Please login to the form below
How to design patient services with social media within the ABPI code guidelines
In this blog, Senior Consultant Craig Moore, from the Blue Latitude Strategy team, discusses the application of the ABPI Code, including incorporating social media into digital patient services.
In the UK, the marketing of prescription medicine to health professionals and patients is carried out under strict regulatory oversight to protect and support high quality patient care. The ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry is administered by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority, and is a self-regulatory code that applies to the marketing of prescription medicines both to health professionals and the public as a whole.
When designing digital services and informational materials for prescription drugs or services, there are unique considerations that must be taken around how that information is accessed and used. In this blog, Senior Consultant Craig Moore, from the Blue Latitude Strategy team, discusses the application of the ABPI Code, including incorporating social media into digital patient services.
Do some market research to understand the customer needs: would patients be interested in the social media functionality; would they use it? Rounds of user research and user testing would highlight if this was important or not. At Blue Latitude, the aim is to solve problems for clients following a number of solution design methodologies.
Host a PMCPA (Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority) training session and take the opportunity to get feedback on early solution concepts. Understand where other companies have breached the code and where you may run the risk with your own solutions. The PMCPA’s view is absolute; any company working with or providing services for the Pharma Industry needs to know the code. (Blue Latitude’s staff have all completed the introductory PMCPA training session).
Get cross-functional teams around a meeting table to highlight social media in the organisation. The corporate communication team handles social throughout most organisations. Silos mean that the information is not always shared. The development of the website/app should not be the main focus; the main focus should be to capture any company-wide issues or concerns about using social, and highlight areas of the code that are designed to support this. Take any objections away and incorporate them into the business case for the solution.
Consider the level of patient access in the kind of website/app you want to develop. Patient access will raise some red flags, especially from the pharma-covigilance teams. The fear would be that an increased perception of patients discussing product-related issues would lead to an inundation of Adverse Events or Product Complaints (AE/PC).
Initiate some monitoring pilots related to the therapy area in general. This will help establish a reporting process; defining clear roles and responsibilities as well as outlining clear project plans, objectives, and exit strategies. Always follow the guidelines, and go beyond them.
For example, use what you report (or consider to be) an AE/PC as a metric to demonstrate that social listening will not create an undue burden on internal resources. Once the process is established, expand monitoring into competitor products – there is no need to report AE/PC for competitors – then, move on to company-owned products.
Look at the possibility of developing a solution for closed patient communities. The code explains how use of social media to discuss prescription medicines (for example, on Twitter) is seen as promotional. With closed patient communities, the challenge to the code/internal MLR compliance teams is to make sure to only allow access to prescribed patients. Canada, for example, uses product identification numbers and DIN to allow access to a patient programme or forum.
To read more about regulations which impact marketing for Pharma, read our blog from guest poster Aurelie Pols on data security and privacy.
Downloads
How to design patient services with social media within ABPI code guidelines - Blue Latitude
PDF File: 400.3 KB
21st May 2015
Downloads
How to design patient services with social media within ABPI code guidelines - Blue Latitude
PDF File: 400.3 KB
Share
Company Details
Blue Latitude Health
+44 203 328 1840
Address:
Blue Latitude Health
Crusader House
145-157 St John Street
London
EC1V 4QJ
United Kingdom
Latest content on this profile
- Genetic counsellors: the new healthcare influencers?
- Blue Latitude Health explores the relationship between physicians and genetic counsellors, and the impact this has on turning precision medicine into a reality for oncology patients.
Blue Latitude Health
- Mastering the precision medicine opportunity
- The rise of precision medicine will transform the pharma business model, challenging the way we commercialise therapies. BLH Senior Consultant and precision medicine expert David Cooney, reveals how you can plan for this change.
Blue Latitude Health
- Medopad: the up and coming unicorn transforming remote patient monitoring
- Blue Latitude Health speaks to Medopad’s Martha Carruthers to learn how the start-up’s modular apps are helping patients with complex diseases.
Blue Latitude Health
- Bringing the NHS into the 21st century
- As the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday and a £20bn “birthday gift” from the UK government, we find out how one company is delivering what the National Health Service really needs – a financially sustainable method of healthcare management. Dr Kruti Patel Clinical Operations Manager at virtual healthcare provider Medefer tells us more.
Blue Latitude Health
- Successful brands tell stories
- Creating a strong brand story is the first step in developing a successful pharma brand. Here, Head of Insight Martine Leroy and Jocelyn Coutinho reveal the tools and techniques they use to create a narrative that makes an impact.
Blue Latitude Health
- Training the next generation of biotech leaders
- Blue Latitude Health speaks to Dr Ivan Wall, Reader in Cell & Gene Therapy Bioprocessing at University College London, to find out about the future of cell and gene therapy, the impact of Brexit, and how the next generation is paving the way for innovation.
Blue Latitude Health
- About us
- Contact us
- How to advertise
- Site map
- All content copyright © PMGroup Worldwide Ltd 2018
