Sermo, the physician online community, formally launched its“Discuss on Sermo” initiative, by which journal publishers provide links toarticles and research and can facilitate discussions on them among theirreaders and Sermo members.
Four publishers, including Nature Publishing Group, theAmerican Medical Association, Advanstar and Wiley-Blackwell, have signed on forthe exchange, which offers all parties a means of increasing their exposure tophysicians, and more are in talks with Sermo. Alex Frost, VP researchinitiatives at Sermo, called it “a turnkey solution for those publisherslooking to have interactive content.” The feature promises, in turn, to helpSermo build its 60,000-plus-strong membership.
“We recognized early on that 15%-20% of conversations onSermo related to current news or medical research,” said Frost. “We’re beingresponsive to how physicians are using this platform, so we built tools tofacilitate conversation around this.”
The publishers can initiate discussions by placing “Discusson Sermo” buttons on any article. In doing so, they drive their readers toSermo, which drives its users back to the title by linking to the text andlinks separate conversations on it. Publishers can also access anonymized physiciandiscussion data for inclusion in their publications. Sermo members can still linkto articles in non-participating journals.
An early run of the feature involved a review published inJAMA indicating excess mortality associated with the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), which drew alot of news coverage. Physicians, however, weren’t convinced – three quartersof those participating in a Sermo discussion said they weren’t sure the datasupported the claim.
