• Meant to be broken? (Kevin M.D.)
• No pay for more never events: CMS proposes more never events and more hospital reporting obligations(HealthBlawg)
• You Have It Exactly Backwards (PANDA BEAR, MD)
• Which kids in the US are most likely to use tobacco? (Freedom From Smoking)

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I keep hoping it will go away (after all, it’s been around for over a year), but I can’t seem to escape that two-minute-plus Celebrex ad with a bunch of freaky faceless people bicycling, drinking tea, painting fences, reading the newspaper, swimming with the fishes, dancing under the stars, and playing frisbee with the dog in slow motion. I guess I must be watching channels for the arthritis demo, like AMC, a little too often.

With the slo-mo and totally weird vibe of the ad, I’ve been thinking of pulling the ad into my video editing software and laying on a new soundtrack that would be more appropriate to the visuals. Here are my candidates:

1. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
2. Comfortably Numb
3. Stairway to Heaven
4. Hotel California
5. Bohemian Rhapsody (the length is about the same…)
6. Don’t Worry Be Happy (should be the theme song for all DTC ads)

I’m leaning toward Lucy at this point — if I ever get around to doing it. In the meantime, here’s a version of the Celebrex ad with a more ominous vibe.

Oh, c’mon — of course you do. A blister pack, if you’re unaware, is drug packaging where the tablet or capsule is mounted on a card under a plastic dome. Here’s the video:

Yeah, I know … the narrator sounds like he’s on the same pharmaceutical regimen as Paula Abdul. But it’s still informative, isn’t it?

Matthew Holt has posted a byline by yours truly on the Health 2.0 Blog. Check it out.

• Web 2.0 Can Give Consumers More Control over Health Care (eWeek.com)
• Defining Health 2.0 (SocialButterfly)
• Health 2.0 - Modern Healthcare Online (The Patient’s Doctor)
• Second-hand Health Care: Why Health 2.0 is Lagging (ICMCC)

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• Get Physical: At Home Partner Circuits (Fitsugar)
• Not so secret (PharmaGossip)
• Meet GNA - DNA’s ‘ambidextrous’ cousin (Genetics and Health)
• Can We Play Surgery On XBOX Then Perform It In The OR ? (Goomedic.com)

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We’re pleased to be included, along with many of our blogging and Health 2.0 friends, on this terrific list. Thanks!

Looks like it’s time to amp up your spam filters, folks.

This marketing e-mail, sent to PR firms nationwide by the PR list vendor Bulldog Reporter, was passed on to me by a PR-practicing friend this morning:

“Inside Health Media’s huge new blog directory gives PR pros an inside guide to influential bloggers covering health, medicine and fitness.”

Inside Health Media now gives you links to 596 blogs on individual diseases, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, women’s health, nutrition, health policy, health IT, fitness, parenting and much more!

This is such great media intelligence on such a hot new media format, I want to give you this blog directory access now. (Warning: Don’t pitch another blog before you review this list.)

If you want a comprehensive list of every major blog on health, medicine and fitness,let me give you free access to the Inside Health Media blog directory —plus start your free one-week trial subscription.

Just call toll-free 1-866-666-1198 or go to Free Access/No-Obligation Trial to get your copy. NOTE: Blog directory access offer expires May 2nd.

But wait, there’s more:

Dear XXXX,

What advantage do your competitors in health, medicine and fitness PR have that you don’t?

Fact: More than 120 top pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, healthcare PR firms, research facilities, medical schools and medical equipment manufacturers now subscribe to Bulldog Reporter’s Inside Health Media.

Why? Two reasons.

First, Inside Health Media’s daily online reports give them advance notice of hot new placement opportunities—and now the most comprehensive guide to healthcare blogs. This directory gives you instant access to 596 professional and consumer blogs—all with descriptions and most with contact info—conveniently organized into 29 categories! It gives you a chance to access blogs from healthcare professionals, executives, journalists, researchers, policymakers and consumers themselves.

Second, Inside Health Media gives PR pros hundreds of exclusive interviews with hundreds of top-tier journalists—who spell out in their own words exactly what kinds of stories they’re working on . . . and what kind of help they want from PR professionals.

It means you get an inside track on building valuable long-term relationships with the nation’s most influential editorial gatekeepers in health, medicine and fitness—ahead of the pack.

Take Inside Health Media’s new directories of health-related blogs: This huge directory lets you monitor and pitch blogs in 29 categories covering all manners of health, fitness and medical topics.

Find 327 blogs like these listed in the professional section:

• Pharmaceuticals (28 blogs)
• Health management (11 blogs)
• Health policy (36 blogs)
• Blogs by doctors (57 blogs)
• Biotechnology (18 blogs)
• Blogs by nurses (30 blogs)
• Public health (11 blogs)
• Healthcare IT (23 blogs)

Plus 277 blogs like these in the consumer section:

• Diabetes (14 blogs)
• Mental health (20 blogs)
• Consumer advocacy (18 blogs)
• Blogs by patients/caregivers (31 blogs)
• Diet/fitness (47 blogs)
• General science (22 blogs)
• Women’s health (16 blogs)
• Newspaper blogs (27 blogs)

Best of all, we’re adding new health, fitness and medical blogs every day!

I’m confident that once you see this comprehensive list of blog links and start receiving Inside Health Media every business day, you’ll understand why so many PR firms and corporate PR departments use this exclusive media intelligence to increase their coverage.

To gain your access to the new blog directory and take a test drive of Inside Health Media, just call 1-866-666-1198 or go to Free Access/No-Obligation Trial now.

I think you’ll so value this placement news and advice that you’ll want to continue your subscription for the coming year.

(Believe it or not: Many PR pros tell us they’ve been able to place stories in leading media even during their one-week trial subscription. Chances are good that you will, too!)

But please act now: This free blog access/free trial offer expires on Friday, May 2nd and will not be repeated.

Please drop me a note once you’ve started receiving Inside Health Media and tell me how you like it—let me also know which media, journalists or bloggers you want us to cover next.

Best Regards ,

Jim Sinkinson,
Publisher, Bulldog Reporter

I hope Jim didn’t use the Healthcare 100 for his source material … but I wouldn’t doubt it.

The Texas Startup Blog was kind enough to run a post by me on what it’s like to be a Health 2.0 startup from South Texas. Here’s an excerpt:

“I live in Spring Branch, Texas – not Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley or even Austin. I don’t particularly like small talk, about Web 2.0 or anything else. I haven’t prepared a PowerPoint deck full of made-up numbers showing my company’s path to $100 million in three years. I’ve self-funded my company rather than seeking VC funding – which means I don’t have to play the BS game and, more importantly, can build my business without interference.

“The result of all this is that, to some people, my startup and I are not part of their club. That’s OK, though. We’re winning anyway.”

Check the rest of it out here. And also check out this story on eDrugSearch by BizReport.