MM&M's 40th anniversary called to mind that one of my first articles for the magazine--not quite 40 years ago but close--was about the emergence of accredited CME and how it not only provided a new communications channel for the industry but was making a major contribution to better patient care.

He had a way with words. Anyone who knew him would tell you that.

Jack Barrette of Yahoo! wrote in a letter to the editor (MM&M, May 2006): "We live in a world of consumers deeply engaged in their health."

It is a fact of life that direct-to-consumer (DTC) promotion has become increasingly educational—as addressed by PhRMA's guidelines for DTC advertising, FDA's public hearing on consumer guidelines and, recently, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication's citizens' petition.

In my agency days, I always wanted to see firsthand how well the sales aids we created worked in the field.

As a former journalist, I was always trained to write the truth.

A year ago, conventional wisdom proclaimed that the dollar would continue to decline.