Category Archives: Health information online

Decline in Consumers Seeking Health Information

Posted on December 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

In 2010, 50 percent of all American adults reported seeking information about a personal health concern during the previous 12 months, according to findings from HSC’s nationally representative 2010 Health Tracking Household Survey . The proportion of consumers seeking health information fell from 56 percent in 2007 but still represents a sizeable increase over the past decade, up from 38 percent in 2001. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Education, Health, Health informatics, HSC, Information seeking, Medical Library Association, Patient education, United States

Just 21% of women agree “I trust the health information I find online”

Posted on September 12, 2011 | 2 Comments

While consumers are avid seekers of online information about health, this doesn’t mean they necessarily believe what they find. In the Yahoo!/Digitas Health survey, just 21 percent of the midlife women agreed strongly that “I trust the health info I find online.” Given consumers’ cautious attitude toward the health-related material they find online, marketers must make forthright transparency a priority in the material they present in that venue. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Consumer, Education, Electronic health record, Health, Health informatics, market research, Patient education, World Wide Web

Making product websites more effective

Posted on August 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

The rise of people using the Internet has probably done more to make DTC marketing ineffective than any other consumer behavior. Yet with more and more people using the Internet for health pharma marketers have not evolved their online marketing to meet changing needs and wants of empowered patients. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Consumer, Health care provider, Health informatics, Internet marketing, Marketing, Patient, Pharmaceutical drug, Website

Providing a better online product health website

Posted on August 9, 2011 | 3 Comments

While the FDA continues to delay on implementing social media guidelines DTC marketers can do more, a hell of lot more, with their interactive strategies to make them more relevant to consumers. It starts with the realization that consumers are probably going to come your product website and that there is a hell of an opportunity to answer their questions and provide them with information THEY want in language they understand. But it doesn’t stop there. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Consumer, Facebook, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Harvard Medical School, Health informatics, Mayo Clinic, Social media

Should you seek medical advice online?

Posted on June 2, 2011 | 3 Comments

Costco has taken up the debate on whether consumers should seek medical advice online with a pro and con article in this months Costco magazine. With less Americans going to see their doctor because of rising healthcare costs this debate is sure to get more intense. Sure there are times when you don’t need to see your doctor but putting off medical care and not getting diagnosed could lead to higher health costs as conditions worsen. Here is the content presented in the debate. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Medical Advice online

Who to believe when it comes to health information

Posted on April 26, 2011 | 1 Comment

Yesterday I wrote how Lovaza, fish oil, has become a $1 billion product due largely in part to marketing claims of “purity”. Not another study shows that high levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids in the blood may be associated with an increased risk for developing aggressive prostate cancer, while elevated levels of unhealthy trans-fatty acids may lower the risk. Again consumers who are proactive when it comes to their health are bombarded with health claims and too often they are the ones that have to determine fact from fiction and risk vs. reward. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Credibility

A new breed of health portals: the future of eHealth ?

Posted on April 19, 2011 | 3 Comments

“A new breed of personal health utilities (the missing platforms in this emerging ecosystem) will make our personal health data easy to collect, manage, analyze and understand in real-time, while helping us make better choices about our health and well-being. To realize their full potential, these health utilities will have to provide intuitive interfaces and access to trusted support networks that will create and sustain the knowledge and motivation needed to create and sustain lasting health engagement.” Who is us ? It’s patients who no longer want to just get an Rx and go about their lives. They want to manager their healthcare decisions but are HCP’s ready to share that responsibility ? Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information online

Tagged Health portals

Comscore study: Branded Pharmaceutical Websites Continue to Be Most Impactful in Driving Conversions Among Prospects and Patients

Posted on March 21, 2011 | 2 Comments

Supporting previous findings, Comscore found that visitation to a branded pharma website generated the greatest positive lifts in conversion. Existing patients increased their refill rate 15.5 percentage points more than those who did not visit the site. The percentage of prospects beginning treatment after visiting a branded site was 8.8 percentage points higher than prospects with no exposure to the branded site. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Websites for pharma

Telling a story of how people use the Internet for health

Posted on March 19, 2011 | 2 Comments

Even today when people are awash in new state-of-the-art presentation technologies and copious amounts of data, the very best way to connect with anyone and influence them is still to tell them an engaging story which appeals to their emotions. To win more people over to your way of thinking, become a great storyteller so here is how people are using the Internet for health. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online

Tagged Online eHealth stats

The agency relationship has to be redefined in and age where interactive is moving rapidly

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 2 Comments

Interactive marketing is moving too quickly for pharma marketers to keep pace and therefore it’s essential to rethink the relationship of your interactive agency from vendor to strategic marketing partner. Everyday marketing on the Internet and social media is evolving and by the time you develop and act on your strategy it could already be too late. But can agencies integrate with the brand team to become strategic partners for the long term ? Continue reading →

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Posted in Health information online, Working in the industry

Tagged Interactive agencies