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In countries across Europe, pharmaceutical marketers are trying to keep pace

with physicians’ and patients’ increased reliance on technology for health. Both

groups have used the Internet to research medical and prescription drug

information for years, but never before have eHealth activities been so engrained

in their daily lives. A digital health landscape that was once mostly defined by

sporadic searches for health or product terms has now evolved to include a

growing group of individuals who rely on digital media throughout their

professional workdays and healthcare journeys. Physicians now whip out

smartphones at the point of care to reference drug information and patients use online resources for education and

support at multiple points along the disease management continuum. But the challenge for pharmaceutical

marketers is turning these eHealth trends into actionable insights that shape strategies and ultimately impact the

bottom line, especially in an environment with stringent regulations around direct-to-consumer advertising. The

following report looks at some of the top trends in the European eHealth market as a preview of the rich data and

analysis available in Manhattan Research’s European physician and consumer market research and advisory

service products.

Social Networking for Health on the Rise

Health 2.0 is a rising trend in the European eHealth landscape – over two-

thirds of doctors already online are interested in joining physician social

networks and a growing number of patients are using social media as an

outlet for comparing experiences, lending support, and reviewing opinions

on treatments and products. But even though Europeans are consuming

and creating user-generated content for medical purposes, it’s far from the

most dominant resource in the health resource media mix, as overall both

patients and physicians draw from a diverse selection of resources when

making health and treatment decisions. While social media undoubtedly has an important place in pharmaceutical

marketing, marketer enthusiasm for the channel sometimes outweighs the benefits that brands have yet to be able

to gain from this area. Brands shouldn’t dive headfirst into the social media pool before they have a solid

understanding of how their target patient and/or physician audiences use and are influenced by social media.

Manhattan Research’s studies show that social media is more influential for some specialist and disease groups

than others, so the level of priority this channel is given should vary by brand.

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Wikipedia Remains a Top Health Resource

Not surprisingly, language is a major factor in determining the websites Europeans visit most often and top online

health destinations vary greatly across the continent. There was one common thread, though, throughout the

countries surveyed in Manhattan Research’s Cybercitizen Health® Europe and Taking the Pulse® Europe studies –

Wikipedia. This collaboratively edited resource contains up-to-date, local content which is ultimately being used by

patients and physicians alike for medical information. In fact, about three-fourths of physicians online use Wikipedia

as a medical resource monthly or more often – and they’re even recommending it to patients. The site plays an

especially critical role in the many countries lacking comprehensive, accredited health portals. Additionally, the

majority of consumers on Wikipedia for health expect pharmaceutical companies to monitor their product entries.

Brand and product information should be accurate throughout entries, but marketers should only go so far as

verifying accuracy and completeness – the removal of true, even if negative, content has caused backlash for some

companies.

Rich Media a Growing Source of Health Information

Over the past few years, some forms of rich media, such as online video, have evolved from “new” media formats to

become mainstream information resources. Increased broadband access, improved content quality, and advanced

mobile technology have all contributed to the growing consumption of rich media by the general population. For

example, the majority of online European consumers watch streaming video on the Internet and there’s a healthy

interest for condition management videos, while nearly half of online European physicians use online videos for

professional purposes. It will be interesting to see how rich media can help pharmaceutical companies better

engage with physicians and patients and if even more advanced types of media, like online gaming, can be brand

enhancers in the future.

Physicians and Patients Discuss Online Health Resources

Though the physician remains the ultimate voice in the physician-patient

relationship, online health content is helping the traditional one-way lecture

evolve into an educated conversation. About half of online European

physicians recommend health websites to their patients. Online content is a

way for marketers to provide physicians and patients with extended resources

that may not fit within the time and space constraints of traditional media.

Brands can become part of the treatment discussion if they make disease

education tools and resources readily available to the patients and physicians seeking them.

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Manhattan Research European Studies

For additional product and pricing information, please contact our team

at sales@manhattanresearch.com, call 1.212.255.7775, ext 2., or visit

www.manhattanresearch.com/efp.

Manhattan Research offers two in-depth studies of the European eHealth landscape:

Taking the Pulse® Europe is Manhattan Research’s market research and advisory service focused on how

physicians across Western Europe use the Internet and technology for clinical purposes and for engaging with

pharmaceutical companies. The study was fielded online in Q4 2009 among 1,125 practicing physicians in

Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Key topics include physician adoption, Internet use and

behavior, email communication, smartphone ownership/mobile activities, online journals, virtual conferences, social

networking, health and medical website visitation, search engines, online video, patient education, pharma website

visitation, videoconferencing with reps, electronic detailing, and much more.

Cybercitizen Health® Europe is Manhattan Research’s market research and advisory service focused on how

consumers across Western Europe use digital media and technology for health and treatment information. The

study was fielded online in Q3 2009 among 3,007 consumers from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and

France. Key topics include overall media profile, use and relative influence of health information sources, health and

pharma websites, mobile, search engines, online video, email, social media, online health tools,

condition/prescription medication profile, physician-patient relationship, and much more.

Client deliverables for each product include a reference slide deck, executive management summary deck, strategic

briefing/webinar, physician market trends report, Strategic Insights®, analyst inquiry service, methodology and

summary data tables, client portal, and access to the data in a variety of formats. Also, In addition to a

comprehensive view of the European physician and consumer markets, clients can also segment the data by

specific countries, specialist groups, and therapeutic categories.

Manhattan Research, a Decision Resources, Inc. company, is a pharmaceutical and healthcare market research

and advisory firm focused on the digital trends shaping the future of consumer and physician marketing. Our studies

are updated annually and include Cybercitizen Health®, Cybercitizen Health® Europe, ePharma Consumer®,

Taking the Pulse®, Taking the Pulse® Europe, Taking the Pulse® Asia, Taking the Pulse® Nurses, and ePharma

Physician®. Broad consumer and physician market research can be segmented for over 125 therapeutic and

specialist groups. For product and subscription information, please visit www.manhattanresearch.com, email

sales@manhattanresearch.com or call 1.212.255.7775.