WEGO Health

Today and tomorrow, the FDA is holding hearings on Health Care Companies' use of the Internet and social media tools. They are hearing from industry, consumer and goverment representatives, each given ten minutes to present their findings.

WEGO Health's Jack Barrette, Bob Brooks, and Marie Connelly was chosen to present the results of our Health Activists and Social Media Survey. They will be speaking at 11:45AM today, and at 11:20 AM tomorrow.

You can watch the hearings live below.





Click here for standalone player

Next week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to hold hearings on Health Care Companies’ use of the Internet and social media tools. We at WEGO Health decided to bring the voice of our Health Activist community to this historic event.The result is a survey of over 160 Health Activists, their opinions, and some interesting insights. Our survey found that Health Activists believe:

• Social media is an important tool for health communication, and Health Care Company participation provides value to the community;


• That regulation of Health Care Companies in social media is challenging, and the FDA should work to tailor regulations to the practical realities of social media


• But Health Care Companies have an obligation to the community to be transparent, to correct misinformation about their products, to report adverse events, and to follow regulations.

Some interesting findings from a very enlightening survey:

• 93.5% of survey respondents said dedicated Health Social Networks, such as DailyStrength.org, are moderately to extremely useful


• 79.4% of Health Activists feel Health Care Companies’ use of social media tools provides important updates on products or services


• 67.7% believe regulation of Health Care Companies’ participation in Internet and social media needs to be tailored to the unique attributes of the Internet and social media

Jack Barrette, Bob Brooks, and Marie Connelly will be presenting during two sessions at the FDA hearings.

Click below to check out their presentation for Thursday, November 12 is below:

WEGO Health FDA Social Media Presentation, Questions 1-3View more presentations from WEGO Health.

And here's the presentation for Friday, November 13, which deals with reporting adverse events:

WEGO Health FDA Social Media Presentation, Question 5View more presentations from WEGO Health.

Are you interested in a full review and analysis of the WEGO Health Activist Social Media survey? Let us know by filling out our Health Care and Social Media contact form!

A few weeks back, we let you know about a poll that we conducted that measured how well the general public understood President Obama's proposed health care plan. As the bill continues to make its way through Congress, we looked back at the data -- particularly the comparison of Health Activists and the general public -- and found Health Activists are considerably more knowledgeable about the President’s proposed health care plan than most Americans.

A few key findings:

• 64.1% of Health Activists correctly stated the plan will limit/cap out-of-pocket medical expenses an individual can incur, versus only 42.3% of the general public


• when asked if the plan would ensure competition among health insurance companies, 63.1% of Health Activists correctly said yes, versus only 41.8% of the general public


• Among Health Activists, 92.2% said that the President’s plan would cover all US citizens, as opposed to only 69.2% of the general public


• 72.8% of Health Activists correctly said the plan would not include those who are in the country illegally, as opposed to just over half (50.7%) of the general public

This shows the importance of Health Activists in researching and translating the complex information withing the health care reform bill. “As all aspects of health care grow more complex, Health Activists are emerging as the new experts,” says Jack Barrette, WEGO Health CEO, “they have combined real-life experience with online research and a mastery of social media to become consumer opinion leaders. President Obama would do well to get to know Health Activists as he works to explain his plan.”

For the full release, be sure to our press page.