HORSHAM, Pa. – November 10, 2010 – The doctor-patient relationship has long been an asymmetric one in which the physician’s clinical agenda trumps the patient’s need to voice and explore his/her health concerns. To bridge this gap in competing priorities, many patients turn to online third-party resources, such as Internet-based health support groups and health education websites, to gain additional information in an effort to better manage their illness experience and potentially become more active participants in clinical conversations with their healthcare providers. But how much do these “eCommunities” actually influence what happens in the doctor’s office?
In a unique study, Verilogue has partnered with Internet-based health community Inspire.com to examine conversations among patients in online, disease-specific support groups and compare those to doctor-patient interactions in similar disease areas, shedding light for pharmaceutical marketers on:
- the perceived value patients assign to messages received from their physicians versus messages received from their peers;
- how to create meaningful online “experiences” through adaptive digital marketing; and
- how to motivate patients to carry third-party information into real-world interactions with their physicians.
Verilogue, the first healthcare market research company to listen to, analyze and deliver global insights derived from naturally-occurring dialogue between patients and physicians, will present study findings this Thursday at Marketing to the Digital Consumer: A Healthcare Perspective, DTC Perspectives’ Fall Conference.