Newsletters and Bulletins
Short and focused. That's why we still use them.
Case history - International Ibuprofen Foundation and Aspirin Foundation
The IIF and AF were formed by the manufacturers of OTC products to promote interest in these analgesics. I research and write two versions of each newsletter - one for professional media, the other for lay media. The format is similar: news stories, summaries of new research, or anything that might catch an editor's eye.
[Link to sample]Case history - NHS newsletter
This is a good example of a single sponsor newsletter which addresses a broad range of issues affecting key therapeutic areas without attempting any promotion. The aim is to keep the field force informed about service developments that impact on their activities - for example, non-medical prescribing. Topicality and clarity are particularly important and I include web links so the newsletter is itself an information resource.
Case history - therapeutics bulletins for the NHS
A bulletin means quite a workload and regular publication can soon become a burden on short-staffed units. When an NHS therapeutics centre was hot by staff shortages, they asked me to write their current awareness bulletins for primary care. The editorial process worked surprisingly well. I'd get a package of papers in the post and, after some more research, write a first draft. This was error-checked, then reviewed by four or five clinicians and their comments were returned to me to write the second draft. Depending on the pace of clinical developments and how controversial the review was, we could get through four or five drafts before we were done. We covered a wide range of new drugs and therapeutic areas. COX-2s were a nightmare: six drafts in four months!