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As out of pocket healthcare costs grow, consumers and patients are sometimes faced with the challenge of being able to afford and take their medication as prescribed. Within the past two years, dermatologist Dhaval Bhanusali, MD, FAAD had a situation where he had prescribed an anti-fungal cream to a patient. In a follow-up, he discovered that a treatment that should have cost her less than $8 ended up costing $1,200.

“I have drugs that I used to prescribe to patients that were $4. And now they’re $800 to $2,000. The same drug. It’s getting unsustainable,” he told Business Insider. (In 2019, several lawsuits were filed against multiple generic pharmaceutical manufacturers for alleged price-fixing.) As the Business Insider article noted, “Though [doctors] write prescriptions, most don't know what drugs will cost their patient. That is, unless they hear back about issues.” Connecting with other dermatologists who were experiencing similar situations with their patients, Dr. Bhanusali ultimately founded Skin Medicinals to help combat this issue.

The medical entrepreneur had previously launched a platform to compare prices between different local pharmacies as well as an EMR platform for Dermatologists and even helped launch Amazon’s first private skincare brand. Skin Medicinals, an online platform that utilizes compounding pharmacies to specially mix medications for patients, emerged as a result of that work. Dr. Bhanusali is also an instructor in the Mount Sinai Health System and works in private practice in NYC.

While not entirely welcomed by some in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Bhanusali told DTC Perspectives that “overall, people understand the mission and respect what we are trying to do.” He added, “We are coming directly from the end users who WANT to reduce prices, and this platform is showing it is possible.” Since having launched Skin Medicinals in August 2018, the network has nearly 3,000 healthcare providers and dermatologists registered, as well as 73,000 patients. (A doctor must be registered with the platform before their patient can create an online account and begin ordering their medication for home delivery.) “This has demonstrated a true unifying of the field and become a mission for patient care nationally,” he noted.

Awareness and growth about this enterprise has been “organic” thus far. Dr. Bhanusali informed DTC Perspectives, that while there may be the possibility to do more direct marketing in the future, so far “this has been a grassroots effort from physicians to educate patients (and ourselves) about the rising drug costs.”

“We handle everything from Rosacea to pigment conditions, warts to chemotherapeutics. We also regularly provide options for inflammatory conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and more. [We] want to start with dermatology and hopefully inspire physicians in other fields to create similar [help for patients],” concluded Dr. Bhanusali in our interview. “While physician-led innovation tends to be rare, this is one of the first times that such a large number has come together so fast, showing the absolute need for innovation in the space. As prices continue to rise, it will be interesting to see if Skin Medicinals becomes a viable alternative to traditional pharma, one in which the physicians take control to better the access for patients.”

Earlier this month, Ogilvy Health kicked off their #EverydayMatters campaign, setting in motion a long-term commitment to “make an impact on cancer”. The endeavor began with a public relations and communications teammate suggesting the agency do something to support World Cancer Day as so many people across the globe are affected by cancer – whether it be patients themselves or maybe you know someone suffering from the disease.

Speaking with DTC Perspectives, Amy Graham and Sherry Novembre shared that this is currently a year-long project about which they are highly passionate, with each month highlighting a different type or types of cancer. Novembre, SVP, Management Supervisor at Ogilvy Health, shared that “the spirit of what we are doing is … small, regular gains that add up.” March’s effort sees the agency’s Young Professionals Network leading a colored band-aid drive for children to benefit the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ’s Pediatric Wing. An additional focus in March will highlight colorectal cancer: an educational poster created to generate awareness among Ogilvy Health employees is now being shared publicly to help bring awareness to the masses, allowing other companies to access and distribute the poster share with and educate their staff.

Graham, client engagement officer at Ogilvy Health, detailed that another way they are trying to educate is through psychosocial aspects: why a patient may choose to be treated or not, or the challenges of navigating information during what many find to be overwhelming or could be a crisis-time, for example. By better understanding how decisions are made for treatments and during a treatment cycle, they are able to reshape education and support to better help those affected through a difficult time.

The #EverydayMatters campaign will be constantly evolving to ensure they are providing much needed education or support appropriately. Future elements will include walks/runs and other distribution materials. Novembre also shared that the team is in talks to partner with advocacy groups, partially via Ogilvy Health’s oncology business, “on activities to help amplify their voices through our channels.” Thinking in the long-term, this has the potential to take things beyond one year or beyond just the US, said Graham. The team is also exploring ways they may partner with their global offices to further efforts. The ultimate goal is to push the conversation further and create a strong call to action in a “lifelong endeavor,” Graham remarked.

HCB Health opened their third office recently, in Parsippany, NJ. This will allow the independent, full-service healthcare agency to focus on serving large-scale pharma clients in the tri-state region. The office currently has 10 team members, and is expected to grow to 25 in the next year. According to the news release, they are “actively recruiting to fill positions in the NJ office in account services, creative, project management and digital.”

“We created this office to service existing local accounts and engage new clients in the tri-state region. Even in our virtual world, it's essential to be close to your clients,” stated HCB Health CEO Kerry Hilton in the announcement. HCB Health President Nancy Beesley added: “We're strategically located in the middle of the pharma belt – where talent, agencies and especially pharma and biotech companies converge.”

The NJ office joins their Austin and Chicago based locations. The agency utilizes technology to ensure “seamless collaboration and integration” across all of its team members as well as maintain it's quality and commitment to clients, regardless of location. The New Jersey team members are (listed according to hire date, earliest to most recent):

• Lee Randolph, SVP Group Account Supervisor
• Nick D’ Amore, Medical Editor
• Mark Davis, SVP Multichannel Delivery
• John Augenstein, Group Account Supervisor
• Dale Fordsman, Senior Project Manager
• Allison Musante, Senior Copywriter
• Matthew Musick, Account Supervisor
• Lysa Opfer, Art Supervisor
• Alexandra Langdon, Assistant Account Executive
• Thomas Cianci, Project Manager

A special ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Nov. 4th for the newest office. From left to right: (front row) President Nancy Beesley, Francesco Lucarelli, Matthew Musick, Kelsi Brown, Lee Randolph, Alexandra Langdon, John Augenstein; (back row), Travis Waggoner, Lysa Opfer, Allison Musante, Brooks Bagwell, Dale Fordsman and Mark Davis.

The official Verification and Validation Guidance was released in mid-October for the Point of Care Communication Council (Poc3). The Guidance will “serve as a unified set of industry standards that will define best practices, engender trust among those who transact at the point of care, and provide a clear and standardized mechanism enabling media buyers to determine which POC media vendors are certified and adhering to the auditing requirements set by PoC3,” as per the news release.

“The PoC3 Verification and Validation Guidance is pivotal to the POC industry at large,” said PoC3 Co-Chair Larry Newman (also Chief Operating Officer of Health Media Network) in the release. “As the channel continues to grow and advance at an accelerated rate, having a unified set of checks and balances will help buyers understand POC opportunities and have confidence in program implementations and results.”

Input and insights were collected from PoC3 member companies, pharmaceutical companies, advertising agencies, and other stakeholders, as well as “public feedback collected over the summer during an open comment period” to help shape the Guidance. In addition, PoC3 will certify those in compliance with a PoC3 Certification Seal. According to the Guidance, Completed on an annual basis, the Seal “represents compliance with all areas within this document labeled as ‘requirements' and marked with an asterisk in the Table of Contents … [and] a company's Network Audit success at the 92.5% audit success criteria as part of the Overall Auditing Requirements within this guidance, as well as an aggregate of Campaign Audit success at the same 92.5% audit success criteria.”

“Ensuring that all industry stakeholders had the opportunity to contribute and provide input was critically important in developing this guidance. Our hope is that all POC media companies will strive to become PoC3 Certified. It's a high bar requiring substantial investment in external independent auditing, improved operational processes and IT reporting systems. This collective effort continues to elevate the industry, and we've been seeing ongoing momentum and energy as a result,” added PoC3 Co-Chair Mike Collette (Founder and CEO of PatientPoint).

Ethan Lindenberger made headlines this past year when, at the age of 18, he went against his parents' wishes and chose to get vaccinations. According to the news release, “Ethan grew up being told that vaccines cause autism, brain damage, and do not benefit the health and safety of society despite the fact such opinions have been debunked numerous times by the scientific community.” Through his own research, he learned about the benefits of vaccines and was able to debunk myths and misinformation. The now 19-year old has become an activist know for his “opposition to vaccine misinformation efforts” and has thus joined Unity Consortium to be featured as a member of their Voice of AYA (Adolescents and Young Adults) campaign.

Unity's Voices of AYA encourages young adults and teens to get and stay up-to-date with recommended vaccinations and helps them identify misinformation online. Outcome Health has partnered up with the non-profit organization to produce video spots featuring Ethan and Dr. Laura Offutt, an expert source and teen health advocate. Outcome Health has worked with Unity since 2018, but this is their first collaboration on a joint video campaign (video spots can be seen here and here). As part of the initiative, the videos will run on Outcome Health's doctor office screens nationwide and Unity's advocacy network, be shared through social media, and Ethan will post a number of blogs over the coming months.

According to the news announcement: “With new outbreaks in diseases, such as the measles epidemics that have hit multiple states in the US, it’s important to spread the word about the importance of vaccinations. A Unity survey conducted by Harris poll found that 4 in 10 parents and nearly 6 in 10 teens believe teens should only see a doctor for an illness, which likely reduces opportunities for physicians to discuss preventive health measures, such as vaccination. Similarly, the survey showed that 1 in 4 parents and teens believe that vaccines are for babies and not as important for teens.”

PatientConnect Video was launched by Healthgrades earlier this month to provide not only education video programming about specific health conditions, but to then connect patients with qualified, local specialists. According to the news release, “PatientConnect Video eliminates the uncertainty for patients who don't know where to access care.”

Coupling proprietary AI technology with their innovative solution suite, this online video solution provides content along with relevant healthcare provider information. “For example, patients watching video content about rheumatoid arthritis are dynamically provided with listings of rheumatologists closest to their location along with the physicians’ accepted insurance, patient reviews, contact information and more.”

According to John Mangano, Senior Vice President, Business Intelligence for Healthgrades, this takes things a step further than the usual ‘ask your doctor for more information' instruction typically found in ads by actually “helping the patient find their doctor. After viewing an ad online, Healthgrades delivers individually localized contact information, along with patient reviews of the provider, so each patient can connect with the right practitioner.”