Cyberchondriac

One who imagines physical ailments after reading about them on the Internet.

Source: Merriam Webster

Qwerty Tummy

Stomach upsets caused by bacteria from dirty computer keyboards.

The phrase “qwerty tummy” is in the news once more, following revelations from the Royal Society of Chemistry that mouse droppings are being found on office keyboards. Paul Sims wrote in The Daily Mail:

A spokesman for the RSC said: “There is evidence that mice run along a computer keyboard, pressing down on the keys to get at food crumbs left by people snacking while working.

“That is why it is important to wash your hands before eating food.”

Computer keyboards have long been blamed for causing health problems. Research conducted by Which? in 2008 found they can harbour more harmful bacteria than a lavatory seat.

Many users, they said, are at risk of becoming ill with stomach bugs dubbed “qwerty tummy” after the first six letters on a keyboard.

source: Schott's Vocab

Disease Branding

October 18, 2010, 1:30 pm

Published on: Schott's Vocab

Hyping the profile of a medical condition in order to sell its treatment.

Writing for CNN, Carl Elliott compared the modern marketing of certain medicines with Edward Bernays’s idea, in the 1920s, of selling pianos by popularizing the idea that sophisticates had music rooms:

Just as Bernays sold pianos by selling the music room, pharmaceutical marketers now sell drugs by selling the diseases that they treat. The buzzword is “disease branding.”

To brand a disease is to shape its public perception in order to make it more palatable to potential patients. Panic disorder, reflux disease, erectile dysfunction, restless legs syndrome, bipolar disorder, overactive bladder, ADHD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, even clinical depression: All these conditions were once regarded as rare until a marketing campaign transformed the brand.

Once a branded disease has achieved a degree of cultural legitimacy, there is no need to convince anyone that a drug to treat it is necessary. It will come to him as his own idea.

According to Elliott, “disease branding” works best when a condition can be de-stigmatized, or when one can imply that a condition is under-diagnosed

Top Buzzwords in Healthcare Narrative

In what could presage mounting difficulties for USA healthcare reform roll-out, the top buzzwords associated with the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform ‘narrative’ have been found to be Rationing, Out-of-control-spending, Price Controls, Non-sustainable, and Mandate Failure.

In addition, Gaming the System was the key underlying trend that was discovered. The results of the Healthcare NarrativeTracker Index™ (NTI™) were reported earlier today by The Global Language Monitor, the media analytics company, and OpenConnect, an innovator in defining and improving process efficiency.
The NTI focused on the unfolding narrative about the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Law since it is frequently cited as a model for the national legislation. The analysis was performed to better understand and help clarify the national healthcare reform discourse.
“There is a very good possibility that what we are learning from the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform can be applied directly to the national healthcare reform act,” said Edward ML Peters, CEO of OpenConnect.


Source: The Global Language Monitor