Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Oct 25, 2022
Open Peer Review Period: Oct 25, 2022 - Dec 20, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 11, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Digital Medical Information Services Delivered by Pharmaceutical Companies via WeChat in China: A Qualitative Analytical Research
ABSTRACT
Background:
Social media has become one of the main information sources for medical professionals and patients. Pharmaceutical companies are committed to using various social media to provide digital medical information services (DMISs) to different stakeholders, which remains experimental and immature. In China, WeChat tops the popular list of social media platforms. Up to now, little is known about the service model of DMISs delivered by pharmaceutical companies via WeChat.
Objective:
This study aimed to explore the emerging service model of DMISs delivered by pharmaceutical companies based in China via WeChat.
Methods:
This study applied a documentary research design to analyze DMISs of six leading pharmaceutical companies in China. Materials were collected from diverse sources, including their official WeChat platforms, company websites, research reports, etc. Thematic analysis was conducted for data analysis.
Results:
The DMISs of six pharmaceutical companies were reviewed. Themes emerged in two key information services delivered by pharmaceutical companies via WeChat, including business operation service and DMISs (i.e., public information service, professional service, science & education service, and online mall service). Business operation services mainly contain the functions to assist or facilitate the operation of the company and the development trends for general visitors. The public-oriented information services are realized in the form of health science popularization, academic frontiers, product information, and road maps to hospitals & pharmacies. Internet hospital and pharmacy service are the major patient-oriented professional services. The medical staff-oriented science and education services commonly include continuing education, clinical assistance, academic research and journal search. The public-oriented online mall services include health product and health insurance.
Conclusions:
The overview landscape of target customers, value offerings and service offerings of DMISs delivered by pharmaceutical companies has been summarized. However, it’s still in the exploratory stage, and the value of DMISs has not been fully realized. The service model of DMISs needs more distinguished innovations to provide personalized digital health and patient-centric services.
Citation
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Copyright
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