Social media monitoring can provide valuable data on drug misuse, new research reveals.
Researchers from GlaxoSmithKline sought to identify posts discussing potential misuse or nonmedical use of bupropion, amitriptyline and venlafaxine, which are used to treat depression and other mood disorders. Using natural language processing tools to find references to misuse of the drugs, they gathered posts from two internet forums, explains their research published in the Journal of Internet Medical Research. Analysts extracted relevant comments.
Out of 7756 references to the drugs, 668 (8.61%) referenced misuse or nonmedical use. Out of those posts, 63.3 percent referred to non-medical/recreational use and 36.4 percent had messages about substance abuse.
“Social listening, conducted in collaboration with harm-reduction Web forums, offers a valuable new data source that can be used for monitoring nonmedical use of antidepressants,” the study concludes. “Particular insights were seen in identifying and characterizing desired effects of misuse and nonmedical use, routes of administration for nonmedical use, and methods of drug procurement.”
Combatting a Growing Public Health Problem
Nonmedical use of pharmaceutical products is a substantial public health problem, researchers note. Obtaining information about consumer drug misuse is difficult. People may not share information about drug misuse with their doctors. However, more consumers now ask questions about drugs and share their medical experiences on social media.
In addition to information about patients’ use of medicines, social media listening provides rapid insights into brand awareness and sentiment, levels of product misinformation, and thought leader sentiment.
Over half (52 percent) of consumers actively search online for health- or care-related information, according to Deloitte’s Survey of US Health Care Consumers. That content reveals the needs, wants, motivations, behaviors, and decision considerations of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. “This data can provide a valuable source of insights for pharmaceutical companies seeking to understand how best to reach, engage, and support patients and healthcare providers across the patient journey,” Deloitte researchers say.
Overcoming Fear of Adverse Reporting
Many pharma companies avoid adopting social media listening because they worry about adverse events reporting. However, more realize they can comply with regulations with the help of diligent personnel, says Tamara Littleton, CEO at social media management agency Emoderation.
“Pharma brands have realized that they can use social media without breaching guidelines, and that they need to be there because that’s where people are,” Littleton writes for Econsultancy. “It’s where discussions about the brand happen every day and they need to be listening to them even if they are unable to respond directly with specifics due to regulations.”
Bottom Line: New research shows that social media listening can help fight the serious public health threat of prescription drug misuse and abuse. Social media listening can provide valuable information not typically found through other means. The benefit is one of many that social media monitoring can provide to pharmaceutical companies and medical providers.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
