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Sermo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sermo
Type of site
Social network
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts[1]
URLwww.sermo.com
Users1,500,000

Sermo is an online community exclusively for verified health care professionals. As of 2024, the platform claims to support over 1.5 million members from more than 150 countries.[2] This includes general practitioners, specialists, residents, and advanced practice providers — as well as hundreds of additional healthcare roles ranging from subspecialist physicians and specialist nurses to pharmacists, lab technicians, and administrative decision-makers.[3] Members engage in anonymous peer consultations, collaborative medical crowdsourcing, participation in paid surveys, and access to exclusive clinical and non-clinical content. Sermo is widely used [2] by physicians to earn supplemental income, share complex cases, and access real-world insights from colleagues across specialties and geographies. According to a 2025 episode of 'The PA Is In' podcast, many APP members actively leverage these paid surveys, earning significant supplementary income on the platform. Members also access exclusive clinical and non-clinical content, sharing complex cases and real-world insights with colleagues across specialties and geographies.[4]

The platform has also been cited in academic research and industry studies for its role in surfacing physician sentiment on healthcare trends, medical policies, and emerging clinical issues.[5][6][7]][8]

History

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Sermo was founded in 2005 by physician Dr. Daniel Palestrant as a platform for adverse event reporting, following the Merck Vioxx (Rofecoxib) recall in 2004.[9] In 2007, the company raised $26.7 million in venture funding, followed by an additional $3.5 million in 2011.[10] In 2012, Sermo was acquired by WorldOne, a healthcare research company founded by Peter Kirk.[11] The platform was rebranded to "SERMO" in 2014,[12] before reverting to "Sermo" in 2019.[13] The company expanded into English-speaking countries including Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa,[14] followed by Spain and Mexico in 2014–15.[15] In 2023, Sermo acquired Payer Access and Charter Oak.[16] In 2025, it publicly launched its Drug Ratings tool and relaunched the Sermo Mobile platform [17]

Reach and community

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Sermo supports a broad range of medical specialties spanning the full spectrum of clinical practice, from general medicine to highly subspecialized fields and advanced practice providers.[18] This includes, among others, oncology, hematology, cardiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, immunology, infectious disease, rheumatology, dermatology, ophthalmology, pulmonology, neurology, and nephrology.[19][3] In 2014, U.S. physicians posted over 3,500 cases, generating 50,000 comments and 700,000 views. Most received responses within 1.5 hours and were resolved in under 24 hours.[20]

Sermo surveys

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Sermo surveys capture physician insights on clinical and policy issues. Topics have included vaccine confidence, burnout, misinformation, and COVID-19. Findings have been cited in Forbes,[21] The Guardian,[22] Reuters,[23] and NEJM Catalyst.[24]

Drug ratings

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Sermo's Drug Ratings Directory, launched in 2017 [25][26][27]] and made public in 2025, includes over 1.2 million physician-submitted ratings.[28] Only triple-verified physicians can contribute. Ratings are visible to APPs, pharmacists, and the public via the Drug Ratings directory.[17] [29]

Ratings are scored across safety, efficacy, tolerability, accessibility, and adherence. Additional data from FDA and Elsevier supplements the reviews.[28]

Sermo Mobile

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Sermo Mobile allows physicians to call patients without sharing personal numbers. Users can assign a clinic or office ID to outgoing calls and make unlimited domestic and international calls via Wi-Fi or cellular networks. The feature is free for Sermo members.[30] .

Partnerships and collaboration

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Sermo has worked with research institutions, public health agencies, and NGOs on studies related to vaccine attitudes, healthcare policy, and global physician sentiment.[31][32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

Awards

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Sermo has received recognition from Fast Company (Most Innovative Companies in Healthcare and PM360’s Trailblazer Awards for Best Digital Initiative.[41]

Use in research and media

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Sermo has been cited in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and news outlets. Media mentions include: Forbes [42]

Reuters [43]

New York Times [44]

The Guardian [45]

Washington Post [46]

Los Angeles Times [47]

Time [48]

References

[edit]
  1. "Doctors' online forum offers tips to Wall Street". The New York Times. May 30, 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Sermo: A Social Network for Healthcare Professionals". The Nursing Beat. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Specialties available on Sermo". Sermo Support. Sermo. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  4. "Life: Why Summer Vacation Won't Cure Your Burnout — And What Can Actually Help". The PA Is In (Podcast). No. 336. Retrieved 13 November 2025 via Spotify.
  5. Munro, Dan (2015-06-08). "New Poll Shows Two-Thirds Of Doctors Reluctant To Share Health Data With Patients". Forbes. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  6. Kliff, Sarah (2012-06-15). "Doctors are using electronic records more — but liking them less". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  7. "Measles outbreak: Some doctors won't see patients with anti-vaccine views". NOLA.com (The Times-Picayune). 2015-01-30. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  8. Sifferlin, Alexandra (2015-01-29). "Poll: 92% of Doctors Say Measles Outbreak Due to Anti-Vax Parents". Time. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  9. Smith, Aaron (2006-11-17). "A MySpace for physicians". CNNMoney.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  10. Kutz, Erin (2012-07-19). "Sermo, After Raising $40M+, Bought by WorldOne For Undisclosed Sum". Xconomy. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  11. Bowman, Dan (2012-07-20). "Sermo acquired by WorldOne". FierceHealthcare. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  12. "Big Changes to Come as Sermo and WorldOne Unify". PM360. 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  13. Ravindranath, Mohana (2019-08-02). "Big week for rural telemedicine". Politico – Morning eHealth. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  14. "Major medical crowdsourcing site opens in Canada". Canadian Healthcare Technology. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  15. "SERMO's Social Network for Doctors Expands to Spain, Mexico". HIT Consultant. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  16. "Sermo acquires Payer Access, Charter Oak to boost its payer and oncologist reach". Medical Marketing & Media. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Sermo Drug Ratings Guide". Sermo Support. Sermo. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  18. "6 Surprising things about Sermo (YouTube)". YouTube. [The AP Is In]. 2025-08-21. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  19. "Membership – Specialize". Sermo. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  20. "How A Social Network Can Help Dish Out a Diagnosis to Save a Life". Science Times. 2015-05-22. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  21. Alexiou, Gus (2020-08-09). "Remote Medical Consultations By Default After Pandemic Endangers Disabled Patients". Forbes. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  22. "US doctors warn of COVID vaccine misinformation". The Guardian. 2021-07-06. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  23. "Doctors grapple with COVID-19 as shortages and uncertainties persist". Reuters. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  24. "Crowdsourcing for Clinical Consensus". NEJM Catalyst. 3 (4). 2017. doi:10.1056/CAT.17.0413 (inactive 13 November 2025). Retrieved 13 November 2025.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2025 (link)
  25. "Sermo Unveils First Global Physician-to-Physician Drug Ratings Tool" (Press release). Sermo. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  26. "Sermo Drug Ratings: A New Window into HCP Sentiment for Brands". Eversana Intouch. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  27. "SERMO Drug Ratings Search". HIT Consultant. 2017-08-02. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  28. 1 2 "Drug Ratings A–Z". Sermo. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  29. "'Yelp for drugs?' Sermo bows doctor-to-doctor drug ratings tool with crowd-sourced comments". FiercePharma. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  30. "How to use Sermo Mobile". Sermo Support. Sermo. 17 August 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  31. "Sermo as a model for online information sharing: successes and challenges". Oxford Internet Institute. University of Oxford. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  32. "Sermo: A Community-Based Knowledge Ecosystem". ResearchGate. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  33. "Sermo opens up platform to healthcare marketers". Medical Marketing & Media. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  34. "Pulsar and Sermo partner to create healthcare's first 360° view of online medical conversations" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  35. "Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) partners with Sermo to offer CME content" (Press release). Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC). 2020-02-10. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  36. "Sermo and Bloomberg partner on service for healthcare investors". Medical Marketing & Media. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  37. "Sermo and Bionical Solutions Partner to Expand Physician Access to Digital Treatment Support Tools Amidst Evolving Patient Education Needs" (Press release). Business Wire. 2021-05-25. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  38. "[Exact page title]". Harvard Business School – Faculty & Research. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  39. "Pfizer Engages with Nation's Physicians Through Sermo to Improve Patient Care" (Press release). Pfizer. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  40. "Clinical Overview of Herpes Zoster (Shingles)". CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  41. "Industry Briefs: April 2016". PM360. April 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  42. "Pharmaceutical Marketing In The New Normal: Improving Communication With Healthcare Providers". Forbes (Forbes Communications Council). 2021-06-18. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  43. "Fact Check: Assertions attributed to Dr. Anthony Fauci are false". Reuters. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  44. "[Opinion] Coronavirus, science and experts". The New York Times. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  45. Chiu, Allyson; Flynn, Meagan (2011-11-08). "US healthcare: viral social networks". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  46. "Trump blocks Fauci from answering question about drug Trump is touting". The Washington Post. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  47. Blake, Meredith (2019-08-22). "Our Healthcare System Is Broken. Can Crowdsourced Medical Shows Fill the Void?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  48. Park, Alice (2020-04-14). "Vaccines, Antibodies and Drug Libraries. The Possible COVID-19 Treatments Researchers Are Excited About". Time. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
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