Video, Blogs and Portal Stories from e-Pharmaceuticals

1. Online health video programming gives targeted reach to pharmas

Health education network HealthiNation has launched online video programming, and five pharmas are already onboard with sponsorship deals. Raj Amin, president and cofounder of HealthiNation, tells ePharm5 that pharmas have been embracing the new medium because it provides highly targeted impressions to people who are actively seeking health information. He says pharmas should evaluate the efficiency of different media by assessing things such as the value of 1,000 TV impressions versus 1,000 targeted impressions. The educational videos are TV-quality, explain medical conditions such as cholesterol and cancer in easy-to-understand language, and often feature celebrities talking about their experiences. In addition to the five they are working with, Amin says HealthiNation is talking with other pharmas about opportunities. The Internet launch complements HealthiNation's network TV VOD programming.

2. Health site adds blogs, search service available for licensing

Health search and content Web site Healthline has added a blog network and a new navigation and search service, it reports. The blog network, Health Matters, features blogs from physicians and medical experts who write about the latest news and health findings on topics such as cancer treatment, infertility, and dieting. Healthline says it will continually add new bloggers. The site also launched HealthLinks, a Web application that automatically identifies medical terms in online content and generates links to relevant resources. The service is available to publishers and content hosts as a licensed service that allows them to link to words and phrases in health news stories, blogs, and other content. Healthline features advertising and sponsorships, including a banner ad for Nexium, and sponsored links via the site's health searches.

3. Roche oncology site first step in broader online portal for docs

A new Web site from Roche aims to provide oncology healthcare professionals with a one-stop-shop for the latest clinical information about Roche oncology products, professional and patient materials, and insights from peers. The site, RocheExchange.com/Oncology, is phase one of RocheExchange.com, a comprehensive new Web portal exclusively for healthcare professionals. According to Roche, the site aims to provide healthcare professionals with relevant and credible medical information at their convenience and is expanding to include more content in the future. It currently features the oncology and influenza content, and RocheExchange Anemia is coming soon. Physicians can sign up to receive e-mail alerts when new content that they're interested in is added.

4. PBMs, SureScripts contract to send formulary, Rx info to docs

Several PBMs are contracting with SureScripts to provide physicians with information about patients' formulary, eligibility, and medication history at the point of care. Contracting with PBMs will allow SureScripts to provide more robust data to physicians about medication history, SureScripts spokesperson Rob Cronin tells ePharm5. "PBMs are the key to enabling us to provide physicians with their patients' formulary and eligibility information," he says. The three PBMs--MemberHealth, National Medical Health Card Systems, and RxAmerica--will be able to transfer this data to physicians via the SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network. Cronin says that SureScripts will be announcing similar deals soon. SureScripts is also working with the Center for Health Transformation and the Georgia Pharmacy Association on a "Get Connected" campaign among the state's physicians.

5. Women look to books, magazines for menopause info more than Web

Women turn to books and magazines to get menopause information more often than the Internet or even their gynecologist or healthcare provider, according to a survey of 1,300 women by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Only 19.2% of the surveyed women used the Internet to get menopause information, a NAMS spokesperson tells ePharm5. She says the survey shows that women aren't getting enough menopause information from their healthcare providers. Most women sought information about overall well-being during menopause (49%) and reducing symptoms such as hot flashes (22%). The study was conducted in conjunction with More magazine, and the women--57% of whom were between the ages of 45 and 54--were randomly selected from More's database and surveyed via e-mail.