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How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

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Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#61

Post by GuB-42 »

designium wrote: post #41
GuB-42 wrote: post #13

Is there some proof that big pharma really targets sick people? The article mentions targeting for things like "cancer awareness" as a proxy for cancer patients. But why target patients? Patients usually don't decide on the drugs they take, doctors do, they should be the target, not patients. So maybe we can take things at face value, big pharma is not targeting cancer patients, instead they are targeting those who a…

The ads are effective to bring awareness. There are doctors who will “help” patients to discover if they have conditions to warrant the use of the drugs they saw on TV or social media ads. This brings patients to doctors, then they get lab work done and finally the use of drugs. That activates the full value chain of the system meaning that all the participants in that chain get paid.

So, in the end, it is not a bad thing if it gets patients to be treated early.

Sure, the goal is to sell stuff and make money, but if it makes people healthier, we shouldn't complain. It is only a bad thing if it results in a less effective treatment.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#62

Post by murukesh_s »

robbiep wrote: post #35
varispeed wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doctors get cash and hospitality benefits from big pharma though based on how they prescribe. If there is drug X from company Y and drug A from company B and then there is no difference in therapeutic benefits between two drugs, but company B gives doctor cash and has access to regional sales data where the doctor operates, they can modify the benefit based on sales. Then the doctor is incentivised to prescibe the A.…

This is absolutely not true in most countries. Where I practice you can get into big trouble for this. You have do declare pharma affiliations, cannot accept sponsorship and the age of junkets through drug companies is long in the past. I could be deregistered if I was found to be accepting anything (travel, hotels, conferences) and not declaring it

Wondering which country you are? can add it to the bucket list of countries to retire in.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#63

Post by pjc50 »

logicchains wrote: post #55
durnygbur wrote: post #21

> How Big Pharma Finds Sick Users on Facebook Living in a country where advertisements of pharmaceuticals are allowed, it's unbearable. Basically Facebook in real life - in TV, on billboards, in newspappers, YouTube ads, omnipresent leaflets. All flavours of dietary suplements, Rutin and Ibuprofen products, cures for fungal and intimate infections, wonder cures for liver and joints, "digestion catalysers". They're th…

>Pharma industry is malicious scum and has to be kept on short tight leash. That sounds a bit anti-vax.

As usual, the scientific side is (mostly) fine, it's the marketing side that's a disaster.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#64

Post by entropyie »

isaacremuant wrote: post #23
throwaway3699 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not where I live. This is a uniquely US problem among first-world countries.

Ireland is extremely for profit in everything they do and very poor compared to many places in Europe in terms of response and quality. People just assume a lot about the world.

I don't think it's fair to put Ireland in the same category as the USA here:

1. Zero ads for prescription medication anywhere 2. Medical card for everyone on low income covering everything 3. Never pay more than EUR114/month for prescriptions, no matter how much you medication you need or your income.

I've never had doctors pushing any kind of medication on me or my family.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#65

Post by pjc50 »

okareaman wrote: post #56

I like targeted ads. I just wish they were better. For example I am open about being in recovery for alcoholism on FB but they still show me ads for hard liquor.

No, that's definitely a targeted ad at you. You relapsing would be profitable.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#66

Post by nkrisc »

rich_sasha wrote: post #48
CapriciousCptl wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, it's legal to advertise drugs directly to patients. There's not a lot of places in the world where it happens, I'm assuming Scandinavia is one of them.

One particularly funny side effect is that the narrator needs to read out a comprehensive disclaimer. I was once on holiday and with US TV, and saw a few times an ad for performance enhancement for older gentlemen. The ad showed an older couple, who first are not very happy, then much happier with each other, frollicking in the long grass and disappearing off shot etc. While that was happening, the narrator was readi…

It’s bizarre even as an American who is used to it. The most amusing thing is they’re clearly running out of good ideas for names. The names are getting stranger every year. They’re basically just gibberish now.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#67

Post by timoth3y »

okareaman wrote: post #56

I like targeted ads. I just wish they were better. For example I am open about being in recovery for alcoholism on FB but they still show me ads for hard liquor.

> I am open about being in recovery for alcoholism on FB but they still show me ads for hard liquor.

Or perhaps you see the ads because you are open about your recovery. If the relapse rate is high, you will be blanketed with such ads.

FB's targeting AI is pretty good. Even people recovering from alcoholism were being targeted, the advertisers might not even know it.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#68

Post by sildur »

nkozyra wrote: post #59
smcl wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you fill your date of birth on any age-protected content (websites for distilleries or breweries, for example) as 1st January 1940 or something? They could just mistakenly believe you're 81 based on that :)

I'm in my early 40s and just got shingles. Based on my googling the past few weeks I expect AARP and mechanical stair chair ads any time I'm not using adblock from here on out.

I guess you will also start getting more "shingles in your area" ads.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#69

Post by _jal »

moksly wrote: post #7

“If you’re a drug manufacturer looking for patients”. Maybe I’m just too Scandinavian to understand, but wouldn’t it be the other way around? Now I also wonder if I should see a doctor. I’ve been getting a lot of “is your will in order” commercials from law firms on Facebook recently. I sure hope big tech advertising doesn’t know something I don’t.

If you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Depending on what you personally get up to, opsec is increasingly vital for normal people. I'm not talking about serious stuff - everyone has secrets.

Well, had.

Re: How pharmaceutical companies find sick users on Facebook

#70

Post by zo1 »

sildur wrote: post #68
nkozyra wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in my early 40s and just got shingles. Based on my googling the past few weeks I expect AARP and mechanical stair chair ads any time I'm not using adblock from here on out.

I guess you will also start getting more "shingles in your area" ads.

Only if Sean Connery is the ad manager.
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