Tess Schulman - ASHES Nonprofit and Medical Device Problems Co-Chair says:

I would tell any new advocates that the two keys to success are collaboration and persistence! Team up with experienced advocacy groups and other non-profits like NCHR, even if they are tangentially relevant to your specific advocacy goals. We have strength in numbers, and that's how we get things done! You must be willing to go the distance, too, and realize it will be slow going, which is why you have to be persistent. It does get tiring, but that's why we collaborate, to share the load when some of us become overwhelmed. If I'm not knocking on the FDA's door or attending a public hearing like the one on immune reactions to metals in implants, I have a whole network of other advocates who can. We are the constant water, slowly wearing away the rock.

Last month we featured John James and his recently published research article, "Informed consent, shared-decision making and a reasonable patient’s wishes based on a cross-sectional, national survey in the USA using a hypothetical scenario," published in the BMJ.  This month we want to show how this research can be applied in practical ways for advocacy and patient care.

You can also read more about John's advocacy work in this issue of our newsletter.

Summer is ending, but our advocacy work continues.

This issue we'd like to honor Jamee Cook, a wife and mom from Texas. She worked as a paramedic in the state of Texas for 11 years but now spends most of her time volunteering as a patient advocate.  Read more about her advocacy for women who received breast implants in the August newsletter. 

Here's a summary of our recent activities, a salute to a valiant patient safety activist, and more information on what we're doing to insure that medical treatments involving drugs or devices are safe, effective, and affordable.

This summer, we'd like to give a salute to a valiant patient safety activist, and more information on medical devices. The spotlight is on a Linda Radach, a true warrior in many areas, but particularly on medical device safety.