What Happened to Google Health?

Monday, 01 August 2011 07:25 Written by Mark Klapper

Google’s recent announcement that it was shutting down Google Health has left people wondering about the future of personal health records (PHRs) and the degree of interest among wary consumers in managing their health on the level that a service like Google Health would allow. Sorting through Google’s announcement, as well as several blog posts and articles, it seems that Google’s expectations for the service simply did not align with the still-emerging interest in a service that was not as well-defined as it needed to be to succeed.

PHRs are a niche product. According to Google, "There has been adoption among certain groups of users like tech-savvy patients and their caregivers, and more recently fitness and wellness enthusiasts. But we haven’t found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the daily health routines of millions of people."

Google has other priorities. Google is a large public company. Good or bad, Wall Street backing brings high visibility and even higher expectations for every venture the company launches. Google has big plans for social media with Google +. Smaller Google-owned brands like Picasa and Blogger will be phased out as these platforms are integrated under the Google+ umbrella. Google Health doesn’t fit into these plans.

Consumers interested in PHRs need receptive healthcare providers. When a new Rx product is launched, physicians are hesitant to prescribe it until they have developed a level of comfort with the benefits and any potential risks. The same holds true for PHRs. HCPs are adapting to growing cost and access pressures and have not had much exposure or experience with PHRs. Without the support of a physician, consumers are unlikely to adopt PHRs.

PHRs are competing for attention and resources with electronic health records (EHRs). The electronic health record (EHR) is a longitudinal record of patient information that is designed to automate and streamline the workflow for everyone involved in the delivery of healthcare. While PHRs are a very logical extension of this platform, the adoption and integration of EHRs into practice is the 800-pound gorilla in the room. Once HCPs are comfortable with EHRs, the personal platform will take off. Look for more on EHRs in an upcoming blog post.

Physician reimbursement is based on face-to-face visits. In addition to a rapidly changing environment, doctors are likely recognizing that their compensation is often based only on office visits. While many acknowledge that over half of the time they spend on interactions does not need to be person, the real potential of PHRs will not be realized until there is an appropriate reimbursement model.

Taking Care of Caregivers

Wednesday, 16 June 2010 09:55 Written by Mike Kalfus

Rebecca Joslin at Global brand manager at Novartis gave a very good presentation on Caregivers who have family members with Alzheimer’s at the conference today in Zurich. It was very insightful and delivered well. An added bonus: I could actually read the slides-compared to many of the other decks which were very difficult to see/read on screen.

She stressed:

Caregivers don’t really know much about the drugs they are dispensing to their loved ones
Pharma should segment caregivers as they do other stakeholders
Caregivers are looking for free time and need support
Provide tailored pathway for the caregiver

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MBlog - Patients and Health Care Providers

Beyond Direct to Consumer

Wednesday, 03 March 2010 07:25 Written by Mike Kalfus

Going beyond DTC, we see a future in applying consumer measurement tools to physician marketing. Non-personal promotion is the fastest-growing area in pharma. Some companies are beginning to delve into the area, but are looking at things more tactically than strategically.

Measurement is ground zero in the age of accountability—no matter if you are targeting consumers or physicians.

Margins are being cut and the need for more fine-tuning of the marketing mix is critical. You must have the ability to understand the key business drivers for the brand on both a physician and consumer marketing spend level.

Even though DTC is not practiced outside the US like it is here, there are some brands that effectively utilize direct-to-patient communications. Global direct-to-patient communications is the most challenging to measure. There is no patient longitudinal data, many countries have different waiting times to see a specialist and the list goes on.

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