Each week Fard Johnmar, Envision Solutions' founder, offers insight, information and commentary on healthcare-related issues on his blogs, Envisioning 2.0 and HealthCareVox.  Click the links below to read some of the best posts from both Weblogs. 

The Biotech Industry, Genzyme & The Cure
The biotech industry currently enjoys a stellar reputation for developing medications for rare and difficult-to-treat medical conditions.  However, there are dark clouds on the horizon for biotech companies.  Angered by the high cost of biologics, Congress is seeking to slash biotech drug prices by paving the way for generics. 

This five-part series focuses on the biotech industry and features commentary by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Geeta Anand.  She wrote The Cure, a well-regarded book about biotech executive John Crowley’s efforts to find and later develop a cure for his children who are suffering from Pompe disease. 

Examining Consumer-Driven Healthcare

Over the past decade or so, healthcare economists, policy analysts and others have touted "consumerism" as the solution to the United States' health cost woes. The country currently spends a significant percentage of its gross domestic product on healthcare. Proponents of consumerism argue that health spending continues to rise partly because patients are shielded from the "real" costs of care and often overutilize medical services. 

Read the articles below for information and perspectives on the consumer-driven healthcare movement. 

- Healthcare Bloggers Talk About Consumer-Driven Healthcare

- Individual Insurance Market No Haven For Middle Class

- Consumer-Driven Healthcare: What It Means To Me, What People Need To Know

Getting Crisis Communications Right

Product recalls, lawsuits, scathing media coverage, protests . . . these are just some of the crises health communicators must prepare for or handle everyday.  Succeeding in a crisis requires intense preparation, discipline and knowledge.

Wayne Pines, who served as associate commissioner for public affairs at the Food and Drug Administration, has weathered his share of crises.  Recently he spoke with Envision Solutions about crisis communications and shared pearls of wisdom from his new book, Communicating in a Healthcare Crisis.  Click here to read this interview. 

Diving Deeper Into Online Health Search

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, most Americans are not practicing due diligence when searching the Internet for health content.  Pew’s findings raise some interesting questions about how people are consuming healthcare information online, including:

- Do Americans trust online content because they are frequenting Websites they consider well established and credible?

- Are they being exposed to user-generated media? This is important because it is generally assumed that people tend to be highly trusting of online content developed by their peers.

Envision Solutions, using data provided by Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service, set out to answer these questions in late 2006.
Click here to download a free report that provides new information about Americans' health-related online search habits.