The year 2008 may have had its problems, but the medical blogosphere prospered as it grew and attracted ever more readers. From literary medblogs to ones focusing on technology, the medical blogosphere continues to entertain, educate, and empower its readers from all over the world. Some blogs have thousands of followers, while others are in the dozens. All of the blogs have at least two things in common: a bond with their readers and a passion for medicine.
This competition was established to highlight and award the best writers in the medical blogosphere. The polls were open, and the readers have spoken, thanking their favorite blogs one vote at a time.
Medgadget would like to thank everyone involved in the competition, including our sponsors Epocrates and Placebo Journal, nominators, judges, and everyone who voted. Without your participation this would have been impossible.
And now, imagine a drum roll…
The winner of the Best Medical Blog of 2008 is the legendary KevinMD. Dr Kevin Pho has built an exemplary blog that features timely news and opinion of the latest in medicine, bringing in one of the most devoted audiences and keeping thousands of curious minds satisfied with smart and funny writing. While working on his own blog, Kevin has consistently promoted the rest of the medical blogosphere as a useful and reliable source for medical knowledge and opinion. And so, we tip our collective hats to Kevin who will be receiving, thanks to the generous sponsorship by Epocrates, a Palm® Tungsten™ E2 handheld loaded with the latest version of Epocrates Essentials Deluxe, a premium mobile suite of drugs, diseases and diagnostics that also features a medical dictionary, coding reference, clinical calculators and more. The package is valued at over $500.
This year’s winner of the Best New Medical Blog of 2008 is Life in The Fast Lane by Dr Mike Cadogan, an Aussie emergency physician who profiles amusing cases, and discusses medical technology and the power of Health 2.0 to influence medicine. Having developed a loyal audience, Dr. Cadogan is an exciting new member of the medical blogosphere who we hope will continue writing for many more years.
The voters have chosen Ronni Gordon’s Running for My Life as the Best Literary Medical Weblog of 2008. Ronni is a leukemia patient who tells her story through a running journal that inspires others and opens our eyes to the contrasting moments in the life of a chronic disease sufferer. We wish Ronni the very best and congratulate her for creating some of the best writing in the medical blogosphere.
The Best Clinical Sciences Weblog of 2008 is Clinical Correlations, a group effort by physicians from NYU’s Department of Medicine. As one of the most professional and meticulously edited medical blogs, Clinical Correlations provides clinically useful commentary and analysis of the latest in the science of medicine. We congratulate all the individual authors and editors of this extraordinary blog.
Orac of Respectful Insolence has been chosen as the Best Health Policies/Ethics Weblog of 2008. As one of the members of Science Blogs, Orac attempts to bring sanity to the world full of medical quackery. His efforts at exposing the dangers of alternative medicine, pseudoscience, and evolution deniers have made Orac one of the most recognized online activists against medical fraud and pseudoscience.
In the Best Medical Technologies/Informatics Weblog of 2008 category the winner is Dr. John D. Halamka who writes Life as a Healthcare CIO. Dr. Halamka is Chief Information Officer of the CareGroup Health System, Chief Information Officer and Dean for Technology at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the New England Health Electronic Data Interchange Network (NEHEN), CEO of MA-SHARE (the Regional Health Information Organization), Chair of the US Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), and a practicing Emergency Physician. Sporting such a resume, Dr Halamka is an invaluable source of thought and wisdom for anyone interested in contemporary developments in medical informatics and how data interoperability could practically be implemented in America’s hospitals and clinics. We’d like to congratulate Dr. Halamka and look forward to more from one of the finest blogs in the business.
Finally, Kerri Morrone Sparling wins the Best Patient’s Blog of 2008 award for her Six Until Me. Kerri opens her world to the rest of us as she describes the life of someone dealing with the reality of diabetes on a daily basis. Six Until Me brings together other diabetes sufferers, their families, and many curious folks to learn and reflect on the frustrations and joys of life with one of the most common, frustrating, and debilitating diseases around. Congrats Kerri, and we look forward to more of your writing!
All winners of the individual categories will receive a Palm Z22 handheld with Epocrates Essentials, a package valued at $250.
And to wrap up the prizes, all winners will receive an annual subscription to the Placebo Journal, “The Only Medical Journal That Will Make You Laugh… On Purpose!”
Finally, we’d like to again congratulate all the winners and nominees who have displayed some of the most engaging and interesting writing in medicine. Together we disseminate information about medicine, entertain, and help others cope with the physical and emotional consequences of disease. We look forward to another exciting year of medical writing and can’t wait to see new blogs and new posts in the most important, challenging, and exciting industry around.
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