Sponsored Content - DTC Perspectives

If the FDA’s targeting of TV ads and social media influencers makes one thing clear, it’s that the biopharma industry is under the microscope. Promotions once considered “safe” are now fair game for untitled letters, warning letters and cease-and-desists. Understanding this new environment matters, but it is not the real story. The real story is what comes next. Direct-to-patient communication won’t disappear but will have to evolve. The future isn’t bigger media buys. It’s stronger relationships built on clarity, respect, and measurable help for real people.

That’s why many leading biopharma brands are rethinking their patient engagement strategies—not by walking away from it, but by grounding it in authenticity. For those clients, SNOW creates engagement that connects patients with information they can trust, stories they can relate to, and support they can act on.

From Mass Marketing to Meaningful Connection

The next chapter of DTC rewards brands that trade frequency for trust, interruption for invitation, and claims for context. Patients want to understand whether a treatment is right for them, what risks there really are, and how to talk with their clinicians. If your content does not answer those questions, it won’t earn attention, and it certainly won’t earn trust.

The enforcement wave simply accelerates a truth we’ve always championed: fair balance is not a checkbox; it’s a content strategy. When patients grasp the real benefits and risks of a treatment, they are far more likely to have informed, productive conversations with their HCPs. That’s what genuine patient engagement looks like and what the regulatory shift now demands.

What’s been Flagged

In the current regulatory enforcement wave, a pattern is emerging:

Risk Omission or Minimization: A persistent issue is that major safety risks (boxed warnings, serious adverse events) are not adequately presented or are omitted altogether.

Misleading by implication: Ads are using phrases, visuals, or results that suggest more than data supports (for example, emotional/social quality of life improvements.

Visual and format distractions: Use of distracting visuals, scene changes, font/contrast/or placement (especially in “major statement” risk disclosure) so that risk messaging is less noticeable or readable.

Mechanism of action overclaiming: Making efficacy claims or implying understanding of how the drug works when clinical pharmacology doesn’t support full understanding.

Promotional medium: ads, TV, online video, sponsored links: Many letters reference DTC broadcast or video advertising, and increasingly sponsored‑search links or equivalents.

What to Build Instead

1) Human support changes outcomes.
DTC cannot do what a trained Health Educator, nurse navigator, or peer ambassador can do. Build programs that let patients ask questions, explore scenarios, and map decisions to their personal context, and offer empathy backed by rigor. SNOW helps clients operationalize that human layer, training every touchpoint on on-label boundaries, adverse-event capture, and cultural competence.

2) Trust is the currency.
Trust forms when information is credible, complete, and authentic. That means making risk information first-class content, not a fast scroll. It means showing your work and helping patients understand what the data really says and why it matters.

3) Clear beats clever.
The future favors clear, instructive communication. Define who a therapy is and is not for. Translate clinical endpoints into outcomes a patient can understand. Use graphics that slow the eye and aid comprehension.

4) Impact over impressions.
Stop chasing clicks and eyeballs. Optimize for high-value patient actions: diagnosis, guideline-concordant starts, and persistence at clinically meaningful milestones. If a channel cannot advance those goals while maintaining fair balance, it does not belong in the plan.

5) Governance as a growth engine.
Strong promo-review SOPs, creator rules, and documentation are not red tape. They are brand safety and speed. When enforcement ramps up, teams that can prove discipline in real time keep moving while others scramble.

6) AI operates under its own set of rules.
Generative AI has entered healthcare, but it’s not engineered for fair balance. SNOW uses AI to improve process efficiency, not to replace human storytelling. Real patient voices remain the foundation of authentic communication.

The New DTC: Built for Trust

The next era of patient engagement is one where education replaces promotion.

Owned education hubs, such as brand websites, should feel like care, not ads. They should feature real patient experiences, plain-language, and decision aids that patients can print and take to appointments.
Editorial storytelling should mirror the questions patients actually ask: “Is this for me?” “What should I watch for?” “How will this fit into my life?”
Health Educator and peer-ambassador programs should extend that learning journey, guiding patients with empathy and regulatory compliance.

These are the programs that move the needle on understanding, adherence, and trust.

The bottom line

DTC doesn’t end here. Bad DTC does. Now is the time to replace noise with nuance, and messaging with meaning. Build for trust and clarity, and your engagement won’t just survive the crackdown. It will help people make informed decisions with their clinicians, and feel confident about the path they choose.

Lynn Kirkpatrick

Patients and providers often engage with health content during overlapping time frames. When HCPs and consumers are aligned, behaviors change and brands grow. While many marketers see HCP and DTC alignment as ideal but difficult to execute, the landscape is shifting.

With the trend toward health consumerization, today’s patients are more informed, empowered, and proactive. Today, 60% of Americans get more medical info online than from doctors (Merck), but many feel overwhelmed and confused by the sheer volume of evolving health content. Consumers now cross-check sources, prioritize “what works for someone like me” relevance, and come to appointments already informed, often driving the treatment conversation.

Still, providers and hospital systems remain the most trusted information sources (McKinsey, 2024), meaning digital-first discovery still needs validation from credible medical authorities.

When consumers ask for a brand and HCPs are already aligned on its clinical value, prescriptions increase. Programmatic strategies like PulsePoint’s that coordinate touchpoints across both audiences can deliver the scale, trust, and impact needed to drive action.

How to Align HCP and DTC Healthcare Marketing

Patients and providers move fluidly through the healthcare journey. Patients come and go based on symptoms, diagnoses, and life events, and providers based on new data, evolving guidelines, and clinical experience.

To influence behavior on both sides, healthcare brands must move beyond siloed efforts and adopt a unified, real-time approach to HCP and DTC marketing. That starts with investing in health-specific programmatic technology that enables precision, agility, and scale. By activating campaigns based on real-time condition signals, content behavior, or HCP clinical activity—and dynamically adjusting spend, targeting, and creative—brands can keep both audiences in sync as they move through their decision-making journeys.

Executing this effectively requires four foundational capabilities:

Precision Targeting – Reach the right audiences. Use real-time health signals and behavioral insights to reach the most clinically relevant, engaged consumers and the HCPs most likely to treat them.
Omnichannel Execution – Deliver responsive messaging. Execute a smart media mix HCPs and consumers actually use, including display, CTV, OLV, native, and more, to ensure engagement regardless of where the audience is spending time. A smart media mix ensures you’re maximizing reach through non-endemic and endemic environments.
Measured Media Effectiveness – Measure what matters. Metrics like NRx lift, ROAS, HCP engagement, and deduplicated audience performance provide a full view of health journey impact.
Adaptive Optimizations – Use dynamic insights to drive data-driven adjustments to campaigns in real time, including fine-tuning messages, targeting, channel investments, and creatives to maximize performance.

When executed well, this HCP-to-DTC crosswalk improves marketing efficiency and directly influences patient outcomes and brand growth.

A Real-World Example of Impact

Butler/Till, a leading marketing agency, activated an HCP/DTC omnichannel campaign powered by PulsePoint’s health-first programmatic platform to elevate a gastroenterology brand facing low consumer awareness despite clear clinical advantages.

On the HCP side, the campaign focused on precision targeting and positive prescribing outcomes. Using PulsePoint’s DirectMatch™ technology, the team validated and reached individual HCPs with relevant prescribing activity. To expand beyond the existing target list, Clinical SmartLists™ were used to identify additional providers actively treating the condition or engaging with related brand content. Sequential messaging played a key role in nurturing HCP engagement, retargeting brand site visitors, and tailoring outreach based on behavioral signals to move them closer to prescribing action.

On the DTC side, the campaign centered on contextual relevance and intent-based targeting to drive consumer engagement. PulsePoint’s Health Pages and Health Populations (Plus) were used to identify high-intent users actively consuming condition-related content across the web. To further improve precision, the team built Bespoke Audiences™ using deidentified claims data, targeting audiences with a higher likelihood of condition prevalence. Campaign scale was expanded through integrations with leading third-party audience providers. Brand site visitors were also retargeted to reinforce awareness and deepen consideration along the path to action.

The result? Coordinated exposure met consumers in discovery mode and ensured HCPs were primed to prescribe, creating a powerful crosswalk and connected care journey that drove measurable impact through aligned engagement.

According to a leading independent pharma measurement firm, this integrated campaign delivered the largest NRx lift to date for the brand. It’s being touted as the most successful campaign in the brand’s history. In just six months (January–June 2024), the campaign showed significant scale and brand impact, delivering a positive ROAS of 4.32 across consumer audiences and 6.48 across provider audiences.

Curious what success looks like? Download the full case study here.

Why the HCP-to-DTC Crosswalk Matters More Than Ever

Healthcare journeys don’t unfold in silos. Patients research, providers prescribe, and, increasingly, their decisions influence one another. That’s why an aligned HCP-to-DTC strategy is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s essential.

When brands guide both sides of the prescription conversation, they build clinical confidence and consumer demand in tandem. With the right data, creative, and channels activated, marketers can deliver synchronized experiences that move audiences toward action. As the success of PulsePoint and Butler/Till’s campaign demonstrates, the most impactful healthcare strategies aren’t linear—they’re crosswalks. And when executed well, they lead to something far more powerful than engagement: measurable outcomes.

Amy Fieber

In our third annual report on the state of brand planning, EVERSANA surveyed nearly 100 brand planning executives across biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical devices. This year, we expanded our assessment by hosting 111 marketing leaders from around the globe at a client advisory board in Napa Valley, California, to hear firsthand about key advancements and persistent challenges in brand planning.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

While an impressive 87% of respondents reported that brand planning helped meet customer and business goals, one advisory board participant summed up the underlying frustrations quite well: “It feels like we are planning for nine months, then executing for three months.” We hypothesize that some sources of this disconnect in overall satisfaction with the outcomes can be explained through more detailed areas of discussion.

INCREASINGLY EFFECTIVE MEASUREMENT THROUGH DATA AND ANALYTICS

We observed significant year-over-year advancement in leader sentiment regarding data and analytics, with two-thirds not only believing in the effective measurement of success in terms of execution against the brand plan and market results, but also that data and advanced analytics played a growing role in achieving this. Our discussion with leaders revealed two drivers:

Leaders have increasingly been pressured through efficiency measures, in response to the macro environment (seen through operational expenditure and headcount rationalization), to demonstrate the value of marketing, medical and market access investments – forcing greater examination of the returns on these investments.
Client and service provider data and analytics platforms continue to mature, enabling more client organizations to turn metadata into timely and accurate insights.

PERSISTENT CHALLENGES WITH DIGITAL CAPABILITIES AND GENERATIVE AI

Surprisingly, we continue to see more than half of our industry’s leaders expressing concerns about being equipped and experienced to leverage digital capabilities, specifically generative AI. Upon further investigation, it appears that expectations here continue to grow exponentially from the boardroom and C-suite, even though partners are still in the early stages of adoption and struggling to keep pace with the hype.

PARTNER ROSTER: AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE OF DISCONTENT

Where we observed the lowest satisfaction from leaders and a steep decline over the last three years was in the belief that external partners (e.g., agencies, market researchers, consultants) collaborated effectively and integrated their contributions for the betterment of the brand plan. While the promise of consolidation – particularly in the agency segment of partners – has been to aid this, we continue to hear some clients are feeling uneasy about being forced into working with preferred vendors based on enterprise agreements while remaining on the hook for the outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Brand and portfolio leaders can often feel overwhelmed by the annual brand planning process, as well as the capabilities and partners required to ensure that cross-functional insights, strategy and execution will lead to projected results. In situations like these, EVERSANA’s Next-Generation Brand Planning can be leveraged to partner experienced strategic leads with brand teams to seamlessly and efficiently guide the process, assist integration and enable focus that drives business results.

Want to dive into the full results of our experts' research and its implications on brand planning? Contact the authors to learn more.

Sean Rapson

Biopharma companies face increasing challenges engaging patients, and patients face increasing challenges accessing timely, personalized, and convenient healthcare. Despite increased investment in product promotion, 1 in 4 patients still avoid seeking care and treatment because it’s inconvenient¹. This gap between patients and the care they need underscores an urgent call for innovative solutions that not only connect patients to care but also simplify their journey from diagnosis to treatment.

Patients expect more from biopharma. A 2025 research study by ixlayer and Ipsos found that 81% of survey respondents think that pharma companies should help them get the care and medicine they need.²

Configurable direct-to-patient (DTP) platforms are designed to bridge this divide. By connecting the disparate components of the healthcare ecosystem—patients, labs, providers, payments, prescriptions, and more—these platforms empower biopharma companies to support and elevate the patient experience across any therapeutic area.

Connecting the Dots Across the Patient Journey

A patient’s journey to care often involves navigating fragmented systems, unclear processes, and delays. The research shows that patients are increasingly looking to pharmaceutical organizations to streamline processes and help bridge barriers to care, ensuring patients receive the timely, personalized health services they deserve while reducing the administrative burden on healthcare stakeholders.

For biopharma companies, a well-executed DTP strategy means the ability to deliver a more effective and holistic patient experience. By offering a platform that unifies critical components of care delivery, pharma orgs will enhance patient engagement, and reduce barriers to care while keeping providers at the center of every decision.

Meeting consumer expectations for digital engagement improves their perception of biopharma

Patients are actively seeking more robust and personalized digital tools and virtual care options to help them get connected with the right care in a timely and affordable manner, and more than half of these consumers³ expect to be able to find the information they’re looking for in three clicks or less.

ixlayer’s survey of healthcare consumers across several condition areas found they are motivated to use digital healthcare tools like the ones found in DTP programs – and much more likely to think positively of the pharma companies that provide them.⁴ In fact, 65% simply expect pharma companies to be doing so already.⁵

Deploying an integrated, patient-centric experience

Crafting a thoughtful, high-value DTP program is no easy task, especially when pharma companies need to address so many complex challenges. As precision medicine and changing consumer demands add even more pressure to get it right, company leaders need to consider the best way to deploy industry-leading experiences that tick all the boxes for consumers across disparate health needs

A unified solution with a pre-built infrastructure that is completely configurable to meet unique brand needs may be the answer. It also drastically reduces the investment and internal resources required to get started on deploying a holistic consumer journey, from patient onboarding and diagnostics to telehealth services and prescription fulfillment.

With a platform solution, integration is assured from the start, and companies can easily launch a seamless, consistent experience for both patients and internal teams.

ixlayer’s platform, ixEngage, can assist pharma companies with launching and administering fully compliant DTP programs by providing the infrastructure needed for rapid deployment and a seamless, intuitive patient experience. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, platforms like ixEngage are setting the standard for direct-to-patient engagement, delivering on the promise of personalized, timely, and accessible care for all.

Footnotes:

¹ https://www.zs.com/insights/trends-shaping-pharmaceutical-landscape-2024-and-beyond

² ixInsights 2025 / Ipsos Patient research, Top 2 Box, Base All n=414 individuals with one of the following conditions: respiratory conditions, asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dermatologic conditions, psoriasis, or atopic dermatitis. – On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree, please rate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements: “Pharmaceutical companies should provide resources to patients to help them get the care and medicines they need.”

³ https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/reports/ connected-healthcare-consumer-report.pdf

⁴ ixInsights 2025 / Ipsos Patient research: If a digital health solution offered the following features, how likely would you be to use it?; If a biopharma company were to offer a digital solution with the following attributes how, if at all, would it change your perception of the company? Top 2 Box Base All: n=414 individuals with one of the following conditions: respiratory conditions, asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dermatologic conditions, psoriasis, or atopic dermatitis.

⁵ ixInsights 2025 / Ipsos Patient research, Top 2 Box, Base All n=414 individuals with one of the following conditions: respiratory conditions, asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dermatologic conditions, psoriasis, or atopic dermatitis. – On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree, please rate how much you agree or disagree with the following statements: “I expect a pharmaceutical company to provide additional resources to help me get the care and medication I need.”

Matthew Walsh

Health and wellness marketers have no shortage of challenges. Staying relevant with health-conscious consumers. Navigating strict compliance regulations. Finding ways to stand out and connect with the right consumer in a stacked marketplace – to name a few.

The rewards are there, though, for brands who can break through. The $1.8 trillion global health and wellness market¹ only continues to grow. And many of those consumers are turning to the powerful influence of weather to make their health and wellness decisions. That’s one reason why we recently modernized and enhanced The Weather Channel app user experience as well as our AI-powered ad tech and back-end data modeling with an extra emphasis on health and well-being. Which brings health and wellness marketers a unique and relevant set of advertising solutions to fuel brand relevance and growth.

Unpacking the weather-wellness connection

The connection is clear: Habitually checking the weather informs more than how to dress for the elements. Recent research shows that weather inspires action to minimize illness, manage symptoms, and maximize time outside; offers a sense of control on quality of life; and guides purchases to maintain a healthy lifestyle. According to consumers in the study:

88% are focusing more on health and wellness in recent years²
76% use weather information to manage their health, up 33% since 2020²
73% are more concerned this year than previous years about at least one health condition²

The go-to health and wellness marketing partner

Your customers realize weather’s impact, so meet them where they are. Trusted, accurate data, innovative AI in weather prediction, and brand-safe, contextually relevant content from The Weather Company, place your brand in the direct path of qualified audiences and their health decisions. Additionally, by understanding the effect of weather on consumer spending, we can better tailor our advertising strategies to influence purchasing decisions that are directly related to health and wellness.

Better accuracy, better engagement, better performance

A constant companion, weather influences daily habits and decisions, sunrise to sunset. But not all weather forecasts are equal. Or accurate. Not only are we the most accurate forecaster³ and one of America's most trusted brands,⁴ The Weather Channel is the preferred weather source used by health-conscious consumers to manage health across all conditions.

76% choose The Weather Channel over a competitor².

Since launching new wellness features in The Weather Channel app, we’ve seen 3x higher clicks into our wellness forecast experiences.⁵ In fact, compared to the legacy app experience, we’re already seeing:

11% more stickiness⁵
10% more page views per visit⁵
8% increase in time spent per daily active user⁵

This preference for, and engagement with, our digital channels means more reach and a higher likelihood of campaign success. But beyond the lure of our new features, the instability and volatility of Mother Nature herself means more eyeballs, more often, on the forecast.

IQVIA-validated health audiences

IQVIA, a leader in healthcare intelligence, utilizes rich prescription data to provide insights into the types of visitors on digital platforms. Our new IQVIA partnership has validated that The Weather Channel's platforms effectively reach qualified health audiences across over 60 health conditions. Notably, we connect with 47% of U.S. psoriasis patients, which over indexes the general population by 32%.⁶ This collaboration validates our ability to deliver health content to audiences most likely to be treating health conditions and wanting to learn about weather’s impact on their symptoms.

Brand-safe sponsorships

Get your brand seen in the well-placed context of weather information and health resources through sponsorships on our digital properties.

Content sponsorships: With the latest enhancements to The Weather Channel app, we’ve re-imagined the experience to emphasize the weather-to-wellness connection. New editorial sponsorship opportunities help you align your brand with premium, health-related articles and video content created by award-winning journalists and verified by medical reviewers. Trusted advice and resources cover psoriasis, eczema, weight loss, type 2 diabetes, asthma, COPD, arthritis, stress management, aches and pains, and migraines.

Forecast sponsorships: Health-conscious consumers have access to a range of customized forecasts and tools designed for allergies, skin care, colds and flu, and respiratory health. These forecasts use weather data, AI, and insights to help predict how symptoms might change in the coming days and week.

69% check weather proactively for preventative health measures²

We put weather into action to give your audience information and insights that help them ultimately live healthier, happier, safer, and smarter.

Anticipate consumer needs with actionable data signals

By using weather data to inform when and where consumers’ health will be impacted, health marketers can tap into unified, scaled, and predictive signals to help to find and connect with qualified audiences and influence health outcomes.

Weather Targeting

Deliver hyperlocal, targeted, personalized health ads by leveraging an intelligent mix of weather data and health data, including:

OTC/prescription sales from IQVIA
Anonymized patient reports and aggregated insurance claims reports from Merative
Weather science to identify the optimal mix of environmental elements most likely to exacerbate health conditions at a ZIP code level

Audience Targeting

In healthcare marketing, privacy is paramount. Find and connect with your audience using demographic look-alikes with a propensity for specific conditions. These representative audience models are based on:

Behaviors and insights from The Weather Channel digital properties, including site interests and frequent locations viewed
Anonymized health claims data
CDC and other third-party sources

360M+ monthly global The Weather Channel app users⁶

Beyond the marketing department

Make weather your business. The Weather Company can help you improve strategies, operations, and profitability across the enterprise. Yes, the same company that uses meteorological expertise and technology to help keep billions of people safe and informed about the weather also helps thousands of businesses increase the bottom line.

Weather Engine™

Help your business adapt quickly and make informed decisions that account for weather impacts. Powered by proprietary AI and machine learning, our Weather Engine helps you take advantage of large, analytics-driven insights across internal processes and consumer-facing touchpoints.

Weather data APIs

Integrate reliable weather data directly into your enterprise applications, business processes, or own custom models. Both weather data and insights are available via APIs with flexible integration services.

Competitive advantage is in the forecast

The influence of weather on daily health and wellness choices isn’t slowing down. Marketers need ways to stand out in a crowded, challenging market. Fortunately, as weather, data, and health continue to intersect, you can trust The Weather Company’s advertising solutions to help you create purposeful, relevant connections and better outcomes for both consumers and your business.

View footnote details+

1 The trends defining the $1.8 trillion global wellness market in 2024, McKinsey, January 16, 2024 Article

2 Weather and Health Impact Study, Sago for The Weather Company, health-affected consumers, March 2024

3 ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy Overview, 2017-2022, commissioned by The Weather Company

4 According to a Morning Consult Q1 2024 survey: The Weather Channel brand was the #13 most trusted brand in the US. The surveys were conducted from 1/1/2024 through 3/31/2024, among a nationally representative sample of 1,158 and 35,280 U.S. adults

5 Amplitude, April-July 2024

6 IQVIA Healthratings – MAT June 2024; Data is anonymized and based on 1 month IQVIA sample of TWC audience. TWC has no actual health knowledge of any individual audience member7 According to Comscore, The Weather Channel was the largest provider of weather forecasts worldwide (web and app) in 2022 based on the average of the total monthly unique visitors. Comscore Media Metrix®, Worldwide Rollup Media Trend, News/Information – Weather category incl. The [M] Weather Channel, The, Jan-Dec. 2022 avg

The Weather Company

Data is at the heart of pharma marketing—and the key to unlocking “right time, right place, right patient” strategies. In today’s highly competitive consumer landscape, it’s not enough to rely on broad demographics, lookalikes, cookies, or other generalized audience approaches. That’s why pharma brands and their agency partners look to real-world medical claims and other available data to build their audience lists for DTC campaigns based on brand eligibility criteria, past prescriptions, and more.

But many marketers overlook (or have come to accept) a key limitation: the inherent data lag in many common sources. For example, real-world claims data can take up to three months to become available. That means your audience segmentations and priorities may not reflect a true picture of the patient landscape at campaign kickoff. This opens the door to four hidden risks that could derail your campaign success.

Risk 1: Patient Journey Misalignment

Pharma companies often design their marketing strategies to reach patients during specific stages of their healthcare journey—whether it's raising awareness at the onset of symptoms, targeting those who are newly diagnosed, or providing options as patients seek new treatments for chronic conditions. When audience data is stale, marketing efforts are most likely directed toward the wrong audience at the wrong time, reducing impact and conversion.

Risk 2: Missed Eligibility Windows

In fast-moving therapeutic areas like oncology, cardiology, or rare diseases, delayed outreach leads to missed opportunities to engage with patients when they are actively seeking or are receptive to treatment options. Patients who could benefit from earlier intervention may have already moved on to other therapies or, worse, the communication may come too late—when they may no longer be eligible for a potentially life-changing treatment.

Risk 3: Competitive Loss

With multiple pharma brands often vying for the same pool of patients, failing to find and reach qualified patients in a timely way can cost brands the chance to convert patients in immediate need of treatment, and opens the door for competitors to step in.

Risk 4: Reduced Commercial Impact

Mistimed or misdirected marketing doesn’t just lower NRx rates, but also can result in fewer prescriptions attributed to marketing activity. While outside perception is that pharma marketing budgets are unlimited, the reality is that media spending continues to be heavily scrutinized, and less-than-efficient marketing can threaten future budget allocations.

And these risks aren’t just to your marketing metrics. Failing to connect with your eligible patients, when they have the opportunity to convert to your brand, means marketers miss the chance to educate and empower patients as they navigate an increasingly complex healthcare landscape. And it bears repeating, it also means that patients may miss out on potentially life-changing therapies. But thanks to a combination of human ingenuity, a passion for better health, and yes, AI, there’s a safe and better way to target DTC programs. It’s called an adaptive audience.

What Are Adaptive Audiences?

Adaptive DTC audiences are audiences that automatically prioritize consumer segments throughout a campaign, based on the current volumes of brand-eligible patients. That means they stay fresh in a way that conventional approaches can’t. Instead of “dated” data, adaptive audiences use artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and human guidance to anticipate when patients are approaching brand eligibility and upcoming care visits.

As a result, media is always optimized to reach the segments with the greatest opportunity for brand conversion. It’s a dynamic approach that reflects patients’ evolving care needs. Here’s how adaptive audiences work:

Defining the Ideal Patient Profile: Like standard audience approaches, the first step in an adaptive audience is defining the target population— their conditions and comorbidities, current line of therapy, recent tests and lab values, their treating care team/specialties, and other clinical factors. But alongside standard features like specific ICD10 and NDC codes, it’s also critical to expand your viewpoint to include often-overlooked socioeconomic, behavioral, and media consumption data. After all, despite a common diagnosis, medication history, or clinical profile, every patient is an individual, shaped by their unique experiences.
Building a Predictive AI Model: Most conventional audiences stop after the first step – using their patient profile to “find” qualified individuals at campaign start, then prioritizing the segments with the greatest number of patients. Adaptive audiences take a different approach, turning the patient profile into a predictive model. By drawing on many of the same data resources, today’s AI-driven models can accurately predict patients’ future care milestones and upcoming HCP visits.
Linking Brand Signals to Hyper-Local Geographies: Once the predictive model is live, it constantly looks for brand eligibility signals, and links those signals to hyper-local geographies comprised of the 35M+ available zip-9s. Based on the desired refresh cadence, marketers can then prioritize the zip-9s with the greatest concentration of signals throughout the course of the campaign. This means media is always focused on the populations with the greatest opportunity for brand conversion—and the greatest treatment need. Because all data is de-identified, and the technology provides just the right amount of strategic “noise” in and around the zip-9, it’s a privacy-safe, compliant approach that doesn’t compromise precision.
Personalizing the Media Mix: Every consumer has their own media consumption habits. Rather than relying on demographic generalizations, adaptive audiences look at the preferred channel mix within each “activated” zip-9, then automatically select the most effective tactics from the available options. Again, AI plays a key role—allowing for channel selection to be optimized at scale, while personalized for consumer habits.
Ongoing Optimization: Because adaptive audiences are built with embedded AI and machine learning technology, they automatically grow “smarter” over time: refining the predictive model, signal identification, and media deployment based on the data generated from the campaign.

How Does 6x Script Lift Sound?

Taking an adaptive approach offers DTC marketers significant benefits, including increased media efficiency, greater audience penetration, and reduced impression waste. One under-diagnosed neurology brand saw a 75% boost in the number of qualified patients reached and a 92% jump in patient engagement.

But marketing impact is measured in new prescriptions (NRx), and it’s here that the difference is clear. Adaptive audiences drive an average of six times higher script lift than conventional, fixed audience segmentations. By automatically optimizing every media touchpoint for brand conversion, adaptive audiences help brands and consumers thrive in the ever-evolving treatment landscape. More patients receive care-relevant information aligned with their treatment needs, and pharma marketers can demonstrate greater commercial and revenue impact. That’s what we call a win-win, and the right way to be data-driven.

Learn more about OptimizeRx’s adaptive DTC audiences, powered by our Dynamic Audience Activation Platform and Micro-Neighborhood® Targeting technology.

admin

Pharmaceutical companies stand at the crossroads of a transformative era. Traditional product-centric approaches, once the cornerstone of most of pharma’s commercial strategies, are rapidly becoming obsolete. With the imminent patent cliff threatening revenues (The Healthcare Technology Report), fewer blockbusters projected to hit the market (MM&M Online), and intensified competition (Fierce Pharma), companies recognize the need to put customers front and center. Delivering a superior customer experience can significantly differentiate market leaders from laggards. This transformation isn’t merely a trend but a strategic imperative and a profound opportunity to create more value for all stakeholders. Here’s how we can seize this moment and redefine customer experience across the entire pharma value chain.

It Starts with Defining the Customer

In pharma, the definition of “customer” is multifaceted. Unlike other industries where the customer is the end consumer, pharma faces a unique challenge in identifying its primary customer. Is it healthcare providers, patients, regulators, payers, other stakeholders, or perhaps all of them? The primary customer definition varies significantly depending on the context. Companies must navigate this complex web of stakeholders, each with unique needs, expectations, and roles in the ecosystem. Therefore, a successful transition from product-centric to customer-centric strategies demands a new approach to customer engagement—one focused on enhancing the customer experience by intimately understanding the customer and addressing their nuanced needs.

Core Tenets of Superior Customer Experience

Once we’ve clearly identified our customer, connecting with them authentically to optimize their experience with the company is crucial. This requires embracing the core tenets of customer experience to craft unique engagement journeys for each customer.

Shift in Mindset: Customer experience is not new to pharma; however, with the traditional brand/product silos, customer experience still remains confined within the same product/brand silos. To create a genuinely differentiating experience, we need to break down the silos and elevate experience to the enterprise level. An enterprise is a sum of its portfolio brands. While there may be brand-specific strategies, from the customer’s perspective, in addition to the brand, they’re also interacting with the enterprise as a whole. Therefore, it’s imperative to think of customer experience holistically across all brands. Enterprise-level focus can organically leverage the halo from one brand to another and create a consistent and superior experience. This decoupling and shift in mindset is particularly relevant for multiproduct companies that engage with the same customer across different brands.
Understanding the Customer: A product-centric approach typically aims to ramp up engagement by simply adding more touchpoints across channels rather than optimizing the experience. In contrast, a customer-centric approach aiming to enhance experience focuses on customer journeys rather than disparate touchpoints to deeply understand customers. Companies must adopt an “outside-in” approach to truly grasp what matters. For example, in the case of an HCP, this involves putting the HCP’s needs and experiences at the forefront rather than focusing solely on the brand plan. The objective is to gain a deep understanding of the pivotal moments in the HCP’s journey that influence their overall experience, positive or negative. If the experience was poor, understanding the root cause will help develop an action plan.
In a recent client engagement, we found that some of the top prescribers in the category weren’t prescribing the client’s drug. The company had categorized them as “skeptics,” averse to prescribing the drug class in general. However, upon probing with a series of “why” questions through personal and digital channels, the root cause was found to be lack of accessible, patient-friendly educational material about the drug and patients’ previous negative experiences with drug switches. With this information uncovered, immediate steps were taken to develop patient-friendly materials, conduct educational webinars, offer targeted patient support and counseling, and connect patients to other patients that had switched. Within months, these prescribers were welcoming reps, requesting samples, and prescribing the drug, as the client had displayed an intent to address a genuine pain point in their practices. Therefore, by identifying and addressing these pivotal moments, we can create authentically meaningful solutions for each physician and enhance their experience with the company and the brand.
Create an Engagement Ecosystem: An authentic customer focus is built on an engagement ecosystem of personal and non-personal channels, with clear understanding of the relative impact of each channel on customer experience. The emphasis should be on creating an “ecosystem” where each channel works in concert with others along with seamless information feedback loops to deliver enhanced customer experience. An engagement ecosystem should decentralize customer ownership where reps are no longer expected to be the ultimate owner of customer relationships. Headquarter roles managing other channels in the ecosystem can own parts of the customer journey. This approach redefines the role of the most expensive channel, i.e., sales reps, so that reps focus on activities that they can uniquely add value to—building trust and relationships by effectively managing customer journeys. Currently, reps handle many low-value tasks that other channels can absorb. Tasks such as basic product information, samples/brochures/promotional materials management, routine HCP enquiries, educational updates, administrative and routine follow-ups, etc., can be handled by lower-cost personnel or non-personal promotion. Thus, leveraging omnichannel strategically to manage customer journeys with reps as key “experience orchestrators” signals customer centricity. Additionally, a lot of contextual client intelligence lies with reps. Tech solutions should be leveraged to capture the invaluable, unstructured intelligence residing with reps and integrate it with intelligence gathered across other channels to create holistic customer views and journeys.
Harmonization Trumps Optimization: The success of any engagement ecosystem depends on carefully crafted omnichannel strategies. While we inevitably lean towards omnichannel today, far too many commercial teams are stuck optimizing touchpoints and customer experiences within a channel. Harmonization suggests that we pay more attention to an individual’s behavioral evolution occurring throughout the engagement ecosystem rather than being fixated on the acute performance of a specific channel. Harmonization cultivates the sustained and cumulative effect of an omnichannel experience, whereas optimization subjugates the experience to the iterative and incremental retooling of a channel. This isn’t to say optimization isn’t important—rather it is simply overweighted relative to harmonization, which runs the risk of creating high-performance touchpoints within a dull, disconnected, ineffective experience.
Create Customer-Centric Metrics: Finally, for any customer-centric strategy to succeed, success KPIs must shift from product metrics such as sales, product volumes, product adoption, etc., to more customer-centric metrics such as customer experience, customer satisfaction, and patient outcomes. While product metrics should remain within the performance calculus, they should be assessed in the context of customer metrics and the larger customer journey.

Strategic Execution

Many companies falter when it comes to the execution of a customer-centric strategy. The transition from strategy to implementation requires a holistic approach:

Break Down Silos: Cross-functional collaboration is essential. Sales, marketing, medical, and account teams must work together with a singular focus on creating a cohesive and unified customer experience.
Cultural and Structural Transformation: Adopting a customer-centric mindset requires changes at all levels of the organization. This shift includes upskilling employees, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and realigning incentives to focus on customer outcomes rather than sales metrics. A cultural movement towards customer-centricity must be championed at all levels of the organization.
Invest in Technology and Analytics: Advanced analytics and AI are table stakes for understanding customer journeys at scale and harmonizing omnichannel to deliver on the customer experience promise. Investing in technology, advanced data integration and management platforms, robust CRM systems, marketing automation tools, etc., is crucial for implementing these capabilities at scale.
Co-Creation with Customers: Engaging customers in developing solutions ensures that their needs are met more accurately. Throughout the process, customers can be involved in participatory design sessions, pilot-testing prototypes, and iterative feedback loops to refine offerings.

Putting customers first isn’t just a theoretical idea, it’s a practical necessity. By fostering a customer-first mindset and prioritizing customer experience and satisfaction, pharma companies can drive sustainable growth and catalyze better outcomes for patients, HCPs, and other stakeholders.

Vipul Shrivastava

k9ttyk1t_A_conceptual_digital_illustration_representing_trust_f0fb4d6b-472b-416a-af85-ce41855496eb_1.png

A Shifting Landscape

This morning, you woke up with a mysterious rash. You inspect it, assess your symptoms, ponder it, and then, if you’re like the vast majority of Americans … you Google it. With the internet at your fingertips, information comes at you fast and furious. And with the rise of user-created content on social media platforms served up in bite-sized portions, that information is more accessible—and influential—than ever.

But despite this wellspring of wellness content, many consumers remain wary of misinformation from social influencers. And doctors agree that it’s wise to think twice before you like and subscribe: For example, a 2024 study in Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery found that “most nonmedical influencer-posted TikTok videos about sinusitis are inaccurate, despite being portrayed as medical advice/educational.”

WebMD and The Harris Poll engaged 2,005 U.S. adults in an online survey in April 2024 to learn more about their attitudes toward the health information they get online and via social media platforms. This data can guide best practices for marketers seeking to understand the key question: Who do consumers gravitate toward and hold in high regard for medical advice?

The bottom line: Reliability, transparency, privacy, and trust guide consumers’ clicks when it comes to health content.

1 in 4 Adults Say They Trust Health Information Less Over the Past Year

Searched the Internet for Health-Related Information in the Past 12 Months

88% Total Adults

96% *Pharma Info Seekers

Mean: 11 Times

*Consumers who have sought information on over-the-counter medication, prescription medication, disease symptoms, or immunizations/vaccines on a website.

Trust Trends

Poll data shows that compared to last year, more pharma info seekers frequently rely on health information from health-related and news sites than social media platforms. Overall trust in online health information has dropped, primarily driven by misinformation on social. What specifically is eroding pharma info seekers’ trust?

35% say anyone can post content and claim to be a professional, even if they aren’t.

33% say they don’t know if people are telling the truth or being paid to promote things.

30% say it’s hard to determine what’s true and what’s false.

Privacy concerns are also paramount. As new state privacy regulations continue to take
effect, consumers have increasingly questioned influencers’ and social media platforms’
ability to protect their personal information. For many, opening the door to targeted ads
that concentrate on their chronic condition, for example, is a turnoff.

Privacy Concerns Also Aligned With Perceptions Around Ad Targeting

Attitude Among Pharma Info Seekers Toward Health-Related Advertisements

Top 2 Box % Somewhat/Strongly Agree

75% “When I’m on social media, I don’t want to see ads reminding me of my health conditions.”

68% “I would prefer a random ad not based on my personal or demographic data.”

Under the Influence

Despite the deluge of health and wellness content, pharma info seekers are much more likely
to follow food, exercise, lifestyle, gaming, and travel accounts than those with a medical focus.
Only 15% of pharma info seekers follow medical professionals, while only 12% follow accounts for special health conditions.

The creators they trust enough to follow attract them with three characteristics:

They’re a medical professional.
They’re a real expert in the field.
They include references and citations.

Clickers are picky for a reason:

68% of pharma info seekers say they often encounter claims that appear to lack medical or scientific review or are from someone with no true credentials.

Most Say Influencers And Creators Are Unreliable Sources of Health-Related Information

Attitude Among Pharma Info Seekers Toward Health-Related Advertisements

Top 2 Box % Somewhat/Strongly Agree

85% “Social media influencers/creators are not reliable sources of health-related information.”

76% “I am skeptical of a brand or product if a social media influencer/creator is endorsing it.”

Embrace Evolution + Keep Facts at the Forefront

Where We Are:

Social media platforms aren’t going anywhere. Neither are consumers’ desires to seek out advice and education about their chronic conditions. And people want trustworthy, discreet, sound information from experts as they scroll. Despite the rise of health information circulated in social media platforms and from influencers, pharma info seekers are relying more on health websites as a trusted source of health information, with a trust level 3 times higher than social media platforms or influencers. Context is critical for pharma messaging. Pharma info seekers don’t like to be reminded about their conditions when on social media platforms and are averse to being targeted by brands using their personal data.

Health websites have a trust level 3 times higher than social media platforms or influencers.

Where We Go From Here:

Leverage the platforms in use in the language of the user without compromising sound science, says WebMD Chief Medical Officer John Whyte, MD, MPH.

“Less is more. Too often, content providers overwhelm patients with too much information. Instead, they need to focus on nuggets of information. The most successful influencers often create content that is brief in nature, given the attention span of users in those platforms. They then build a following, where people come back to learn more.”

The research was conducted online in the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of WebMD Corporation among 2,005 adults ages 18 and over who reside in the U.S. The survey was conducted April 11–22, 2024.

Data are weighted where necessary by age by gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, employment, household income, and political party affiliation to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within ± 2.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.

admin

In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, Nimble has emerged as a pivotal solution for pharmacies and Life Science companies aiming to achieve sustained growth through enhanced retention.

With its integrated technology platform, Nimble not only streamlines pharmacy operations but also unlocks significant revenue opportunities for Life Science companies by reaching millions of high-intent patients.

How Nimble Streamlines the Pharmacy Experience

At its core, Nimble simplifies the pharmacy experience for both pharmacies and their patients. By integrating directly with pharmacy systems, Nimble ensures optimized efficiency, convenience, and conversion for every transaction. This seamless integration leads to improved patient health outcomes and enables pharmacies to operate more effectively.

Beyond enhancing pharmacy workflows, Nimble’s approach opens new avenues for Life Science companies. By addressing challenges such as patient adherence, awareness, and abandonment, Nimble provides access to millions of patients actively managing their health, offering a unique opportunity to generate new revenue streams.

The Challenge: Lack of Access to High-Intent Audiences

Current industry solutions often fail to connect with high-intent audiences, resulting in poor engagement, lack of retention, and negative health outcomes. The financial implications of this gap are staggering, with $77 billion lost annually in pharmaceutical revenue.

Beyond stagnating engagement, adherence is also a key struggle for today’s Life Science companies. 50% of new prescriptions are never filled, and 25% of medications are not taken as prescribed. This non-adherence contributes to chronic disease treatment failures, unnecessary hospitalizations, and billions in lost revenue for the pharmaceutical industry.

Nimble’s Three-Pronged Solution: Adherence, Abandonment, and Awareness

Adherence: Keeping Patients on Track

Adherence is a cornerstone of Nimble’s solution. By identifying potential drop-off points in real time, Nimble offers timely interventions to improve adherence rates, leading to better health outcomes and increased revenue.

By processing the entire transaction, we pinpoint exact drop-off points, enabling timely interventions that keep patients on track, resulting in better health outcomes and increased revenue.

Subscription Offerings: Patients are offered options to subscribe to automated refills several times throughout their journey, with optimized time between refills
Enhanced Refill Reminders: Patients who do not select a subscription are offered enhanced refill reminders to improve adherence
Patient Education: Customized patient education materials can be co-created to drive engagement and adherence

The Nimble Adherence Advantage

Unlike traditional adherence campaigns, Nimble’s full transaction visibility enables precise identification of drop-off points, ensuring timely interventions and driving improved adherence.

In fact, by month 12 in a NimbleRx Adherence Program, refills typically increase by a ~2-3x baseline.

Abandonment: Reducing Abandonment with Precision Targeting

Increase first-fill conversion with custom, integrated programs that leverage full transaction data and first-party data to ensure messages are delivered at the right moment to impact first-fill conversion.

Increased Messaging: Omnichannel messaging to reach patients in the right place at the right time.
Custom Emails: Using our deep integration with pharmacy systems we craft custom emails tailored to each patient's unique journey.
In-App Ads: Precisely targeted in-app ads that are seamlessly integrated into the patient experience.

The Nimble Abandonment Advantage

Today’s patients often face confusion about their medications, leading to abandonment. With Nimble, personalized, real-time content delivery ensures higher engagement, improved adherence, and reduced healthcare costs.

Combined, Nimble’s abandonment programs can lead to increases of 3-5% in New to Brand Prescriptions

Awareness: Elevating Patient Education

Nimble’s awareness solutions can help your brand become a performance marketing powerhouse. Our data-driven approach reduces wasted ad spend and increases marketing effectiveness by ensuring better-informed patients, leading to higher engagement and more effective treatment adherence.

Checkout Ads: Checkout ads are strategically placed at the point of purchase, ensuring your brand captures patient attention when they're most engaged.
Custom Emails: Using our deep integration with pharmacy systems we craft custom emails tailored to each patient's unique journey.
In-App Ads: Precisely targeted in-app ads that are seamlessly integrated into the patient experience.
Enhanced Targeting: By analyzing patient behavior, preferences, and health needs, we deliver personalized content and ads that resonate with each individual.

The Nimble Awareness Advantage

Broad targeting in pharmaceutical ads often results in missed opportunities and wasted ad spend. Conversely with Nimble, data-driven, real-time education reduces wasted ad spend, increases marketing effectiveness, and ensures better-informed patients, enhancing engagement and adherence.

An investment in Nimble’s Ad campaigns consistently outperforms other options. Our clients see strong open and click-through rates, ~2x industry averages.

Nimble’s platform provides real-time, scalable insights into patient behavior and engagement, enabling precise and timely interventions. With the ability to scale as needed, Nimble delivers immediate, impactful results for both pharmacies and Life Science companies.

If you’d like to learn more about our offerings and how to partner with us, contact bd@nimblerx.com or call 201.349.4102 to book a meeting.

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Sponsored Content

About 29 million people in the United States rely on community-based organizations (CBOs), which provide care to low-income and uninsured patients, often living with infectious disease including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C [9]. Since the onset of the HIV epidemic, community-based organizations have proved vital to the United States’ HIV prevention efforts, delivering the most effective HIV prevention strategies to those who need them the most and are at the greatest risk of infection [1]. As the U.S. continues to battle COVID-19, community-based organizations are facing unprecedented demands to combat COVID-19 while continuing to deliver essential HIV prevention and treatment services [2].

According to Kelsey Louie, GMHC, CEO:

“COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges for GMHC in ensuring that we could sustain our services for our clients during the pandemic. We pivoted many of our programs to remote delivery using video conferencing and implemented at-home HIV testing so these vital services could continue to be accessible to our communities. The new technologies that we have embraced during COVID-19 including telehealth and Mesmerize’s patient education platform, will continue to be vital parts of our programming well after the pandemic ends.”

Many CBOs shared case studies demonstrating the impact of COVID-19 on their organizations at the 2020 United States Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA). Here are 5 ways COVID-19 affects community-based organizations and their efforts to end the country’s HIV epidemic:

1. Testing is the only way to know if you have HIV. If everyone knew their status, we could protect ourselves and each other, bringing us closer to ending the epidemic. As a result of COVID-19, however, community-based organizations were forced to think outside of the box to maintain client access to essential HIV prevention and care services including HIV, Hepatitis C (HCV) and STI testing.

Community-based organizations that have been providing long-standing and proven-effective HIV, HCV and STI testing to communities at risk have had to change their standard testing procedures to continue providing these vital services while also addressing COVID-19 [6]. As a result of COVID-19, most CBOs were forced to change their traditional methods of care to continue in-person appointments while prioritizing the safety of their staff and clients and preventing the transmission of COVID-19. Changes to care included pre-screening prior to scheduling appointments, integrating HIV screening services into existing workflows, designating exam rooms to patients who are known to be at risk of COVID-19, and disinfecting all exams rooms after each appointment [5]. While there are options for at-home HIV testing, STI testing requiring bloodwork must be done by a practitioner on-site. CBO staff are working hard to ensure that newly diagnosed patients are immediately linked to treatment and existing patients are adhering to their medications, while simultaneously working to prevent an already vulnerable population from getting COVID-19.

2. Community-based organizations are working to address and integrate COVID-19 with their existing HIV, Hepatitis, and STI care and prevention programs. Their deep community roots and relationships make them uniquely equipped to handle the transition from protecting vulnerable populations from infectious disease to include COVID-19 as well.

CBO staff have reported adding COVID-19 work to their scope of usual services and are calling for additional resources to address emerging COVID-19 related needs among their clients [6]. Most organizations reported some level of involvement in COVID-19 related activities, including educating clients about COVID-19 risks and protective measures, conducting COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, and providing counseling and care for clients with COVID-19 [7]. Compared to the traditional doctor’s office, community-based organizations have deep community roots as well as strong expertise in addressing social supports such as mental and personal care within the communities they serve [10]. This makes CBOs uniquely positioned to transition their staff’s expertise from sexual health to general health and makes them well equipped to incorporate questions pertaining to COVID-19 concerns including mental health and wellness, social isolation and current events, into previously routine testing appointments [8]. Some organizations still reported the need for additional staff training and educational materials on COVID-19 to distribute to clients, which Mesmerize continues to provide to these organizations in conjunction with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) [7].

3. Community-based organizations have adopted and executed new measures and strategies to address COVID-19 related needs among their clients.

Many community-based organizations have adopted new strategies to continue providing quality service to the communities they serve. New strategies include digitizing client forms and medical records, as well as utilizing virtual care as an additional means for providing health education and counseling [6]. While the pace at which these organizations were able to execute such new strategies is remarkable, many reported needing additional resources to properly implement these strategies, including technical assistance to integrate COVID-19 within HIV, HCV and STI services, technology training, and structured clinical support for staff [7]. Additionally, while technology has been able to solve for some of the problems facing CBOs, there are many services these organizations provide to the community that must be addressed in-person, including STI testing, affordable housing, and meal services. In an effort to continue providing these essential in-person services, CBOs have had to purchase additional PPE for their staff, as well as hand sanitizer and masks for community distribution, requiring significant investment from these organizations [7].

4. CBOs have a history of facing financial challenges, with many organizations having few or no financial reserves, running persistent operating deficits, and having a lack of access to capital for investment in resources and technology [8]. Community based organizations have incurred immediate expenses connected to the COVID-19 epidemic [7].

Many community-based organizations have limited or no financial reserves, making them extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in expected revenue and cost levels [8]. COVID-19 has resulted in immediate expenses for CBOs, including the implementation of safety measures, infrastructure enhancement, and changes to their standard provision of services [7]. While many organizations were able to quickly and creatively implement new methods to continue providing quality HIV, HCV and STI care throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, these rapid enhancements require significant investment from CBOs, including investments in Electronic Health Records (EHR), computers, and hotspots [7]. Many organizations are tapping into their funds amidst the cancelling of fundraising events [7]. Even those with unrestricted funds are concerned about the long-term sustainability of implementing safety and procedural measures to address COVID-19 while continuing to provide foundational HIV and Hepatitis prevention and care services [6]. CBOs present at USCHA also expressed concern over their ability to strategically separate funds so that money reserved for HIV and Hepatitis prevention and care is not spent fighting COVID-19 [7]. Organizations are hopeful that the next round of government funding will provide valuable support for CBOs to continue providing these valuable services, while also offsetting some of the losses they’ve incurred fighting COVID-19, and better preparing them for the future.

5. While adopting new methods and strategies to simultaneously fight both the AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics has been costly, many CBOs believe these new practices are for the better of the organization and will be adopted long-term with lasting impact.

Many CBOs invested in technology upgrades, provision of virtual services, and HIV/HVC/STI program adaptation to continue providing essential services to their clients while simultaneously navigating new measures in place to address COVID-19. While COVID-19 has created unprecedented and numerous challenges to community-based organizations, The Stronger Together Partnership (comprised of The Black AIDS Institute, San Francisco Community Health Center and Latino Commission on AIDS) applauds these organizations for their ability to “take on the challenges by implementing team approaches to problem solving, embracing technological upgrades, and fostering innovation. Many leadership staff have identified lessons learned from this pandemic and are doing their best to see this as an opportunity to develop new strategies and expand their service portfolio” [6]. Many organizations also reported that the new strategies and measures put in place to respond to COVID-19 will prepare them for emergency responses in the future, allowing them to better serve their community and be prepared for whatever may impact them next.

Sources

[1] CDC NCHHSTP. “CDC Awards $216 Million to Community-Based Organizations to Deliver the Most-Effective HIV Prevention Strategies to Those in Greatest Need.” HIV.gov, 1 July 2015, www.hiv.gov/blog/cdc-awards-216-million-to-community-based-organizations-to-deliver-the-most-effective-hiv-prevention-strategies-to-those-in-greatest-need.

[2] “COVID-19 and HIV.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Aug. 2020, www.cdc.gov/hiv/covid-19/index.html.

[3] “The COVID-19 Pandemic's Impact of HIV and Hepatitis Programs.” NASTAD, NASTAD, 12 Aug. 2020, www.nastad.org/sites/default/files/resources/docs/covid19-impact-hiv-hepatitis-programs.pdf.

[4] Dreyfus, Susan, and Tracy Wareing Evans. “The Importance of Community-Based Organizations in Human Services.” Independent Sector, Independent Sector, 23 Jan. 2018, independentsector.org/news-post/the-importance-of-community-based-organizations-in-human-services/.

[5] Hadayia, Jennifer. “US Conference on HIV/AIDS.” Legacy Community Health, Expansion/Integration: HIV Testing & PrEP During a Pandemic, 19 Oct. 2020, vevents.virtualtradeshowhosting.com/event/USConferenceonHIVAIDS/en-us#!/Workshops/n820161. .

[6] Hucks-Ortiz, Christopher, et al. “COVID-19 National Rapid Assessment Preliminary Report: The Institutional Impact of COVID-19 on Organizations of Color Providing HIV/STI/HCV Services to People of Color across the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Island, and Affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions.” Institute for Latinx Health Equity, 2020, ilhe.org/stronger-together-partnership-c19-national-rapid-assessment-preliminary-report/.

[7] Hucks-Ortiz, Christopher, et al. “US Conference on HIV/AIDS.” Stronger Together Partnership (STP), Impact of COVID-19 on Organizations of Color Providing HIV/STI/HCV Services, 19 Oct. 2020, vevents.virtualtradeshowhosting.com/event/USConferenceonHIVAIDS/en-us#!/Workshops/n820161.

[8] Shaw, John, et al. “US Conference on HIV/AIDS.” The Project of Primary Healthcare, A New Normal: HIV/HCV/STI Testing during Covid-19, 20 Oct. 2020, vevents.virtualtradeshowhosting.com/event/USConferenceonHIVAIDS/en-us#!/Workshops/n820161.

[9] Stone, Will. “Under Financial Strain, Community Health Centers Ramp Up For Coronavirus Response.” NPR, NPR, 24 Mar. 2020, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/03/24/821027067/under-financial-strain-community-health-centers-ramp-up-for-coronavirus-response.

[10] Super, Nora Mary Kaschak Elizabeth, et al. “Health Care And Community-Based Organizations Have Finally Begun Partnering To Integrate Health And Long-Term Care: Health Affairs Blog.” Health Affairs, 2 Feb. 2018, www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20180130.620899/full/.

Samantha Brown

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