Health Network during third quarter 2008 grew to more than 49 million unique visitors between July 1 and Sept. 30. There is a discernable shift occurring in terms of focus and resource allotment.There are almost daily press releases announcing another company is reducing its sales force or realigning its business structure. Novartis is the most recent company to make such an announcement. The company states that it is eliminating 550 positions from its U.S. sales force “in a socially responsible manner,” with half coming from unfilled vacancies. The company also will establish five new regional units with cross functional responsibility for primary care as part of its “Customer Centric Initiative.” Pfizer is also undergoing a realignment of its established global business units. It plans to house under one roof its primary care and specialty drugs, along with a separate group for its efforts in emerging markets, moving away from a regional structure and putting development, medical, sales, and marketing teams for those brands worldwide. On the clinical side, there continues to be a push toward etools and suites of products to enhance the trial process. At the same time, there remains resistance to adopting non paperbased processes. No doubt technology will continue to push the traditional foundations of all aspects of the lifesciences industry. See you on FaceBook! Taren Grom Editor LETTER FROM THE EDITOR When we talk about “e” we mean e everything. There are few processes in today’s lifesciences environment that couldn’t benefit from a good, new fashioned dose of engenuity. Myriad forces have all sectors of the industry rethinking and updating their technology strategies to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and limit waste. Traditional marketing practices will be under greater scrutiny as the new PhRMA code goes into effect. DTC advertising is under fire; DDMAC is currently evaluating the impact of distracting visuals on comprehension and retention of risk information in TV ads. There are fewer and fewer professional journals, as well respected titles fold in face of revenue shortages. Clinical trials face real issues in terms of safety, patient recruitment, and data management. A new eworld has emerged and the pharmaceutical industry is looking to capitalize on the benefits that improved technologies, increased user acceptance, and stream lined processes can bring to bear. FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube are what’s hip, happening, and now. Almost every stakeholder group from patients, to caregivers, to doctors, to pharmacists, to nurses are logging onto blogs, message boards, videos, and social net works to “talk” about healthcare The power of these once local and personal discussions is being expanded into large and public forums. Message control is no longer a given, and companies that become comfortable with social media and are part of the conversation with physicians in the social networking space will reap tremendous benefits, according to a recent report from Jupiter Research. And according to comScore, the health information site category has grown at more than four times the growth rate of the total U.S. Internet population over the past year. Customers and consumers are logging onto health portals, such as WebMD, in truly amazing numbers; traffic across the WebMD Taren Grom FaceBook and YouTube today. One has to wonder, what’s next? VIEW on ESolutions October 2008 PUBLISHER Lisa Banket EDITOR Taren Grom CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marah Walsh EDITORS Carolyn Gretton Denise Myshko Kim Ribbink DESIGN ASSOCIATE Cathy Liszewski NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER Cathy Tracy SALES REPRESENTATIVE Kate Guerrierro Copyright 2008 by PharmaLinx LLC, Titusville, NJ Printed in the U.S.A. Volume Six, Number Six VIEW is published as a special issue to PharmaVOICE, which is published monthly except August and December, by PharmaLinx LLC, P.O. Box 327, Titusville, NJ 08560. Periodicals postage paid at Titusville, NJ 08560 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to PharmaVOICE, P.O. Box 292345, Kettering, OH 454290345. VIEW and PharmaVOICE Coverage and Distribution: Domestic subscriptions are available at $190 for one year (10 issues plus VIEWs). Foreign subscriptions: 10 issues plus VIEWs US$360. Contact PharmaLinx at P.O. Box 327, Titusville, NJ 08560. Call us at 609.730.0196 or FAX your order to 609.730.0197. Contributions: The VIEW and PharmaVOICE are not responsible for unsolicited contributions of any type. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, The VIEW and PharmaVOICE retain all rights on material published in The VIEW and PharmaVOICE for a period of six months after publication and reprint rights after that period expires. Email: [email protected]. Change of address: Please allow six weeks for a change of address. Send your new address along with your subscription label to PharmaVOICE, P.O. Box 292345, Kettering, OH 454290345. Call us at 800.607.4410 or FAX your change to 937.890.0221. Email: [email protected]. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The post office will not forward copies of this magazine. The VIEW and PharmaVOICE are not responsible for replacing undelivered copies due to lack of or late notification of address change Advertising in VIEW or PharmaVOICE: To advertise in a VIEW or PharmaVOICE please contact our Advertising Department at P.O. Box 327, Titusville, NJ 08560, or telephone us at 609.730.0196. Email: lbanket@phar mavoice.com. www.pharmavoice.com Volume 6 . Number 6 Send your letters to [email protected]. Please include your name, title, company, and business phone number. Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity. All submissions become the property of PharmaLinx LLC. Letters VIEW ON ESOLUTIONS A SUPPORTING PUBLICATION TO PHARMAVOICE Everything for Everyone
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