DSN, Skipta partner on pharm social site

NEW YORK —Social networking has achieved such ubiquity that those without accounts on Facebook or LinkedIn soon may become the new hermits. But a new social networking tool could become for pharmacists what Facebook is for an ever-expanding portion of the globe.

Drug Store News is collaborating with professional networking website developer Skipta to launch the Pharmacist Society—officially dubbed Pharmacist Society powered by Drug Store News—a social media platform that will combine networking, job searching, continuing education and other services in a regulated user environment.

“Users can benefit the most from Pharmacist Society through connecting with other pharmacists around the country,” Skipta president and CEO Ted Search said. The site will be open to pharmacists, such pharmacy professionals as academics and researchers, and pharmacy students. “This gives [students] an opportunity to use this technology that they’re used to, but in a private, closed-loop platform that involves a very targeted audience, which is the world of pharmacy.”

Among other features, pharmacies and schools will be able to create private pages open only to their own employees, while pharmacists will be able to store documents on the site and drug companies can provide members with direct product education.

“The Pharmacist Society will offer a customizable social media platform for community-based retail pharmacists and pharmacy students,” said Drug Store News publisher Wayne Bennett. “By combining the best of Skipta technology, Drug Store News continuing education content [and] existing Web traffic as our base, the Pharmacist Society will become the leading portal in which retail community pharmacists will receive, share and exchange information.”