How much time do you think HCPs and patients spend discussing a new prescription medication? Not as much as you think: Doctors and patients spend just 59 seconds discussing a new medication during an average 16-minute office visit, according to a study published in Patient Education and Counseling. Knowing that you have less than one minute to insert your brand into that treatment discussion, what should you say and how should you say it?

When seconds matter, it’s a brand’s challenge to equip providers with the information they need to have the most informed, productive conversations possible. While the ultimate objective is to help providers deliver the best patient care with the best treatment, brands are also focused on driving new and incremental scripts. Here are two key considerations to take to ensure HCPs and patients are discussing your brand during those precious 59 seconds.

Be Where They Are

We talk so much about empathy and patients, but how about our providers? Burnout is real. Approximately half of all U.S. physicians say they’re burned out. A quarter of a physician’s total work hours each week is consumed by paperwork.

While providers are important consumers of information, they are increasingly pressed for time. They need succinct, relevant information to stay up to date and help them provide high-quality care. Point of Care is the perfect channel to meet providers’ needs, especially when positioned in high-traffic clinical areas. Our back-office communication platform delivers HCP-focused content such as brand formulary coverage, clinical efficacy data, and vital prescribing information in an easy-to-digest, actionable way (think Bloomberg for docs meets a USA Today format)—that’s what marketers must do. Message providers in their daily practice where they can absorb and take information into the exam room with patients drives better results for providers, patients, and brands.

Make Their Job Easier

For Point of Care, it’s important to look at that space holistically and realize that messaging to patients and physicians must be integrated. Let’s say you’re promoting your brand to patients on an interactive exam room touchscreen. Great! Make sure you’re complementing that patient messaging with HCP-focused tools on that same touchscreen covering MOA, dosing, and instructions for requesting samples. And don’t forget about your Support and Savings offers. Our provider partners rank Support and Savings information as some of the top information brands can provide to help their daily practice.

Driving impact with HCPs starts by understanding their unique stressors and needs. The next step is to provide HCPs with the right resources when and where they’re needed to help them deliver the best-possible care—all while positioning your brand as the optimal treatment.

  • Linda Ruschau

    Linda Ruschau is Chief Client Officer at PatientPoint where she leads a national sales, marketing, and client service team that helps brands impact patient-physician dialogue and drive patient engagement at the point of care. As a 30-year advocate and recognized thought leader for point of care, Linda regularly shares her insights in industry publications and as a prominent speaker at events such as DTC National and Digital Pharma East.

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