Buzz e-sante

A cross-collaborative team of the Australian Self-Medication Industry (ASMI) and the Weber Shandwick Healthcare and Digital practices, has led to the development and launch of the first non-prescription medicines industry guidelines for social media use.

Those of us who work in the healthcare industry will be all too familiar with the challenge that social media presents. There is no doubt that we have well and truly entered the digital era, but while most have embraced it, the healthcare industry has traditionally been quite hesitant.

One of the main concerns with social media integrating into the healthcare industry is the complexity of regulations surrounding health communication. There are codes that determine the way in which therapeutic goods are marketed and promoted, and responsibilities of both healthcare professionals and healthcare companies that need to be considered.

The opportunity and need for healthcare organisations to actively engage in social media has become more apparent. Patients and health professionals are participating in online media at an increasing rate, making the availability of credible content from health organisations more vital than ever.

Social media has changed communications and it is critical that the healthcare sector is responsive to this change. The demand for information is high, with almost 80 per cent of people searching for health information online, and patients sharing experiences and asking questions more than ever before.

The healthcare industry needs to drive comprehensive health education and audience engagement in an online arena. Marketers need to feel confident and secure in providing the right information to audiences.

So how could the healthcare industry enter this digital space and make a meaningful contribution to social media in health?

A solution was recently offered at the annual Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI) conference held in Sydney in November.

Weber Shandwick, helped ASMI launch a new set of industry guidelines to assist non-prescription healthcare marketers to continue to engage with online audiences in a compliant and responsible manner.

ASMI recognised that with the growing presence of social media in Australia, it was important to prepare healthcare organisations to engage with consumers in this new space. Weber Shandwick provided its expertise in healthcare and digital media to create a set of practical guidelines based on real-world experience of working across both disciplines.

The new guidelines essentially represent the evolution of the Australian consumer healthcare industry, recognising the increasing importance of responsible behaviour and sharing of information in the social media and digital content era.

The industry needs an agreed framework to help build confidence in connecting brands and information with social media audiences. Having these guidelines will hopefully give healthcare organisations, and their agencies, a platform to openly discuss social media and content strategies in the healthcare space.

Gareth Finch is Vice President – Head of Healthcare at Weber Shandwick Australia.

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Getting creative with the message and using all forms of media to spread it would help promote organ donation and bust the myths surrounding it, said Dr Christopher Barry, liver transplant surgeon from University of Rochester, US. The doctor, who was in the city to raise awareness about organ donation, said though India, especially Tamil Nadu, was making rapid progress in organ donation, there was still a long way to go.

"The target should be the youth as they are the ones who are highly active on social networking sites. Creative ways to communicate messages can be adopted to spread awareness," he said. Dr Barry, who is also co-founder of b-LifeNY, a non-governmental organisation in New York, recalled a campaign they had run. Supporters of organ donation were requested to send pictures that were posted on the NGO's website and Facebook page with the message, 'We love you for being an organ donor'. "Within a couple of weeks, the campaign caught on and our page views soared," he said.

In order to make organ donation a success, donors, recipients and their families should become vociferous advocates. "This has not happened in India where the onus is on the government and social workers alone. Nothing makes a better impact than people who have given and received speaking about organ donation," he said.

D Barry said donation rates were abysmal in New York. "Many doctors do not support organ donation. Fears, myths and reluctance to go beyond the routine are the hindering factors," he said. In contrast, healthcare professionals in India actively promote organ donation but infrastructure needed improvement. "India is yet to set up a national organ donation registry. Digitising the organ allocation system should be a priority. Work needs to go into building efficient organ procurement organisations that act as a nexus between donors and recipients," he said.

He stressed on the importance of engaging spiritual leaders, celebrities and politicians in promoting organ donation. It is not a pressing issue like malaria or malnutrition, but is has the potential to change lives, he said. "In India there are many living donor transplants. If deceased donor transplants increase, it would be a game changer," said Dr Barry.