The totality of the healthcare ecosystem has evolved over the last few years under the crucible of COVID and rapid advances in technology, changing everything from consumer behavior to care delivery. It is an exciting time for everyone as we discover more ways to accompany patients and providers on these shifting health journeys. While uncertainty marks the broader marketing landscape, Point of Care (POC) continues to grow as a steadfast, impactful educational channel for connecting trusted information to patients and healthcare providers at critical moments.
As the Point of Care Marketing Association (POCMA) champions this vital channel, it also advocates for its growth, ensuring POC evolves to meet the moment and the people who depend on getting the right messaging at the right moment. Looking ahead to 2025, collaboration, innovation, and education are essential to driving industry growth, reducing friction, and delivering measurable value.
To illuminate the future of POC, we turned to Linda Ruschau (Chief Client Officer, PatientPoint), continuing POCMA co-chair; John Kenyon (SVP & Managing Director, Targeted Media Health at Dotdash Meredith), outgoing co-chair; and David Paragamian (CEO, Health Monitor Network), the association’s incoming co-chair. As veteran healthcare marketers, their collective insights highlight POC’s evolution into a foundational marketing strategy—one that drives patient outcomes, builds trust, and delivers measurable business value.
Trust, Innovation, and Industry Evolution
In an era where pharmaceutical industry trust faces challenges, Point of Care emerges as a critical channel for rebuilding confidence through education and authenticated information. Linda Ruschau passionately advocates for the industry’s role in advancing healthcare: “Pharmaceutical developments are saving people’s lives… 80 years ago if you were diagnosed with type one diabetes, your average life expectancy was six months. Now people live full, long, healthy lives because we have insulin.”
This evolution in healthcare delivery and communication comes at a crucial moment. “As a society we have started to devalue medical phenomena, and somehow Pharma has become the enemy,” Ruschau notes. “What I think Point of Care as a channel does, and has an opportunity and a responsibility to do, is really deliver that positive pharmaceutical messaging… in a responsible, credible environment and at the right time and place.”
Patient sophistication is also growing in the digital era. As David Paragamian, CEO of Health Monitor Network, observes, “When your next door neighbor can tell you what an mRNA vaccine is, the world has changed.” He points to how even broadcast advertising has evolved to accommodate this increased understanding: “We’re talking about the IL-23 mediated pathway in a broadcast television ad during a football game. That’s not just random copywriting. That’s because we know that patients are educated. They are informed.”
As patient sophistication grows, so too has the scope and impact of Point of Care marketing.
Point of Care as a Foundational Marketing Strategy
Once considered a static channel, POC has evolved into an essential part of an omnichannel experience that connects patients and healthcare providers across multiple touchpoints. For many, it is becoming a cornerstone of the larger healthcare marketing strategy.
Reflecting on POC’s evolution, David Paragamian notes: “Prior to COVID, many people thought that Point of Care was a magazine in a waiting room or a screen somewhere in a doctor’s office. Today, people realize that Point of Care is points of care all along the journey.”
Today, POC encompasses a wide array of touchpoints, from online symptom research and mobile messaging to waiting room materials, exam room digital screens, and post-appointment follow-ups, creating a seamless journey for patients. “We meet patients with educational information—and yes, brand messaging—on their computers, their mobile phones, at the pharmacy, and during follow-ups with caregivers,” Paragamian explains.
Kenyon underscores POC’s ability to connect with patients at a critical time: “When you’re engaging with your HCP, whether it be an NP, a PA, or an MD, that’s a sacred moment for messaging. It’s loaded with anxiety at the patient level and on the HCP level because of their workload and pressure. But the messaging at Point of Care needs to be authentic, credible, informative, and efficient.”
POC’s credibility and precision make it a natural foundation for omnichannel strategies. Paragamian reflects, “We’re finally turning the corner here, as we head into 2025, that it’s not going to be called omnichannel marketing anymore—it’s just going to be called marketing because, by definition, marketing must be omnichannel.”
POC’s expanding role has been enabled by significant advances in technology and careful integration of new tools.
Technology, AI, and Innovation in POC
The integration of artificial intelligence and technology in POC requires a balanced, thoughtful approach. Ruschau emphasizes the importance of curated content in AI, noting, “While physicians understand the role of AI, they’re very leery of it.” To address these concerns, she stresses the need for solutions-oriented innovation, advocating for AI tools that exclusively pull from curated, vetted sources of content to avoid unreliable information from the web. By prioritizing critical questions about responsible implementation, the POC industry can ensure both credibility and utility in its applications.
This emphasis on validated information directly addresses a growing concern among healthcare providers about misinformation. “A lot of doctors have never liked Doctor Google,” Ruschau explains. “Patients come in saying, ‘well, I googled it,’ and they’re suddenly skeptical that a doctor’s eight-year medical degree and 20 years of practicing can actually have a different opinion than what Google told them.”
As POC technology becomes more sophisticated and integral to broader marketing strategies, the need for standardized measurement and metrics becomes increasingly important to drive trust and adoption.
Standardization and Measurement
The industry has made significant strides in standardizing metrics and measurement approaches. John Kenyon, SVP & Managing Director at Targeted Health Media at Dotdash Meredith, highlights this evolution: “When I first joined the board… one of the first things that we did was a SWOT analysis. And that SWOT analysis revealed a couple of things that were pretty disturbing, and one of those was that many of the measurement approaches were not standardized.”
This push for standardization extends to education through initiatives like the POCMA Academy. “We decided, as an association, that we need to bear that burden of educating these upstarts on what it looks like, what Point of Care is, what you need to understand about it,” Kenyon explains. “We’re up to 12 different courses and 600 plus graduates from it, which doesn’t sound like a big number, but it’s a lot when you look at people that are being tasked with Point of Care plans.”
POCMA’s standardization efforts extend beyond metrics to ensure channel credibility and compliance. Through certification programs and education, the association ensures POC partners meet regulatory expectations while maintaining trust with patients, providers, and brands. This standardization becomes increasingly critical as the channel expands its reach and capabilities.
The Role of Caregivers in POC
For Linda Ruschau, POC’s impact extends beyond patients to a vital yet often overlooked audience: caregivers. “Caregivers are a critical audience, especially in oncology and chronic conditions,” she notes. “We have to ensure that the information provided helps caregivers support patients effectively, whether it’s understanding side effects or making treatment decisions.”
Caregivers play an essential role in the patient journey, and POC’s ability to engage this audience is a key differentiator. Ruschau explains, “Caregivers are often the ones ensuring treatments are followed, managing logistics, and addressing patients’ emotional and physical needs.” This is particularly critical in oncology, where caregivers frequently act as decision-makers or advocates, making their education and support a top priority.
“By delivering tailored messaging at the right moments, POC can empower caregivers to make informed choices for their loved ones. Whether it’s understanding a diagnosis or preparing for side effects, the information provided must be actionable and empathetic,” Ruschau adds. This caregiver-focused approach strengthens the overall support system for patients, ultimately improving outcomes.
This emphasis on caregivers highlights POC’s broader commitment to supporting all participants in the healthcare journey, starting with providers themselves.
Healthcare Provider Integration and Workflow
Understanding and respecting healthcare provider workflows is crucial to POC’s success. “We are guests in the physician’s office,” Ruschau emphasizes the responsibility channel partners have to deliver value in this sacrosanct messaging space. “If we can meet an unmet need, an unfulfilled need of the provider that is helping the patient become more efficient, helping them save time, helping them explain how medications are more affordable” then we are doing our jobs.
The importance of this provider-centric approach is heightened by the current healthcare environment. As Kenyon notes, POC operates in a context “loaded with anxiety at the patient level, and on the HCP level because of the workload and pressure that they’re under.” This makes POC’s role in managing. As Kenyon continues, “the lack of trust that we all have just in our daily lives even more critical.”
This provider-centric approach extends to how information is presented and shared. “Do doctors really want patients to have unmediated medical information or in-office URLs on a tablet? Do doctors want their patients linking out because that’s what pharma wants?” Ruschau questions. “The doctor may want it to be controlled content that helps them maintain control of patient understanding.”
This focus on provider workflow and patient education creates natural alignment with pharmaceutical industry goals, making POC an increasingly vital channel for healthcare communication that builds genuine trust.
The Role of Pharma in POC
The pharmaceutical industry is instrumental in POC’s evolution, using it as a hyper-targeted channel to deliver personalized, impactful messaging. “Point of Care is still a fraction of the overall marketing spend,” Ruschau notes, “but it delivers a return on investment by reaching the right people at the right time.”
Paragamian stresses the unique value POC provides: “The direct-to-patient communication that occurs at the Point of Care is something I have a high degree of personal enthusiasm for. We’re not interrupting—we’re participating in an important, trusted conversation.”
For pharma, POC offers unparalleled opportunities to connect with patients in meaningful ways. Ruschau highlights the industry’s adoption of data to identify those difficult to reach patients in the physician offices they visit, and across their healthcare journey.
Paragamian emphasizes that POC is also a vehicle for addressing the persistent challenge of health equity. “When we create tools like touch-scale sliders to show skin conditions on different tones, we’re fostering trust and inclusivity. This isn’t just marketing—it’s delivering value.”
As standards strengthen the foundation, innovation continues to drive POC’s evolution and expansion.
Innovation and the Patient Journey
Innovation has been a driving force behind POC’s transformation. The channel now incorporates advanced tools like AI-driven personalization, EHR integrations, and interactive digital screens to meet patients where they are and provide information that resonates. These innovations demonstrate how POC not only supports marketing goals but also enhances patient outcomes.
Ruschau describes a product using claims data and CPT codes to deliver highly targeted messaging: “It’s all de-identified, but it allows pharma companies to identify very specific patients who may need guidance or support. The messaging is mindful, relevant, and personalized—it’s one-to-one communication that empowers patients.”
Kenyon adds, “We’re reaching the most difficult audiences—HCPs on Do Not Call lists, patients with specific conditions—but we must continue to innovate to address operational complexities and ensure seamless delivery.”
The innovation is not only in the tactics and tools, but the brands looking toward Point of Care. The reach of POC continues to expand beyond traditional pharmaceutical marketing. “We work with OTC companies, med device companies, health systems and other institutions that have messages that need to get delivered to patients and healthcare professionals,” Paragamian notes. “The expansion of the offerings has made us an even more relevant channel to more constituents.”
While innovation drives growth, the channel must navigate a quickly transforming regulatory landscape.
Political and Regulatory Landscape
As the healthcare marketing landscape evolves, POC must navigate changing regulatory and political environments. “The industry has transformed exponentially in my career, it’s accelerated dramatically over the last year and a half,” Kenyon notes. “With this election that just went by, there’s going to be more changes now, or suggested and maybe not actually, that take place with DTC specifically.”
Proposed changes to DTC advertising, such as stricter requirements for transparency or limitations on content, could create new challenges for marketers. POC’s focus on educational, high-value content positions it well to adapt to these evolving regulations. “At the end of the day, no matter what happens, patients still have to talk to their HCPs about the rash on their shoulder. They have to be informed about their condition. They have to trust the doctor,” Kenyon explains.
POCMA plays a critical role in advocating for the channel’s growth and credibility amid these challenges. Through standardization, certification programs, and education, the association ensures POC partners meet regulatory expectations while maintaining trust with patients, providers, and brands.
POC’s innovations also expand beyond traditional pharmaceutical marketing. Tools like curated AI-driven content and real-time data applications help POC partners provide compliant, effective messaging. These advancements allow POC partners to help life sciences brands effectively engage not only patients but also caregivers, providers, and payers—key players in driving success across the care journey.
Navigating this dynamic regulatory landscape adds complexity to POC’s continued growth. However, the channel’s adaptability and trusted role within the care journey position it to remain a foundational element of healthcare marketing.
Overcoming Challenges
Despite its growth, POC still faces hurdles, particularly in proving ROI and addressing operational complexity. Paragamian explains, “Historically, modest POC spends didn’t do well in classic marketing mix modeling. But for clients investing significantly, the results are highly effective.”
The conversation around POC investment needs reframing. “I always avoid trying to label something as expensive or inexpensive,” says Paragamian, “I think it’s incumbent on us as communicators to share the value proposition. Here’s what we do; here’s what it delivers… Here’s how you measure it and get a return on your investment in whatever methodology you’re going to use.”
The adoption process itself presents unique challenges within healthcare organizations. As Kenyon explains, “The tiers to sell any Point of Care tactic is at least six tiers of decision makers that it has to go through, from the selling team to the brand team.” This complexity can slow adoption, particularly when “only about half of those tiers are knowledgeable about the real benefit.”
Kenyon underscores the importance of standardization to address these issues: “When I joined POCMA, impression counts and metrics varied widely. Standardizing these remains a critical direction to make it easier for agencies to evaluate vendors and buy confidently.”
Ruschau emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in budget allocation: “Pharma companies continue to invest heavily in TV, but POC delivers measurable returns by reaching the right people at the right time. It’s not about how many people you reach—it’s about reaching the right ones.”
Operational complexity remains a persistent challenge. Kenyon notes, “Agencies face immense pressure to build measurable campaigns, but POC’s nuances can make it difficult to recommend without deep expertise.”
Addressing these challenges requires industry-wide cooperation, making collaboration essential to POC’s continued evolution.
Collaboration and the Future of POC
Collaboration will be vital to POC’s continued growth. Paragamian, Kenyon, and Ruschau agree that POCMA plays a central role in fostering collaboration, educating stakeholders, and driving the channel’s evolution.
“Collaboration across vendors and platforms is essential to simplifying the complexity of POC and making it more accessible,” Kenyon says. “By creating streamlined processes and transparent metrics, we can reduce friction and unlock the full potential of this channel.”
Ruschau calls for a continued focus on patient-centered innovation: “Patients don’t want misaligned retargeting. They want messages that feel personalized, relevant, and trustworthy.”
Paragamian offers a vision for the future: “We’re finally at a point where POC is being recognized as foundational. As we move into 2025, the focus will be on continuing to integrate POC seamlessly into broader marketing strategies, ensuring it remains a cornerstone of healthcare communication.”
Final Thoughts
As healthcare continues to transform, Point of Care stands out as a vital channel for delivering trusted, impactful messaging to patients, caregivers, and providers. Through innovation, collaboration, and education, POC has transformed into a cornerstone of healthcare marketing, delivering measurable value and fostering trust among patients, caregivers, and providers.
With champions like Paragamian, Kenyon, and Ruschau leading the way, the future of POC looks bright—defined by a commitment to empowering patients, fostering collaboration, and driving better outcomes across the healthcare ecosystem.
