Social Media Glasnost Comes to Russian Physicians The iVrach Online Community for Russian Speaking PhysiciansClick Here for Additional Resources
Guest Oxana Kolosova, Managing Partner at iVrach.com (see Bio), discusses the use of social media in Russia by physicians and how the pharmaceutical industry can work with online physician communities such as iVrach.com.
Aired LIVE on: Thursday, November 15, 2012
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Background
iVrach is a closed online community of Russian speaking physicians that brings together medical professionals from a variety of places near and far abroad. The site aims to reduce the distance between physicians from different regions, enable their convenient and effective communication which allows sharing experiences and discuss professional issues, initiate and maintain professional contacts, and feel the friendly support of their colleagues.
“Doctors in Russia face a lot of constraints with regards to professional communication and information exchange,” says Oxana Kolosova. “Russia is a huge country, with 9 time zones for a start! Doctors do not have access to evidence-based information at the point of care, existing CME programs are not always up-to-date and it can take up to 4 months away from the office to complete a CME course. On top of this, not many doctors can speak English so they cannot benefit from English language resources. Our community addresses all these issues by facilitating professional communication and offering various CPD opportunities.”
Questions/Topics Discussed- Short overview of social media landscape in Russia (comScore and Cegedim figures)
- What social platforms do Russian HCPs use (based on iVrach survey)
- Physicians engagement level (iVrach data)
- E-detailing adoption by HCPs (based on iVrach case studies)
- Digital spend by the drug industry; Budget, tools used and plan to use (iVrach survey Sept-Oct 2012)
- Opportunities created by the rise of social media for Russian doctors and the pharma industry
Guest Bio
Oxana Kolosova started her carrier in medical marketing with multinational pharma before focusing on medical communications and market research in the agency world. Originally from Moscow, Russia, Oxana is a graduate of Moscow Medical Academy and worked for several years in Ukraine and then at Dendrite Europe in Windsor, England.
Oxana’s cross cultural professional experience helped her develop iVrach, which became the major online knowledge and information sharing hub that supports Russian-speaking physicians in making the best decisions for the care of their patients.
Oxana can be found on Twitter as @OxanaKolosova and contacted on Linkedin.
Additional Resources
