Disaboom.com launched on Oct. 1 and plans to bring in more than a million unique visitors by the end of February. "I don't think mainstream advertisers realize the magnitude of the marketplace and how underserved it was," said Howard Lieber, vice president for sales at Disaboom.

Among advertisers who have signed contracts with Disaboom thus far are Johnson & Johnson, Ford and Netflix.

Full Article from NYTimes.com

A recent study performed by Medical Broadcasting Co. and CBI Research shows that the majority of pharma websites serve as little more than information centers. But by omitting standard interactive features, such as online video and rss feeds, pharma marketers are missing out on an opportunity to build stronger relationships with their consumers.

Full Article from eMarketer.com

Pharmaceutical companies could be doing more to reach physicians. According to Manhattan Research, consumer-targeted pharma websites draw up to 20-30% of their visits from physicians, indicating that HCP-targeted resources either do not exist or are not adequately marketed. Only 23% of pharma marketers provide online sampling opportunities and less than half have physician-targeted websites.

Full Article from eMarketer.com

Publishing companies are expanding online offerings in health and fitness in an effort to capitalize on the growing consumer tendency to seek health information online. Recently, Hearst Magazines announced their decision to acquire RealAge, Inc. This trend may mean cost savings for health advertisers via print and online media packages.

Full Article from NYTimes.com

Web 2.0 is a reality but Health 2.0 is still a concept because of concerns held by those in the pharma industry regarding user-generated content. Emily Culburtson explores what Health 2.0 will look like if and when it is put into practice.

Full Article from the Pioneer Portfolio of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The familiarity and comfort of younger physicians with virtual case studies means a growing opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to incorporate virtual case studies as interactive learning tools on their product sites.

Full article from the Eliane Alhadeff blog.

The Nielsen Company announced the launch of two new services of NielsenHealth in late September: Diabetes*Buzz and Heathcare Marketing Mix. While Diabetes*Buzz tracks perceptions of diabetes through consumer-generated content, Healthcare Marketing Mix assesses the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Full Article from PharmaLive.com.

People are turning to social media sources for health care insight and information in increasing numbers. The secret is to turn this trend into an opportunity to get closer to your customers, rather viewing it as a potential liability and regulatory nightmare - starting with careful observation.

Full Article from Therapeutics Daily (free registration required)

This survey of the online health habits of 3,700 adults found that females aged 25-34 are the most frequent online consumers of health information, and that this segment utilizes a greater variety of online resources than other segments. A full two thirds of these women cite the web as the primary source of information for keeping their household healthy.

Full Article from BurstMedia.com

The 2007 Consumer Medical and Health Information poll found that 70% of adults use the Web as a primary source for health information, while 72% cite their doctor as a primary source.

Full Article from GovTech.com