Ian C. Ellul

Everyone heard about the fairy tale penned by Hans Christian literary Andersen, first published in 1835 about a young woman whose future was determined by her awareness of a small pea. Even though she was unaware of the pea, that very same (small) pea caused her (great) discomfort all night long. However it also meant that this very same (temporary) discomfort, in the end, meant that she was to have a better life. Now, everyone also heard about what happened in parliament in January.  Now I ask, are there any similarities between the two events, albeit one is fictitional and the other is not?

And such similitude also applies to everything else which really matters.  Do you recall my last editorial when I quoted what Jobs said about his firing from Apple “[it] … was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.” At times such physical or emotional discernment is necessary to have a better tomorrow. Although some may argue that this may be true, the better tomorrow can well indeed be enjoyed by third parties not involved in any of the turmoil caused directly or indirectly by the aforementioned parties! But that is life, after all …

And incidentally, this year we have already seen a myriad of initiatives from the government. These include the following:
• The launch of My Health, whereby patients are now able to access their medical information online and share this with a doctor of their choice. The service will include hospital discharge summary reports, lab results, radiology reports and medicine entitlement information.  Another innovative aspect of this service is that patients can tag any registered doctor (like social The Prince[ess] and the Pea networking sites) to view their results and guide them in analysing
the information.
• The lauch of the e-tender concept which will replace the current tendering procedures used to buy medicine and which is claimed to reduce the shortage problem and reduce cost.
• Malta together with another 21 EU member states has become a signatory to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) on the 26th January (however, the final vote for the ACTA ratification will be cast in the European Parliament next June). ACTA is a plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement, including medicinal products. This has been shrouded in controversy, even locally, since some state that it could have a negative effect on trade in generic medicines. And now even the Commission is having its doubts on this agreement!
• A memorandum of understanding was signed by the health ministers of Libya and Malta in February, outlining open-ended collaborations in the field. Indeed, our Health Minister presented Libyan Health Minister Fatma Hamroush with a box of steroids, tetanus and pain medication as a token.
• The first reading of the in vitro fertilisation law which should take place in the coming days.

And one cannot but remember what Henri Queuille, three times French Prime Minister once said, “Politics is the art of postponing decisions until they are no longer relevant.” But not when we are in election mode, I must add!

Needless to say, the backbone of what great things are to come is IT and social networking. We have already discussed the former. With respect to the latter, we could mention Henry Ford Hospital (Detroit, US) which, a few months ago, became one of the first hospitals to Tweet
a live procedure from an operating room.  And social sites like Inspire nowadays provide a popular forum for patients to share their health problems and questions about treatments with other patients, as well as qualified medical personnel. Even locally, the Ministry of Health, Primary Health Care Department, Malta Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Directorate, as well as various private entities including The Synapse, use Facebook to reach out to the ever increasing community 196,000 local users (which translate into 81.45% of internet users) (Source: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/malta)

It is with this mentality that we at The Synapse are continuing to invest in a new revamped website to further increase networking – this will include the addition of a forum and facilities that promote social networking between members.  The new portal will include new sections such as the provision of better facilities for promotion of job vacancies as well as sale / exchange of any items between members. All is aimed to promote a healthy interaction between members of the various medical professions. If you require more information, simply send an email to editor@thesynapse.net