Healthcare communications and marketing news and information

As many of you know, I am the host of The Digital Health Revolution, a WebTV show produced by Scribe Media.  The program features in-depth interviews with the people who are using and developing the technologies that are shaping global health.  Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to interview some very interesting people like Susannah Fox of the Pew Internet & American Life Project and Marc Monseau of Johnson and Johnson.

Later this month, I will be taping an interview with the well-known Esther Dyson of EDventure Holdings.  For those of you who are not aware of who Dyson is, here’s an excerpt from a recent Health 2.0 blog post noting that she has signed on as an advisor for the next Health 2.0 conference:

“[Dyson] has been watching, leading and guiding innovation in the technology industry for more than two decades. In 1983, she purchased a small and relatively obscure industry newsletter called the Rosen Electronics Letter, renamed it Release 1.0 and made history with a series of bold forecasts on the impact of the pc and computer networks. Her predications included some of the first warnings that American dominance in R&D might be on the decline and that the American education system might fail to produce adequate numbers of students trained in the sciences. From 1998 to 2000 Esther served as the chairman of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. In 2003, in response to public criticism of ICANN, she played a key role in driving reforms at the organization. Companies where she has served on the board or as an early stage investor include Flickr, Del.icio.us, Orbitz, Medscape and Medstory, as well as many, many others.”

In addition, it is worth noting that Dyson is currently a board member of 23andMe, a new “web-based service that helps you read and understand your DNA.”  Recently, I wrote about the new company (which has raised some hackles) and talked about the need for a solid communications strategy that will help people better understand the science and implications of genetics.  

Your Questions Wanted  

Today, I’m asking you to help me prepare for my interview by submitting questions about the following topics in the comments section of this blog.  I will review the questions and select six to ask Dyson during our conversation.  I will be focusing on:

-The perils and promise of genetics 
-Why electronic medical records and electronic prescribing have not gotten off the ground.
-Whether the technology companies and managed care organizations can find common cause
-How we can inject long-term thinking into the race to leverage and develop Web 2.0 technologies.
-Protecting privacy while using technology responsibly, can we achieve this lofty goal?

Of course you are welcome to suggest other topics, but I can’t promise that we’ll have the opportunity to cover them during our time together.  I will be speaking with Dyson on December 21.  Please submit your questions by December 19.  The interview will air in early 2008.