UBM Medica US Launches Loyalty Program to Health Care Professionals

NORWALK, Conn., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Medica US today announced the launch of the UBM Medica Loyalty Program on primary care-focused medical website www.ConsultantLive.com. Through the program, physicians and healthcare providers are able to convert their online interactions with each other into rewards and donations to international charitable organizations.

The program offers members the opportunity to earn points – by completing specific onsite social tasks such as profile updates or commenting – that can then be redeemed for various rewards including donations to micro-loan organization Kiva or Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the international medical care provider for victims of war and disaster.

Doctors Without Borders – a 1999 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize – is an international medical humanitarian organization created in 1971 by doctors and journalists. Through the organization, assistance and medical care is provided in more than 60 countries to those whose survival and basic wellness is threatened by armed conflict, malnutrition, lack of health care, and natural disasters.

A San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, Kiva is the world's first and largest micro-lending website. Working to alleviate poverty, Kiva connects people worldwide through micro-lending – having already helped create economic opportunity for more than 1 million borrowers, with more than $400 million in loans and a 99.1 percent repayment rate.

"Creating a loyalty program both enables us to provide benefits to our vibrant community of healthcare providers, as well as empowers them to give back via their social interactions," said Brian Field, EVP/Managing Director, UBM Medica US. "Kiva and Doctors Without Borders do outstanding work that helps support those in need across our planet, and we are happy to offer our audience an avenue to do even more good through them."

The UBM Medica Loyalty Program will shortly be available across all of UBM Medica's network of healthcare websites – including PhysiciansPractice.com, PsychiatricTimes.com, CancerNetwork.com, DiagnosticImaging.com, PediatricsConsultantLive.com, RheumatologyNetwork.com, and ObGyn.net.

For more information about Kiva: www.kiva.org

For more information about Doctors Without Borders: www.doctorswithoutborders.org

About UBM Medica US
Addressing today's healthcare information needs, UBM Medica US, delivers strategic, integrated communications solutions and comprehensive reach -- online, in print, and via custom programs. Improving the effectiveness of healthcare through information and education, UBM Medica US provides unbiased clinical, practical, and business information for physicians, providers, payers, and patients around the world. Through journals, magazines, websites, online communities, drug databases, digital events, and other valuable resources, UBM Medica US also delivers comprehensive communication solutions for the pharmaceutical and related industries. Websites include CancerNetwork.com, ConsultantLive.com, DiagnosticImaging.com, RheumatologyNetwork.com, OBGYN.net, PhysiciansPractice.com, PsychiatricTimes.com and SearchMedica.com. UBM Medica US is part of UBM Connect – which provides marketing services across a number of communities, the largest of which are healthcare, medical device design and advanced manufacturing. UBM Connect also includes UBM Studios, the global leader in interactive digital environments. UBM Connect is a UBM plc company. For more information, visit www.UBMMedicaUS.com.

About UBM plc
UBM plc is a global events-led marketing services and communications company.  We help businesses do business, bringing the world's buyers and sellers together at events and online, as well as producing and distributing news and specialist content.  Our 5,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into expert teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to http://www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM corporate news.

Media contact:
Amy Erdman
VP, Marketing
203-523-7041
amy.erdman@ubm.com

SOURCE UBM Medica US