The official site launch for Accu-Chek Diabetes Link Canada was Monday November 16, and is the first of many proposed sites being developed by Roche to link people with diabetes to various resources.

"Accu-Chek Diabetes Link is the first Web site we have launched that focuses solely on diabetes management.  In speaking with patients and diabetes bloggers we realized that there is an opportunity for us to provide some value to the online, diabetes community by providing a Web site that is focused only on health, diet, exercise and diabetes management information. We want to provide a complementary Web site with many social features, and join the community of great diabetes-related sites, blogs and forums already available. We think the site will offer tremendous value to people with diabetes in Canada and beyond, and have plans to expand the approach to other markets globally", says Jim Lefevere - Global Group Manager, Commercial Marketing.

The "many site" idea is a direct result of the Roche Social Media Summit held in July. The summit was a discussion meeting among the predominant diabetes bloggers.  

Fabio Gratton - Chief Innovation Officer, Ignite Health/President, Incendia Health Studios, adds, "As a means to help spread the word about this initiative we have created a widget that can easily be shared and posted anywhere online (this widget can be found on the homepage of the Web site).  This widget currently features the tweets of our advisory board members, and is made possible in part by funding from Roche Diagnostics (and their brand Accu-Chek).  Personally, I think this is a perfect example of how healthcare companies can play a role in the social media space.  It demonstrates a true commitment to supporting the diabetes community, without forcing a brand-specific message into the conversation.  It's not only an acknowledgement that Roche "gets it", but it also serves as a reminder to us all that there are still companies out there that believe doing the "right thing" should come first, and everything else will follow from there."

Roche wants these sites to be an arrow pointing to, not competing with, other diabetes resources. 

"I think what Roche has created with "The Diabetes Link" is another terrific and innovative example of how companies can leverage new technologies to deliver true value.  Unfortunately, many of today's social media channels are designed to facilitate brief bursts of conversations, many of which are disconnected from context and are not linked to additional content.  But when it comes to healthcare, especially chronic conditions such as diabetes, it's critical to provide people with the option to dive deeper into the information, if they so choose.  What's great about "The Diabetes Link" is that it enables people to get to that deeper content, and in doing so it also creates context AND exposes them to a variety of other social media resources that Roche has made available.  Personally, I think this is a model that any company that is considering participating in social media should emulate."

Take a look at the Accu-Chek Diabetes Link site and let us know what you think.