Pharma's largest patient groups going online in record numbers
Source: eyeforpharma.com | May 2004

According to a recent study from Pew Internet and American Life, the number of U.S. seniors using the Internet jumped 47% between 2000 and 2004. And the oldest group of Baby Boomers (those between 50-58 years old) rival Internet-savvy Generation X in Web usage. (5/11/2004)

Since seniors and aging baby boomers buy more prescription drugs than younger population groups, it's important to understand the growing role of the Internet in their daily activities.

In the February 2004 survey, 22% of Americans age 65 and older reported having access to the Internet, up from 15% in 2000. That's a total of 8 million senior Americans who use the Internet. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Americans age 50-64 are online.

Older women have led the increase, evening the gender ratio among "wired seniors" to 50/50. Seniors using the Internet from households with moderate incomes and those whose education ended with a high school diploma have increased. But, according to Pew, the online senior population is still dominated by whites, upper income households and users with college degrees.

Online health information is one of the largest draws for seniors. In fact, 66% of "wired seniors" had looked for health or medical information online by the end of 2003, a 25% increase over 2000 levels. Comparable numbers of wired seniors (66%) had done product research online by the end of 2003, representing a growth rate of 38% since 2000.

Those two drivers for seniors going online create a perfect combination for pharma companies looking to connect with patients in one of the largest target audiences of prescription users.

And the future for online dialogs with aging Baby Boomers is bright. Seventy-five percent (75%) of older Baby Boomers get news online and 55% do research for their jobs online, number roughly equal to the number of Generation X users who do so.

"The 'silver tsunami' of older Internet users is gaining momentum," said Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project. "Internet users in their 50s who work, shop and keep in touch with friends and family online will age into and transform the 'wired senior' population."

It certainly looks like connecting with the aging American patient population will require an increasing online DTC presence for pharma.