Drug Information Websites
Anakena Internet Services Is Paid to Market Pharmaceuticals
Some websites that patients look to for information on medications are actually advertisements. Pharmaceutical companies pay a Spanish company to distribute information.
Many patients turn to the internet to make decisions about their health, including prescription medications a doctor may recommend. With the ever growing list of disorders and diseases to be treated by an even larger list of pharmaceuticals the task of making an educated decision about treatment is a daunting one. Using a search engine to find the drug or disorder of interest often brings up website domains named after the drug or disorder. They seem to be a saving grace for the hours of research needed to find the facts about the medications. However, a patient should read the fine print of where the information comes from and who runs the website. An example of this is a network of over 250 websites dedicated to information on generic prescription drugs, and they are all run by the same internet advertising company and refer to each site as “the official website” of the drug.
The Pharmaceutical Marketing Websites
It is not always obvious that an “official” website dedicated to a drug is paid for by its maker, though it is a form of advertising used to obtain new customers by distributing information. The fine print on the pharmaceutical websites encompassed under the umbrella of PharmaPromo states that the websites are established and maintained by Anakena Internet Services, a company headquartered in Spain. However, those same websites contain no identifying information to determine either where the information about the drugs was obtained or who pays for its distribution.
Dr. Jean-Pierre Lalain is the medical advisor to Anakena Internet Services and the President of consulting at Anakena Healthcare Consulting, a consulting firm for the Russian healthcare sector including biotech, pharma, education, medical supplies, healthcare services, and consumer healthcare products. Though Dr. Lalain has an MD, his expertise is in marketing and pharmaceutical company management.
The Content of The Drug Information Websites
The mission statement of Anakena states that “[o]ur principle services are the research and development of creative methods to communicate a corporate message, strengthening product portfolios and core services, attracting a targeted audience, and developing online awareness.“ It does not state that its mission is to dispense appropriate medical information. Nor does it state where their information is obtained. There is actually a legal disclaimer on the sites stating that they cannot be held responsible for “[t]he accuracy, reliability, completeness, correctness, or timeliness of the content, software, text, graphics, links, or communications provided on or through the use of this site.”
There is some bias found in the information presented on the PharmaPromo network sites. Although there is some honesty about weaknesses of the drugs or treatments, they are only discussed in very basic terms. An investigating patient would have to wander into the associated forums at Pharmaceutical World website to discuss the side effects and unknown reactions to the drugs with other patients. The forums link to all of the drug websites in the network. In the forum posts some people talk of not being able to halt the use of their prescribed drugs due to illness or addiction, abnormal side effects, and worries over misdiagnosis. There is no administrative, medical, or pharmaceutical company feedback for these patients and some posts sit unanswered for over a year. The websites are not the saving grace of honest information they first may appear to be to a worried patient.
Where Should A Person Go For Information About Pharmaceuticals?
When seeking information about pharmaceuticals it is important to be aware of the source of the information. Do not rely on a single website or set of websites, particularly if they are run by the same company. Know what drugs are similar to the one that is being investigated, look up the drug maker’s information and other products, look into news reports as to whether there have been any issues reported, and read what others have to say about their use of the drugs. There are also many medically inclined websites that may offer better information about what a drug does and what to expect when using it than a website dedicated to a single generic drug; go through the search results and examine the different sources. Most importantly, ask the doctor questions and report any unexpected side effects.
