OrganizedWisdom Health Blog

The 6 Best Free Web 2.0 Healthcare Tools and Sites

Check out Fathom SEO’s latest guide called The Best Free Web 2.0 Healthcare Tools and Sites.

Download Guide Here

Watch Paul Richlovsky's Video Interview about the report here.

We were pleased to be included along with Revolution Health, PatientsLikeMe, SugarStats, DailyStrength and VIMO.

The State of Search: 7 of 10 Americans Experience "Search Engine Fatigue"

There's some great new data to support what we've been saying for two years now: Search has become a vast wasteland of clutter, noise, spam, and information.

A new research report conduted by Kelton Research, examines "The State of Search" and describes “search engine fatigue." People are actually giving up on searching because they can't find what they are looking for.

Here are some of the key findings:

-72.3 percent of Americans experience “search engine fatigue” (either “always,” “usually,” or “sometimes”) when researching a topic on the Internet.

--65.4 percent of Americans say they’ve spent two or more hours in a single sitting searching for specific information on search engines.

--More than three out of four (75.1 percent) of those who experience search engine fatigue report getting up and physically leaving their computer without the information they were seeking – either “always,” “usually” or “sometimes.”

One of the more interesting findings that seems to confirm the need for human-guided search:

When asked to name their #1 complaint about the process, 25 percent cited a deluge of results, 24 percent cited a predominance of commercial (paid) listings, 18.8 percent blamed the search engine’s inability to understand their keywords (forcing them to try again), and 18.6 percent were most frustrated by disorganized/random results.

Here's the press release that reflects some of the data and report's primary findings.

90% of Women Use Internet to Search for Health Info

There's another interesting survey  from Burst Media which tells us more of what we already know:

People are going to the Internet first to search for health information.

In fact, the research shows that the internet - rather than healthcare professionals - is now by far US households' main source for healthcare information, and women more frequently than men seek such information.

Click here to get a lot more of the statistics from the report.

So we know people are going to the Internet to search for health information first.  But, are they finding what they want and is the information they are finding credible, trustworthy, and useful? 

For those who are adept at searching online, we suspect that they are eventually finding great information.  That's because there is so much great health information available online now.  There's also a lot of wisdom and practical advice from patients and ordinary people with experience. 

But from our experience this information is becoming increasingly more difficult to find.  We know because that's what our health guides do all day -- they search for the very best health content, resources, and wisdom to find the very best stuff.  The challenge is, it can take hours to wade through hundreds of links to find the very best message board on a topic.  Or to discern if a blog post is from a credible source or not.  Or to search page after page of search results only to get links to the very same content, but on a different Web site.

The good news is that there are now really great health resources online.  Most of them freely accessible and many that have been reviewed by physicians.  The key is finding the best stuff.

We're now creating WisdomCards, or search results pages, for hundreds of the most popular health topics.  We're trying to do the work for you, and clean up a lot of the clutter along the way.

Here's an example of a WisdomCard we have created on the topic of Breast Cancer.

Here's the same search on Google:

And on Technorati.

We'd love your feedback on which one you would want to send your family to and why or why not?

With so many people now turning to the Internet first, it's essential to clean up health search and give people great, organized results.

eMarketer Says Pharma Failing at Web 2.0

In case you didn't see this research from eMarketer:

DESPITE ACCOUNTING FOR AN EVER-INCREASING share of online ad spending, the pharmaceutical industry is still failing to embrace the Web 2.0 strategies that could help it better engage consumers looking for health care assistance, according to eMarketer research.

The new study, "Pharmaceutical Marketing Online: Stuck in Web 1.5," projected that the pharmaceutical category--which includes hospitals, drug companies and other health care services--will account for 5% of Internet advertising by 2011, or $2.2 billion. Last year the industry was responsible for $820 million, or 4.9%, and is on track to ring in $975 million this year, or 4.5% of total Web spend.

But most of that money is still going to traditional Web 1.0 ventures that provide only limited interactions with users. "[By] restricting their brand sites to simple online information centers, pharma marketers are missing opportunities to engage consumers and boost compliance," the study said.

The study's author, eMarketer senior analyst Lisa Phillips, said Pharma's slow adoption of Web 2.0 strategies like blogs, social networks and broadband video can be attributed to its conservative approach to advertising in general and to government restrictions.

Read the full article at Online Media Daily here.

White Paper Provides Strategy to Help Drug Firms Leverage Social Media Safely

Over the past year and a half, we have met with marketing executives, compliance officers, and lawyers from more than 20 of the world's top pharmaceutical companies to discuss how they could and should be using social media to join the conversation and connect better with patients.

We felt there was (and still is) a significant opportunity for them to leverage the power of social media to share information and education to try and bridge the massive divide that currently exists between Big Pharma and the people who buy their products.

But meeting after meeting, we would be met with resistance to the effect of, "We don't do social media; We don't want to lose control; We can't use blogs..." and so on.

Being the resilient entrepreneurial types that we are, we pressed on determined to convince these companies that a healthy dose of transparency and openness would go a long way in improving relations with customers. We even developed a presentation called Pharma-Friendly Social Media to try and bridge the gap between these companies and their customers. Still, it was always an uphill battle trying to get these companies to start listening and communicating to their own customers. (If they listen, they might learn about adverse events, which is a big no-no.  Then they have to file lots of paperwork and disclose issues that may impact their drugs, etc.).

One of the biggest challenges was that the FDA has yet to issue guidance on how to conduct monitoring and marketing practices in social media so pharmaceutical companies are unsure how to proceed. And as we quickly learned, no one wants to be the guinea pig with new innovations in the pharmaceutical industry. And for good reason, Big Pharma must be cautious, conservative, and follow the letter of the law.

It is unclear when or if the FDA will issue guidance on the many new issues that have come up as a result of social media, the Internet, and online marketing. Until the waters settle, we recommend each company take baby steps and get involved. Bring your marketing teams and compliance teams together to figure out how to take the first steps.

And step one should be reading this new White Paper just co-authored by Fard Johnmar from Envision Solutions.

New Survey: Web Is By Far Most Trusted Resource For Researching Drug and Ailment Info

According to a recent study by Prospectiv, the vast majority of online consumers say the web is overwhelmingly their most trusted and reliable resource for researching ailment and drug information, beating out broadcast media and magazines by a large margin.

Some 75% of 800 consumers responding to Prospectiv’s 2007 Pharmaceutical Marketing CPI poll said they view the internet as their most trusted resource, followed by broadcast media (15%) and magazines (10%).

Other findings from the survey:

• Consumers who conduct online ailment and drug research largely favor general health websites (54%) and specific ailment-focused sites (37%) over pharmaceutical company sites (4%).
• The majority (40%) of respondents said that they had conducted online research only two times or less during the past six months; 33% reported research frequency of at least once-a-month, followed by every other month (27%).
• When asked what would pique their interest in specific drug treatments for their ailments, the majority cited drug samples (55%), followed by e-newsletters to help them learn more (35%) and coupons (10%) as the top incentives.
• Consumers’ views on pharmaceutical television ads:
  • 83% surveyed expressed concerns that pharmaceutical ads on television can be confusing and misleading.
  • 89% agreed with the sentiment expressed by some government organizations and consumer advocacy groups that television drug treatment advertisements need to be more closely regulated.
  • 72% of respondents also said that there were too many drug treatment advertisements on television.

“What’s particularly interesting is the low number of consumers who rely on pharmaceutical sites for information, indicating that brand managers need to find new ways to pique consumer interest and engage them,” said Jere Doyle, President and CEO of Prospectiv.

“Educational e-newsletters, health-focused websites and micro-sites focused on specific ailments have proved very effective in this regard. The first step toward initiating these online resources is for brand managers to build an in-house database of self-profiled consumers who have expressed an interest in learning more about their treatment options.”

About the study: Prospectiv conducted the 2007 Pharmaceutical Marketing CPI Poll online, gathering responses from 800 consumers across the United States. The survey was conducted from June 20-June 22, 2007. Prospectiv provides online customer acquisition solutions and is the owner of the online properties Healthier.com and Eversave.com.

Kids Search for Health Info Online As Much as Adults, But for Different Reasons

Numerous studies and reports over the past few years have made it clear that the majority of people now use the Internet to search for health information.

But would you guess that Gen Yers (18 to 26) and Gen Xers (27 to 40) are now searching for health information online as much as Boomers and Seniors?

That's what the results from a 2006 Forrester Research survey titled How Different Generations Use Online Health Research show.

While different generations all seem to be using the Internet to find health information, what's interesting is the different types of information each age group is really using looking for.

Even though 84% of consumers said they have researched a health-related topic online in the past 12 months, the reason for researching health information online and the way consumers conduct their online research varies by age group significantly.

Here are some examples:

76% of Seniors (adults 62 and older) use the Internet to research medical conditions related to their own personal health, while only 19% of seniors research health conditions online out of curiosity, and fewer than 10% conduct online health research for academic, scientific, or professional reasons.

 

Gen Yers (18 to 26 year olds) were also most likely to research specific medical conditions online related to their own personal health, but 31% of this segment said they conduct online medical research out of curiosity and another 21% said they conduct online medical research for professional, scientific or academic reasons.

Here is another enlightening trend from the survey:

The Internet is the preferred source to learn about health topics for younger consumers, but it decreases with age. The survey found that 61% of Gen Yers say the Internet is their top source for health information, compared with 55% of younger baby boomers and 44% of seniors. 

The survey also found that Gen Yers are the most likely to research health information online when their physician suggests it, while older boomers were the most likely to go online to confirm what a physician or health care professional has told them.

It will be very interesting to track this data over time as each generation ages and see how these generational paradigm shifts will impact today's health care services online and off.

New Research Shows How Social Media Is Impacting Health Search

We're looking forward to digging into this new research report just released from Envision Solutions: Diving Deeper Into Online Search. 

The research provides new information about why Americans trust health content they find online and documents how Internet health seekers are exposed to a significant amount of user-generated media (i.e., blogs, wikis and online bulletin boards) and frequent Websites developed by government, non-profits and corporations.

 

Compiled from Hitwise data taken between December 2006 and January 2007, this research was inspired by a Pew Internet & American Life Project report indicating that “three-quarters of Internet users who look online for [health] advice do not consistently check the source and date of [content] they find online.” 

Following are some of the key findings of the study: 

• Internet users’ exposure to health-related user-generated media is significant: Out of 16 queries Envision Solutions conducted on Yahoo and Google (using popular health/medical keywords), UGM appeared on the first three pages of searches 88% of the time.
  
• Online health searchers are relying on government, corporate and non-profit produced Websites for information:  For example, 32% of those who typed “diabetes” into major search engines went to the American Diabetes Association’s Website www.diabetes.org.
  
• In certain cases, wikis and blogs are receiving significant traffic:  Five percent of those searching online for information about the antidepressant Lexapro between mid-December 2006 and mid-January 2007 went to CrazyMeds.org.  This is a popular blog that provides information about the safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.   

To download a free copy of the study report, please go to http://www.envisionsolutionsnow.com/healthsearch.html.

JupiterResearch: Significant buzz exists around social marketing and consumer-created content in the healthcare industry

JupiterResearch published a new online health report yesterday on the impact of social media in healthcare.

This is an important report because it is the first study that we've seen to assess the importance of "Health Connectors."  Health Connectors, like patient advocates and physician experts, are becoming a powerful and important force in impacting people's health decisions.

The report also answers these questions:

• How many online consumers connect with one another about health issues, and to what extent does this activity threaten or benefit health stakeholders?

• How do health connectors communicate as well as create, consume, and share content, and how does this activity impact marketing strategy?

• How can publishers increase the number and engagement of health connectors?

• Percentage of Online Health Connectors and Share of Online Users Who Looked for Health Information Online

• Types of One-to-One and Social Media Online Users Leverage

• Reasons Online Health Connectors Used the Internet to Connect with Others

• Percentage of Online Users Who Create and Consume Health Content Leveraging One-to-One and Social Media

• Percentage of Online Health Connectors Who Use One-to-One and Social Media in Combination and Exclusively

• Degree of Sources' Influence on Online Users' Decisions to Take Prescription Drugs

• Characteristics of Online Health Connectors, Compared with Average Online Users

• Drivers and Inhibitors of Growth and Engagement of Online Health Connector Audience

• Example of Site Featuring Health Specialists

• Features Encouraging Interaction with Others Online

40% of Healthcare Bloggers Publish To Help Others

According to the first ever Global Healthcare Blogging Survey released this week by Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions at the Healthcare Blogging Summit in Washington DC, nearly 40% of health care bloggers report that the most important reason they blog is to educate and help others. 

According the the methodology details listed in the report, 214 bloggers took the survey and 72% of respondents indicated that their primary audience is either health care providers, the general public or patients.

Other highlights from the survey include:

• 61% write about their personal experiences.
• Only 39% hide their identity to protect their privacy, patient confidentiality, or themselves.
• 47% spend 1 to 2 hours working on their blog daily.
• A third of respondents have been contacted by PR professionals.

Fard indicated at conference that Envisioning Solutions plans to make this an annual survey. It will be interesting to see how this data trends over the coming years to see how the trends evolve as more patients, caregivers, and health organizations enter the blogosphere.