Agency's Social Media Work for Diabetes Awareness Earns Recognition

Source: Press Release


IRVINE, California –May 19, 2010– Ignite Health, an inVentiv Health Company, (NASDAQ: VTIV) and a leading marketing agency that specializes in patient-centered technology-driven healthcare communications, was awarded two Dosie Awards from Dose of Digital, one of the leading marketing blogs in the healthcare industry. The awards, which recognize the best examples of social media in pharmaceutical and healthcare, were announced on May 11th at CBI’s 2nd Annual Social Communications & Healthcare Conference by the blog's author, Jonathan Richman.


Juvenation.org, a Website created by Ignite Health for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), was awarded Bronze in the Best Patient Community (non-branded) category. Juvenation.org is one of the largest and most active social networks for people living with Type 1 diabetes. The site, made possible by an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk, recently passed the 10,000 member milestone and continues to add dozens of members every day.


“JDRF is honored that Juvenation was recognized with a Dosie Award for Best Patient Community, but the credit really goes to our wonderful members for creating such a rich and supportive environment for people with type 1 diabetes," said Rachael Lewinson, National Manager of Online Communications for JDRF. "The ongoing feedback from Juvenation members shows that this social network is truly changing lives for the better, and that’s the greatest reward we could ever receive.”


Another social media initiative for people with diabetes, Roche's "Accu-Chek Diabetes Link" community, was also recognized with a Bronze Dosie Award in the Best Brand-sponsored Patient Community category. Ignite Health, the creators of the Twitter aggregation portal Diabetes Nest, developed a "Nest Widget" for Roche's award-winning site that features tweets from some of the most active and influential health activists in the online diabetes space.


“The Diabetes Nest widget is a great addition to the Diabetes Link website, and demonstrates a way that companies can work alongside the blogging community,” said Jim Lefevere, Global Group Manager of Commercial Marketing at Roche. “Their involvement is crucial to helping us establish our presence as a trusted part of the diabetes community online. We want to be an arrow pointing to, not competing with, their excellent resources.”


The Dose of Digital Dosie Awards is a newly created award program that recognizes exceptional examples of social media in pharma and healthcare. Over 500 nominees were voted on by the public who represent all sectors of the industry including patients, caregivers, service providers and healthcare professionals.


"The patient community category received more overall votes than any other," said Jonathan Richman, Director of Strategic Planning at Bridge Worldwide. Mr. Richman, author of the popular "Dose of Digital" industry blog, created The Dosie Awards. "What was most interesting was that diabetes-focused programs dominated this category simply because these tend to be some of the most active and engaged communities out there. It showed in the level of commitment that many of these communities put into trying to win the awards.”


"We are thrilled that the work we have done in the social media space is being recognized by the community," said Fabio Gratton, Chief Innovation Officer for Ignite Health. "The passion of our team at Ignite along with the enthusiasm and support of our clients resulted in two well-executed campaign strategies that helped to achieve our number one goal – and that was to educate and support patients that are living with diabetes."


About Ignite Health


Ignite Health is a new breed of advertising agency with a fresh approach to healthcare marketing and communications. By complementing highly focused print strategies with a wide range of tailored digital strategies – from online advertising and patient education to custom-engineered games and simulations – the company helps clients meet their objectives with unparalleled effectiveness and efficiency. For more information, visit www.ignitehealth.com http://www.ignitehealth.com


About inVentiv Health


inVentiv Health (NASDAQ: VTIV) is the leading provider of commercialization and complementary services to the healthcare industry globally. 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 comprised of more than 350 leading pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences and healthcare payor companies, including the top 20 global pharmaceutical manufacturers. For more information, visit www.inventivhealth.com http://www.inventivhealth.com/.


This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that may cause inVentiv Health's performance to differ materially. Such risks include, without limitation: changes in trends in the pharmaceutical industry or in pharmaceutical outsourcing; our ability to compete successfully with other services in the market; our ability to maintain large client contracts or to enter into new contracts; and, our ability to operate successfully in new lines of business. Readers of this press release are referred to documents filed from time to time by inVentiv Health, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further discussion of these and other factors.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:


Dawn Marinacci, inVentiv Communications
614.543.6787 or mailto://dmarinacci@inventivcommunications.com

Google ranks second to doctors for health info influence

Source: Press Release

A national survey finds Americans rely highly on Google searches as a source of health care information. The survey, conducted in April 2010 by Capstrat and Public Policy Polling, finds 22 percent of respondents consider Google searches “influential” in seeking health information. The search engine ranked second only to doctors (44 percent) in reported influence and was named more than twice as often as nurses, pharmacists, advocacy groups and friends or family members.

After asking where people turn to for health information, the poll asked which sources they trust. Health advocacy groups emerged as a particularly trusted source of online health information: 71 percent judged Web content of such groups “somewhat reliable” or “extremely reliable,”considerably higher than the 59 percent who felt that way about organic Google searches.

Online communities aren’t yet a major influencer in health care. Only 12 percent of respondents used online forums in their last search for health information, and only 37 percent considered forums “somewhat reliable” or “extremely reliable.” Of those who did look to online communities, the number one reason was their around-the-clock availability.

The survey revealed significant differences in the way various segments of society use online communities. African Americans and Gen-Xers are significantly more likely to consider them reliable sources of information. Younger respondents were also much less likely to see pharmacists as reliable sources of information, perhaps reflecting the more impersonal relationship they have with chain pharmacists compared to their parents’ long-standing reliance on the mom-and-pop operations that used to dominate the landscape.

“We found it interesting that popularity and trust don’t always go hand-in-hand,” said Karen Albritton, Capstrat president. “People are quick to search the Web for health information, just as they use it for most other questions today. But when it comes time to make a decision, their trust resides where it always has – in people. This insight can be instructive to organizations working to combine health expertise with new strategies for communication.”

Other notable findings:

• 32 percent of African Americans cited Google as the most influence source for health decisions, compared to only 15 percent of Hispanics who found Google influential
• 63 percent of women considered Google reliable on health, compared to 53 percent of men
• 53 percent of respondents ages 30 to 45 found online forums to be reliable, compared to only 37 percent of respondents ages 46 to 65
• 65 percent found a phone conversation with a nurse to be somewhat or extremely reliable

Download Capstrat's white paper on these results.

To view the whitepaper, visit http://bit.ly/bz1buD.

To view complete survey results, visit http://o.capstr.at/x.

About Public Policy Polling

Public Policy Polling has conducted regional and national surveys since 1991. The firm employs Interactive Voice Response or IVR methodology. Just as polling evolved from mail-in surveys and door-to-door interviewers to live telephone interviewers, the polling industry is evolving into automated telephone surveys (IVR) and internet polling. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal of swing state polls in the 2008 presidential campaign concluded that Public Policy Polling was among the two most accurate survey firms.

About Capstrat

Capstrat is a communications agency based in Raleigh, N.C. The firm specializes in communications for complex issues that health care, technology, energy/infrastructure and financial organizations face at critical moments. Capstrat provides counsel on public relations, marketing communications, interactive communications and public affairs. Visit Capstrat at www.capstrat.com.