Physician-blogger Elaine Schattner writes that Gregg of the Allman Brothers has hepatitis C and has “teamed with” or is “working with” Merck to promote hep C awareness.
“The ethics of this are complicated: On the one hand, it might be a good thing for a music icon to raise public awareness about hepatitis C, so that more people at risk might get tested and then treated early before they develop severe liver disease and cancer, and would feel better. Gregg Allman is in a position to spread that message effectively: “If I have hep C, you might have hep C. Let me tell you about it…” (somewhat in the style of Magic Johnson, on HIV).
On the other hand, the notion of a post-transplant musician serving as the public’s primary source for information on hepatitis C seems preposterous, especially if he’s tied in with a pharmaceutical company with a stake in the matter. The situation is reminiscent of Sally Fields starring in commercials for Boniva, an osteoporosis drug.
You might ask yourself — and it’s not a trivial exercise — who can best, and objectively, inform the public about viral liver infections and the potential benefits of treatment: doctors? (we harbor biases; many have industry ties); patient peers? (Allman is a heightened example, but he’s hardly objective about this, either)”
Oh, and were you aware that Merck is in a heated battle with competition in the multibillion dollar hepatitis C drug market?
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Monday at #ADA2021, an infectious disease epidemiologist, a journalist, and a researcher shared perspectives on communication of risk in the era of COVID-19: http://ow.ly/ROfR30rMeE7 @AstleyCM @garyschwitzer @berthahidalgo @ADA_DiabetesPro
Shoutouts to @susan_bewley @drkevinknopf @MichaelBaum11 in this call for more than fawning coverage from press releases for these kinds of stories.
Also, linked history inside goes back 5 years just on Grail apparently trying to become Holy Grail. https://twitter.com/garyschwitzer/status/1408849696416841731
Comments
Please note, comments are no longer published through this website. All previously made comments are still archived and available for viewing through select posts.
Bradley Flansbaum
June 29, 2011 at 6:27 pmOkay, okay, I hear ya…
But you have listened to Live At The Fillmore, yes?
Seriously.
C’mon, I mean give the guy a break. :)
Alright, now lets get back to some serious health policy.
Brad
Mary Gawlas, RN
July 5, 2011 at 2:29 pmSince Sally Fields flew in with her “God’s Geese” habit straight into America’s heart, I have had a soft spot for her cutesy looks and attitude, no matter what part she played later in life, and would take anything she had to say as pretty benign. So when I found out that the side effects of Boniva were more detrimental than the condition it supposedly treated, I have been devastated to know that MY Sally Fields was even remotely connected with it (knowing full well she is probably robustly compensated.) So I am on your side of this argument. Thanks Pharma, although I will use your drug reps cutesy incentive pens and clocks, I will do my homework, get lots of opinions not the least of which is my physician’s and my nursing pals’ and make up my own mind.
Alan Shackelford
November 18, 2011 at 7:50 amI am an Allman fan, and always will be. But that has little to do with my situation. I have Hep-C and would have delayed my official diagnosis were it not for Gregg mentioning it in an ad of some kind. I had the classic symptoms of liver ailments, so I asked for a test. This weekend I begin my meds, which are quite expensive and are going to make me miserable. But I may walk out of this in pretty good shape.
I don’t think we should beat Gregg up too much about this. Compensated or not, he has the ability to do a lot of good for folks like me that just need to be reminded to get up and do something.
Our Comments Policy
But before leaving a comment, please review these notes about our policy.
You are responsible for any comments you leave on this site.
This site is primarily a forum for discussion about the quality (or lack thereof) in journalism or other media messages (advertising, marketing, public relations, medical journals, etc.) It is not intended to be a forum for definitive discussions about medicine or science.
We will delete comments that include personal attacks, unfounded allegations, unverified claims, product pitches, profanity or any from anyone who does not list a full name and a functioning email address. We will also end any thread of repetitive comments. We don”t give medical advice so we won”t respond to questions asking for it.
We don”t have sufficient staffing to contact each commenter who left such a message. If you have a question about why your comment was edited or removed, you can email us at feedback@healthnewsreview.org.
There has been a recent burst of attention to troubles with many comments left on science and science news/communication websites. Read “Online science comments: trolls, trash and treasure.”
The authors of the Retraction Watch comments policy urge commenters:
We”re also concerned about anonymous comments. We ask that all commenters leave their full name and provide an actual email address in case we feel we need to contact them. We may delete any comment left by someone who does not leave their name and a legitimate email address.
And, as noted, product pitches of any sort – pushing treatments, tests, products, procedures, physicians, medical centers, books, websites – are likely to be deleted. We don”t accept advertising on this site and are not going to give it away free.
The ability to leave comments expires after a certain period of time. So you may find that you’re unable to leave a comment on an article that is more than a few months old.
You might also like