A recent survey by PharmaKinnex revealed that a relatively large number of brand managers are dissatisfied with their marketing mix. The survey also revealed that over 80% of brand managers believe an integrated direct marketing approach is an important part of promoting a brand, signaling a possible growth opportunity.

Full Article from PRNewswire

A recent test shows that doctors could find Google helpful in diagnosing rare diseases.

Full Article by The Age

Scientists launched a new web tool that matches drugs and diseases in a way that could accelerate the discovery of new drugs. Database expansion is currently in the works.

Full Article from ihealthbeat

New entertainment options for in-room patients, such as VOD, interactive systems, and bedside computers may offer targeted messaging opportunities to pharmas in the near future.

Full Article by HospitalConnect.com

HealthiNation launches free online videos for consumers, offering advertisers opportunity to deliver highly targeted impressions. Five pharmas already onboard with sponsorship deals.

Full Article from Yahoo Finance

Companies like MyTherapyNet and eGetgoing.com are offering services that link users with therapists via anonymous IM.

Full Article from California Healthcare Foundation

In 2006 approximately 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer and 565,000 will die of the disease. Cancer death rates have been dropping in the U.S. since 2003. Is there a correlation between the net decrease of total cancer deaths and the increase in online health sites providing information on early detection and/or prevention?

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After strategically teaming up with WebMD, one of the most reliable health resources on the web, members of WellPoint now have access to online health information products and much more.

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The Moberly Regional Medical Center recently launched "Discovery Hospital" website, which will provide hospitals with online health information. The system is designed with the purpose of helping individuals who are seeking to monitor their own health records.

Full Article from Moberlymonitor.com

Steve Case, co-founder of America Online, will form a new company called Revolution Health Group. The company will deal with consumer-oreiented health care issues and is said to include corporate "heavyweights" in its board of directors.

Full Article from Eweek.com

A new website was launched this week with the intention of increasing visibility into hospital procedures and quality of care.

Full Article from ECNNews.com

Recent national polls concluded that Americans are in favor of electronic health records as long as they can be secured to protect patient privacy.

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In spite of their recent IPO WebMD is facing questions and an ongoing investigation by the fedeal authorities regarding their accounting practices.

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Implementing lifecycle management strategies in the product development stages of a drug proves useful for determining the potential for multiple indications.

Full Article from MDLinx

network.ThingsPharma.com is a new social networking service that allows pharmaceutical industry members to connect with each other through friends, free of charge.

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Yahoo! has launched a new section on their site called Health Expert Blogs that covers a variety of topics discussed by experts.

Full Article from MediaPost

Link to Health Blog

Celebrities urge consumers to visit pharma-sponsored websites and increase their awareness of potential disease states that they may have overlooked in themselves.

Full Article from New York Daily News

New health site provides consumers with advice and direction based on symptoms they may be experiencing.

Full Article from Yahoo News

A new safety information site containing news, expert opinions, and tools on drug importation draws an overwhelming response from consumers.

Full Article from Pharma Live

Learn how the FDA is leveraging IT to improve medication prescribing and reduce adverse events.

Full Article from iHealthBeat

Medical schools are encouraging PDA usage amongst students for medical purposes.

Full Article from iHealthBeat

Prescription assistance program will give patients online access to more than 275 patient assistance programs, including more than 150 from pharma companies.

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The annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMMS) leadership poll showed that US healthcare IT executives are considering EMR their top priority. They are also planning to offer online access for patients to their medical records, patient scheduling capabilities, health assessment tools and general consumer health information in the future.

Full Article from E-Health Insider

With many illicit pharmacies popping up online, it has become increasingly easy for consumes to get prescription medication with out valid prescriptions. Both the FDA and DEA are working to stop these sites.

Article

Officials from the US, UK, Canada, and Austraila met to discuss the implementation of an interoperable e-health management system for 52 million people globally. Each global organization will play a part in creating the strategy that will utilize Health IT to produce quality medical services.

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A growing trend in the health industry is the use of eICU systems. This idea was developed by an ICU physician who predicts that by the end of the year more than 100 hospitals will be using it. The system can greatly reduce number of deaths, patient length of stay, and cost of ICU. One of the greatest benefits is that patient care can be monitored from miles away.

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Hospitals are beginning to adopt eRecords systems to improve efficiency, cut down on mistakes, reduce result turnaround times, and give patients a better overall experience. Patients are thought to soon start demanding more efficient medical care from those hospitals that don't adapt these new systems.

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Strategic planning for CRM, E-Commerce, Advertisements, CBT & E-Learning, and Information and Knowledge Management needs to be active and strong to keep up with the constant changes in pharma regulations and marketing.

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Factors, issues, and insights into different Pharmaceutical marketing practices, i.e. Personalization, Consumer Education, Online Compliance Programs, and eDetailing, are explored briefly in this informative article.

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According to a new study by Manhattan Research, many physicians are finding their way to the Internet for information about medical education, treatment options, prescription drugs, and even for completing some CME credit requirements. This research shows that the interest level from the physicians is growing rapidly, mainly because of the speed and ease at which they can access a lot of useful information.

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Physicians are using email to communicate professionally more and more, yet the communication between physician and patient has yet to catch on to this method.

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Pharma Futures has created an online discussion forum www.pharmafutures.org for pharma executives, and other stakeholders interested in discussing the future of the global pharmaceutical industry. The forum focuses generating a series of discussion topics that creates scenarios related to challenges facing the pharma industry. Each topic is debated for a two week period and then archived. Complete article.

JupiterResearch recently released its "Online Prescription Drug Sales" report analyzing consumer attitudes and purchasing behavior in 2003. The report found that between 2 million and 4.1 million adult Internet users in the United States bought prescription drugs online from questionable providers, defined as "foreign pharmacies or rogue providers not directly associated with licensed U.S. pharmacies". The report found that up to one-half of the 2 million to 4.1 million consumers did not use valid prescriptions to obtain the desired drugs.

These rogue or foreign pharmacies, however, are unlikely to enjoy strong sales growth in 2004, as consumers are becoming increasingly wary about such transactions. Concerns include drug safety, the legality of purchasing prescription drugs online, and credit card misuse.

Read more here.

This editorial by Stan Bernard, MD, MBA -- President of Bernard Associates and Senior Fellow at The Wharton School of Business -- discusses how modern marketers are managing multiple opportunities and challenges. Fifteen years ago, pharma marketers typically faced one mega-group of consumers, one mega-group of physicians, one mega-competitor and one mega-price. Today, pharma marketers must deal with multiple markets, media channels, stakeholders, prices, regulations, products, and consumer/physician segments. In terms of media channels, the Internet has increased the complexity and prospects for modern marketers. Read the editorial here.

Beginning in August, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts will start paying primary care physicians for ''Web visits" with their patients. The insurer will be expanding its pilot program that pays doctors to respond to patient emails. The idea is that Web visits will save doctors' time and prevent frustrating waits for patients with quick questions and/or minor ailments. Doctor's will receive $24 for a Web visit -- $19 from the insurer plus a $5 patient copayment. Patients, however, seem more excited about the new program than doctors. Read more here.

In efforts to appeal to technologically savvy suburban "swing voters" President Bush has pushed for plans for most Americans to have electronic healthcare records within the next 10 years. Electronic medical records help save lives by reducing medical dosage errors that can occur with traditional paper records. The aim of what Bush calls "conversation on healthcare information technology" is to transform healthcare through the use health information technology, making healthcare more effective and error free. His new plans, which were also mentioned during the January State of the Union Address, are also part of the administrations strategy to expand health care beyond Medicare. Link to Washington Post article

Medicare plans to launch a new site designed to help seniors compare prices of their prescription drugs. The site is designed to allow Medicare participants to come to the site and look up prices of their specific medications at nearby stores that accept Medicare-certified discount cards. Some skeptics argue that other website, such as Drugstore.com, already offer drug price-comparison tools, and that an additional Medicare drug price-comparison site is unnecessary. Link to complete article.