MedPage Today

MedPage Today is a web-based medical news service provider which caters recent clinical news from relevant domain, scientific conference coverage, etc., primarily for medical and health professionals.[1] The service also offers continuing medical education (CME) credit options for practicing physicians and medical students.[2]

History

The news service MedPage Today was funded by Robert S. Stern in March 2005.[3][4] In January 2010, the organization was provided approval for offering American Academy of Family Physicians-accredited CME credits in collaboration with the Office of Continuing Medical Education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.[5][6][7] The organization is based in New York City.[8]

In December 2010, the organization was acquired by Everyday Health.[9] In July 2011, MedPage Today announced collaboration with American Heart Association for providing specialized newsletter services related to cardiovascular news for the concerned professional. The service was named Cardiovascular Daily.[10][11] In June 2017, MedPage Today started to collaborate with Endocrine society to commence a separate reading room in the specialized niche.[12]

The news service has been awarded Platinum eHealthcare Leadership Award multiple times in different categories.[13][14][15][16]

In News

Rising case of amputation

During October 2017, Cheryl Clark of MedPage Today wrote an independent statistical and clinical analysis on the rise of case of amputation for the patients suffering from diabetes from 2013 onwards.[17][18] This analysis invited mixed receptions from the different parts of the medical profession.[19][20]

Investigations of opioid painkillers

During 2011 and 2012, MedPage Today and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel jointly carried out an investigation on the 'questionable financial relationships' between the pharmaceutical companies which commercially produce narcotic painkillers and numerous nonprofit organizations who persistently advocate for the pain treatment. The investigation included the special report where it was claimed that UW Pain & Policy Studies Group (a University of Wisconsin-Madison based organization of medical professionals) received undisclosed amount of $2.5 million from drug manufacturers to advocate and promote the usage and prescription of opioid based drugs.[21] The investigation was further extended by the U.S. Senate Committee on its merit. Endorsing the findings of the journalistic investigation the chairman of the US Senate Committee Max Baucus remarked "It is clear that the United States is suffering from an epidemic of accidental deaths and addiction resulting from increased use of powerful narcotic painkillers". [22][23][24] While the committee also described the situation of pervasive practice of prescribing opioid painkillers as an "epidemic", the focus of the discussion was the drug OxyContin, manufactured by Purdue Pharma.[25]

During 2015, MedPage Today and The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel jointly in their investigative report mentioned the troubled history of approval of Opana ER as done by FDA and its consequent pervasive abuse.[26] Triggered by the report and its consequent aftermath, FDA finally decided to remove the opioid painkiller from the market for the second time during June 2017 where the same drug was removed from the market in 1979 followed by the alarming abuse during 1960 and 1970.[27][28][29][30]

Dinner table story

In November 2017, MedPage Today published a critical report on the insurance machinery and its way of functioning which was referred as "dinner table stories" by others.[31] The report fueled controversy and its reception was mixed; some regarded it as useful for exposing the unethical practices carried out by the insurance officials, while others raising questions of factual accuracy and criticized the depiction of the preauthorization process.[32][33][34][35]

Suicide cases

MedPage Today is known for carrying out series of analysis on suicide cases, instances, rates etc.[36][37][38] In September 2018, MedPage Today published a report blaming the medicine professionals including physicians and their "lack of clinical training" as the reason for rising rate of suicide in the United States. The loci of the report was to fix the accountability of the suicides on the physicians and the rising rate of suicide was blamed to be a result of the failure of the physicians in general.[39] The report invited severe criticism from physicians and the hypothesis in the report was rejected by most of the medical professionals.[40]

References

1. "MedPage Today LLC – Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
2. "Get Free CME Credits with MedPage Today Weekly Education Update". DeptMedicine.Arizona.edu. Department of Medicine, University of Arizona. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
3. "News". Projects in Knowledge. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
4. "Sunny Yudkoff, Adam Stern". The New York Times. August 26, 2012. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
5. Huang, Michael Bailou. "Research & Subject Guides: Medical Education: Continuing Medical Education". Guides.Library.Stonybrook.edu. Stony Brook University. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
6. Enslow, Electra. "Library Guides: Continuing Medical Education (CME): Online Sources of CME". Guides.Lib.UW.edu. University of Washington. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
7. Office of Continuing Professional Development. "Pennsylvania Medical Licenses and CME Requirements". JeffLine.Jefferson.edu. Philadelphia: Thomas Jefferson University. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
8. "About MedPage Today". MedPageToday.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
9. "Everyday Health buys MedPage Today in play for professional space". Medical Marketing and Media. December 14, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
10. "MedPage Today Announces Relationship with The American Heart Association". FierceHealthcare. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
11. "Everyday Health buys MedPage Today in play for professional space". Medical Marketing and Media. December 14, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
12. "Endocrine Society partners with MedPage Today to Deliver Unique Content Offering". Endocrine.org. Endocrine Society. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
13. "Endocrine Society partners with MedPage Today to Deliver Unique Content Offering | Endocrine Society". www.endocrine.org. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
14. "MedPage Today(R) Wins Platinum eHealthcare Leadership Award". www.medindia.net. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
15. "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
16. "Clinical Correlations Awarded Platinum eHealthcare Leadership Award – Clinical Correlations". Retrieved December 20, 2020.
17. "Diabetic Amputation Rates Soar in California, Nationally". MedPageToday.com. September 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
18. Clark, Cheryl (October 2, 2017). "National experts and state lawmaker react to diabetes amputation increase". iNewSource.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
19. "About the Dangers of Invokana". Drug & Device Watch. Akin Mears Law. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
20. "Annual Review: Diabetes – MedPageToday.com". Newsbeezer.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
21. "Chronic Pain Fuels Boom in Opioids". SeniorWomen.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
22. "MedPage Today/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Series Triggers Senate Investigation". MedPageToday.com. May 9, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
23. "Is your doctor banned from practicing in other states? State licensing systems keep patients in the dark". Projects.JSOnline.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
24. "Wisconsin". HealthJournalism.org. Association of Health Care Journalists. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
25. Grassley, Charles E.; Baucus, Max. "Letter to President and CEO of Purdue Pharma" (PDF). US Senate Finance Committee.
26. "A Look Back: Abandoned Painkiller Makes a Comeback". MedPageToday.com. June 9, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
27. "FDA Wants This Opioid Off the Market". HealthLeadersMedia.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
28. Moorman-Li, Robin; Motycka, Carol A.; Inge, Lisa D.; Congdon, Jocelyn Myrand; Hobson, Susan; Pokropski, Brian. "A Review of Abuse-deterrent Opioids for Chronic Nonmalignant Pain". Pharmacy and Therapeutics. 37 (7): 412–418. ISSN 1052-1372. PMC 3411218. PMID 22876107.
29. "What Is Opana Used to Treat?". DualDiagnosis.org. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
30. Fauber, John. "FDA seeks to remove powerful opioid from market for second time". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
31. "Who Actually Is Reviewing All Those Preauthorization Requests?". MedPageToday.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
32. Jaklevic, Mary Chris; Lomangino, Kevin. "MedPage Today's 'dinner table' stories: Do readers really know what they're being served?". HealthNewsReview.org. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
33. "Pre-authorization is hell. Here's why". KevinMD.com. July 5, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
34. "Insurance Authorization Services for Prior Authorization". Outsource Strategies International. March 15, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
35. Williams, David E. "ER cost control: The opportunity from health reform". Health Business Group. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
36. "Alarming New Data Shows More Women Having Suicidal Thoughts During Pregnancy And After". HuffPost. November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
37. "Nurse Suicides: Under The Radar". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
38. "Suicides among nurses are on the rise. Here's why one of America's fastest-growing jobs is facing a major crisis". Business Insider. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
39. "Experts: Physicians Need to Own Suicide Prevention". MedPageToday.com. September 13, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
40. Friedman, Michael B.; Nestadt, Paul S.; Prince, Elizabeth. "Don't Blame Physicians for Suicide Spike Even Though They Can Help to Reduce It" (PDF). MichaelBFriedman.com. This is a letter-to-the-editor by three medical practitioners to MedPage Today. It is unclear if MPT every ran a copy of it or responded to it.

Further reading

• Warning, the Growing Danger of Prescription Drug Diversion: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, April 14, 2011. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2012.
• Witte, Raymond H.; Mosley-Howard, G. Susan (2014). Mental Health Practice in Today's Schools: Issues and Interventions. Springer Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8261-9642-2.
• Haynes, Robert (October 23, 2014). "Take Control of Life's Crises Today! A Practical Guide". eBookIt.com. ISBN 978-1-4566-2320-3.
• Rosen, Larry D. (2012). iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-00036-1.</ref>
• Weil, Andrew (2010). You Can't Afford to Get Sick: Your Guide to Optimum Health and Health Care. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-101-44605-8.
• O'Kelly, Michael; Ratitch, Bohdana (2014). Clinical Trials with Missing Data: A Guide for Practitioners. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-76253-0.
• Bateson, John (2015). The Last and Greatest Battle: Finding the Will, Commitment, and Strategy to End Military Suicides. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-939234-6.
• Bryant Cooper, Elorice A. (2011). My Life with Temporomandibular (Tmj): Living with Tmj. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-4653-0579-4.
• Skolnik, Sam (2011). High Stakes: The Rising Cost of America's Gambling Addiction. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-8070-0630-6.
• Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Sciences Policy; Committee on Pain Management and Regulatory Strategies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse (2017). Bonnie, Richard J. (ed.). Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine / National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-45954-9.
• Lembke, Anna (2016). Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It's So Hard to Stop. JHU Press. ISBN 978-1-4214-2140-7.