Posts Tagged ‘patients’
Pharma 3.0: rethinking influence of pharma in patients’ lives
Nothing new, but a good paper:
“Science, medicine and healthcare have always been collaborative but in recent years this has intensified. The web both encourages powerful networks and makes them easier to explore – whether networks of co-authorship between key opinion leaders, citations between scientific papers or interactions between patients on specialised social networks.
The web has given us the tools to connect and collaborate. For good or ill, influence nowadays is not always defined by knowledge, experience and authority, but also by how connected and engaged you are.
The importance of networks in healthcare and medicine will only increase. (…)
So what can pharma do to ensure it thrives in this environment?
First of all, it must understand the networks. Listening and profiling exercises can identify where conversations are taking place, what content resonates and how it is being shared.Crucially, there is a need to map the relationships between actors in the network, not just the actors themselves. (…)
But listening is not enough. Pharma must engage, embedding itself in networks and communicating honestly, ethically and as an equal. A strong presence will ensure that a brand’s voice is heard, as will checking that all the touchpoints discovered during the research phase are addressed. (…)
This new, highly networked era is a huge opportunity for pharma – an opportunity to get closer to customers and become a bigger part of their lives. But it’s much more than that. It’s also the best feedback loop we could ever wish for, giving us a chance to understand the impact of our actions on those who matter most – healthcare practitioners and their patients.”
Lamb, Andrew. Rethinking influence in a networked world. PMLive, Published on 2nd of March 2012.
http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/rethinking_influence_in_a_networked_world_389326
Physicians do not like Patient Opinion Leaders (POL)
After KOL, a new concept is growing… the idea that some pro-patients can influence enough all the other consumers, Elys Roberts explains in the latest Pharmaceutical Executive.
“the healthcare ecosystem is now comprised of multiple stakeholders with a far more complex decision-making dynamic than existed just a few years ago. In addition, patients are not a single homogenous unit. Some may have little or no impact on treatment decisions or healthcare choices while others may take an active individual role. But the ones that we find really interesting are those taking on almost an ‘activist’ role, impacting not only their own healthcare, but potentially many, many others as well. We call this last group the “pro-patient.”
This is the pro-active patient. They are not just personally empowered and assertive, but broadcast their experiences, opinions, and objectives and therefore have a far wider sphere of influence. (…)
If you search them out, you will find this vocal minority active in online forums. They have become the de facto Patient Opinion Leaders (POL)—and just as every pharma company has a KOL strategy, they now need a POL strategy too. (…)
These people have always existed. What is different now is that Web 2.0 gives them a much broader audience. In the past their sphere of influence was limited to family and friends, but now their audience can be measured in thousands or millions. (…)
We saw some examples of the negative passion of pro-patient activity, railing against the consequences of side effects of medication, for example, but most of the pro-patients we spoke to had good intentions and saw themselves as providing a valuable service. (…)
This kind of pro-patient broadcasting clearly has the power to influence the physician/patient dynamic on a wide scale. Interestingly, when we asked physicians about this phenomenon, responses varied by country (more positive in the UK, less positive in Italy for instance), but overall physician reaction could be characterized as cautious at best. (…)
So perhaps surprisingly, even if a patient’s source of information is good, or may have been from a pro-patient who broadcasted with the best intentions to help educate, this can still be viewed less-than-positively by physicians.
(…)
Roberts, Elys and Sarah Phillipps. The emergence of the Pro-Patient. Pharmaceutical Executive, January 2012, pp.48-49
http://www.pharmexec.com/pharmexec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=755084&sk=&date=&%0A%09%09%09&pageID=2
Patients want to understand the medical literature
Findings of a recent study by JISC:
Publishing a lay summary alongside every research article could be the answer to assisting in the wider understanding of health-related information.
Patients Participate! asked patients, the public, medical research charities and the research community, ‘How can we work together in making sense of scientific literature, to truly open up research findings for everyone who is interested?’ The answer came from patients who explained that they want easy-to-understand, evidence-based information relating to biomedical and health research.
Some universities now offer researchers training in communicating with lay audiences. (…)
JISC believes that publicly-funded research should be made available for everyone and be easy to find. JISC funded this work to show how making access to scientific literature enables citizen-patients to participate in the research process, therefore providing mutual understanding and better links between scientists, medic, patients and the general public.
65% of american physicians have used SM for their professional practice
QuantiaMD and Care Continuum Alliance Study Explores the Role of Social Media in Improving Patient Care
- Physicians are highly engaged with social media for both personal and professional use
- Nearly 90% of physicians use at least one social media site for personal use
- while over 65% have used at least one to support their professional practice
- Physicians see promise in online physician and patient communities for improving patient care, but are struggling with the associated challenges
- Over 20% of respondents are “Connected Clinicians” who use two or more social media sites for both personal and professional use
- Only 11% of study participants were familiar with online patient communities, but of those with a familiarity, an impressive two-thirds believe these communities have a positive effect on patients
- Almost 40% of these physicians say they already recommend these communities to their patients and another 40% would consider recommending them, suggesting a growing acceptance by the medical community
- Nearly 30% of clinicians access online physician communities
- …
Source: PharmaLive, Online on 12th of September 2011.
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleid=801997&categoryid=43
