Our Team

David Dickinson

A health communicator and a campaigner for consumers in healthcare since 1990, David has spent his professional life translating business-speak into plain language. Most of that in food, health and medicines – since 1997 as the founder and principal consultant of Consumation, and before then (1990–1997) as editor of Health Which? Magazine, published by the UK Consumers’ Association. He has spoken for the users of healthcare at dozens of meetings, sat on NHS and healthcare committees, and published in peer-reviewed journals including BMJ, The Lancet, Annals of Pharmacotherapy and Patient Education and Counseling.

David is a big-picture person who nonetheless thrives on detail. His particular skill is grasping a communications problem from the receiver’s end and translating it into production needs. His sympathy with the end user of healthcare and medicines was enhanced by coming from a background outside health. His experience as an editor (and as a sometime performer) is key: people’s health is affected not only by what we say to them, but also by how our documents look and feel.

• Founder director of Ask About Medicines initiative.
• Working group member and co-author, Always Read the Leaflet (MHRA, 2005)
• Honorary Member of the Faculty of Public Health; lay member of the Faculty Board 2002-12
• Member of CSM expert advisory groups on packaging safety and on patient information (to 2005)
• Sat on the Ministerial Advisory Board of the Medicines Control Agency (2003–2005) Advised the European Commission on usability (1997–1998)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
• Member of the Patient Information Forum and the Information Design Association

Jane Teather

Originally a biomedical researcher, Jane has been an information designer since the 1980s. During that time, she has produced a very wide range of information products for the telecommunications industry, the pharmaceutical industry and other healthcare organisations. She has also been active in the wider information design community – for example, organising events for the Information Design Association.

She is particularly interested in the clear communication of scientific, medical and healthcare-related information, to both specialists and non-specialists.

Jane has worked with Consumation since 2000; during that time, she has gained considerable experience in developing and testing information about medicines and healthcare.

Particular skills include:

• Writing clear and appropriately targeted information for a wide range of audiences — including people with special needs, non-specialist users of information, and scientists, engineers and other professionals
• Typography, design and layout
• Illustration; integrating text and graphics in instructions; communicating information about risk
• Diagnostic testing of patient information and instructions. She is a very experienced interviewer and analyser of results
• Development of templates for use within client organisations, plus training and support in their implementation
• Other training

Memberships:

• One of the inaugural Life Fellows of the Communications Research Institute (CRI), formerly the Communications Research Institute of Australia (CRIA)
• Fellow and former Council member of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC)
• Committee member of the Information Design Association (IDA)
• Member of the Royal Institution
• Member of the organising committee for the InfoDesign 97, 98, 99, 2000, 2007 and 2009 conferences
• Member of the judging panel for the annual PopComm technical, corporate, financial and charity publishing awards, 1994 to 2004.

Emily Newsom-Davis

Emily’s early career was as a nurse. She then spent nine years playing a key role in the production and development of Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin, a leading source of independent advice on medicines, and Treatment Notes, its sister publication for patients. She is particularly interested in the clear communication of scientific, medical and healthcare-related information, to both specialists and non-specialists.

She has worked with Consumation since 2006; during that time, she has gained considerable experience in developing and testing information about medicines and healthcare.

Her particular skills include:

• Writing and editing medical information for lay readers and professionals
• Rigorous gathering and assessment of scientific and clinical information
• Translation of technical information into clear language for patients
• Diagnostic user testing
• Peer review
• Design and layout of information for paper and online.

Miriam Harris

Miriam’s background is in healthcare pharmacy administration and regulation, social science and epidemiological research and administration, private and public sector grant making.

Particular skills include:

• Research management
• Communication about medical and research questions.