| Nowadays, any serious TV station has its
own health show. The most successful health show in Germany
is called “Hauptsache Gesund” (in English: “Remain Healthy!”
or “Main Thing is Health”) which is a 45 min magazine broadcasted
weekly by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), a public TV
station located in Leipzig. The MDR broadcasts specifically
for the three biggest newly-formed German Federal States.
The program can be received in all parts of Germany, Austria,
and Switzerland via cable and satellite. “Hauptsache Gesund”
follows a simple scheme as many self-help shows do: An interview
with an expert, mostly a chief/consultant physician of a
hospital or university department, intermitted by short
films and studio events. A pharmacist being part of the
editorial staff makes the show so special and unique.
Kick-off of “Hauptsache Gesund” took place in the year
2000. The editorial team had the intention to present a
remedy in every show. This could be a traditional household
remedy or a non-medical intervention. At first, these presentations
were made by various experts who were invited to the show
each week. Gradually, it turned out to be more credible
to have the same expert each week. Mr. Friedemann Schmidt,
a community pharmacy owner from Leipzig, was chosen as the
show’s expert as the show was initially recorded at the
Saxonian pharmacy museum in Leipzig. In several short films
of maximum 5 minutes, Schmidt mixed ointments, presented
herbal drugs or the correct inhalation technique. Due to
the audience’s positive response, these occasional short
films became a permanent component of the weekly health
show. It has since been known as the “Hauptsache-Gesund-Pharmacy”.
Not only the set-up of the show has changed since the very
beginning. The topics have become more diverse as well.
Now, apart from household remedies, the focus is on the
assessment of OTC drugs and the correct use of prescribed
medicines. At center stage are main chronic diseases such
as hypertension or diabetes. Information about nutrition,
diet, and a healthy lifestyle are popular topics as well.
Whenever it seems sensible, Friedemann Schmidt also introduces
treatments and drugs of complementary medicine or explains
how to make individually prepared formulations. He believes
that the audience expects a good mixture of tradition and
innovation from a pharmacist.
“Hauptsache Gesund” is a live show (http://www.mdr.de/hauptsache-gesund/).
In a preliminary talk the topics are discussed and agreed
between the experts present in the studio. A good preparation
of the topics is important, as everything has to run smoothly
during a live show. Everybody in the studio must know exactly
what to do. Every knack must be perfect. This applies to
the studio team as well as to the host and the guest expert.
Minor mishaps may happen and must to be eliminated artfully.
The day after the show, the editorial staff is busy answering
letters and calls from the audience. The calls and letters
come from laymen as well as pharmacists. That is why it
is so important to have a pharmacist among the editorial
staff.
About one million people watch “Hauptsache Gesund” every
week, which is a big success for the TV station as well
as for the pharmacist profession. Hence, it is important
to heed the ideal of the profession. The “pharmacist on
TV” must act independently from sales’ interests, must be
authentic and must respond to the audience’s interests and
needs. That implies that the pharmacist makes honest statements
about the quality of certain products and treatments, which
will not always please the producers or his pharmacist colleagues.
It even may entail harsh critique, which is not unusual
to endure for a TV station.
In conclusion, taking this effort is worthwhile and the
best public promotion of both our profession and the community
pharmacy in particular.
Martin Schulz, ABDA – Federal
Union of German Associations of Pharmacists.
|
