Pharma's "moment of opportunity" for public trust

US consumers struggling with the effects of recession are turning to on-line sources of health information, providing an opportunity for the  pharmaceutical industry to improve its public reputation, according to  Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a health economist specializing in the impact of the  Internet on health care. "Now that Americans are dealing with declining  household assets and strained budgets, they're seeking assistance in the  form of information, coupons and samples from the health organizations  with whom they deal," she writes on the Health Populi blog.

The opportunity is clear, Ms Sarasohn-Kahn argues, when one considers  the findings of a survey carried out last year into pharmaceutical  on-line resources by polling organization Prospectiv. Web sites are used  as the first point of call for information about personal health  concerns in 83% of cases, with print media lagging behind at 11% and  broadcast outlets only 5%, the research found. On-line, half of all  sources used are general health-focus sites, such as WebMD (which is one  of the most visited on-line services in the USA). Specific  disease-related sites are used in 43% of cases, with on-line  communities, such as a Facebook group for diabetes patients, at 5% and  only 3% using drugmakers' own corporate web facilities.

The small percentage of people accessing pharmaceutical firms' own web  sites is a possible symptom of a lack of trust, but could simply be a  problem of awareness. Given that many firms offer patient assistance  programs for people who cannot afford the full price of medicines, there  is an obvious benefit for cash-limited patients to investigate.