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23/01/2014Should #pharma really be aiming to lead social media patient engagement?
IMS Health’s recent report “Engaging Patients Through Social Media” picks up on an oft-heard theme in digital health, and for the first time backs it up with quantitative data. Pharma is behind on its use of social media, compared to other big companies and especially compared to the rest of the healthcare system. Forbes’ Dan Munro quotes Howard J. Luks, board member at the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media in his piece on the IMS data.
“When you look across the healthcare landscape – most of the core leadership at large healthcare institutions are embracing the power of social – the power of pull,” Luks says. “Pharma has been the lone and notable exception. But it’s inevitable so it’s encouraging to see the public and very visible indications that it’s changing.”
But there are good reasons pharmaceutical companies are hesitant to embrace social media. Paulo Machado, a healthcare consultant whose past credits include marketing and innovation roles at AstraZeneca and Bristol-Meyers Squibb, told MobiHealthNews that at least until final guidelines come out, the risks for pharma in social media simply outweigh the benefits.
See on mobihealthnews.com
