Friday, April 16, 2010
A 2009 survey done by survey by the National Center for Health Statistics found that more than half (51%) of all Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 had looked up health information on the Internet in the preceeding year. Not surprisingly, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities are ...
A few weeks ago I tried to comment on a previous article about Obama's healthcare package but at the time the posts weren't working or at least after I wrote my response I could not get back on because of an error message which was acnowledged last week.
As I look at each of the professional members of the board and their affiliations I understand that all of the parts of Health Central, with separate sites for each illness area (requiring separate registration and login) are ways for HC to acquire addys and opportunities to try to sell more pharmaceutical products to the advantage of Big Pharma, which is tied in to the Conservative views of Fox news etc. This is why when I read the article stating that the healtcare committee was not composed of bipartisan members I wrote back that the committee Obama put in charge of the health care changes WAS bipartisan. The problem was that the Republican and/or conservative members did not contribute to the proposed package and dragged the process on as long as possible - 14 months - until finally Obama had no choice but to do something even if it was a lot less than what he and the rest of underrepresented average Americans would have liked. I do not believe the polls that Americans don't want universal healthcare. I think that if it were available most people would be thrilled to have healthcare that is even half as good as what the members of the Senate and the House get.
Why are large consumer oriented businesses allowed to hire people for a max of 30 hours a week to avoid paying for part of their health care? It's shameful! So many of our young people, even those just out of college, are working two jobs for low wages and without benefits. The conservative media doesn't care about their healthcare, only about the bottom line for the Big Pharma companies they represent.
So thank you for pointing out how we should review the sites that we trust.
Susan
Ms. Richards,
I had hoped that you would respond to my comment - the central issue about the underwriters of this site is not one that the readers can answer.
Hi Susan,
I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your comments. I was away for 10 days and am finally beginning to catch up with all of the messages, questions and comments.
I'm not sure what article you are referring to. I only recall writing two articles about the health care reform issue. The first – Health Care Reform – How Will It Affect Chronic Pain Patients? – was written in July, 2009 and expressed my personal opinions and concerns regarding the health care debate. The second – Health Care Reform Act: Provisions That Take Effect Within the Next Year – was just what the title suggests – a list of the various aspects of the new law that will be effective in the next year. I don't think I mentioned anything in either article about whether or not the health care committee was bipartisan.
The viewpoints expressed in my first article were purely my own personal opinions. Yes, I do personally tend to have a somewhat conservative point of view. But HealthCentral has no affiliation with any political party. Actually, I have no idea where any of the board members stand on political issues as that has never been mentioned and has not been an issue. The experts on HealthCentral sites are free to express their own opinions and in fact, many were very supportive of the health care bill.
As for pharmaceutical companies, they do advertise on HealthCentral just as they do on pretty much every other health-related site. Web sites are no different than magazines, newspapers, radio and television – they are all funded by advertising revenues. However, HealthCentral is careful to clearly differentiate between advertising and editorial content. And the latter is never influenced by the former.
I have worked with HeathCentral for more than three years and I have never been told what to write or asked to write any article from any particular point of view. Whenever I do express an opinion, I try to make it clear that it is just that – my personal opinion. We encourage open discussion of health-related topics as long as it remains civil. You are welcome to do a SharePost and express your own opinions, or comment as you did and disagree with me. That's one of the things I love about both this country and this site.
I hope this helps address your concerns and reassures you that HealthCentral doesn't have any hidden agendas.
Karen