Pharma has a unique ability, in fact a responsibility, to educate patients as much as possible. Why should a little extra scrutiny stand in the way? As a company, if you are there for the right reasons and keep the patient at the center of your decision-making process, you will welcome the added attention. What are you waiting for?

What are the implications of widespread networked EMR adoption in the age of social media? There are many.

New sources of insight can illuminate previously hard-to-see needs in the population. These data are free or very low-cost if you ask the questions and crunch the numbers.

While much of the initial announcement for the Social Media Health Network seems to focus on a more top-down approach to community involvement, my hope is that there is room in the equation for a bottom-up approach that enables a true partnership with the people the initiative is ultimately trying to serve.