HealthCentral is an online hub that aggregates condition-specific interactive experiences focused on people finding and sharing real-life experiences related to their health needs. The company reaches over 12 million unique users each month. CEO Christopher M. Schroeder spoke with eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin about the risks and rewards for pharmaceutical marketers of participating in social media as well as trends in consumer online health information.
eMarketer: You described the idea of the “empowered patient” in a recent presentation. Can you describe what that is?
“The empowered patient seeks out other patients’ experiences, shares more and takes charge of their own healthcare.”
Chris Schroeder: It’s a concept that the patient is a true co-pilot, not merely a passenger in their healthcare. The empowered patient wields enormous social influence compared to the traditional patient. The empowered patient seeks out other patients’ experiences, shares more and takes charge of their own healthcare. The empowered patient feels almost morally obligated to help other people get through what they went through.
eMarketer: What are the most significant trends in how people are accessing health information online and connecting with one another online?
Schroeder: The single most important trend is not that people are going online en masse to find health information. That’s been happening for a while, but they are finding the courage to act on what they find. They find information and data online and see that they’re not alone. They also see others who have taken steps to take control of their health and are prepared to push doctors or insurers to answer their questions and get results. You see people saying, “I didn’t know my stepping up could have impact.”
Mobile is another important trend. Mobile content and communication are simply an extension of the online information seeking and two-way communication that we’ve seen.
eMarketer: How do you see the anticipated FDA guidelines affecting pharmaceutical marketers’ participation on networks such as yours?
Schroeder: That’s utterly unpredictable. If the FDA concludes, as they have in offline media, that marketers should not be held accountable for things people say that are not in their control, then it could open up huge opportunities to increase awareness about the use of social media.
“Of course transparency is the watchword. No advertiser should ever deceive a consumer as to who they are or what they are paying for.”
Of course transparency is the watchword. No advertiser should ever deceive a consumer as to who they are or what they are paying for. In the end, they will hurt themselves if they are deceptive.
eMarketer: What is the potential for success of sites such as CureTogether where people submit their clinical data and then that data is used in drug research. Is it a viable model?
Schroeder: A lot of these sites are great but they’re asking people to do things that they never did in the offline world before. Very few human beings have ever touched a patient health record before the internet and very few have done it since. It’s not been part of our DNA to want to hold a health record. Very few people prior to the launch of PatientsLikeMe ever shared deep data about their condition.
Now, having said that, it’s going to take a lot of time and money because you have to convince people that this is a good thing for them and that their lives will be better because of it. It’s asking people to do something they’ve never done before but the power that can come from it is profound.
eMarketer: Where do you see video going in the future in terms of online health?
Schroeder: Online video is the second hottest word after mobile. Some video is highly clinical and boring but the more lifestyle-oriented videos are aspirational, inspirational and even humorous.