Social Media Marketing: FDA Works With PatientsLikeMe for Adverse Event Reports

23 Jun Social Media Marketing: FDA Works With PatientsLikeMe for Adverse Event Reports

Meet your patients where they are with social media marketing.

As a physician in the 21st century, you already know that social media marketing is one of the important tools you have at your disposal for reaching and engaging with patients. You also know that adverse effects of medications and treatments are usually reported to pharmaceutical companies, who then in turn report them to government agencies.

The FDA has begun collaborating with PatientsLikeMe, a social media site that is geared toward patients who have experienced various medical events. Some of these are adverse effects from medications. Rather than requiring patients to report effects to their physicians or to the pharmaceutical companies themselves, PatientsLikeMe allows them to share their experiences in a manner that might seem less threatening: through social media. The FDA and PatientsLikeMe are researching whether this might be a viable option for gathering data related to adverse effects that would not otherwise be reported to the appropriate agencies.

Why Social Media?

With approximately three-quarters of online adults in America being active on social media sites, it’s important to use the various platforms available. Doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers have been finding that websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and many others allow them not only to attract new patients, but also to engage with existing ones.

Up-to-Date Approach

Just a decade or two ago, reaching patients might have been best achieved by mailing postcards, putting out newsletters, making phone calls or handing out brochures. While these modes of communication can and should still be used, incorporating social media and other types of digital marketing into your communication strategy is a vital part of staying up to date in 2015.

Comfort of the Patient

Many patients might feel more secure and comfortable sending a Facebook message or SMS than they would making a telephone call. Also, using social media, email, texts and other types of digital communication allows you to have a recorded copy of your online discussions. There is less worry that patients will misunderstand directions when they are typed in black and white, rather than given over the telephone.

Learn More About Social Media Marketing

If you aren’t sure where to start when it comes to social media marketing, HealthCare Marketing Group is able to help. First, we offer a free consultation that you can claim simply by calling us at 800-258-0702. Secondly, we will be going over many of the finer points of social media marketing in the coming weeks here on our blog.

We want to help you succeed when it comes to reaching patients the way they want to be reached. Call us today to schedule your free consultation!