Welcome back ! Another year another NYT editorial slamming pharma

Jan/05/2009 08:32

Congress needs to pass legislation that would force all drug and medical-device companies to report a wide range of payments to doctors through a national registry so that all conflicts are known. This is a reform that the industry itself now seems willing to accept. Better yet, the medical profession needs to wean itself almost entirely from its pervasive dependence on industry money. So ends another editorial in today's New York Times, with lack of understanding and digging into stories it's no wonder that newspapers around the country are losing money and circulation.

Physicians have a right to be compensated for their work and drug companies need physicians to work on both compounds in development and existing drugs on the market. Physicians also need to generate income in order to grow their practices. With medical malpractice insurance premiums in the stratosphere working on drugs maybe a great way to both learn about the way drugs are developed and study their impact on patients. The NY Times would have us believe that because physicians take money from drug or medical device companies they are looking out for their own financial interest other than the patients. Yes there have been some medical device companies which have used loopholes to compensate physicians for using their products, but because a few physicians put their financial interests above all else is no reason to indite an entire industry.

A national database of physician payments would do little as well. People today are already overwhelmed with information and now we are going to tell them that in addition to learning about their health and medications they have to search to determine how much money their doctor is receiving from the industry?

Welcome to 2009 fellow DTC marketers ! The environment in which we market is changing...media has changed more in the last 5 years than in the previous 100 years. We're entering hostile territory but if we keep our patients best interests at heart we will succeed.

|

Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption

Jan/01/2009 01:55

From the New York Review of books...
By Marcia Angell
Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial
by Alison Bass
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 260 pp., $24.95

Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs
by Melody Petersen
Sarah Crichton/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 432 pp., $26.00

Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness
by Christopher Lane
Yale University Press, 263 pp., $27.50; $18.00 (paper)

|

An ad that I would like to see now

Dec/31/2008 08:45

As the story on NBC Nightly News reported this recession is stopping a lot of people from taking their medications. Some have to make choices between taking their medications and putting food on the table or paying the rent. Those with medical insurance are also feeling the heat as they can't afford the copay on prescription medications. This is a great time for America's pharmaceutical companies to step up and ensure that nobody goes without their medications. They need to remind the public that assistance is available under an umbrella campaign that makes it easy for patients to get the drugs they need. Here is my idea...

(Click to enlarge)

|

Patients chose food over medicine

Dec/31/2008 07:24

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

|

J&J Reaching out to diabetes market through social media

Dec/29/2008 08:11

As MySpace and Facebook develop their sites for mass appeal, some social networks are banking on a focused approach. For example, Children with Diabetes is a Johnson & Johnson-owned ad-supported social network for families who have children with diabetes. Nearly one-half of the site’s traffic comes from search, according to Joseph Natale, vice president at Children with Diabetes. “We have 32,000 pages of content optimized with words like ‘children,’ ‘diabetes’ and ‘juvenile diabetes,’” Mr. Natale told eMarketer in an interview. “Our organic search is strong. That’s really helped us since more people are online seeking healthcare information and search is where they start.” Only 3% of users go to product websites so the strategy of building a Website for the brand/product may be irrelevant now. Read More...

|

Viagra, new weapon on war on Terror

Dec/26/2008 08:23

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift. Four blue pills. Viagra. Read More...

|

GSK stopping lobbying payments

Dec/23/2008 09:05

Another sign of the times: GSK is going to stop paying money to lobby politicians for the pharma industry. Maybe they know that no matter what they spend the incoming administration is not going to be kind to pharma or maybe they know that in these lean times pharma needs to evaluate every dollar it spends to ensure that the dollars go to driving business. Read More...

|

Seasons greetings !

Dec/21/2008 12:58

Another year is coming to a close and we are reminded of just how fast time can fly when you're buried in work and challenges of a DTC marketing job. Still for those of us that truly love DTC marketing the biggest fun and frustration can be these challenges and succeeding. Success means that we are communicating new products to people who want to be able to live full lives. It means that our industry is making an impact on people and that millions of people are leading better quality of lives.

Whenever I sit in on research I am reminded all too often that the people on the other side of the glass are the reason that we are all here. Yes, we still have to worry about ROI, but that is the price we pay for working in a capitalist society.

Never before have DTC marketers faced such a challenge as empowered patients who have taken control of marketers messages because of the Internet. DTC marketers will either acknowledge this trend or continue to ignore it at their own peril and waste money. With all the missteps and the NY Times continued attacks on pharma and medical device industries I am still proud of the work that I have done and will continue to do. I know that on the other side of computer looking for help is a patient or caregiver that just wants to credible information to make informed choices on their health.

So with the holidays approaching this week I wish everyone of my readers a very happy holiday. Give thanks that you are in an industry that can make a difference in patients lives and may your conscience guide you as you make choices and may DTC advertising finally acknowledge empowered patients and talk with them instead of at them. Read More...

|

Without a budget a great web marketing campaign is a dream

Dec/20/2008 11:58

By the far the biggest complaints I hear from fellow eMarketing people is the "lack of budget" to implement interactive programs. It seems that most people outside of Internet marketing feel that you can simply sit in front of a computer and implement interactive marketing programs with ease. While marketers will spend a lot of money to test and retest messages they will not devote an adequate budget for best in class online marketing programs. In fact some agencies are starting to turn away business rather than put their names on Websites or interactive marketing initiatives they know are not in the best interests of the clients.

While I do believe that spending the money to develop great websites are a thing of the past you still need to follow some basic marketing processes to get great results from your online marketing. It starts with research and usability studies and continues with optimization of messages via interactions on the Internet. For an eMarketing person there is nothing worse than understanding the marketing objectives and knowing that you can provide great results that meet business objectives but not have the resources to fulfill your ideas.

I was lucky when we launched Cialis in that the DTC team believed in what I wanted to do online. This was due, in part, to the fact that we had integrated agency meetings to share our ideas and current programs. Everyone bought in to what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go and I was allowed to conduct research with our audience and then follow up that research with usability on the Website. The results were the number one site in conversion to new Rx's and the top pharma product website for visitors.

As a consultant now I get calls from people who want to bounce some ideas off me and when I tell them the realities of how much it costs to do a great program they are often caught by surprise. An great eMarketing person doesn't develop Websites they develop an interactive strategy that is designed to meet the brand objectives. They get buy-in on the metrics that determine success and present opportunities to management to drive business and meet customer needs. They work with IT and agency people to integrate branding and develop a platform that meets the company standards and they share the possibilities of Internet marketing with HCP as well as DTC marketing people.

Internet marketing has evolved and can be a challenge to implement. Internet marketing without a budget is a horror because you know what COULD be done but can't because you don't have the dollars to show others how valuable Web marketing really is. Read More...

|

Women: I'll give up sex for the Internet

Dec/19/2008 01:09

OK guys, either men need to go back to school and learn how to have sex or women are really integrating the Web into their lives. Some 65% of US adults say they cannot live without internet access, and nearly half of women (46%, vs. 30% of men) would rather give up sex for two weeks than give up the web for the same amount of time, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by Intel Corporation. The study, “Internet Reliance in Today’s Economy” found that a nearly unanimous majority of US adults view internet access essential to daily life in today’s economic climate, and more than nine in 10 believe the internet has made their life better.

Building a Website for you product or brand ? Well stop wasting money !

Dec/18/2008 08:53

An award-winning website can cost a lot of money and yield little results in driving new Rx's. The reality today is that a website is only one part of a brands web presence and it's time for digital marketers to begin to think in terms of their web presence not driving people to their website that has no Web 2.0 tools. In short; it's time for pharma digital marketers to learn how to create syndicated web strategies and not rely on outdated interactive strategies that are not being used or trusted by empowered patients. Read More...

|

Healthcare Costs Prevented Nearly 40 Million Americans from Filling Their Prescriptions in 2008

Dec/17/2008 09:51

The Internet becomes an increasingly important health resource for consumers curbing their spending on doctor’s visits and medications. Nearly 40 million U.S. adults decided not to fill a prescription medication from a doctor in the past year because of the cost, according to pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research’s Cybercitizen Health™ v8.0 consumer study and strategic advisory service. The study found that women and patients with neurological and mental health conditions were the most likely to give up their medication due to cost.

For those struggling to afford healthcare, online channels have become increasingly important resources. Over 145 million consumers are online for health, and this year’s Cybercitizen Health™ study saw the Internet surpass doctors as the top source for obtaining health and medical information.

Top Condition Groups Who Report Not Filling a Prescription Because of the Cost

Position Condition
1. Fibromyalgia
2. Inflammatory Bowel Disease
3. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
4. Chronic Bronchitis
5. Chronic Pain
6. Acute Pain
7. Adult ADHD
8. Anxiety Disorder/Social Phobia
9. Bipolar Disorder
10. Depression

Among U.S. adults (18+)
Source: Cybercitizen Health™ v8.0 (2008)

“Healthcare costs and accessibility are major barriers for Americans, and many are turning to the Internet as an alternative resource for managing their health and making treatment decisions,” said Meredith Abreu Ressi, Vice President of Research at Manhattan Research. “While the Internet is an invaluable health resource for patient education and support, it doesn’t replace the expertise of a trained medical professional. Healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and other organizations can use online media to inform consumers of the importance of professional medical attention to their long-term health and to raise awareness of patient assistance programs."

|

Twitter Updates