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Check the Pulse of Your Heart Health Marketing

August 17, 2017 0
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Every 42 seconds, someone in the US has a heart attack. Each minute, someone dies from a heart disease-related event.1

Even though heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US, many adults are uninformed of the causes, symptoms and proper treatment of heart-related conditions. In fact, according to PatientPoint research, over half of patients who are treated for heart health said their issues were unexpected. Further studies have found 70% of adults are not familiar with symptoms associated with heart disease.2

As these statistics reveal, the need for education and support materials for patients at the point of care is paramount – and critical to pharma companies’ success. Because if heart health isn’t top of mind for most adults, it’s likely your treatment isn’t, either. And with nearly half (47%) of cardiologists now restricted, gaining awareness among physicians is also a growing challenge.3

To ensure the right message is delivered to these heart “unhealthy” patients at the right time, PatientPoint conducts in-depth research in the space. Here’s a snapshot of patients who visited cardiologist offices installed with the PatientPoint Communicate – Cardiology Waiting Room Digital Screens Program:

  • Average age: 60 years
  • Gender: 60% female
  • Race: 79% white / Caucasian
  • Employment status: 59% retired
  • 42% are accompanied by another adult
  • 59% want to lose weight
  • Top conditions identified to be at risk for or diagnosed with: high blood pressure / hypertension (72%), high cholesterol (68%), arthritis (55%), heart disease (53%), heart attack or cardiac event (48%)

This information enables us to develop content specifically tailored to these conditions, gaining unprecedented positioning as a trusted consultant to our partners – clients, physicians and patients – to ensure their message makes the most impact at each important moment.

Let’s look at each of these points a little more closely:

  • Waiting room: Patients say the waiting room is often the most stressful part of their visit to the doctor. Reinforcing your brand message alongside easy-to-understand digital information regarding heart health, healthy living tips and personalized messages from the practice will put your brand top of mind right before patients visit with the doctor. Heart patients don’t want to hear about arthritis content. We speak the patient language.
  • Exam room: Once in the exam room, patients crave in-depth education. Interactive touchscreens bring health information to life, whether it’s through a personalized quiz, short article or a brand testimonial video. Once the doctor arrives, he’s likely to use the touchscreen to show the patient exactly what’s happening in her heart via full-color, 3D anatomical models. It’s here where your brand can provide the support and savings information to help guide discussions and, ultimately, decision-making.
  • After the visit: Because the risk factors for heart disease and stroke are directly related to lifestyle choices, continual engagement between provider, pharma company and patient is important to ensure treatment success. We know those age 45-64 (the common age range for the onset of many cardiovascular conditions) still see print as a valuable information resource,4 and including your message in brochures patients can take home and reference later will help reinforce your brand as part of the solution to living a longer, healthier life.

The scale of the cardiovascular market is driving greater demands of quality outcomes data. Providing the right education to patients and providers at the right moments will help pharma companies remove barriers to access and support long-term adherence.

 

References

  1. American Heart Association, 2015
  2. Cleveland Clinic survey, 2014
  3. ZS Associates, “AccessMonitor,” 2015 Executive Summary
  4. 2015 Two Sides North America

Linda Ruschau

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The Right Time and Right Place for Print

June 28, 2017 0
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As patient centricity continues to become the industry priority, the need to get the right information to the right patients at the right time in the right format is more important than ever—especially for pharma.

Our recent white paper touched on the disconnect patients feel with pharma companies. Today, only 9% of patients say pharma does all it can to help.1 That is, if these patients even know who the pharma companies are: Nearly 40% of patients don’t know any of the companies behind their treatments.2

I’d venture to guess, however, if pharma companies offered these patients the information they needed, in the format they desired, at each point in their healthcare journey, those stats would quickly change. They are for our clients, at least, who are leveraging a variety of our point-of-care solutions.

No marketing campaign is complete today unless it covers a variety of channels – digital, social, mobile and, yes, even print. We know different media will work more effectively for different demographics and different locations and different specialties. That’s why the PatientPoint solution set features the widest range of channels in the POC market; each is meant to maximize the meaningful impact pharma brands can have on patients.

Take, for instance, a 50-year-old man waiting to see his urologist. It’s unlikely he’s willing to grab a brochure on ED in front of others in the waiting room. But he will watch a digital screen displaying a segment on his condition. Once he gets into the exam room, we know he prefers more in-depth printed pieces he can read and refer to later when deciding on treatment.

How to communicate with your target audiences doesn’t need to be an either/or decision between print and digital. Both are perfect complements to each other – and both are necessary to a holistic, satisfactory patient experience.

That’s why I’m always surprised when I read articles declaring print as a communication of the past. It’s certainly not true in our industry – just ask our clients who are using our print program as part of their multi-channel marketing strategy and seeing great results (as in +12.5% incremental NRx).

Print remains a vital part of the patient experience and an important connecting point to both patients and physicians:

  • More than half of patients rank printed brochures or booklets that give disease or drug information as the most useful communication method3
  • 55% of HCPs say they rely on printed communications when talking with patients over any other form of communication4

Having your brand be a part of trusted materials a physician hands to his or her patients offers a unique level of credibility and implied endorsement. It also shows you’re considering many patients’ personal preferences, which will help relieve some of that disconnect patients are feeling, which I mentioned earlier.

In the end, what matters most is the experience created for patients. A communication strategy that combines a variety of media offering highly relevant, personalized content will ultimately power the greatest effectiveness.

 

References

  1. MM&M, “Patient Engagement: All Grown Up—Patient Engagement Comes of Age,” 2015
  2. Ed Miseta, “Patient Survey: Tech Use Up, Pharma Disconnect Remains,” Clinical Leader, 2017
  3. eyeforpharma/Health Perspectives Group report, 2017
  4. Marc Iskowitz, “In health education, providers prefer paper: study,” MM&M

 

Linda Ruschau

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