A Prescription For Trouble?

Here’s a really interesting article from AdWeek discussing the challenges pharmaceutical companies face as they contemplate how to use various social media platforms. It’s no surprise that pharma companies face significant regulation from the FDA. For example, if a consumer uses the company’s Facebook page to report an adverse reaction to that company’s product, there may be an obligation to report it to the FDA. And if users of that site start discussing off label uses, it could be a problem with the regulators. So some companies are simply blocking comments. Others monitor comments before posting them. I don’t have an easy solution. But the article illustrates an important fact. Don’t assume that all “social media policies” are alike. Your company likely has specific issues that will affect the required terms of any policy you adopt. It would be a good idea to think about those issues before adopting a policy.