Non Clinical Physician Jobs

Each month, I get visits from people typing "non clinical physician jobs" into Google search. Since I'm using Google Analytics to analyze my traffic, it's interesting to see what types of things people are typing to get here.

So, if you stumbled here by looking for information about non-clinical opportunities, I hope you gain some insight. Otherwise, I hope you'll leave a comment so that we can correspond.

I also invite you to join a free community of healthcare professionals interested in pursuing non-clinical opportunities by going here:
http://nonclinical.ning.com

Thanks again for stopping by.

FDA Approves ATryn

Have you heard of ATryn? No, that's not a typo. It's an anti-coagulant used for patients with hereditary antithrombin (AT) deficiency. ATryn is made by GTC Biotherapeutics, Inc.

ATryn is unique in that it is the first FDA approved drug made by genetically engineered (GE) animals. So if we're genetically engineering animals, do you think anyone's genetically engineering any humans? Both the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) approved this agent based on its safety and efficacy and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) approved the rDNA construct in the goats that produce ATryn.

ATryn has an orphan drug designation by the FDA since hereditary antithrombin (AT) deficiency is so uncommon.

Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique

Wow, what a crazy story on CNN about doctor Pierre Jean-Jacques Renelique:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/06/florida.abortion/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

I'm speechless when I think about what must have happened. Since I don't have all the facts, I don't want to say too much. However, this is quite a horrifying story about Sycloria Williams and her baby as it's told on CNN. We know that he lost his medical license in Florida. I think the bigger question is: what else is going to happen in this case?

The Future of Pharmaceutical DTC Marketing

What is the future of pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) marketing? Does it work? Is the ROI (return on investment) as high as people think? Is it a money waster?

Most clinicians will say that DTC has caused more headaches in the office. However, there are some cases of public health benefit from some of these DTC campaigns that have increased disease awareness for specific conditions. As a result of some DTC, patients are asking many more questions and bringing up topics that weren't traditionally discussed in the office setting. Is this good or bad? Can it lead to harm? (well, I supposed anything can lead to harm). But what if a patient insists on receiving a medication when it isn't indicated? (well, I suppose that happens all the time anyways).

So, will DTC get shut down? I doubt that it will. The FDA will increase the regulations on DTC, but it will continue. However, my personal hope is that pharma will spend less on DTC and channel its resources in other areas that can really contribute to improvements in public health.

Time to Replace a Treo (not mine)

Not mine. I got rid of my Treo a long time ago. However, I know someone who is now looking for a change. What's the best phone for a physician on Verizon Wireless?

The Samsung Omnia is a great for someone who wants something thin that has a large screen, no hardware keyboard, and Windows Mobile.

The BlackBerry Storm is ideal for someone who wants the same features, but on a BlackBerry.

The HTC Touch Pro is a fantastic slider, but it's thick and bulky.

The Samsung Saga is a thinner version of the Treo.

If you're really on a budget, you could go with the old XV6900 (made by HTC). I can't think of anyone who would still buy a Palm Centro running the old Palm OS when the new Palm Pre is coming out.

So what would you pick?

Medscape Physician Connect

I've been reading some very interesting discussions on Medscape Physician Connect. Unlike Sermo, this discussion board allows users to post topics and comments anonymously. I'm sure that Sermo will implement this type of feature shortly.

There are obviously pros and cons to posting comments anonymously. I'm actually quite surprised when I see people posting very personal comments and then leave their name, phone #, e-mail address, and other contact information. There are some very angry and bitter people on these discussion boards and I'm not entirely sure that I'd want to hand that type of information out to them. I've seen professionalism fly out the window on some of these discussion boards.

Back to the original subject: Medscape Physician Connect. Have you given it a try? Or would you rather stick with Sermo?

the end of Windows XP

It appears that Microsoft is finally nailing the last coffin on Windows XP. I'm still running XP over Vista on several of my devices, mainly because I need something that's quick and efficient. I wonder if my old devices will last long enough for me to worry about Microsoft's lack of support for XP.

XP is a great operating system and I'm sad to see it go. Windows 7 hasn't impressed me very much so far, but maybe I haven't given it a fair shot since I installed the beta version on outdated hardware.

Lately, I've been thinking about switching to OS X. After all, you can still use Boot Camp and run Windows. If only I could use a Targus or Kensington universal power supply with the Mac Book Air...

Problems with X200 Tablet On Screen Display

I'm having problems with my on screen display (OSD) on my Thinkpad X200 Tablet. The strange thing is that it used to work, but now it's stopped working. I've re-installed all the components and I still have no luck. There must be a registry setting that I have to modify.

I'm running Vista (64 bit) and the OSD is version 5.20.01

I'm starting to wonder if all the strange events are related to the 64 bit Vista. I think I'll wait until I can load the final release of Windows 7.

Opera Mini, Opera Mobile, Skyfire, and Iris

I've been testing several different mobile browsers lately. They are:

• Pocket Internet Explorer (I hardly use this one anymore)
• Skyfire (lots of positive press recently)
• Opera Mobile
• Opera Mini (need Java Virtual Machine)
• Iris (recently updated)

Verdict? Still don't have one since most of these are still beta versions. I'm still waiting for final versions. While I wait, I think Skyfire is at the top of my list right now.

When will Firefox be available for Windows Mobile? I doubt that Safari will ever be made available for Windows Mobile. Is there a chance that Chrome will make it to Windows Mobile? Doubtful since Android is trying to win some of the marketplace.

Zynx Health

If you haven't read about Zynx Health, you should get familiar with this company that provides decision support and applies evidence-based clinical recommendations.

Technology + medicine = improved patient outcomes.

It's great to see innovation at work.

NaviStar ThermoCool radiofrequency ablation catheter

The FDA has approved the NaviStar ThermoCool radiofrequency ablation catheter for atrial fibrillation (also known as afib). Although there are various types of ablation catheters, this is the first one to receive the indication for afib. As technology allows medical device companies to create innovative devices, I often wonder what surgery and bedside procedures will be like 10 years from now.

8th Annual ePharma Summit

The 8th Annual ePharma Summit is about to occur in Philadelphia. The use of digital media to drive marketing is increasing rapidly as more healthcare professionals become "tech-savvy." If you have a marketing background and you want to see what types of innovations are coming around the corner, then you won't want to miss this event.

The use of digital medial is also growing in the education industry. eLearning is becoming a hot topic and universities are starting to tailor their curriculums to focus on eLearning.

SynaMed

Looking for another free EMR/EHR service? SynaMed currently offers several free options that look quite promising. I haven't personally tried the service so I can't speak from first-hand experience. However, you may want to take a look if you're thinking about a free EHR solution.

How do you get your CME credit?

Since you're reading my blog, you're naturally biased towards computers. Hence, I would guess that you get most of your CME credit online. Am I right? There is a very strong trend in online CME. More and more physicians and other healthcare professionals are getting their CME/CE credit online. There is a very bright future for online CME. As travel costs continue to rise, fewer clinicians are traveling to major national meetings.

Free (or almost free) EMR/EHR solutions

Here's a list that was provided by someone on the Student Doctor Network:

http://www.freedommd.com/
http://www.myfreeemr.com/
http://www.mtbc.com/free-emr.aspx
http://emrfreesoftware.com/
http://oemr.org/
http://practicefusion.com/

This person forgot about VersaForm and MD Bug. I think it's only a matter of time before a robust open-source platform gets developed.

American College of Legal Medicine (ACLM)

Have you considered a career in legal medicine? The American College of Legal Medicine has an upcoming meeting later this month. You missed the 7-day Caribbean cruise that focused on medical-legal issues (among other things). That just happened in mid-January.

However, you can attend the annual meeting that's happening in Las Vegas. Go through the "medical malpractice mock trial" and see what that's like. Maybe you'll be inspired to attend law school and make legal medicine your future career. In any case, you may want to learn more if any of this is peaking your interest.

Check it out here:
http://www.aclm.org/

Traffic Update

Search engine traffic represents over 60% of the traffic coming to this site. I suppose that's a good thing, but the types of keywords that are leading to this site are quite varied. For instance, who would have thought that these words would be some of the top keywords for my blog?

swallow syncope, rivaroxaban, BlackBerry, epocrates, BlackBerry Storm, free emr, blackberry storm medical applications, opera mini vs opera mobile, opera mobile vs opera mini, md mph jobs, mba and mph jobs for doctors, non clinical careers for physicians, how much traffic does a site get, samsung umpc windows 7, and more. Talk about a totally random set of keywords.

If you stumbled on this site by typing a keyword, I'd be curious to know what you were searching for.

My Impressions of the Sony Vaio P

I had a chance to play with the Sony Vaio P (Lifestyle) PC while I was in San Francisco. The Sony Store had them out on display so I stopped and played with them for a few minutes. I was very impressed by the size, but the screen resolution is so high that I think most people would have a very difficult time seeing anything on these things. The keyboard felt nice to the touch and had good feedback. That was one of the biggest complaints with the Vaio VGN-UX series. The keyboard on the P series is very nice.

So would I buy one? Not right now. I think Sony should add a few features first:

1. Add a backlit keyboard. When working in a dark room, a backlit keyboard is a must.
2. Add a touch screen and allow the screen to rotate so that it can be used as a tablet.
3. Drop the price so that it's in the same range as other devices in that class.

If Sony does all these things (which I doubt will happen), then I may be seriously tempted by this nice looking device. In the meanwhile, I will use what I have.

The end of axitinib

Pfizer was developing axitinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor or TKI) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, recent Phase III results were disappointing. As a result, Pfizer has terminated development on this agent. This is just another failure example of all the money, time, and energy spent on drug development research. It really is a shame because we need more effective therapies in oncology.