Brands that have successfully managed adverse events in social media have one thing in common: all have buy-in from their pharmacovigilance (PV) team. Below is a primer that all pharma marketers needs to know about working with PV – and how to make the most of this crucial partnership.

“Companies need to develop their own strategies for sustainable engagement with consumers by framing guidelines for online interactions and messaging. An effective social media model will allow them to create a strategic pharmacovigilance practice that is less reactionary, process-intensive or resource-heavy. It will help them become a proactive agent for patient safety. Specifically, it will make them future-ready.” — WiPro

What does Pharmacovigilance do – and why does it matter?

The pharmacovigilance team is focused on collecting, monitoring, researching, assessing, and evaluating information from healthcare providers and patients on the adverse effects of medications. They monitor the effects of medicine during all stages of the product lifecycle, from clinical trials until after the product is available to the public. That’s why acquiring adverse event data from social media is vital to pharmacovigilance.

Social Media Marketing lets Pharmacovigilance take a More Active Role in Adverse Events

In the past, pharmacovigilance was strictly a downstream recipient of data related to adverse events. Before the FDA introduced tightened regulations in the 1990s, companies were slow to report adverse events to pharmacovigilance, but these regulations and internal controls reduced that time. As a result, marketing and pharmacovigilance have become partners at pharmaceutical companies.

The Evolution of Pharmacovigilance and Marketing

Marketing teams must have a relationship with their pharmacovigilance colleagues. In addition, social media marketing lets pharmacovigilance take a more active role in adverse events collection by giving them a direct connection to patients and adverse events reporting. As a result, social media marketing can provide your pharmacovigilance team a closer connection to patients, and provide earlier responses to adverse events. A process that decades ago could take months or years, when the pharmacovigilance department relied solely on adverse events reporting from physicians.

Develop a sound tracking process for adverse events – and everyone benefits
To ensure your pharma brand stays FDA compliant, it’s important to create a sound adverse events tracking system in place. See LiveWorld’s The 5-Step Process to Managing Adverse Events in Social Media to see how.
Contact us, to team with LiveWorld to develop a smart AE tracking process.