Correspondence: Fadi M. Alkhateeb, College of Pharmacy, University of Charleston, 2300 MacCorkle Avenue SE, Charleston, WV 25304, USA. Tel: +1 304 357 4350; Fax: +1 304 357 4868; e-mail: fadialkhateeb@ucwv.edu

¹is Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical & Administrative Sciences Department at the University of Charleston's School of Pharmacy. Dr Alkhateeb's research interests focused on pharmaceutical e-marketing strategies like e-detailing and Web 2.0 tools, and adoption of new medical and pharmaceutical technologies like e-prescribing.

²is Associate Professor in the Pharmacy Practice Department at Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy — West Palm Beach. He has presented internationally on Web 2.0 and healthcare, including meetings for the American Medical Informatics Association and Medicine 2.0 Congress. He is a member of the Task Force for Education and Publications in the Section of Pharmacy and Informatics of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and serves as an Item Writer for North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination™ (Naplex^®).

³is Assistant Professor of pharmacy administration at Nova Southeastern University, College of Pharmacy — West Palm Beach. Dr Khanfar has presented several podium and poster presentations at national and international business and pharmacy conferences. His research interest includes topics in the fields of marketing, management and healthcare. His work has been published in several peer-reviewed business and pharmacy journals.

⁴is currently Professor and Department Chair of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences at the University of Charleston's School of Pharmacy. Dr Latif's current research interests include examining the relationship between pharmacists' moral reasoning, their work climates and specific performance measures, such as clinical decision making. Dr Latif has published numerous peer-reviewed papers in such journals, as the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Annals of Pharmacotherapy and the Journal of American Pharmacists Association relating to his research interests.

Received 31 July 2008; Revised 31 July 2008; Published online 26 September 2008.

Abstract

Web 2.0 applications and tools include blogs, podcasts, wikis and social networking communities. These tools, especially blogs and wikis, have been rapidly adopted by internet-savvy patients as a source of information and discourse about medical conditions and treatment options. Information via these applications has had an impact on patients' choices about their healthcare. In response, opportunities with Web 2.0 have been explored by pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions. These companies believe that Web 2.0 and Patient 2.0 tools offer an innovative way to connect with physicians and patients. Additionally, Web 2.0 can be a new method for marketing to consumers in an era where the return on investment is falling with more traditional channels. Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor Federal Trade Commission (FTC), however, has released firm guidance for Web 2.0 communications. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies are reticent regarding adoption of Web 2.0 for fear of a poor risk–benefit ratio and a lack of documented success with these tools. There are two primary concerns voiced when marketing via Web 2.0: off-label promotion and adverse event reporting. This paper provides an overview of Web 2.0, details associated regulatory risks and illustrates select strategies to help navigate these largely unexplored, but potentially powerful mechanisms to reach prescribers and patients.