Thomas RigbyModify

2026-02-13 15:25:57

Despite my good intentions, I still spend more time on my phone than I would like to. Actually, that's no surprise considering that it's such a powerful tool.
niqwithq

I have written on this topic before (quoting ava and discussing how smartphones are not the enemy) and my opinions haven't changed.

Niq is completely right; phones are tools and, used correctly, are perfectly safe.

I use mine in much the same way as Niq; it's a productivity tool with very little by way of "entertainment". I communicate, organise, research, and log through my phone.

So, yeah, I'm still not worried about my "screen time".

2026-02-12 22:45:55

In my job, we work with a lot of medical content that, for various legal reasons, cannot be public-facing. We are also very aware that the internet is, by default, very public-facing. How do we, as an industry, manage the access to sensitive information?

There are three basic levels of "content";

1. Publicly available
2. Gated
3. Medical Professional Only

1. Publicly available information

This covers anything about a drug or product that the general public are allowed to see. This is a large amount of the clinical information content on a typical pharma brochure site. This includes prescribing information, dosing guidelines, important safety information, and details on how the drug works (Mechanism of Action).

2. Gated

When we get into promotional materials, the law (outside of USA and New Zealand) generally requires us to ensure our visitors are local Healthcare Professionals (HCP's).

Getting people to sign up for an account is a notoriously difficult UX problem. It requires a delicate balance of "value exchange" — what do I get in exchange for signing up? In pharma, this is usually exclusive content.

We need to take reasonable steps to ensure the user accessing the information is a Healthcare Professional. For this we use two main tools; self-identification and third-party verification.

Under a self-identification model, should the content allow, we throw up a modal blocking access to the content until the user selects the "I am definitely an HCP" button. It's not foolproof obviously but it satisfies the regulations as reasonable steps.

Third-party verification is through, mainly, three companies; DocCheck for the EU, Doximity for the USA, and OneKey for global. HCPs register with these companies and verify their medical credentials in exchange for a unique ID number. We can then ask the user for their unique ID and verify it with the company by API. This is more robust than self-identification but is a higher barrier to entry — back to the delicate balance!

These services, naturally, don't have every single HCP registered, it's a voluntary thing so it's not a perfect solution.

A note on the UK

As the UK is no longer part of the European Union, the number of British HCP's registered on DocCheck is proportionally lower; not nil but not representative. There is no directly comparative product for British HCP's. Even the two main National Health Service (NHS) verification systems; NHS Login and NHS CIS2, aren't to be used for third-party gated content. Some sites rely on "pattern matching" NHS ID numbers or work email addresses. Alternatively, confirming a registration number with the General Medical Council or the Nursing and Midwifery Council is still active is another –not foolproof– way to verify a user's identity.

3. Medical Professional Only

Moving into more restricted content, we need that foolproof verification. This kind of content includes financial or legal contracts, personally identifiable information, clinical trial data, or drug-issuing portals. Systems where a user must be an HCP.

For these, we use systems like LexisNexis, Onfido, or iDenfy which verify users using government-issued documents like passports, driver's licence, or Medical Practitioner licences in tandem with systems like DocCheck to cross-reference. Identity verification systems guarantee the user is who they say they are but can't guarantee the user is a medical professional.

tl;dr

DocCheck|Doximity|OneKey

• Disease education
• Scientific articles or whitepapers
• Congress or poster summaries
• Mechanism of action content
• Non-promotional medical education
• HCP-only newsletters
• Product information without prescribing decisions
• Typical pharma “HCP gated” websites

LexisNexis|Onfido|iDenfy

• Anything tied to legal, financial, or contractual obligations
• Access to controlled or safety-critical systems
• Regulated prescribing or ordering workflows
• Jurisdictions with strict digital identity laws

References

• EU: Article 86-88 of Directive 2001/83/EC
• USA: FDA regulations under 21 CFR 202.1 and PhRMA Code
• UK: MHRA Blue Guide and ABPI Code of Practice

2026-02-12 17:54:15

I got this email today.

"So what?", you might think, "Companies send order dispatched emails all the time".

The thing is, I haven't ordered anything.

It's a company I use though, which is odd. Have I ordered something and forgotten?! Has a subscription renewed that I don't remember?!

When I opened the email, it was a simple marketing email about same day delivery.

I can see what's happened here; it's a dirty trick to boost open rates.

Ignoring the fact that open rates mean nothing –an inexact vanity metric– this has the negative effect of breaking a level of trust the company has built up with me over several years.

When your marketing manager's need for "line goes up" competes with respect for the customer, the customer almost always loses.

2026-02-12 04:25:38

This is a fun "challenge" from Alex on Wry Writer, who got it from David over at Forking Mad who got it from Zachary Kai (at which point we stop with the Tom Lehrer nonsense!)

How many sandwiches do you eat a week?

I eat a heck of a lot of sandwiches. I will preface this entire questionnaire by saying sandwiches are my favourite food. I even did a presentation on it once.

When do you eat your sandwiches?

There isn't a meal invented that doesn't have an associated sandwich.

What’s your go to order?

I firmly believe in the broadest definition of sandwich. "Is a hotdog a sandwich?" isn't that controversial (of course it bloody is!), I'm talking "taco is a sandwich", "victoria sponge is a sandwich", "pizza is a sandwich", and "pop tarts are sandwiches". So, I honestly can't answer this question with anything other than "it depends…"

Do you prefer hot or cold sandwiches?

Hot sandwiches are my preference. Mostly, I think, because I live in a cold place. I like cold butties in the Summer.

What’s your favourite type of bread?

This entirely depends on the sandwich. Grilled cheese needs a sourdough, ploughman's a granary hoagie, brioche for a burger, and thick white toastie loaf for a nutella and marshmallow fried butty.

Do you like condiments?

Heck yes, I do! A dry sarnie is a sin

Sweet or savoury?

Primarily savoury but nowt stopping me having a couple of Custard Creams as a little sandwich-y pudding. I am an adult, I make my own rules

Do you cut your sandwiches?

When the form factor allows, yes. Burger buns infrequently, square bread into triangles, sub-shapes in half if necessary, wraps and hotdog buns never

What’s the worst sandwich crime?

Sliced tomato or •shudder• halved cherry tomatoes

What’s your ideal sandwich eating environment?

I honestly couldn't care where I eat a sandwich. I've had some lovely butties in a car, on a beach, at the kitchen table.

Why sandwiches?

Considering how loose my definition is, that's like asking "why food?" and that's a bit silly.

2026-02-09 20:44:53

I saw this meme floating around and it hit a nerve. So much AI hate is down to the disproportionate claims about the ability of large language models or "Generative AI".

AI as it stands right now it's neither artificial nor intelligent. It is, however, a buzzword for a suite of in-machine data processing tools.

This is where the confusion lies; "AI will cure cancer" is a common retort from AI fans but the genomic sequencing software of CRISPR is a different beast to Nano Banana, for example.

I work in the healthcare space and I see a lot of talk about artificial intelligence; from medical professionals, brand managers, C-suiters, and developers. I'd wager each of them means a different thing when they say "artificial intelligence".

Whether it's drug discovery ("AstraZeneca signs up to $555 million AI deal with Algen to develop therapies") or website personalisation ("Maximise AI scalability with Adobe Experience Manager Sites"), AI ≠ AI.

2026-02-09 03:41:42

2nd February - 8th February

I am nursing a hot cup of tea while I wait for the decongestants to kick in, allowing the steam up my nostrils and into my swollen aching sinuses. I don't know if it helps but it feels like I'm doing something and that's better than nothing.

Alice shared Matthew's Sunlight Optimism Calculator and it's fabulous — I shall be referring to it frequently in the coming weeks. Only 31 days until it's light after I finish work.

Stopped by the library on Saturday morning and picked up a really interesting looking book; "The Book Eaters" by Sunyi Dean. I have three weeks to power through it. The text is tiny to my old eyes though so, I imagine, I'll be renewing!

Every time we go to the library, we have such a good time we say we should go every week but then life gets in the way. Maybe this time is the time…

I have to write a self appraisal for work to outline my achievements. Something about my upbringing, mental health, and Gen-X makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable "showboating" like this.

However, we no longer live in a world where "work hard and your contribution will be recognised" — recognition will only be forthcoming if I "tell" people how hard I have worked.

Feels bollocks to me but, hey, thems the rules.

The hope is always here, always alive, but only your fierce caring can fan it into a fire to warm the world.
Merriman Lyon, "Silver on the Tree"

Links of Interest™

• You can't "AI-proof your career" with a project mindset
• Two Terrible Children on a Windy Hill: A Rereading of Wuthering Heights
• Why You Should Try Dark Showers
• You Can Just Say No to the Data
• Visually label your colours
• This one goes out to the ones we love
• The circular logic of our metrics