From Twitter 07-31-2009

• 07:34:28: RT @pharmaguy: Twitter for Rx Brands: An Experiment- Listen NOW 2 LIVE Pharma Marketing Talk interview of Kevin Kruse. http://is.gd/1VVgn
  
• 07:37:45: Kevin explains the Pharma Twitter Experiment. VERY COOL. Great speaker 2! RT @kevinkruse: LIVE interview with @pharmaguy
  
• 07:40:22: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy re: Twitter Pharma Experiment: A "follow-back" on twitter is similar to an opt-in to a CRM program.
  
• 07:42:30: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy re: twttr Pharm Experiment: dnt include PI on profile page, but used brand name. probly wouldn't work in real world
  
• 07:43:09: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy re: Twitter Pharma Experiment: Full research results available at: http://tinyurl.com/mx94pp
  
• 07:44:45: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy ePatient2009 Conference: www.epatient2009.com use code = PMN15 for 15% discount - THANKS!
  
• 07:47:00: QUESTION 4 @kevinkruse RE: TWITTER PHARMA EXPERIMENT: Did any of your 4 profiles ever tweet 2 the followers?
  
• 07:48:55: QUESTION ON PHONE 4 @kevinkruse RE: TWITTER PHARMA EXPERIMENT: Did u buy domain name for fictitious product, and then check traffic?
  
• 07:49:44: @kevinkruse response to question -- no, we didn't. But for our NEXT PHASE we have entire unbranded disease ed website (@pharmaguy)
  
• 07:53:25: @pharmaguy @kevinkruse: How can we use twitter 4 brands in REAL world? #pharma
  
• 07:53:51: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy: Not sure discussing brand is really the best use of twitter for pharma.
  
• 07:54:25: QUESTION 4 @kevinkruse RE: TWITTER PHARMA EXPERIMENT: Are you working with legal review team?
  
• 07:55:06: @kevinkruse RESPONSE to legal review team question: NO. An experiment is never really "REAL WORLD".
  
• 07:57:04: @kevinkruse & @pharmaguy : Great interview RE: PHARMA TWITTER EXPERIMENT.
  
• 07:57:52: @kevinkruse & @pharmaguy : "FDA has absolutely dropped the ball in the case of providing guidance to the industry".
  
• 07:59:15: @kevinkruse 2 @pharmaguy "...So in the meantime we'll have 2 cont 2 watch pioneering companies like Novo & efforts like @racewithinsulin"
  
• 08:01:40: @pharmaguy: "Twitter, more than anything else, is putting pressure on the FDA to provide clear guidance on how 2 use these technologies".
  
• 08:14:07: Lilly launches "Faculty Registry" site publicizing payments 2 doctors, demonstrates commitment 2 transparency: http://tr.im/uVuo
  
• 08:15:16: @kevinkruse GREAT experiment - great interview - can't wait 2 see what you do next. Would love to chat about some ideas I have 4 u.
  
• 13:05:30: VIDEO INTERVIEWS FROM EXL PHARMA: Google, FDA, Pfizer & Ogilvy share their POV on Healthcare comm, social media, & regs: http://tr.im/uY4y
  
• 13:16:12: @Pharmaguy guest post on @DiabetesMine blog "What Diabetes Patients wnt frm the New Era of Pharma Mrkting". Answer: no BS. http://tr.im/uYa0
  
• 13:24:25: INTERESTING. New Study indicates SOCIAL MEDIA pays; finds correlation between brands' SM efforts & financial performance: http://tr.im/uYgl
  
• 13:32:27: This is SO cool - graphical representation of companies' social media engagement": http://tr.im/uYkJ
  
• 13:44:21: RE: Top 10 Companies that engage via social media: I drink starbucks, own a dell, sell on ebay, search w/google, use MS office (cont'd)
  
• 13:44:29: RE: Top 10 Companies that engage via social media: ... read reuters, wear Nike, buy on Amazon, Yahoo! is my homepage, & own BBerry (cont'd)
  
• 13:44:38: RE: Top 10 Companies that engage via social media: BUT NEVER EVER EVER have read their blogs, tweets, or been to their facebook pages.
  
• 14:36:34: TIPDROP: "Twitter + Wikipedia + Digg". Microblogging focused on ppl sharing tips w/ "credibility" engine: http://tr.im/uYQI THoughts?
  

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Text Mining Provides Marketers With the 'Why' Behind Demand

Direct Shops Sift Through Social-Media Conversations to Explain Consumer Behavior Regarding Brands

Source: Ad Age

by Michael Bush
Published: July 27, 2009

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Stephanie Hoppe, 7-Eleven's senior director-marketing, knew there was an incredibly competitive market for iced coffee. But before entering the battle by expanding its own product across its network of stores this past June, Ms. Hoppe and 7-Eleven needed to figure out the why that was driving consumer demand.

Enter text mining, a process in which an agency can mine the conversations taking place on blogs, Twitter or other social-media sites in order to identify the emotional aspects and reasons behind consumer behavior. Typical database information supplies marketers with the who, what, where, when and even the how, but not the why.

Using a tool called Digital Anthropology from Omnicom Group agency Rapp, Ms. Hoppe got a deep-dive analysis of what consumers were saying about why they drink iced coffee, what flavors they prefer, what presence its competitors had in the social space and what people were saying about their offerings.

"It's not in a focus-group setting so we were getting explicit and authentic data," Ms. Hoppe said. "It helped us create an effective campaign that was a little out of the norm for us in that it was sassy."

Megan Bannon, cultural anthropologist at Rapp, said text mining can't replace traditional data, but the combination of the quantitative and qualitative data they both offer creates a more holistic view of the consumer. In most cases there is no name connected to the data compiled from text mining or text analytics but that may soon change. "It's moving to the point where maybe we start collecting Twitter handles or user names on these sites and matching the exact CRM data to what this person is saying online," Ms. Bannon said.

'Delving into the conversation'
Text mining has shown her that people will discuss anything online. Before recently using the tool for a company pushing a "very intimate sexual product" Ms. Bannon said she wasn't sure she would find talk about it because of its personal nature. "You wouldn't believe the details and conversations," she said. "People were giving intimate details not realizing marketers are looking at it. They don't know that marketers are pulling back these key words and delving into the conversation."

WPP's Wunderman has its own text-mining tool called the Listening Platform, which it has used for a number of clients including Microsoft. Slavi Samardzija, senior VP-insights and optimization at Wunderman, said the agency has used it for research, identifying influencers, acquisition, micromessaging, microtargeting for CRM, structuring ad programs and product innovations as well as locating barriers to purchase. Wunderman clients using the Listening Platform get weekly reports highlighting key changes in language that are customized for the business groups most affected.

"We might find there's a quality-control issue, so the report will be distributed to the product development team or the quality team," he said.

Wunderman recently used it for a consumer electronics company that had issues launching a new product. Through mining online conversations the agency found "a key insight" and identified the barrier to adoption. "Consumers did not understand the benefits of the product and that inhibited purchase," Mr. Samardzija said. "We created messaging and execution designed to address this key dynamic."

Sid Banerjee, CEO of the 5-year-old Clarabridge, a customer experience management firm, said text analytics is starting to replace the focus group because it's cheaper and faster. Clarabridge collects data from three sources: survey responses, customer/representative interactions and social-media sites.

Mr. Banerjee said these data are significant in a recession because it helps you make sure you are cutting the right marketing dollars. "Being able to micromarket when you're marketing is important but being able to microcut is also important," he said. "You want to take a scalpel to your business, not an ax."

Palio Launches Social Media Monitoring Tool

Source: Press Release

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, JULY 27, 2009—Palio, an inVentiv Health (NASDAQ: VTIV) company, launches a new tool to monitor social media for clients’ brands. Developed by Palio’s Research and Analytics team, Susurro [soo-sur-oh] is a social media-monitoring tool that provides a comprehensive understanding of online discussions surrounding clients’ brands. It focuses on consumer or patient online discussions of brands and competitors.

“When contemplating the need for this tool, we asked our clients a few questions: ‘Are you monitoring social media about your product?’ ‘Do you know what patients and physicians are saying about your product online?’ ‘Do you know where these discussions are taking place?’ ‘Do you know how patients and physicians react online to recent news about your product?’” said Carl Turner, vice president, research and analytics director at Palio. “Typically, the answer we heard was ‘No.’ We found that most clients need to know more of what is happening with their brand in social media. Basically, we found they are missing the rich information being shared about their product.”

Palio’s Research and Analytic team recognizes that the Internet is unfiltered. Conversations take place and information is shared without any control. “We want our clients to have a better awareness of how their brand is being discussed, so we developed Susurro,” said Turner. Susurro discovers and analyzes online product discussion across social media sources, including blogs, discussion boards/forums, pictures, videos and other user-generated content.

“Anyone can dig up information on the Internet and report on the number of references. It’s interpreting what is being said within the context of the brand that is important,” said Turner. Susurro provides an in-depth understanding of marketing messages and brand positions within the context of the brand. It is a market research tool that provides a qualitative and quantitative study of online discussion around a brand.

“Through this tool, we can provide clients with a qualitative analysis of relevant social media – a deep-content analysis of discovered media with excerpts and examples; natural reactions to events surrounding a product; underlying attitudes about a brand, medication or treatment; insights into the real lives of target patients; and a detailed qualitative breakdown of discussions by topic,” said Turner.

Susurro also captures misinformation shared about clients’ brands. “We also know that by using Susurro we can help predict and follow trends and market events.” For more information on how Susurro can help your brand, contact Carl Turner at 518.226.4120 or cturner@palio.com.

Palio is a full-spectrum advertising and communications agency headquartered in Saratoga Springs, NY, that excels in brand creation that changes the way people think with execution that will Never be forgotten.SM For more information on Palio, visit http://www.palio.com/.

####

About inVentiv Health inVentiv Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTIV) is an insights-driven global healthcare leader that provides dynamic solutions to deliver customer and patient success. inVentiv delivers its customized clinical, sales, marketing, and communications solutions through its four core business segments: inVentiv Clinical, inVentiv Communications, inVentiv Commercial, and inVentiv Patient Outcomes. inVentiv Health’s client roster is composed of more than 350 leading pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences, and healthcare payor companies, including all top 20 global pharmaceutical manufacturers. For more information, visit http://www.inventivhealth.com/.

Lilly Announces Continued Commitment to Transparency with Faculty Registry

New Web Site Publicizes Lilly's Payments to Health Care Professionals

Source: CNBC

INDIANAPOLIS, July 31, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Today Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) launched an online registry detailing recent payments it has made to physicians and other health care professionals - a report known as its "faculty registry." The data are for the first quarter of 2009; Lilly will update the registry quarterly going forward.

Lilly faculty are physicians and other health care professionals contracted to provide specific services on behalf of Lilly and the Lilly alliance partnerships. Faculty appearing in the registry either advised Lilly or conducted medical lectures designed for health care professionals and patient education. The site discloses each professional's name, location, description of the services provided and the compensation paid, among other details.

"This registry is consistent with Lilly's efforts to increase transparency," said Jack Harris, M.D., Lilly's vice president of its U.S. medical division. "We see greater transparency as integral to rebuilding trust in our industry."

Nearly 3,400 physicians and other health care professionals are in the dataset. The average payment per service provided is just over $1,000, with health care professionals conducting six activities on average. The data are available at www.lillyfacultyregistry.com.

"Our contracted faculty are key resources in our efforts to improve individual patient outcomes," Harris said. "They advise us on how to bring the best new cures and treatments to market, and give lectures to their peers on Lilly products and disease-state information to help keep them current on the ever-changing field of medicine. And many of our faculty educate patients, at the request of their treating physician, on how to use the Lilly medicine prescribed to them."

Lilly's faculty registry is part of its commitment to enhancing transparency. In 2004, Lilly became the first company to voluntarily make public its clinical trials and its clinical trials data at www.lillytrials.com. In 2007, Lilly added another first by publicly reporting all of its educational grants and charitable contributions and, each quarter, posting the data online at www.lillygrantoffice.com.

Lilly announced last September it would begin to voluntarily disclose physician payments starting in the second half of 2009. In February 2009, Lilly entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and was required to disclose the information.

About Lilly

Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.

From Twitter 07-30-2009

• 10:22:52: Manhattan Research reveals Top Pharma Product Websites for Physicians: http://tr.im/uMgv (@ManhattanResear)
  
• 15:21:10: Love CLICKABLENOW (http://tr.im/uP6Q)-Add links 2 twttr page bckgrnd. NEG: requires plugin 4 others 2 C links. POS: It's free!
  
• 15:35:06: FORBES: From Twitter to Second Life to Facebook ... How The Internet Is Changing Health Care: http://tr.im/uPer (via @ahier)
  
• 15:51:01: Are we tweeting ourselves into a moronic existence? WSJ: Social Media's effect on learning: http://tr.im/uPkI
  
• 16:02:26: @nicoleljohnson : 2day I C hospitals using SM as a $$-effective way 2 market since SM creates buzz. Same w/pharma. Still, it's a start.
  
• 17:52:07: HealthLeaders Media article on hospitals & social media: "Are The Rewards Worth the Risks?" http://tr.im/uQ9y
  
• 18:23:07: Sign up now for FREE WEBCAST 8/4 "Mayo Clinic's Social Media Success Story" presented by @LeeAase (via @Shwen): http://tr.im/uQmd
  

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FREE WEBCAST 8/4/09: Mayo Clinic's social media success story

The $4-a-week online newsroom and other MacGyver tips for communicators With Lee Aase, manager of syndications and social media for Mayo Clinic

When: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 • 2-3:00 p.m. Central

Price: $0

Sign up today!

About the FREE webcast
Communicators are continually being asked to accomplish more with less in these challenging economic times. Budgets for communications and marketing are meeting increased scrutiny, with increasingly insistent demands from leadership to justify spending and prove significant return on investment.

Why not use budget-friendly social media? Take it from a social media guru who has taken on the social media space with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and a well-known blog in the health care community.

Mayo Clinic's social media leader Lee Aase will show you how you can:

• Create a multimedia online newsroom for less than the cost of a weekly trip to Starbucks
• Make social media a core competency for your communications and marketing staff, not a separate organizational silo
• Engage your customers and employees as ambassadors for your brand
• Prove the value of social media tools for employee communications before you ask for any funding
• Think creatively to find innovative practical business applications for free or extremely low-cost Web tools

Rave reviews from Lee's session at Ragan's Corporate Communicators Conference

"It was easy to tell that Lee has daily, hands-on experience with social media and online newsroom tools. He provided realistic time and cost estimates as well as productivity tips."

"This actually saved me from diving head first into spending over 10K for an online newsroom."

"Lee provided excellent, practical tips on how to get involved in social media."

"Excellent insight on just how much can be done with very little!"

About Lee Aase

Lee Aase is manager of Syndication and Social Media for Mayo Clinic. His team's focus is developing quality medical news resources for mainstream media, and using social media applications to create more in-depth, extended relationships directly with key stakeholders. You can see examples of Mayo Clinic's social media offerings through the Mayo Clinic News Blog or at Sharing Mayo Clinic.

By night, Lee is Chancellor of Social Media University, Global (SMUG), a free online higher education institution that provides practical, hands-on training in social media for lifelong learners.

Prior to joining Mayo Clinic in 2000, Lee spent more than a decade in political and government communications at the local, state and federal level. He received his B.S. in Political Science from Mankato (Minn.) State University in 1986.

Marketing: Are Social Media's Rewards Worth the Risks?

by: Gienna Shaw
Original Post: HealthLeaders Media

Marc Needham, director of Web technology at Scripps Health in San Diego, walked into the meeting with a stack of papers the size of a phone book. It contained printouts from all the Web sites where people were talking about Scripps—including reviews on sites such as Yelp.com, blog posts, videos, news stories, and reader comments about the four-hospital system.

"Here are some examples of the conversations that are happening," he told the room. "And we need to be a part of it."

Despite some initial hesitation, Scripps today has accounts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media sites. Needham, often with help from the communications department at the hospital, not only sends out information about Scripps, but also responds to comments and reviews—both positive and negative. Patients are often pleasantly surprised when the hospital reaches out to perform service recovery using a high-tech platform for high-touch interactions.

But even Needham isn't a complete convert to social media. "There's still a lot of hype around it. As a medium it's a little malnourished."Hospitals in general have several common fears about social media. Open forums and relative anonymity might prompt people to make negative comments. Although it's simple and usually free to sign up, it takes time and effort to participate—and it's even harder to do so successfully. There's no immediate financial return on investment. And a lot of folks—including (perhaps especially) healthcare decision-makers—just don't get it, or think social media is a passing fad.

"A lot of facilities are not sure what the reward is, but they know the risk is pretty great," says Reed Smith, director of project management at the Texas Hospital Association in Austin.

The chief argument against using social media is that you can't control what's being said about your organization. Ironically, Smith says, the opposite is true. "These conversations are going to happen anyway, so it's just a matter of whether or not you're going to participate in the conversation," he says. "If you're not involved, you don't really have any influence."

Chris Lindsley, Web site editor at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), which maintains a robust online presence, agrees. "The bigger risk is not being engaged, not knowing what's going on, putting your head in the sand," he says.

The trick, Smith, Lindsley, and others say, is to make the most of social media platforms by following emerging best practices.

The biggest mistake hospitals make is confusing social media with one-way communication tools, "just like any other old-school marketing technique," says Paul Hernandez, group marketing manager for Q1 Productions, a healthcare conference and webinar production firm in Chicago. Some hospitals have hundreds or thousands of people signed up to follow them on Twitter but only follow back a handful. Or they use Facebook to push out press releases and other information about their organization and to drive traffic back to their own Web site without showing any interest in what others are talking about.

"I think it sends a message that you're confused about social media. And it's kind of cold," Hernandez says. "The whole point of social media is to be social."

That's the philosophy at UMMC. "We want to be engaged. We want to know what's being said about us. And we want to be able to react to that," Lindsley says.

UMMC uses social media in multiple ways: for service recovery, to respond to and share positive feedback, and to learn from other healthcare organizations by watching what they do with the emerging medium. "I think that's an important part of what we're doing . . . to learn and continue to improve and see different ways to do things," Lindsley says.

From a marketing standpoint, social media is a great way to build brand recognition, he adds, especially for an academic medical center that offers such high-tech services as robotic and minimally invasive surgery. What better way to show you are a thought-leader, that you are willing to embrace new technology, and that you are open to new ideas than to show you are adept and savvy when it comes to social media?

"We're interested in creating that impression that we're a cutting-edge institution," he says. "If we can create that image through social media, that we're a cutting-edge hospital, that's all the better."

[Note from IgniteBlog Author: The link to subscribe to HealthLeaders Magazine was not solicited by HealthLeaders Magazine or any affiliated company.]

Fear Top-of-Mind for Patients When Talking to Doctors

Verilogue Study of More Than 20,000 Real-Life Patient-Physician Interactions Reveals Patients' Top Health-Related Fears

Original Post: Verilogue Press Release

New Verilogue Point-of-Practice Report Finds One in Four Doctor's Visits Include Fear Discussions; Uncovers Variations in Physician Response--

Horsham, PA, July 8, 2009 - Issues such as swine flu, peanut butter and cookie batter recalls and rising drug costs have recently inundated the air waves, blogosphere and Twitter updates - giving people plenty to worry about when it comes to their health. But a new study issued today by Verilogue explores the actual fears and concerns patients most frequently discuss in their doctors' offices - and just as importantly, how doctors respond to them.

The review of 23,923 naturally-occurring patient-doctor interactions across 14 specialties over the past 18 months found that one of every four physician office visits includes a discussion about a patient fear. Key findings include:

• Fear conversations arose around three main themes: diseases/illnesses, medicine side effects and life/social concerns.
• Fear discussions are most likely to occur in psychiatric, cardiologist and neurologist visits and least likely to occur in allergist and dermatology visits.
• Primary care physicians tend to be less responsive to and empathetic with patient fears, likely due to the time demands of their practices on average.
• Males and females were equally as likely to initiate a fear discussion with their physician.
• Patients in their 20s are "fearless," with the least number of fear discussions across age groups.

"Accessing and analyzing the naturally-occurring dialogue between patients and physicians is the only way to truly understand how physicians respond to what patients are thinking and saying, which, in today's consumer-driven health care environment, is more critical than ever," said Jeff Kozloff, CEO and co-founder of Verilogue. "This analysis is just one in our series of Point-of-Practice studies that show how analyzing real-life patient-physician dialogue empowers all constituencies across the health care chain - pharmaceutical and health care companies as well as practitioners will better understand how to shape their conversations with patients so that information is made more relevant and personalized to unique patient situations and needs, which ultimately leads to improved health care practices and, most importantly, long-term health outcomes."

Better Bedside Manner: PCPs vs. Psychiatrists

Verilogue's data and analysis revealed not only a varying degree of discussion of fears driven by the patient, but also a swing in the type of response these concerns generated from physicians. The most common PCP response was to simply acknowledge the fear statement with a quick "Okay" or "I know," and move on without ever directly confronting the fear or asking for further elaboration. Data showed extremely limited examples in which a PCP directly engaged a patient's fear. In most cases, it was common practice for PCPs to not address patients' concerns, even when fears like "I'm so scared" were repeated.

On the other hand, psychiatrists, which represented the largest category of fear-based discussions, often responded like PCPs with a simple "Okay" or "Right" and then moved on, but unlike PCPs, psychiatrists commonly showed empathy toward patient fears, such as with "Wow. That's hard," or "I'm glad he didn't do that." Psychiatrists were likely to mention the word fear, even though they didn't necessarily ask for further elaboration from the patient regarding that fear.

Enemy Number One: Treatment Side Effects

While the number of conversations around disease/illness and life/social fears fluctuated across therapeutic categories, the level of concerns expressed about medicine side effects remained constant, accounting for approximately 20 percent of all fears expressed by patients during visits with PCPs and/or psychiatrists.

• Medicine side effects - Generalized fears about taking medications were the most common type of fear expressed by patients in this category, as evident in the following authentic patient statements to their physicians: "I'm scared to take something. Everything has a side effect," and, "I'm so scared. I'm allergic to so many medications."
• Diseases/illnesses - Encompasses statements such as, "My leg bothers me so much now" and "I'm scared to death of the test." Depression, bipolar disorder and ADHD were the three most common disorders associated with a fear statement.
• Life/social concerns - From financial woes to relationship issues to life planning, patients shared a wide variety of fears related to their lives outside of the clinical context. For example, "It's more pressing now that I don't have a roommate, and I'm worried about money."

Methodology
Verilogue's Point-of-Practice Database - This is just one in a series of studies to be released by Verilogue that reveal key insights into the patient-physician interaction, derived from Verilogue's Point-of-Practice Database which consists of more than 30,000 unique physician-patient conversations.

Working with 600 physicians across 50+ therapeutic categories, Verilogue recruits geographically diverse panels of high-prescribing physicians who see a large volume of patients, spend the majority of time in direct patient care and maintain a variety of practice types and/or locations. To gather data, physicians digitally record conversations with a few patients each month, following a double opt-in and HIPAA-compliant research protocol. Along with the recording, physicians provide patient chart information and attitudinal data around the interaction. From this database, Verilogue uses a combination of computer-based analysis and analysis from its team of linguists, statisticians and marketing experts to deliver insights.

For this study, Verilogue examined explicit statements of prominent fears and concerns shared by patients with their physicians across 23,923 in-office physician-patient visits over the past 18 months. These fears and concerns were identified through lexical analyses of transcript data and were reviewed by experts in conversation analysis and interactional linguistics to generate findings and validate interpretations.

For more information about Verilogue, visit www.verilogue.com.

Manhattan Research Reveals Top Pharma Product Websites for Physicians

source: Manhattan Research Press Release

Do You Know Which Pharmaceutical Product Sites are Tops Among Physicians in 2009?

Manhattan Research’s ePharma Physician® Reveals How Primary Care Physicians, Pediatricians, and a Wide Range of Specialists Access and Use Online Pharmaceutical Information

July 30, 2009, New York, NY – Shire’s ADHD treatment Vyvanse® owns the most popular product site among pediatricians, according to pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research. The finding comes from the recently released ePharma Physician® market research and strategic advisory service, which focuses on the digital resource and communication preferences and behaviors of physicians who interact with pharmaceutical, device, and biotech companies via the Internet and other technologies. In addition to analyzing physician interaction with over three hundred product sites, the study also tracks usage of online journals, specialty sites, corporate sites, interactive detailing, customer service portals, blogs, wikis, and social networks for over twenty specialist segments.

Click on image below to view list of "2009 Top Product Sites Among U.S. Physicians".

“As use of the Internet for pharmaceutical information becomes a daily routine for the average physician, digging into the sites used for that information becomes critical insight for brand teams and agency partners,” said Mark Bard, President of Manhattan Research. “While product sites are only part of the mix today, understanding how these resources are being used within and across specialty segments is intelligence that no brand should be without today.”

Physician Marketing Webinar – Tuesday, August 4

Mr. Bard will host a complimentary physician marketing webinar, “ePharma Physician® v9.0: Navigating the Physician Digital Resource Mix,” on Tuesday, August 4 at 11am and 3pm EDT.

Register Today!

Session 1: Tuesday, August 4, 11:00 – 11:30 AM EDT
Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/550629875

Session 2: Tuesday, August 4, 3:00 – 3:30 PM EDT
Register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/766231642

The webinar is intended for qualified business accounts. For assistance in signing up, please email your time preference to webinars@manhattanresearch.com or call Maureen Malloy at 212-255-7799.

ePharma Physician®

ePharma Physician® v9.0 was conducted via online survey methodology in Q2 2009 among 1,517 online practicing U.S. physicians. Since 2002, the study has determined the leading online physician destinations based on the number of physician visitors as well as the content satisfaction of those who visit. ePharma Physician® gives insight to the physician digital resource and communication mix of over twenty specialist segments, including topics such as:

• Product and corporate pharmaceutical websites
• Specialty-specific sites, online journals, newsletters, and online conferences
• Interactive detailing, live remote rep, customer service portals, and email communication
• Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, podcasts, wikis, and online communities

Specialist groups available in ePharma Physician® include Allergy and Immunology, Cardiology/Cardiovascular Surgery, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Endocrinology, Family Medicine/General Practice, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease/HIV physician, Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Neurology, OB/GYN, Oncology - Hematology & Medical, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pulmonology, Rheumatology, Surgery (General), and Urology.

ePharma Physician® also provides market data market data for 300+ leading pharmaceutical product websites including Abilify, Actonel, Actos, Advair, Ambien CR, Amitiza, Androgel, Aricept, Asmanex, Astelin, Avandia, Avastin, Avelox, Avodart, Boniva, Botox, Byetta, Celebrex, Chantix, Cialis, Cipro, Concerta, Coreg CR, Crestor, Cymbalta, Daytrana, Depo-Provera, Detrol LA, Diovan, Effexor XR, Enbrel, Evista, Flomax, Flonase, Flovent HFA, Forteo, Fosamax/Fosamax Plus D, Gardasil, Geodon, Humira, Imitrex, Invega, Januvia, Lamictal, Latisse, Levaquin, Levitra, Lexapro, Lipitor, Loestrin 24 Fe, Lovaza, Lovenox, Lunesta, Lupron, Lyrica, Mirena, Namenda, Nasacort, Nasonex, Nexium (purplepill.com), NuvaRing, Pegasys, Plavix, Prevacid, Pristiq, ProAir HFA, Protonix, Provigil, Pulmicort, Relpax, Remicade, Requip, Risperdal, Rozerem, Seasonale, Seasonique, Seroquel, Singulair, Spiriva, Strattera, Symbicort, Tamiflu, Tekturna, Topamax/Topamax360, TriLipix, Ultram ER, Valtrex, Veramyst, Vesicare, Viagra, Vytorin, Vyvanse, Wellbutrin XL, Xyzal, Yaz, Zetia, Zithromax, Zoloft, Zyprexa, Zyvox. Click here for a complete list of available product sites

For additional product and subscription information, please contact sales@manhattanresearch.com, call 1.888.680.0800, ext.2 or visit http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Strategic_Advisory/ePP.

About Manhattan Research

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Baby Boomers Not So Unhealthy, After All

Source: http://www.marketingvox.com/baby-boomers-no-so-unhealthy-after-all-035734/

 

Contradicting studies that call Boomers less healthy than the generations preceding them, a study by ThirdAge Inc. and JWT BOOM finds 87 percent of Baby Boomers and aging mid-lifers ("ThirdAgers") are in "good to excellent" health, writes MarketingCharts.

The "Boomers, Healthcare and Interactive Media Study" was conducted online at www.thirdage.com with over 1,300 respondents 40+ years old. The study's findings are "consistent with the AARP's National Health Interview Survey," said Sharon Whiteley, CEO, ThirdAge Inc.

 

"Boomers and today's mid-lifers, generally speaking are solution-oriented by nature," said Lori Bitter, president of JWT BOOM. "Even though they may be dealing with conditions that come with age…they consider these issues as a 'natural' part of aging and overall feel confident that leading-edge therapies and science are going to keep them healthy and vital for years to come."

 

Research findings indicate that future health solutions will include alternative or integrative medicine protocols: Over 83 percent of all ThirdAge respondents - not just those on the younger end of the spectrum - said they are somewhat or very interested in complementary and alternative approaches.

 

Topics taboo for earlier generations of the same age were also addressed in the health survey:

• Of female respondents age 51 and older, 38.5 percent said they were moderately or extremely affected during menopause.
• Among all female respondents, close to one-third (29.5 percent), said they are somewhat or very concerned about their partner's sexual health.
• Almost half of all male respondents (49.7 percent) reported that they have the same level of concern about their own partner's sexual health.

Where Boomers Are Turning to For Healthcare Info

• A primary way this dynamic demographic is gathering health-related information is the Internet, Bitter said: Over 89 percent of ThirdAgers go online for health information, with over 80 percent clicking on online ads about a health condition, product or service to receive more information.
• Though Boomers are using the internet on a regular basis for health-related information, 73 percent of survey respondents also shared that they are concerned about their privacy.
• "Trusted resources and credible information is clearly a factor," Bitter said:
• Close to one-third (28.5 percent) said they read health-related blogs.
• 54 percent have taken, or reported they would enroll in, online health classes.
• Over 25 percent of respondents have taken an offline health workshop.
• 14.6 percent participate in online communities around health-related issues.
• 27.3 percent watch health-related videos online "occasionally" or "frequently"; 72.7 percent say they watch such videos "infrequently" or "never."

MarketingCharts provides other top-line findings from the study:

http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/baby-boomers-no-so-unhealthy-after-all-2968/

Reaching Baby Boomers Online

by Rich Newman, Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 7:00 AM
surce: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/index.cfm?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=88267

We recently came across an interesting tidbit talking about the limited use of social networking sites by Boomers. 

It seems that only 15% of 55- to-64-year-olds use social networking sites, compared to 75% of 15- to-24-year-olds.

That wasn't the interesting part, however.

The interesting part is that we seem intent on fostering the myth that the Internet is the province of the young, that online is an ineffective way to reach boomers--particularly older boomers--and you might as well forget social media when thinking about older consumers.

And nothing could be farther from the truth.

The fact is that Internet usage among Baby Boomers is comparable to Internet usage by both Generation X and the Echo Boomers. Also, online boomers are more involved with certain aspects of the Web than younger consumers.

According to data analyzed by Pew for The Associated Press:

• Online boomers were more likely to send or receive e-mail on a given day: 54% versus 49% of younger Americans who are wired.

• About 66% of online Boomers have looked up health information online, compared with 54% for younger users.

• Boomers were more likely to visit online support groups for specific medical conditions and personal situations: 55% versus 36%.

• Half of online Boomers have used the Internet for financial information, compared with 28% for the younger group.

Bottom line, for certain businesses, and with certain segments of boomers, the Web proves more critical to reach them than it would be for younger prospects. We've found this time and again with many of our clients. In the case of a major online media client, insights into boomers' media consumption habits and their attitudes toward online were critical to the development of a successful acquisition and retention strategy that significantly increased traffic to their site.

In regard to social networking, our experience doesn't quite mirror the claim that it is irrelevant to Boomers. For example, by appreciating the strong desire for emotional connection, both the frustrating and the humorous, around certain health issues--and detecting marked gaps in existing online offerings to support these needs--we were able to successfully launch a vibrant online community of mature women for one women's healthcare provider.

The problem lies in a tendency to limit our definition of social networking to a handful of high-profile networks with a largely youthful appeal, such as Facebook and MySpace. Considering only these and their ilk supports the case that social networks are not the place to find boomers. But when a broader--and, indeed, more accurate--definition is applied, the picture changes dramatically.

Wikipedia defines a social network as "a service which focuses on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others."

This includes some of the earliest community-focused sites such as iVillage, Salon, and even Amazon.com--where Boomers become far more prevalent. According to comScore's Media Metrix, Baby Boomers index higher on sites such as Classmates.com (126), Reunion.com (124), and AOL Community (118)--all vibrant social networks.

Furthermore, sites such as Gather, BoomJ, Eons and TeeBeeDee are seeing success by building the communities a 60-year-old wants; focused on their needs and priorities. According to Quantcast, Boomj.com almost tripled their traffic from an average of 240K daily uniques in January 08 to almost 700K in July, a monthly average increase of 28%.

Our business is undergoing a massive transition from broad-based demographically driven initiatives to behaviorally focused, targeted marketing. And the Internet is fueling this shift. Does it make marketing more difficult and complicated? You bet! More rewarding, too. And it also means we need to avoid the black-and-white assessments of how and where we find our prospects.

Our experience with Boomers online is the same experience we know about any large consumer segment: Simple demographics are a poor substitute for understanding motivations, attitudes and behaviors.

Online Social Networking Helps Boomers Meet Peers with Similar Health Concerns

source: http://www.clearleadinc.com/family/health-conversations.html

(ARA) - Want advice on how to train for a marathon or treat depression? Baby boomers are increasingly finding answers to these kinds of health questions online, and not necessarily just on medical Web sites. They’re finding health information, personal stories and support on social networking sites where members engage directly with other members through private messages and online groups.

As boomers fully embrace the concept of social networking online, they are discovering an even more powerful medical resource at their fingertips -- the ability to find peers with similar health issues and goals who uniquely understand their life-stage and situations. These online peers can offer valuable encouragement and emotional support at a time when the person seeking health guidance may not have someone in their offline world to speak with candidly about their health goals or concerns.

Conversational Health

The largest online community for baby boomers, eons.com, has more than 700,000 members, many of whom are engaging in the online trend of “conversational health,” the concept of social networking around a health issue. The boomers participating in groups on eons.com are eager to share their health challenges and successes and learn from one another.

“Conversational health is a very therapeutic process for many people. Normalizing someone’s experience can help add years to their life,” says longevity expert Dr. Tom Perls, a physician and researcher in the study of aging at Boston University Medical School. “The process is made even more effective when groups like boomers, who are at similar life-stages, share thoughts, feelings and information.”

Health Care Communication for Health Issues

In the past year, 34 percent of adult online users (54 million people) in the United States connected to others online or to content that others created online about health issues, according to a report by Jupiter Research. Seventeen percent of “online health connectors” said they used the Internet “to get emotional support” for a health condition.

“Proactive health is important to boomers who stand to live 20 years longer on average than their grandparents did,” says Internet entrepreneur and eons.com CEO/founder Jeff Taylor who coined the term “conversational health.” “In addition to diseases or health conditions that have already occurred, boomers are sharing tips on healthy living, from losing weight to exercise to a vegetarian way of life.”

Real time groups address health issues relating to cancer, diabetes, smoking, weight loss and nutrition. These groups become 24/7 support networks for people who may need someone to talk to, no matter what time of day.

People with lesser-known ailments are especially finding comfort in groups that address topics such as fibromyalgia, which is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in muscles and fatigue.

“I’ve had fibromyalgia for over 25 years and while I have very supportive friends and family, it’s difficult for them to understand what it’s like for me to live with this little-known disease,” says Marge Orozco from Long Beach, Calif. “Thanks to the incredible fibromyalgia community on eons.com, I finally have friends who get it. We all strive to be supportive of each other, laugh with each other and, when appropriate, gently scold or nudge each other into taking better care of ourselves. This group has changed the way I see and live my life with fibromyalgia.”

To learn more about conversational health go to www.eons.com/health.

 

Hospital executives weigh risks and benefits of social media

Source: ePharm5

 

As an increasing number of Internet users are communicating via social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, hospital executives have begun weighing the risks and rewards of leveraging such tools, according to a HealthLeaders magazine article. On one hand, hospitals are concerned that social media outlets will provide them with minimal control over public comments. Open forums and relative anonymity might prompt people to make negative comments.

 

Other hospital executives say online conversations about their organizations will occur regardless of whether the facilities participate, so it's better to get their voice out there. For example, the University of Maryland Medical Center uses social media to build brand recognition, practice service recovery, and share and respond to positive feedback. "The bigger risk is not being engaged, not knowing what's going on, putting your head in the sand," says Chris Lindsley, Web site editor at the University of Maryland Medical Center. 

Entertainment company integrates Twitter into rich media ads

Source: ePharm5

Fox Home Entertainment announced that it is partnering with a digital advertising company to integrate Twitter into rich media ads. Viewers will be able to tweet directly in banner ads that promote the availability of Fox's TV show "Dollhouse" season one on DVD. The rollover ads are user-initiated and feature tweets from "Dollhouse" star Eliza Dushku's Twitter feed and invite users to sign in to their own Twitter accounts for an opportunity to share their thoughts on the show. Once they've passed through a moderation module, viewers' tweets could potentially appear in banner as well. The ads will run through August 3 on various male-targeted and sci-fi sites.