Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Interview with Pixels & Pills at the ePharma Summit

Last week I was honored to be part of a presentation at the ePharma Summit in Philadelphia. I was sponsored by Klick!, a Toronto company I visited in December after meeting them at the ePatient Connections conference in October. I've seen a lot of Web 2.0 and Health 2.0 things over the years, and I was blown away by the instructional quality and the user experience of the websites Klick creates to engage consumers. And for their healthcare business, that means patients. Real "help you help yourself" sites.

At the session in Philadelphia, I spoke with Klick's Brian O'Donnell. His topic was "Value-Add Beyond the Pill," talking to pharma marketers about why and how they should engage with patient communities - adding value beyond just the medication they sell. During Brian's talk, I presented my first-hand experience as an engaged patient using the internet during my illness. (I hope video of that talk will be available.)

Afterward, I took my turn in the side room where Pixels&Pills (an online marketing agency) was doing live interviews. I was hoarse (still getting over a cold) but that never stopped me from talking.:)

  • What's all this about "patient is not a third person word"?
  • Say something about the new Society for Participatory Medicine and its Journal of Participatory Medicine.
  • What is the role of the physician in a world where patients are more involved in their care?
  • How can communication between patients and physicians be better fostered?
  • Are more and more patients really going online for medical information?


Thanks to Pixesl&Pills and again to Klick for this opportunity.

A dose of laughter medication

I've written before about the medical and emotional value of laughing one's butt off. (Example from December here.) I hereby strongly endorse this particular formulation.



(Email subscribers: if you can't see the video, click here.)