All of us have likely picked up a brochure or gazed intently at the television in the waiting or exam rooms of a medical visit, our minds focused keenly on our health. Yet, what does the data say about what patients and healthcare practitioners really want from healthcare information? Even if your POC messaging is reaching the right audience, it may not resonate in the right way.
A point of care—any healthcare context where patient care decisions are made—offers perhaps the most direct opportunity to reach patients and providers. Messaging in these spaces is focused and intersects with patients within their health journey, from hospital lobbies to local pharmacies to virtual health portals.
As healthcare consumer options expand, these points of care are growing in number and importance, connecting care across various health waypoints. Understanding what works is imperative for effective Point of Care strategies and broader healthcare marketing mixes.
To address health messaging effectiveness, ZS conducted research into Point of Care (POC) engagement on DTC channel mixes across therapy areas and diseases. In this article, we explore what the data reveals about POC’s value to healthcare audiences, and what pain points healthcare stakeholders can address to improve their strategies.
Overview of POC Study
ZS’s research delivers a comprehensive view of the POC channel’s impact, combining:
- Quantitative metrics on POC effectiveness in DTC channel mix across therapy areas and diseases
- Qualitative impact of POC messaging on both patients and physicians
The study focuses on three key areas:
- Campaign analysis: Examining ~90 marketing impact analyses across five therapy areas, identifying trends and patterns in POC effectiveness throughout various healthcare sectors.
- Healthcare Provider Perspectives: Gathering insights through 15 in-depth interviews with physicians who have POC messaging in their offices, spanning four therapy areas. These interviews reveal how POC messaging influences patient-provider interactions, decision-making processes, and patient adherence.
- Patient Experiences: Exploring perspectives from a 15-patient focus group exposed to POC messages in four disease areas. This qualitative approach uncovered patient experiences, perceptions, and the influence of POC messaging on their health-related behaviors and decisions.
By leveraging data triangulation across sources, ZS gained a comprehensive perspective on the effectiveness and improvement opportunities for the POC channel.
In the following sections, we will share key findings, exploring implications for healthcare marketers, providers, and other stakeholders. We’ll also discuss strategies to optimize POC messaging, meeting the needs and expectations of both patients and healthcare practitioners in today’s healthcare landscape.
A Little Point of Care Adds a Lot of TRX
The potent effect of Point of Care in Direct to Consumer marketing is laid bare in ZS research. When POC was added to television or digital campaigns, total prescriptions (TRx) increased by 6% to 8%. This significant uplift underscores Point of Care messaging’s critical role in pharmaceutical marketing strategies—and points at the potential benefits for all healthcare marketing initiatives that integrate Point of Care.
Keeping HCPs Engaged without in Person Reps
ZS’s research highlights the growing importance of POC messaging as traditional sales representative access to healthcare providers (HCPs) wanes. As of September 2023, pharmaceutical sales representatives’ access to physician’s offices remained at only 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
This decline isn’t just about reaching fewer physicians; it’s also about the diminished frequency and quality of interactions. Sales representatives are finding it harder to visit offices as often as before, and many interactions have shifted to virtual platforms. This change means that the traditional method of delivering materials and having in-person discussions with healthcare providers has been disrupted. Reaching physicians now relies on innovative tactics, like in-workflow messaging in Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
In this new context, POC messaging assumes a pivotal role. It must work harder to bridge the gap left by reduced sales rep visits. POC materials now act as a constant presence in healthcare settings, delivering key information to both patients and providers. They act as silent educators and reminders, maintaining a brand’s presence even when in-person interactions are limited.
Healthcare Providers on Point of Care: “Yes, and more”
The research revealed that healthcare providers view POC messaging positively, particularly those with multiple types of POC media in their offices (waiting room televisions, digital wallboards, posters, and brochures). Physicians reported several key benefits:
- Enhanced Patient Education: POC materials reinforce physician messages and improve health literacy, especially for patients with language barriers, cognitive challenges, or other accessibility concerns. Multi-channel reinforcement also aids with patient recall and keeps information top of mind.
- Supports Patient-Physician Interactions: POC materials initiate conversations about health-related matters, including conditions, treatments, and devices. This patient-enabled interaction is reported by physicians to enhance acceptance of physician recommendations.
- Visual Aids in Consultations: Physicians use POC materials to explain complex medical concepts, treatment options, or medication effects more effectively.
- Staff Support: POC messaging reduces the burden on office staff for patient education, allowing them to focus on other critical tasks.
- Diverse Engagement Options: Physicians appreciate having multiple formats (digital and print) to cater to different patient preferences and age groups, allowing more personalized patient engagement.
Interestingly, healthcare and pharmaceutical marketers may be leaving their audiences hungry. Healthcare providers expressed a desire for even more POC content, suggesting potential expansion into:
- Health and wellness information beyond specific conditions
- Clinical trial opportunities
- Insurance policy navigation support
- More detailed materials for patient consultations
- Post-consultation resources, such as QR codes linking to additional information
This feedback suggests that there’s room for innovation and expansion in POC messaging to better support both providers and patients throughout the healthcare journey. The patient focus group echoed this sentiment, revealing an audience hungry for more information across points of care.
Points that Matter: HCPs
“If they see a poster about something – like a treatment or a device – it makes them more receptive when I bring it up.”
“It offers patient education and information in a way that is auto-updated – my staff doesn’t have to do anything.”
“They can get more information on screens, in printed materials, posters, on TV. They can even have things sent to themselves through email.”
Patients Are Hungry for POC Messaging
The patient focus groups revealed valuable insights into how individuals interact with and perceive POC messaging. Overwhelmingly, patients expressed a desire for more, rather than less, content:
- Active Learning Mindset: Patients view healthcare visits as opportunities to learn and stay informed, actively engaging with POC materials as part of their healthcare experience rather than mere background noise.
- Trust in POC Content: Patients place a high level of trust in POC materials, perceiving them as vetted by healthcare professionals and more credibile than general online information.
- Catalyst for Discussions: POC messaging often prompts patients to initiate conversations with their physicians about new treatments or management strategies, sometimes leading to successful medication changes after discussing it with their doctor.
- Desire for Clarity and Simplicity: Patients strongly prefer content in simple, easy-to-understand terms, especially those newly diagnosed or dealing with complex conditions.
- Interest in New Treatments: Patients view POC materials as a valuable source for information on innovative treatments, appreciating the opportunity to stay informed about the latest options.
- Affordability Concerns: A recurring theme was the desire for more information on treatment costs and insurance coverage, with patients wanting more POC materials to directly address these anxiety-inducing concerns.
- Format Diversity: Patients value access to information in various formats, with preferences ranging from digital interfaces to print materials that can be easily shared with family members and caregivers.
Points that Matter: Patients
“I learn a lot of health information from what I see on the TV in the office. iPads, too. There is always something new and I like to stay up-to-date.”
“When they hand you something or it’s right there in the office, I know I can trust that.”
“I saw something on the wall, and I asked my doctor, and he switched me to the new medicine.”
Patient Pain Points Provide Opportunity
The ZS research uncovered several pain points that patients experience when interacting with healthcare information at points of care. These challenges present a clear opportunity for healthcare marketers to hone messaging and more impactfully meet patient needs:
- Complexity of Information: Patients struggle with scientific and complex terms in pharmaceutical materials. They crave easily understood content with simpler language and accessible explanations of medical concepts.
- Readability Concerns: Many patients, especially older individuals, find small font sizes and dense paragraphs challenging. Larger fonts and bullet points could significantly improve readability and comprehension.
- Limited Information on New Treatments: Patients are eager to learn about new treatment options but often find the information available in healthcare offices insufficient or outdated.
- Lack of Affordability Information: Anxiety about treatment costs, insurance coverage, and approval processes is common. Patients want more transparent and readily available information on these topics across POC resources.
- Desire for Comprehensive Disease Information: Patients seek more complete and accurate information about their conditions, beyond just treatment options.
- Need for Practical Guidance: Beyond clinical information, patients want realistic advice on how to manage their condition and return to normal activities.
- Limited Access to Information Post-Visit: Patients desire easy ways to access and share information after leaving the healthcare facility.
Points that Frustrate Patients
“Have more information for the patient. Explain their illness. It is so hard to find information that is complete and accurate."
“I had to switch medications twice because my insurance wouldn’t cover the ones my doctor prescribed. I ask questions and look for info, but nothing seems to be available.”
“Some of those [brochures] were confusing, they were on the pharmaceutical level. I barely understood what kidneys actually do, let alone all the medical speak.”
Key Takeaways and Practical Advice
If your marketing is on rails, it may also be in a rut. Expanding marketing mixes and reenergizing content along the ZS insights can revitalize healthcare engagement initiatives.
Whether a seasoned point of care strategist, or entering the channel for the first time, the ZS research provides valuable insights for enhancing DTC content effectiveness:
- Prioritize POC Integration: With a 6-8% boost in effectiveness, POC should be a key component of marketing campaigns, significantly impacting prescribing behavior.
- Bridge the Sales Rep Gap: As in-person visits decrease, use POC to deliver the detailed, up-to-date information traditionally provided by sales reps.
- Keep Content Fresh and Diversify: Regularly update materials and offer a mix of formats, including instructional videos for proper drug administration. Stale content can reduce engagement and effectiveness.
- Simplify and Clarify: Use plain language and visual aids to improve accessibility for all patients, especially aging populations.
- Tackle Affordability Head-On: Include information on costs, insurance coverage, and patient support programs to address a major patient concern that can potentially impact treatment decisions, Rx adoption, and adherence.
- Embrace Format Diversity: Offer a mix of digital and print materials, from traditional brochures to interactive digital displays and mobile-accessible content, catering to different preferences and age groups.
- Expand Content Scope: Broaden POC value by offering wellness tips, clinical trial information, post-consultation materials, and resources for understanding complex, multi-specialty care plans.
- Empower HCP-Patient Interactions: Provide materials that support consultations and offer realistic guidance on managing treatments and resuming normal activities, potentially boosting adherence.
- Leverage Trust Responsibly: Maintain the valuable asset of patient trust in POC materials through accurate, balanced, and helpful content.
- Enable Information Sharing: Facilitate post-visit access and care coordination through QR codes and shareable materials, supporting patients throughout their care journey.
- Humanize the Experience: Feature patient stories and invest in original content that leverages the powerful targeting available in the Point of Care channel, making the messaging more relatable and impactful.
Final Points
The ZS research clearly demonstrates the evolving value and impact of Point of Care messaging in the healthcare ecosystem. As the landscape continues to change, with reduced in-person interactions and increased reliance on digital communication, POC messaging presents a unique opportunity to engage both patients and healthcare providers effectively.
The demand in Direct-to-Consumer healthcare messaging is currently not being met. Providers and patients are clamoring for more, presenting marketers and brands with an opportunity to fill a crucial need rather than force-feed distracted audiences with diminishing returns from routined allocation to other channels. In healthcare, while revenue lift matters, the potential to elevate human life is even greater.
By addressing the needs and preferences highlighted in this study, healthcare marketers can optimize their POC strategies to improve patient outcomes, support healthcare providers, and enhance the overall effectiveness of their marketing efforts. The key lies in creating diverse, accessible, and trustworthy content that serves as a bridge between patients, providers, and health information. As the healthcare journey becomes increasingly complex, well-designed POC messaging can serve as a guiding light, helping to navigate the path to better health outcomes.
