Leveraging social media for promotion to healthcare professionals: A compliant approach

Illuminating the grey area

The PMCPA Social Media Guidance 2023 document defines social media as “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content and to interact with one another in social networks, for example: X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.”¹

According to the ABPI Code 2024, promotion is “any activity undertaken by a pharmaceutical company or with its authority which promotes the administration, consumption, prescription, purchase, recommendation, sale, supply or use of its medicines.”² (Clause 1.17)

The two terms, social media and promotion, have not always been compatible in the pharmaceutical industry, even though they can have a real impact when applied together in a compliant manner. Pharmaceutical companies have often been overly cautious and reluctant to use social media for promotional activities due to the high number of breaches and limited guidance on maintaining compliance with the ABPI Code until 2023.

In their Social Media Guidance 2023 document, the PMCPA stated, “Care must be taken as POMs [prescription only medicines] must not be advertised to the public so promotional activities must be carefully targeted to relevant health professionals only.”¹

The recently updated PMCPA Social Media Guidance 2023 supplemented that “In addition, pharmaceutical companies should check the current terms and conditions for the relevant social media platform to ensure its activities comply with the platform’s requirements as well as all applicable codes, laws and regulations”. Thus, highlighting the importance of not just being compliant in terms of the ABPI Code, and other applicable laws and regulations, but also complying with a social media platform’s policy.

We’ll explore some common pitfalls, review lessons from previous PMCPA case rulings, then highlight some top tips that are useful to know when planning to leverage social media for promotion to HCPs.

Common pitfalls: compliance breached

Some key issues that have led to ABPI breaches when companies have used social media for promotion to HCPs include

1. Failure to identify the audience: According to the ABPI Code, materials must be tailored to and directed to the right audience (Clause 5.7). However, many companies fall short of this, as they may forget or ignore that social media platforms will always have a mixed audience. This can inadvertently lead to promotion to the public

2. Lack of clarity on the type and purpose of the content: It is always good practice to start by assuming a material or content is promotional, then work to confirm or reject the hypothesis. Not knowing whether a material is promotional can lead to the dissemination of information to the wrong audience. Materials that mention product names and indications are more likely considered promotional. However, promotion can still occur without mentioning the product name or indication, if the indication is general knowledge. Extra caution must also be exercised if a company’s product is the only available one for a particular indication so that a company’s social media activity is not seen as disguised promotion

3. Omission of key elements for promotional materials: Being uncertain about the promotional nature of a material or content could easily lead to the omission of key documents and information that must accompany all promotional materials, as indicated in the ABPI Code including date of preparation (Clause 12.5), adverse event reporting statement (Clause 12.6), prescribing information (Clause 12.1), certification (Clause 8.1), and an inverted black triangle, where applicable (Clause 12.7)

4. Promotional links in posts: Links within a post are regarded as part of a post.¹ Therefore, if a link re-directs the audience to a website where product names and indications are mentioned, such a post will be deemed promotional. Furthermore, being aware of the promotional nature of a linked material but failing to mention that fact could result in Code breaches of disguised promotion. The ‘destination’ of the link whether to a company or non-company website must also be clearly stated

5. Misleading and exaggerated claims: Social media is useful for gaining popularity and attracting a large audience to content. Nevertheless, as pharmaceutical companies, ‘integrity’ must remain a watchword. Even though social media is weighted to content designed to gain more audience share and engagement, care must be taken to ensure that facts are accurate, balanced, unambiguous, and not misleading or exaggerated, to avoid unnecessary Code breaches

Case studies: compliance maintained

It is often said that ‘experience is the best teacher’. This could be first- or second-hand experience, but the most important thing is to learn from experience and not make avoidable mistakes.

Several case rulings from the PMCPA website highlight ways social media can be used for compliant HCP promotion in key areas including provision of R&D pipeline information, advertisement of HCP meetings, and highlighting company engagement in events including congresses, conferences, and symposia.

1. Advertisement of HCP meetings

• A 2021 case ruling showed the importance of avoiding the use of teaser invitations or specific mentions of medicines on social media channels
• Verification of HCP status should be a requirement before further material that directly details product information is provided
• The sponsorship and promotional nature of meetings must be clear from the outset.

2. Provision of R&D pipeline information

• A 2022 case ruling highlighted that it is best not to include weblinks that list pipeline products on social media posts, as it could constitute promotion to the public
• Although, in another 2022 ruling, the PMCPA mentioned that reference to a company’s pipeline work ‘in very general terms’ was ‘not necessarily unacceptable’, provided that key factors such as language, context, location, layout, intended audience, and overall impression are considered in line with the Code
• It is advisable not to refer to a company’s medicines by name or by indication in social media posts

3. Raising awareness of event engagement

• From a 2024 ruling, knowledge of the type and purpose of your content is crucial to staying compliant. For instance, non-promotional content will have no direct or implied mention of any medicine in the social media post.
• If a follow-up event or meeting mentioned within a post is promotional, make sure it is clearly stated.
• A company’s involvement in the event or the production of event material should be clear from the outset. This can include using the company logo in an accompanying video.

Moving forward: compliance forefront

The ‘Principles for Social Media Activities’ as outlined in the PMCPA Social Media Guidance document is a good place to start when planning on using social media for HCP promotion.

Reflecting on lessons from PMCPA case rulings,

1. Know your audience: This is key to avoiding promotion to the public. Knowing that your content is promotional and tailored to HCPs would enable you to choose and use the right channels to ensure that promotional content is not shared with the public including having relevant gateways to validate HCP status

2. When advertising or raising awareness: Remember that social media posts are visible to a mixed audience, keep information factual and avoid mentioning products or indications. Adhere to the PMCPA Social Media Guidance on how to use non-promotional posts to “signpost” promotional events. The company providing sponsorship must also be indicated from the outset

3. Certification: A company is in breach even when third parties do not follow instructions (ABPI Clauses 1.24 and 5.2 supplementary information). Therefore, ensure that there’s a clear policy on certification or examination of content before it gets released, especially if a third party is posting on behalf of the company. Remember, non-promotional materials do not need to be certified, but it is always good practice to examine them in case there has been a mix-up (ABPI Clause 8.3 supplementary information)

4. Know your platform: Before deciding to use a particular social media platform, a company should familiarise itself with the terms and conditions of the platform. However, where the social media platform might permit certain activities that conflict with the Code, the requirements of the Code must be met

We are Onyx Health: we thrive in compliance

For pharmaceutical companies, navigating social media compliance can be a treacherous or adventurous journey, the difference is being well-informed and applying the knowledge accordingly.

At Onyx Health we keep the ABPI Code and PMCPA Guidance information at the forefront of our minds, ensuring we produce high-quality compliant work, which our clients have always appreciated.

We look forward to working with you to compliantly engage your HCP audience on social media, helping them stay abreast of groundbreaking work, thereby transforming and inspiring the healthcare sector. Do get in touch!

References

1. PMCPA Social Media Guidance 2023. Last updated: October 2024. Available from: https://pmcpa-cloud.euwest01.umbraco.io/media/jskjp2bz/pmcpa-social-media-guidance-2023-updated-2024.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2024].

2. ABPI Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry. 2024. Available from: https://www.pmcpa.org.uk/media/r0anf5ya/2024-abpi-code.pdf [Accessed 21 November 2024].