Future Practice [November 2011] Translating the New FDA Social Media Guidance. [Get your copy of the FDA Guidance Translator Flow Chart later in this post] It’s been a long wait, but the FDA finally delivered. They’ve come through with at least some direction for how pharma companies can properly use social media. It’s not a complete answer to every issue, but it is a good start.
I’ve reviewed the full contents of the guidance that the FDA released on December 30, 2011 and found it, not surprisingly, a bit hard to follow at times. I’d encourage everyone to read the full guidance. As my gift to all of you, I’ve tore apart this document and created a simple to follow flow chart that you can use to figure out if you can respond to something and how to do it.
What the FDA released is NOT a comprehensive set of “Social Media Guidelines” that some companies and people seem to believe are the holy grail/final barrier to the promised land of social media usage for pharma. So, be happy for what we’ve got. “…but I wouldn’t hold my breath.” PAAB Offers Guidance on Regulatory Social Media Thought Process. Eye for Pharma organized the 1st eMarketing Canada conference, which was held in Toronto, on November 1-2 2010. Patrick Massad (Chief Review Officer at the PAAB, Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board) presented an algorithm to facilitate the regulatory thought process when planning a social media promotional activity. Here is the suggested algorithm: 1) Is this advertising? 2) Who is the intended audience? 3) What restrictions should I consider for this audience with respect to disease and product schedules? 4) What mechanism will I use to limit access to that audience? 5) What is the sponsor’s tolerance for uncertainty & risk?
6) How will I align the site with this tolerance level? 7) What are the regulatory consequences of adding and/or linking other tools/content to my site? Here are some highlights of Patrick’s presentation with regards to the very 1st step to detemine if tactic in mind is advertising or not: •What is the context in which the message is disseminated? Like this: Alternative Media: Mastering Social Media. The push for new media is on. Pharma agencies are buzzing about social media tools such as blogs, podcasts, and interactive healthcare forums, but few firms really know how to make these online initiatives work. This is due in part to pharma's need to control how information is developed and disseminated. Tight message control is very difficult or impossible when speaking with people via an online forum, blog, or social network. Another headache is the uncertainty about how the FDA will regulate pharma's social media communications activities. Although there are many barriers to overcome, a number of pharmaceutical companies are eager to use blogs, podcasts, and other tools to market their products and advance their agendas.
Following is a framework pharma marketers can use to help them: According to a study conducted by Envision Solutions, 5 percent of U.S. There is a lesson to be learned here. Social media can help in two ways. Think Outcomes, Not Tools. One-Third of Online Americans Use Social Media for Health. Manhattan’s research’s Cybercitizen Health v9.0 study found that the average patient in the US now relies on a variety of media and resources to research disease, treatment, and health maintenance information. Key in this mix is the online access to information, communications and resources found on the internet, which Manhattan Research collectively calls ‘e-Health.’
Growth of Digital, e-Health The study found that the e-Health consumer market has grown significantly in the past five years, from 90 million consumers online for health in 2004 to nearly 160 million in 2009. Increasing access, improving technologies, and the expansion of health content online will continue to cement the internet as a critical resource patients’ lives, the firm said. Top Factors Shaping e-Health In the past, consumers primarily used the internet to research new symptoms or disease information.
Specific findings about eHealth behaviors: Physician-Patient Relationship Goes Digital. Pfizer Think Science Now. Highlights from “Social Media Marketing in Pharma: What Works in Canada” The Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board (PAAB) recently held 3 sessions of a workshop called “Social Media Marketing in Pharma: What Works in Canada”. Originally, only one session in each Montreal (September 29 2009) and Toronto (September 30 2009) was planned, but due to popular demand, a 3rd session took place in Toronto this week (November 9 2009). In total, there were 250 Canadian pharma marketers (client and agency side) who registered for these sessions. The panel members for this workshop are listed below.
I was quite humbled to be included as part of this stellar cast; Ray Chepesiuk, PAAB Commissioner Patrick Massad, Chief Review Officer (CRO), PAAB Ann Sztuke-Fournier, Manager, Regulatory Advertising and Risk Communications/ Therapeutic Effectiveness and Policy Bureau, Marketed Health Products Directorate, Health Canada Henry Anderson, Interactive Marketing – The Americas, Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. Here is a summary of some of the key takeaways from the workshop. 1. 2. OPMA Pharma and the Evolution of Social Media. Audio: Natalie Bourre on pharmaceutical marketing in the new era of social media (5 minutes) Meeting Summary by Dr Kim Bercovitz The OPMA Spring Education Day meeting featured a distinguished panel of speakers, who shared their unique perspectives on social media. Mathew Ingram (who has 11,000 Twitter posts, 7,600 followers, and ranks among the top 10 Canadian men on Twitter) mapped out the social media landscape; Alon Marcovici provided a non-health perspective on marketing and communications efforts in social media; and Natalie Bourre concluded the panel discussion with an overview of pharma’s place within the Health 2.0 landscape.
What is Social Media? Social media, or web 2.0, is a digital, community-based environment that can involve videos, photos, blogs, events, social networks, collaborative tools, wikis, audio, email and SMS. Overall, social media is about communicating with peers and connecting with people who share similar interests. How is Social Media Used? What is Health 2.0? How social media changed my life - whydot pharma. Jon over at dose of digital just wrote a great post asking Can Social Media Improve Your Health or Change Your Life? “Of course it can! “ was my immediate thought, followed by a rush of utter frustration: “Why do you still need to explain this to people? “ As I was biking along the foggy path lining the creek to drop of our daughter at child care this morning, it dawned on me that things might not be as clear to others though.
So I suppose it is time for me to share my story… Eight years ago, I received a phone call from my husband, Francis, who was on his way to work: “Honey, I cannot breath. This is probably the worst call any of us would ever want to receive. Well about a good dozen hospital visits and doctor appointments later, we were able to exclude heart attack or any other cardiovascular incident… Yet my husband continued to have these attacks in which he could not breath, not move, not reason.
My husband was scared and confused, but most of all he was ashamed. “I know what I have! The Real Reason Why Pharma Hates Social Media Marketing. Many, many ePharma Pioneers -- smart people who have long evangelized "e" for pharmaceutical marketing communications -- keep up the pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to get more involved with social media marketing.
I have documented this in many of my posts to Pharma Marketing Blog (see here) and in Pharma Marketing News articles (see a compilation here). Michael Maher, Senior Partner at Greater Than One -- an interactive agency with many pharma clients -- is the latest person to hop on the pharma social media marketing bandwagon. In an article published today in Adotas (see "Pharma Companies and Social Media Marketing"), Maher states his case: "There is no need for pessimism about the ability of pharmaceutical companies to use social media in their online marketing mix. The common belief is there are too many regulatory hurdles around reporting adverse events, presenting fair balance efficacy information, and avoiding endorsement of off-label usage. Crowdsourcing Vs. Science. I think the elevation of "crowdsourcing" as a legitimate indication for determining drug benefits or risks in the real world is a luddite-like anti-science trend that must be counteracted.
The latest example of this was just published on the Dose of Digital blog in the post "The Best Pharma Products According to Patients". In that post, Jonathan Richman reports drug ratings from iGuard.org and says: "...which are the top-rated products? Forget about all those head-to-head trials that payors want, but most companies are hesitant to conduct (for many reasons). If you want to know which treatment is best, why not check out its ratings? How far away is a future where patients select which products they want to take by using reviews such as those found on iGuard? I’m sure some of you are scoffing at this idea because you think physicians should be recommending treatments, not iGuard. Heaven forbid that physicians use these ratings to decide on treatment options for their patients!!! About “Mind the Gap” « Mind The Gap. Brief Bio I am a writer, researcher, entrepreneur and speaker with a passion for all facets of physician-patient communications and its impact on patient engagement, patient activation, patient outcomes, visit productivity and the patient experience.
Why The Interest Physician-Patient Communications & Engagement? Not everyone finds their “niche” in life. You know, that special place where they were meant to be be. Turns out the subject of physician-patient communication (in its many facets) and patient engagement is my professional niche. What intrigues me about these subjects is on the one hand how simple the act of communications appears.
My favorite quote on the subject comes from George Bernard Shaw who once wrote: “The problem with communication is the illusion that it occurred.” This expression applies doubly so to the what so often passes today as effective physician-patient communications. My Credentials My Personal Health Story Adopt One! In 2013, I founded the Adopt One! Articles: Patient-centered Care and Physician Use of Social Media « Mind The Gap.
[tweetmeme source="Healthmessaging" only_single=false]I came across a piece in USA Today this week about “Doctors who are not on Facebook, Twitter and blogs risk becoming irrelevant” by Kevin Pho, MD, author of the KevinMD blog. This article prompted the following post. The Patient-Centered model of care is predicated among other things on physicians factoring in knowledge of the “person behind the patient” into their treatment. That’s means understanding and, where practical, honoring the patient’s beliefs, values and preferences. In order for a communication between a physician and person (patient) to be “patient centered,” it must be congruent with patient preferences for how they want their physician to communicate with them.
So Just How “Patient Centered” Is Social Media? Let’s consider test result reporting to patients. Implications? This is not to say that physicians should avoid social media when communicating with patients. Adverse events and social media « Pharma 2.0. Bunny Ellerin has spent the last two decades helping to build companies across the healthcare landscape. She has used her entrepreneurial, marketing and operational skills in a variety of sectors including pharma, medtech, physician services, health technology, and online media.
Today, Bunny is Senior Vice President at Intouch Solutions , a privately held marketing agency headquartered in the Kansas City area with offices in Chicago and New York. Specializing in digital and mobile solutions for the pharmaceutical and health care industries, Intouch is redefining what marketing means to these industries. Prior to joining Intouch, Bunny ran Ellerin Health Media for two years to help clients shape their digital, social and mobile strategies to successfully communicate with physicians, patients and caregivers. Prior to joining Interbrand, Bunny worked with a number of venture-back healthcare companies. Privacy Policy and Legal Notice. This site is owned by Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.
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Pharma Marketing Meets Social Media: Can the Two Co-Habitate? Highlights from “Social Media Marketing in Pharma: What Works in Canada” Marketing 4 Health. Social Media Primer #2: Patient Social Networks « Future Pharma Marketing Blog. Web 2.0 has enabled millions of patients worldwide to join the conversation with others who may be living with the same disease. While there has been a mass proliferation of these Patient Social Networks (PaSNs) over the last 18 months, they can be grossly divided into two groups: 1) 3rd Party and 2) Brand Sponsored. 3rd Party PaSNs (no pharma involvement from inception, but have attracted pharma sponsors) One of the largest and best known is PatientsLikeMe.com. Promoted as the “leading online community for life-changing conditions”, the site enables patients from around the world to share their experiences with their disease, and to provide structured feedback (data) on how their disease & treatment is progressing.
PatientsLikeMe (PLM) in turn sells this data to pharma/biotech companies to help “accelerate the discovery of new, more effective treatments”. Inspire’s network of PaSNs. Alliance Health is another US mega-network company with multiple support groups. What do you think? Social Media Policies and Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Companies. Social Media: PAAB and Health Canada Weigh-in « Future Pharma Marketing Blog. I had the opportunity to attend the Social Media seminar hosted by PAAB a few weeks ago in Toronto.
It was standing room only. If you were there, I would love to hear from you. In case you missed it, here are my key take-aways. Up front, I want to re-state the definition from my first post on the topic of social media: Social Media – any online property involving user-generated (physician, patient, consumer) content. From my perspective, the heart of the issue that needed to be addressed by PAAB and Health Canada is this: If a physician or patient creates content (such as offering their opinion in an open text box) on a company-sponsored website, who is ultimately “responsible” for this content? The answer: It is the company. So what does this mean for Pharma Marketers in Canada? 3) Regarding point number one above, there are no current industry guidelines to suggest how often companies should monitor their social media sites to ensure compliance.
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