It is no state secret that the pharmaceutical industry is seriously lagging behind other industries – even other highly regulated industries – in making use of digital media to engage and support their stakeholders. There are still many, if not most, that are not even using RSS feeds to issue news or to communicate internally with staff. And as mentioned yesterday, there is a less than overwhelming presence on Twitter. There is often the excuse put forth that pharma is hobbled by regulations (or lack thereof). Ok.
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My name is Mark Senak. I’m a lawyer and I work at the international communications firm FleishmanHillard in New York. For the past several years, I have been consulting with pharmaceutical and biologic companies that are engaged in the process of bringing new drugs to market. I have also worked extensively with an array of medical societies and patient organizations providing strategic communications counsel and media training.Stay Connected
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I am an authority on regulatory aspects of communications and medical products, with particular emphasis on pre-approval communications; strategist to help pharma and biotech companies prepare best case for advisory committee approval; and counselor in issues and crisis management. I am a frequent speaker on various aspects of same - drug development, promotion, reimbursement and new media in a highly regulated environment. Author of books, newspaper and magazine pieces related to drug marketing and promotion as well as HIV specialty pieces. And of course... blogger!About This Blog
Eye on FDA is published by Mark Senak of FleishmanHillard’s New York office. The thoughts and ideas in this blog and postings are strictly my own and are not screened by my employer. Everything posted on this blog is my personal opinion and does not necessarily represent the views of FleishmanHillard or its clients.
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There are applications out there doing what you suggest already, so I think the tide has turned. Take a look at Johnson & Johnson’s Lifescan blood glucose monitor that is Bluetooth enabled and synch with the iPhone: http://mobihealthnews.com/973/interview-lifescan-on-iphone-30/
In fact, pharma is beginning to integrate social media for improving patient compliance and reporting. Here’s a study called SweetTalk that researchers in Edinburgh conducted with teens who were diagnosed with diabetes, where texting helped bridge the gap between patient and clinical health staff: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/16669/jmir.html
Change is definitely on the way.
Thanks very much – this is most helpful. I knew that there was some stuff out there, but my main point is that I think drug developers need to be engaged on this level much more broadly. Thanks for the link to this info!
I’m with you Mark. I wrote about this same issue a while back. http://bit.ly/Szwed
J&J has made a really nice app for caregivers to help track all the info they need to take care of, say, an elderly relative. Links in the blog post.
Almost any app aimed at parents to help monitor a child’s progress will be well received in the current market. Often a scheduler with established milestones is enough to become valuable. Love the idea of text reminders.
By the 4th quarter of 2011 most mobile phones on the street will be smartphones, not full function phones. This will enable health consumers to download apps where they are available. While not all consumers will engage with mHealth simultaneously (think: market segmentation), many patients are already managing diabetes, asthma, and even GI issues (see WellApps GI Monitor for example at https://www.wellapps.com) via apps. See more on this in my white paper published by California HealthCare Foundation, How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers, at http://bit.ly/deOspR.