Watsons Pharmacy and Unilab promotes proper antibiotic use

In line with the birth of “superbug”, a deadly antibiotic resistant bacterium that was developing due to misuse and abuse of antibiotics that leads to the creation of resistant strains of bacteria. It is very common to everyone that we often self medicate without right and proper prescription from our doctors. While others, they don’t comply with the right dosage and days of taking the medicine, with this the bacteria inside our body which we though already banish after three to four days of taking antibiotics but the truth is it still inside us and it’s trying to recover itself. The right length of using antibiotics is at least 7 days and dosage is based from the doctor’s prescription.

A Dose of Social Media for Medical Brands

In the age of fast-phased technology where twitter, facebook, skype and blogs is taking the lead in passing message from one person to a bigger audience, social media became a necessity in all marketing efforts of different companies and agencies. The main reason of getting social media as one of their marketing tools is that it is cheap and majority of the possible converts are present in the net. As for pharmaceutical companies, they also see cyberspace as one of the possible area where they can promote their products to eliminate sampling and to increase audience engagement and feedback on the net.

The access to information is just a click away now that everyone has the access on the internet, with medical products we can easily see the information about the brand including their TV plugs and print ads uploaded in the YouTube and other blogs. Speaking of blogs some PR agencies that handle pharmaceutical products taps bloggers to be one of their partners in disseminating information as part of the promotion and marketing strategy. I was invited in an event that was related to medical companies that sponsors a fun run that will benefit a certain foundation. I support campaigns like this in getting everyone to sports and healthy lifestyle at the same time they support a charity that will be the beneficiary of the funds accumulated from the registration fees.

Social media is powerful and it makes the brand present while you’re checking your emails, reading a news feed, chatting with your friends or even during the uploading of your photos and videos, the brand is there on top, sidebars, in between articles, at the footnote or sometimes it pops on your screen. Sometimes we mistakenly click those links thinking it is part of the content. Now I mentioning links, medical companies joins the bandwagon of “like to vote system” and “#hash tagging” which is prominent in most of the social media accounts particularly Facebook and twitter entries where the greater number of likes, comments and retweets can win you a cash prize or coveted expensive gadget like iPad, iPhone, PSP, Wii and others. But sometimes participants became abusive with the tagging system and they end up flooding other users whom they were soliciting supports, but still the product benefits from it without hoping for possible converts just pure promotion.

The Pharmaton MVP online promo/contest which will run until October 2010, caught my attention where it is a collaboration of both online campaign through user generated content and purchasing power though voting which benefits the product in both ways; viral and earnings. The mechanics is simple, contestants will just upload their photos and the reason why they are considered as the My Pharmaton MVP winner. All entries have the logo "My Pharmaton MVP" which some contestants copy it and post it in their blogs. Each contestants have sharing option to Facebook, Gmail and Yahoo Mail for promo purposes. With the voting system which requires voters to purchase the product that enables them to vote once they enter the unique code on the foil wrapper of Pharmaton it is a simple way to convert numbers of followers of the campaign as income generator. In spite of simple mechanics and big prizes, the My Pharmaton MVP only gains few hundreds of entries which I think the project could not sustain the noise of the campaign. In the first few days of the contest the promotion is big but it weakens as days goes by going to the finals and now I don't see TV ads and commercials even online campaigns, the marketing team should have waving in terms of the promo to sustain the enthusiast and support of everyone not just having one big event on ground which is common to all marketing strategy and lacks with sustaining efforts.

Social media became an alternative and cheaper way for medical brands in sending their message to online users and with this some brands that has no approved therapeutic claims rides with this innovative and more fast-phased online bandwagon to promote their products and get possible converts both local and international market. This brand can easy control their campaigns without time restriction unlike TV and radio commercials, page and location placement like in bill boards and print ads, they can deliver all the information they wanted to convene and not being force to include the disclaimer of “No Approved Therapeutic Claims” on the footnote or end tag of the campaign. In the case of Saridon, an analgesic pain reliever medicine I blog last week, the manufacturer should consider the use of social media and internet in giving details about the said brand which gained rumors about the quality of the said drug. Without the help of YouTube and online forums, I will not see the TV ads of the said product which is exclusively distributed in Visayas and Mindanao alone, and the feedbacks about the product including the allegations on its side effects.

Positive or negative? In my opinion social media and the internet plays a vital role in making and breaking a certain product it only depends on how the company that owns it will react on it. Marketing group should think more creative stuff if they really want possible buyers of their product aside from the viral campaign on the net, but the Department of Health (DOH) should also be present online along with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to monitor the online campaigns done by pharmaceutical companies and how they communicate to the people. With the full control on the campaign given by the internet to the companies, the two health agencies should monitor if disclaimers are properly mentions on the website or blog entries. Sadly, we don’t have laws yet that will govern the internet and will protect the welfare of the consumers in the internet which obviously there are victims of scams, but I think the consumers should know their rights and ready to protect themselves after all they are intelligent enough on defend themselves from the aggressive world of social media and internet.

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The Commercialism that erases “NO” on No Approved Therapeutic Claims

Lahat ng tao ay may dalawang hiling lang kung kalusugan na ang pinag uusapn, its either they wanted to be healthy or gusto nilang gumaling sa mga sakit nila. Kaya sa panahon ngayon laganap na rin ang mga samu’t saring food supplements at mga iba’t ibang nagmumurahang gamot both herbal na dito gawa sa bansa at mga galing naman sa ibang bansa majority na dyan ang galing sa China. Lahat ay may pangakong nakakagaling o nakakatulong sa kalusugan ng tao sa kabila ng mensaheng “No Approved Therapeutic Claims” o walang kasiguraduhang makakagaling ito. Pero dahil sa mura at palagiang nakikita sa media (television, radio, print ads, internet at billboards) ay nagiging alternatibo ito para sa mga taong umaasang may maitutulong ito para sa kanila.

According to Yahoo Answers ang ibig sabihin ng "No Approved Therapeutic Claims" ay wala itong kasiguraduhang makakagaling ito at para sa Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) na kung saan nagbibigay ng classification sa mga gamot, ang mga nire-require nila na mag lagay ng ganitong sa mga TV ads at pakete ay ang mga na-classify nilang food supplements na hindi kagaya ng ibang gamot na makakatulong sa pag galing. Pero sa kabila ng mga classification na binibigay ng BFAD ay binabago ng media sa pamamagitan ng ads at marketing ang mga  pananaw ng karamihan ng mga gumagamit nito at mga possible buyers at ito ang tinatawag na commercialism, o ang pamamaraan na kung saan magiging epektibo ang pagbenta ng product sa market at kabilang dito ang paggamit ng media platforms.

Sa lagay na ito malaki ang papel ng commercialism sa mga productong tulad nito dahil sa kabila ng mensaheng walang kasiguraduhang makakagaling ayon na rin sa BFAD ay nagiging mabili pa rin ito sa market lalo na sa drugstores dahil bukod sa mura kagaya ng mga generic drugs at over the counter lang din ito at hindi kailangan ng reseta. Bukod sa mga local food supplements at nakikinabang din sa advertising ang mga foriegn products lalo na ang mga "Made in China" na karaniwan nakikita natin sa mga Home TV Shopping. Most of the foreign products are whitening products, diet pills, enhancing supplements and others pero unlike sa mga local food supplements ang mga product na ito ay hindi karaniwan dumadaan sa BFAD, sa madaling salita ang iba rito ay health hazards o maaaring may side effects sa kalusugan. A warning was mentioned in article at the Inquirer.net at the Showbiz and Lifestyle section last 2008, checking the date it was published it shows that matagal nang na-raise ang discussion about the topic na ito pero maliban sa palagiang paglalagay ng No Approved Therapeutic Claims sa bawat commercials, label at mga packages ng mga produktong ito ay patuloy pa rin ang pagtangkilik ng mga Filipino sa kabila ng walang kasiguruhang makakatulong ito para malunasan ang mga sakit nila.

Malaki ang impact sa tao kapag napapanood nila ito sa television, naririnig nila sa radio, at nakikita sa internet, print ads at billboards. lalo na kapag ang mga ang mismong mga idolo o artista ang mga nag-e-endorse nito. Mas may dating ang commercial kapag artista dahil bukod sa may mga followers na ang mga ito na pwedeng ma-convert as buyers ay sila ang pumapangalawang "ina" o "ama" na karaniwang sinusunod ng mga Filipino dahil sa idea na "IDOL" dito pumapasok ang tinatawag na bandwagon campaign. Pangalawa naman na maaaring makakuha ng attention ng possible buyers ay ang testimonial advertising na kung saan either artista o ordinaryong tao ay magbibigay ng opinion at karanasan sa product na kadalasan malaki ang influence sa mga tao, dahil nakikita nila ang sarili nila sa mga ito. Ganito ang laro ng commercialism at malaki ang contribution nito on swaying the opinions and buying power ng mga tao kahit may mensahe na ito No Approved Therapeutic Claims na nakakabit sa dulo ng commercials at sa mga packages nito.

Isang malaking hamon para sa Department of Health (DOH) kung paano buburahin o i-re-reconstruct ang idea ng komersyalismo sa isip ng mga tao sa kabila ng mga suliranin na matataas na presyo ng gamot lalo na ng mga branded. Ito rin kasi ang dahilan kung bakit bumibili ang karamihang mga Pinoy ng food supplements at umaasang mapapagaling sila nito kaysa bumili ng gamot na nasa reseta nila dahil mahal ang mga ito. At para sa mga Pilipinong minsan ay tumatayong mga doktor ng sarili nilang katawan, hindi naman sa pakikialam, if nais natin gumaling hindi ba't nararapat komunsulta tayo sa mga totoong doktor at alamin kung ano ang dapat natin gawin at inumin. Hindi ko kinakalaban ang mga food supplements, ang nais ko lang isang maayos na paglilinaw hindi lang para sa akin kundi para sa lahat.

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DOH Sec. Cabral on AIDS, Maternal Health, Child Mortality and Church

March 13, Makati City – During the Mulat Pinoy Kapihan series of Philippine Center for Population and Development (PCPD) and the Probe Foundation in Bo’s Coffee in Glorietta 5, Makati City on the topic of population and health, the controversial Department of Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral answered questions concerning HIV/AIDS, maternal health issue and child mortality and her debate with the Catholic Church.

Watch the full video of my interview with DOH Sec. Cabral.

Sec Cabral is a brilliant woman who's in my opinion a champion of women and health care in DOH and know how to stand if it is needed despite of conflict of belief and faith.

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The rise of the Generic Pharmacy

Last year, naging issue ang pinasang Cheaper Medicine Bill na kung saan maraming doctor ang naging against sa isang provision naglalayong i-require sa reseta ang generic name lamang ng mga gamot at hindi ang mismong brand. Nagbanta ang ilang miyembro ng Philippine Medical Associacion noon na magproprotesta sila at magkakaroon ng hospital holiday kung ipipilit ang provision na generics only, at nagwagi ang mga doctor na kung saan tinanggal ang provision na ito sa Cheaper Medicine Bill.

Pero matapos maipasa ang Cheaper Medicine Bill na kung saan ang blog na ito ay isa sa mga sumusuporta sa panukalang ito sa kasamaang palad walang nangyaring mabilisang makakatulong sa karamihang mamamayan na walang sapat na perang pambayad sa mga branded at mahal na gamot.

May mga botikang bayan na isa sa mga proyekto ng gobyerno pero sa kasamaang palad ay kaunti lang ang mga ito at hindi kumpleto ang mga medicine na kailangan ng mga nangangailangan nito.


And it was last year that it was my first time to see a generic pharmacy na kung saan they’re selling generic medicines na kung saan abot kaya talaga that will really help those who doesn’t have enough money to afford branded medicines. Most of the vitamins ranges from 1.20-3.00 per tablets or capsules, while antibiotics and paracetamol (analgesic and anti pyretic medicines) has .50 per tablets as starting amount.

My blog entry may look that I am promoting this alternative pharmacy, maaaring oo o hindi pero ang punto ko dito, I see that Generic Pharmacy might help those patients who can’t afford branded medicines that the doctor assigned to them, kaysa naman hayaan natin silang magkasakit lalo, let’s have them alternatives na makakatulong sa kanila. I don’t want to argue with which is better branded or not, my point here is that we have alternatives that is kaya ng budget natin kaysa naman mamalipit tayo sa sakit dahil wala tayong pambili ng mahal na gamot. Please lang I had enough of the issues that was raise before in my blog entry on the topic of Cheap Medicine Bill: Cheaper Medicine Bill: Nakakagamot o Nakakalala pa sa kalagayan ng bansa?