“Pharma ads face special regulation from the FDA, their subject matter is often inherently grave, and half their airtime is eaten up by lists of gnarly-sounding side effects,” says Slate. “They're at a disadvantage from the get-go. It's only fair to rank them against their own kind.” So, at the first-ever Clio Healthcare Awards, Big Pharma was recognized for creating commericals. The top prize in the TV category went to Ambien’s “Silence Your Rooster” campaign, where insomniacs are silently confronting a rooster in the middle of the night. The commercial skips over the product’s intended benefit, but sends viewers to the Web site, SilenceYourRooster.com.
Nancy Cawley Jean is a senior media relations officer for a health system in Rhode Island. This is an in-depth interview about the future of social media and healthcare. “In our business, the tools we are offered through social media do not offer new ways of conducting business, but they allow us to expand our efforts in the realm of marketing, customer relations and communication,” Jean says. “Twitter, Facebook and YouTube now provide new avenues to engage with our community and hear back from them.” Find out more here.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley is asking medical schools why professors put their names on ghostwritten articles in medical journals, says The New York Times. He wants to know why that’s different from student plagiarism. “The term refers to publication of medical journal articles in which an outside writer—sometimes paid by a drug or medical devices company whose product is being studied—has done extensive work on the article without being named on the publication,” the article says. “Instead, one or more academic researchers may receive author credit.” Read more here about why Grassley is worried.
Having trouble convincing your executive staff that social media is right for your hospital? In this article, you’ll see the list of common excuses (“We could be sued!”) and how to respond. Here’s your retort: “There's always the chance of lawsuits—but this is true of any industry. But does the fear of malpractice lawsuits stop our physicians from practicing medicine? No. And having your legal department on board with this new vehicle of communication will help them be aware of the realities of social media.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is getting involved in the controversial debate about when women should get mammograms. When the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said women in their 40s shouldn’t get a routine mammogram, Sebelius said that was not government policy. “My message to women is simple. Mammograms have always been an important life-saving tool in the fight against breast cancer, and they still are today,” Sebelius says. She also added that doctors and scientists on the task force "do not set federal policy and they don't determine what services are covered by the federal government."
Fran Melmed started her “free-range communication” blog as a way to discuss innovative ideas and talk to communicators. Her first interview is with Greg Matthews, the director of Humana’s consumer innovation team. Humana made a splash in the social media world with its interactive blog, Crumple It Up. Matthews discusses two experiments Humana is working on right now. “One is with an online health community. We’re testing the effect of dropping experts into existing social networking communities," Matthews says. "The second experiment is in our guidance centers. We’re taking these real communities and bridging them with online social communities. The more we can incorporate social concepts, we’ll make wellness ‘sticky.’”
Let’s say you’re ready to launch a Facebook page. That raises an important question: Do you want a Facebook group or a brand page? This blog post by Ogilvy PR tells you the advantages and disadvantages of each. Here’s what it says about a brand page: “A major drawback is that you can’t invite anyone to your page, but you can let people know you’re out there by buying advertising or promoting the page through existing channels.” How can a group page be effective? “These groups need to be focused and have members who are really interested in what you have to say to the point that they don’t mind receiving messages in their inboxes.”
SOCIAL MEDIA IS EXPLODING IN HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATIONS!
You know Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging and other social media channels have changed forever how health care companies talk to patients, employees and stakeholders.
Don't miss The 2nd Annual Social Media Summit Health care public relations, marketing and internal communications September 27-29, 2010 • Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. REGISTER HERE
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