Theresa Patton - TT Patton Consulting's blog

I can’t stop thinking about the OTC baby medicine recall.

Last week I attended a ‘by invitation-only’ meeting with my local congresswoman, US Rep. Melissa Bean.  I say ‘by invitation-only’ because that’s what the Daily Herald called it. I’m not one to talk politics –– although I’m intrigued by the content of what they argue –– but I suspect the headline was meant to create political debate.  Why?

Some people in my house turned 50 years old last year.  Their first birthday present was an introduction/application to join AARP.  For just $16 per year, you become eligible to receive all sorts of discounts, exclusive memberships and the like.  But the biggest advantage, in my opinion, is the fact your spouse is automatically enrolled in the program with you, no matter what his/her age.  So yep, I included my name and I received my own AARP card in the mail about a week later!  A few weeks after that we received our big package with all the red carpet benefits of

What does patient education look like?  And how much should it cost a patient?

I’ve noticed many companies getting creative to generate new business and maintain their existing business.  The television industry is getting pretty good at this.  Take for example the episodes when Grey’s Anatomy characters appeared on Private Practice and visa versa, two weeks in row.  It gets you to watch both shows, two hours of fascinating TV, each week.  I’m sure the advertisers loved it.  

Taglines can (and should) say a lot about you in just a few words. 

My favorite tagline is “Get a Mac.”  Because I’m one of the junkies that can’t wait until the iPad comes out.  And using this tagline implies that there is no explanation needed. Once you “Get a Mac” you will never get another PC.  

In President Obama’s weekly address a couple of weeks back regarding the benefits of the healthcare reform bill, he stated, “Insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers – so that we can start catching preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end.” [Source: whitehouse.gov]

The other day I received a 78-page pamphlet in the mail from my health insurance company. I was sure it related to the benefit product we selected for 2010 so I thought, “Great, more to read to understand my coverage.” But it was a little late, considering I had already selected the health plan. “Oh well,” I thought, “I’ll skim it just to become familiar.” On the first page there was a letter signed by both the President/CEO and the Secretary of the company. Nice touch.

If I watch one more weight loss commercial, I just might sign up. I know I should not be surprised that the weight loss people are everywhere at the beginning of a calendar year. They’re on every TV channel, in every magazine, on every billboard, on Facebook and even on Twitter. I actually received a note in the mail with my name and age on it asking me “if now was the time to lose those extra pounds from the holidays.” How did they know?

Sometimes it’s nice if the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.  

I’m still very excited about the CVS/Pharmacy calculator and the numerous commercials they are running related to the Medicare Part D benefit.  I guess it’s the “techy” side of me that simply likes playing with the calculator as well as all the educational elements of the website.