The Essential Guide to Point of Care
Informed conversations where healthcare happens
- Educating patients
- Supporting providers
- Enabling shared decisions
Why Point of Care Matters
Point of Care (POC) fills a critical gap in healthcare communication. In an era of misinformation, longer wait times, and shorter healthcare provider visits, patients can arrive at or leave appointments with unanswered questions. This is where POC media, provided in print and digital formats makes a difference—providing educational information about key next steps in the patient and prescribing journey.
What is Point of Care?
Point of Care is defined as the moment a patient receives care via an interaction with a healthcare provider in a healthcare setting. Point of Care environments include doctors’ offices, pharmacies, hospitals or telehealth platforms.
Interactions at the POC help patients and providers understand and discuss conditions, treatment options, and next steps.
What is Point of Care Media?
Point of Care Media is targeted to patients, caregivers, and/or providers and is generally intended to be delivered before, during, and/or after an interaction at the POC with the goal of facilitating a discussion between Healthcare professionals and patients to improve patient outcomes.
84 %
Of patients value digital education materials provided by a doctor or hospital1
78 %
Of patients value brochures, posters, and other health education materials1
74 %
Of patients value digital screens or tablets1
70 %
Of patients value health-related television programs in a doctor's office or hospital1
What Point of Care Media looks like
Who interacts with Point of Care Media?
Patients
Patients receive trusted, context-specific education that supports a better understanding of conditions and treatments, encourages.
Healthcare providers
Healthcare providers (HCPs) gain valuable educational resources that support discussions with their patients.
Caregivers
Caregivers collect tools and information to support patients in managing conditions or navigating.
Point of Care by the numbers
Point of Care is one of the fastest-growing channels in healthcare marketing, with revenue up 171% since 2019 and 22% year-over-year growth.³
Patients increasingly engage with educational content where care happens.
60 %
Of patients research symptoms, treatments, or healthcare providers (HCPs) before visiting a HCP1
65 %
Of patients value take-home print materials from pharmacies1
58 %
Of patients say Point of Care media prompts meaningful conversations with their HCP1
Why messaging at the Point of Care matters
Reaching patients when it matters most
Point of Care (POC) media meets patients at key decision points—before and during healthcare provider (HCP) visits, and while filling medications.
Building trust and driving action
POC media is grounded in credible, medically reviewed content that patients and HCPs trust.
Delivering proven ROI for healthcare brands
POC drives results—in one Veeva Crossix study, POC accounted for 17% of new-to-brand prescription (NBRx) lift with just 2% of media investment.2
Case Study
The Effectiveness of Point of Care
When integrated with digital and television campaigns, Point of Care media significantly amplifies healthcare marketing performance.
A Veeva Crossix case study demonstrates how combining POC with other channels increases conversion efficiency and drives measurable patient action—highlighting the power of cross-channel exposure in modern healthcare media strategies.4
POC Academy
Watch videos that explain how Point of Care works across patient and healthcare provider journeys.
Glossary of Terms
The following are definitions for most of the common terminology used in the POC space and are the definitions to be used within all Point of Care Marketing Association auditing requirements
Sources
- M3 MI. (2024). 2024 MARS Consumer Health Study
- Point of Care Marketing Association (POCMA). “Point of Care Cross-Channel Impact.” https://pocmarketing.org/resources-insights/point-of-care-cross-channel-impact
- POCMA. (2024). Healthcare industry spending details. [Internal data] sourced POCMA member reporting
- Veeva Crossix, The Effectiveness of Point of Care: Case Study Analysis (2023), via POCMA