How Has The Internet And Social Media Changed The Clinical Research Scenario? - ACRI

1. Clinical trials can determine what works and what doesn’t in the case of patients suffering from a specific ailment. Without a systematic and rigorous method to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of a treatment or medication, we can be deceived. The internet is one of the first sources people use to get any kind of information. Social media stands second, which is more efficient that mass mailing. Some well-known and professional physician related networks include LinkedIn, ResearchGate, HealthTap, Doximity, and Sermo. Social media can help point out trial issues, provide education, and engage multiple groups involved in clinical research. This is why social media is being used to highlight issues like poor growth, educate participants and physicians about clinical trial options, and help to improve growth. Today, the clinical research industry is not pushing information to patients, but rather patients are pulling for more information. This is why online patient communities are creating new information storehouses. There are also many patient-centric forums where there is potential to crowd source in order to improve clinical trial growth and design. Educating patients may not improve growth, but trying to disrupt the status quo and providing increased interactive education is something that must be considered. Online patients can be empowered, engaged, equipped, and enabled using social media for education about clinical

2. trials. However, the social norms of the use of social media are changing, which is why the guidelines will also need to change over time. For example, Twitter has created hashtags to tag discussions that can be searched for content. This content could be about cancer, diabetes, heart ailments, or anything else. In fact, cooperative groups are using Twitter feeds and hashtags to educate and inform varied constituencies, as they realize the utility of using social media to reach various populations. On the other hand, Biotech and pharmaceutical companies have been slow in engaging on social media as they fear regulatory punishments. Before the internet and social media, patients had been using peer-to-peer communication. But today, online patient communities have become a form of networked social media that can provide them support, and education with links to resources. Also, many cooperative groups, institutions, and industry clinical trials are developed by individual Principal Investigators with influence from a group. This is utilizing crowdsourcing, wherein ideas, resources, and money is being obtained from a group of people; may it be big or small. Thus, social media can help overcome certain clinical trial barriers; hastags can organize and create structure to improve signal-to-noise ratio; and online communities can help share updates in medicine and clinical trial information. With the internet being so important in today’s clinical research scenario, why can’t education be imparted online? If this is what you think, you would be glad to know that professional education is now being provided online so that students can learn without giving up on their current jobs and responsibilities. One such place where you can study online via professionals and experts, and gain a legitimate certificate of diploma in clinical research Bangalore, is Avigna Clinical Research Institute, one of the top and most renowned clinical research institutes in the IT hub of India.