Acsys Interactive President Provides Recommendations to FDA Regarding Use of Social Media in Healthcare Industry

At the invitation of the Food and Drug Administration, Stan Valencis, President of Acsys Interactive, recently presented a series of recommendations to help shape the government's policy towards the promotion of prescription drugs, biologics and medical devices using the Internet and social media tools. As a leader in providing digital marketing and interactive strategies to healthcare systems, hospitals, device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, Acsys Interactive was selected by the FDA to provide its uniquely qualified perspective and experience.

"Social media is rapidly becoming an integral source of medical information to millions of consumers seeking to improve their overall health and find effective treatment options," states Stan Valencis, President, Acsys Interactive. "We appreciate the FDA's invitation to present our recommendations and their collaborative approach in seeking the recommendations of leaders across the healthcare industry. While technology is changing quickly and as such, needs to be reacted to quickly, we must maintain a balanced approach that encourages innovation while also ensuring the protection of consumers from sources of misinformation accessible via the Internet."

Highlights from Stan Valencis' testimony at the FDA's public hearings conducted in Washington, DC on November 12th and 13th include:

Growing Importance of Social Media in Society

Nielson reports that 78% of people say that customer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising. Consumers tend to believe and more readily accept what's being stated in social channels versus traditional messages and advertising. While recommendations are nothing new, the ability to mass market them so easily is.

Adoption of Social Media Amongst Healthcare Marketing Organizations

Utilization is still in the early adopter phase, but growing rapidly. Social is becoming a bigger overall piece of the overall marketing mix primarily for public communications. Hospitals are using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and other social channels to distribute news, videos and other activities. Some of the more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media as a listening and information gathering platform and proactively responding to feedback whether negative or positive. With regard to social media, the genie is out of the bottle and usage will only continue to grow.

Biggest Obstacles to Adoption Are Transparency, Liability and Best Practices

A large number of surgeons are not using social media for researching regulated medical products, but for those who do 85% say they are influenced by what they find online. Health professionals want to use social media and share ideas with other healthcare professionals, they want to talk to each other, share thoughts, opinions and options on breakthrough medicine, obscure conditions or the latest medical devices.

However, the biggest obstacles to adoption are concerns around transparency, liability and best practices. Transparency is key. Any affiliations need to be disclosed between parties. Existing FDA regulations pertaining to the marketing of medical products can and should be transferable to social media tools.

Establish Authenticity of Medical Content with Introduction of FDA Seal of Approval

Device manufacturers should not be held accountable for the postings of unaffiliated third parties. There are few options to stop, comment or alter a misguided or misleading opinion. So how should consumers differentiate as to what is good content and bad content?  How to differentiate between the two is a challenge.  We recommend a new model similar to how SSL certificates are used in e-commerce to delineate a safe transfer of information. A FDA seal demonstrating a source's validity could be implemented across various online sources of information immediately identifying FDA approved content and devices, and manufacturers. Consumers would have confidence in knowing that the content presented is authentic, safe and valid.

Listen to Acsys Interactive's FDA Recommendations

Hear Stan Valencis, President of Acsys Interactive, speak to the FDA as the government agency evaluates special characteristics of Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies that may require the agency to provide additional guidance to the industry on how the regulations should be applied.

About Acsys Interactive

Acsys Interactive is an award-winning, full-service interactive agency providing strategy, branding, design, digital marketing, software development, and hosting services with an emphasis on client results. Acsys Interactive takes a technology agnostic approach with expertise in Web 2.0, rich media, intranet, extranet, ecommerce, portal and mobile delivery. It has more than 10 years of experience across the consumer, financial services, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and non-profit industries.