This week it was reported in a study by Visible Technologies that ‘only a tiny percentage of all posts across social media sites rise to the level of the Adverse Event Reporting (AER) government mandate. The AER requires that companies explain negative side effects from the use of a drug in a clinical trial. Only .3 percent of posts had an AER and some of those didn’t actually rise to the government threshold to mandate one’.
Many pharmaceutical companies are hesitant to enter the Social Media space in the US due to the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting requirements and in Australia they suffer from the same hesitancy yet it is a good opportunity to gauge consumer feedback and have valuable conversations with their consumers.
Some pharmaceutical companies have come under the spotlight for unethical online behaviour in recent years but with all this learning behind them it is time for pharmaceuticals to take a fresh look at social media and all the mutual benefits it can offer.