Senator Bill Frist M.D. issued this statement about his new health care website.
"I wanted to update you on a new Volpac website we are launching today, MedicalMatters.org.
We built this website to provide an interactive forum for the discussion of the medical challenges facing America in the twenty-first century. We hope you use this forum to discuss and debate solutions to these moral, ethical, political and scientific issues.
I started blogging in October of last year because blogging provides a unique way to reach out to Americans and solicit their feedback.
The mainstream media (MSM) can only devote so much attention and print space to a particular issue. Reading a newspaper, you rarely get the chance to challenge editorials or biased news. And, if you're watching television, the only feedback you can provide is through your remote control.
Of course, the MSM now provides its news online. But, in my case, it never seems to satisfy.
Bloggers, however, can devote a considerable amount of time to a particular issue that they're passionate about. They can reexamine topics with ease and issue corrections and clarifications with the click of a mouse. And many blogs involve readers by encouraging feedback. In fact, my blog at www.volpac.org has had over one hundred thousand visitors and generated over 24,000 comments. Blogs help connect people to the news and blogs give them a chance to speak out in ways MSM cannot.
MedicalMatters.org is a blog about health care and the politics of health care. In the coming days and weeks we will discuss stem cells, avian flu, electronic medical records, Health Savings Accounts, and much more. We will take a long term look at some of the health care challenges facing the country and start an online discussion encouraging different points of view. I will blog regularly as will 10-12 regular bloggers from a variety of health care-related fields. We will also encourage high profile, guest bloggers to join the discussion.
Obviously, health care is an important issue for me, and it is issue that I feel needs a meaningful and comprehensive debate. It is also an issue where the Republican view of health care often differs greatly from the Democrats. This blog will also highlight and discuss these differences.
My hope is that the MedicalMatters.org blog will help sustain a focus on health care challenges and health care solutions in ways that the occasional news story in your Sunday paper or on the evening TV newscast cannot.
I am excited about MedicalMatters.org and I hope you will join our discussion."
