I've been tracking them since day one, and have worked with many of the networks on a variety of projects.
These networks reflect the great influence the internet age is having on medical practice.
Research suggests that regardless of cultural differences, doctors around the world now view the internet as essential to how they practice. And around a fifth can be identified as highly 'e-reliant'. One of the measures of this is where they get their clinical information, and more than 75% are saying they are getting that information online.
One of the key developments for the industry came in October 2007, when Pfizer announced a strategic partnership with US social network Sermo. Pfizer said the alliance was part of its commitment to engage in "peer-to-peer medical dialogue with physicians" to meet the mutual goal of helping patients. Jeffrey Kindler, the chief executive of Pfizer indicated that it wanted to put the 'hard sell' tactics behind it, as this is not what doctors wanted - instead it would try and build 'a more open and honest' discussion.
I was part of a group of pharma people who were invited by Sermo to a Japanese restaurant in Princeton in the week following the Pfizer deal. They walked us through everything they were doing, and their vision of the future, and this certainly caused quite a stir in the industry.
There are some who question the motives behind Pfizer's move. Following the news, John Mack's Pharma Marketing Blog carried a satirical cartoon depicting Pfizer as a predatory cat and Sermo and its online doctors as a bowl of goldfish. Its paws wrapped around the bowl, the cat says: "I for one am glad we can have an open dialogue."
Whatever your view, the Pfizer/Sermo partnership represents a major shift in how medical information is exchanged, and this quite rightly caused a stir when it was first announced.
So that was October 2007, but where are we today? In those three years, the US has seen a proliferation of physicians' networks. In terms of their number, diversity, success in raising venture capital funding and pharma participation, the US ones are still probably setting the pace, but less so than a few years ago.
More ...
http://www.inpharm.com/news/101129/doctor-social-networks-engagement-channel
