May 29, 2013
Hey Big Pharma! I'm Hungry!
Drug companies seem to be very interested in getting in front of patients to try and sell their medicine, right? Usually they sponsor a meeting where they share FDA-approved slideshows of FDA-approved data for an FDA-approved marketing dollar amount. In my 18 months as a speaker for one of the pharmaceutical companies, I traveled to most everywhere east of the Mississippi to deliver my own (also FDA-approved) talk about my experience on a particular drug for MS. And most of the people who attended were repeaters who just came for the food. And I'll bet the money in any pharmaceutical company's Marketing budget for all these meetings can support a small country.
At this moment it is time for me to make dinner for myself and my husband and do you know what? I'm exhausted. Pulling out pans and mixing ingredients and serving up a meal is just not in my physical bandwidth right now. Not to mention cleaning up afterward, holy cow! I'm wiped out just thinking about it, really. So, we are probably going to settle for PB&J or a can of Campbell's soup (possibly even just a spoonful of peanut butter and some Saltines). Then something dawned on me.
I think the MS Community as a whole agrees that a proper diet goes a long way toward fighting the ravages of MS, right? So, consider this. You want to be different from all the other MS drugs out there? Think outside the box. Sponsor cooking lessons that teach MSers how to eat as healthy as possible with the least amount of effort possible. Sure, present your dog and pony show, I know the FDA requires that, but take it a step further. Help attendees cook their own meals to eat! Show them handicap-friendly utensils. Or even better, build a network of kitchens to cook MS-friendly meals that patients/family/caregivers can order and either pick up themselves or have them delivered (like, to me tonight). Something like this would definitely call tons more attention to whomever did it.
I think this idea has a lot of potential, don't you? If a kitchen in my town would put together some healthy meal alternatives, I'd be first in line, no doubt.
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4 comments:
I like take-out from our local Thai place, or a call for pizza. The first is healthier than the last, but whatever.
You're right - this would be a ground-breaking idea. And I bet, if the prices were right, it would fly!
They'd have to compete with Meals on Wheels. Mom said that was pretty tasty, given the price.
Queen, isn't Meals on Wheels limited to people who are on SSDI or Medicare/Medicaid? I may be wrong about that but my idea would not replace Meals on Wheels. I wouldn't expect it to be a free service at all, but more like what Webster was talking about - another place to order take out and have it delivered. Just healthier.
Excellent idea! You have connections still. Drop them a line. After all, how does that saying go? "Give a person a free meal at a fancy restaurant and you only feed them for one week when they take all the extras home in the Tupperware they brought with them, but teach them to cook healthy with minimal effort and they might come to your next program and actually LISTEN to the presentation."
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