Some of the most interesting posts on social media in healthcare in 2014

It is impossible to have a global overview of the posts published in 2014 on social media in healthcare: LinkedIn alone provides over 373,000 results on this issue. Nevertheless, there are some contributions of particular interest that can offer a relevant sample of this wide debate. Some of them deal with the healthcare issues while some others are more focused on how the pharmaceutical companies cope with social media. I voluntarily excluded from this selection many topics, such as the use of social media by government agencies, the relevance of the so-called Mobile (smartphones and tablets) in the use of social media, the gamification of health topics. . I believe that the breadth and complexity of these issues requires a discussion in its own right.

I hope that the many authors of other posts will forgive me if I have not included them in this limited and incomplete selection.

Price L: How is Social Media Revolutionising Healthcare? , May 3, 2014

“According to a KPMG report, out of a survey of 3,001 US adults, 80% used the Internet to access information relating to health. The use of social media for health issues, however, is far from restricted to peer-to-peer experience sharing, as an increasing number of patients receive individual services from trained physicians through social-networks or other service providers such as Skype”.

Belbey J, FDA Readies Social Media Rules For Big Pharma, Jun 6, 2014

“What is clear is that the FDA means business when it comes to the conduct of pharmaceutical firms on social media.  Firms can expect to be held accountable if these standards are not met”.

Shaviv M, How Pharma can generate ROI on social media, Jul 10, 2014

“LinkedIn represents a massive, under-utilised business opportunity, particularly (but not exclusively) for those companies consulting and supplying to the industry.

Why? First, look at the numbers. If you’re trying to sell to other pharma companies, LinkedIn is where you’ll find them. There are currently over 20,000 pharma companies and 2 million people in the pharma industry on LinkedIn, including more than 125,000 directors, 46,000 VPs and 35,000 company owners and 26,000 chief executives.”

Goldsmith R, Navigating the pitfalls of social media in the Pharma Industry, Sep 7, 2014

“Social media can prove a minefield for pharma companies trying to find the best path through industry rules and regulations, but integrating new, relevant marketing strategies is a must to reach increasingly digital-savvy patients”.

Pillai P, Ph.D, Social Media in Healthcare , Nov 23, 2014

“…there is a growing number of healthcare organizations leveraging social media as more than a marketing and communications tool. They embrace social media as an “innovation catalyst” and deploy more collaborative models that foster broader engagement and knowledge sharing among patients, providers and trusted institutions”.

Mulryne K, Gitterman A, Social Media and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Managing the Risks – Pharmaceutical Advertising 2014,

“Another option for companies is to use third party agents to manage their social media presence.  The PMCPA Guide acknowledges that it may be possible for a pharmaceutical company to provide funding to a third party patient group to develop a social media site on a disease area.  However, such arrangements must be strictly arm’s length, and there must be no possibility that the company has any influence over the content of the site”.