Web site.

Interesting discussion on why corporate backing of medical research is NOT a bad thing:

Corporate Backing for Research? Get Over It!
John Tierney in the New York Times, Jan. 25, 2010

Hyperscrutiny of Academic-Industrial Relationships: Potential for Unintended Consequences
Tom Sullivan's Policy and Medicine Blog, Jan. 27, 2010

More thoughts on the issue on Tom Sullivan's Policy and Medicine Blog

Read about it and join the discussion here.

First Amendment scholar Laurence Tribe provides thoughts on use of prescription data:

From WLF Legal Backgrounder, December 11, 2009 - Vol. 24, No. 40 --
A constitutional flu has taken hold in New England, and it threatens to spread throughout the country.  New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont have each recently enacted laws generally making it a crime to transfer entirely truthful information about prescriptions with the purpose of promoting prescription drugs.  The point of these laws is neither to prevent misleading drug advertising or labeling nor to protect patient privacy -- other rules prohibit deceptive or otherwise unfair promotional practices and keep patients' identities confidential. 

Visit the Health Central Web site for more information and resources for participation in the process:
Health Central

The American Association of Advertising Agencies and the Coalition for Healthcare Communication have formed a working group to help the FDA create its new Internet and Social Media rule. 

For background information, read:
Fabio Gratton's Ignite Blog
Mark Marmur's December 10th Presentation - Update on the FDA's Social Media Hearings
Marmur-FDASMUpdate_Dec10_09.pdf
and visit the Coalition's Overview page