Prescription Drugs, Health 2.0 and the eDrugSearch.com Community

Prescription Drugs, Health 2.0 and the eDrugSearch.com Community

by Cary Byrd

Since we began San Antonio-based eDrugSearch.com in January 2007, we have been focused on our core mission of enabling consumers to safely search for low-cost drugs from Canadian and other international pharmacies. We have been successful in getting the word out and growing our site rapidly -- attracting more than half a million unique visitors and five million searches in our first year.  We've done this without advertising, relying on word of mouth.

Last month, we expanded our mission in a big way -- with the launch of the  eDrugSearch.com Community, a new social network for prescription drug consumers. 

Why a Social Network for Prescription Drug Consumers?

An estimated 150 million Americans sought health-related content and services on the Internet in 2007. According to a recent Harris poll, 71 percent of U.S. adults use the Web to search for health information -- a number that continues to rise.  Millions of consumers are also purchasing prescriptions drugs, medical equipment, and other supplies online.

Prescription drug consumers, in particular, have shown significant interest in blogs, social networks and specialized search.  They relish the opportunity to share their experiences, and often their frustrations, with one another.

According to a 2007 white paper by Cymfony and Envision Solutions, two trends have contributed to an increase in the volume and impact of the online dialogue.

1) Consumers are more assertive in their health decision making;
2) There is an increase in public mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry.

The white paper concludes:

"Social media has enhanced the power of the assertive and informed consumer who has access to extensive health information. The public … regularly reads information  featured on blogs, podcasts, online forums and other forms of social media. Social media has provided an outlet for a range of … drug industry critics to express their dissatisfaction… However, it has also created a new support network where patients share perspectives on their condition and treatment options."

In short, consumers are turning to one another, rather than relying exclusively on DTC advertising and rushed doctor's appointments, to learn about prescription drugs.  We thought this was a sufficient rationale for starting a niche Health 2.0 community.

eDrugSearch.com Community Features

When you join eDrugSearch.com you gain access to a number of tools and resources that can help you to become a better healthcare consumer. 

For example, you can:

- Rate and review drugs and pharmacies

-  Monitor the latest FDA updates, price changes and other news related to your current drug regimen

- Make friends and form groups to share experiences with others taking the same drugs or who have similar health conditions

- Ask the community to get answers from informed healthcare consumers

To reward community members for their contributions, we award them eDrugSearch.com Points, which will soon be redeemable for drug discounts at participating pharmacies.

We welcome feedback on our site from the Health 2.0 community and anyone else interested in the future of healthcare in the United States.  We want to be an example of Health 2.0 making a real difference in people's lives, by helping them to learn, to share -- and to save a little money along the way. 

You can reach me directly at carybyrd@edrugsearch.com.