The upheaval over health care reform has led to a surge in online health-related communities, blogs and social media, but marketers in this area are not rushing in.

One of the greatest attractions of health communities on the web is that patients can share their medical experiences and seek advice from other patients. In a recent clickz.com article, “Health Marketers Drag Feet as Patients Flock to Social Media,” Joan Voight reportst that it’s not just patients that are flocking to this DIY style health education, doctors are also gravitating toward these websites.  However, credibility and liability remain two of the biggest deterrents for marketers when it comes to social media and the online health and wellness field.

The SSN Take: Participating in online discussions and sponsoring them could prove to be a risky move for health marketers, but the payoff could be enormous. Click the link to Voight’s article to read what Dove plans to gain by sponsoring Sharecare, the latest health exchange website.

David Hardt, April 22, 2010

Note: Post not sponsored