NYU Launches Healthcare Marketing and Communications Certificate
The NYU School of Professional Studies (SPS) Division of Programs in Business has begun its first semester of its new Certificate in Healthcare Marketing and Communications. Since the pandemic, the importance of healthcare communications has skyrocketed—this past October, eMarketer projected that the pharma and healthcare marketing industry would grow its digital advertising spend by over 14% in 2020 and 18% in 2021, more than any other sector besides computing products and consumer electronics.
NYU’s specialized certificate program is going to help rising talent meet the industry’s demand. Destry Sulkes, MD, an Executive Vice President at Klick Health, developed the curriculum in collaboration with Margie Kuo, a current NYU SPS faculty member and former marketing executive at Pfizer. The team built the curriculum around two foundation courses—The Evolving U.S. Healthcare Ecosystem and Healthcare Marketing and Communications Essential—both of which provide a thorough analysis of the healthcare ecosystem along with fundamental marketing and public relations skills and how they apply to the unique needs of healthcare. Additional courses expand upon how pharmaceuticals, medical devices, services, and healthcare technologies are developed, tested, approved, launched, delivered, regulated, and promoted in the rapidly evolving and highly regulated U.S. healthcare environment.
Having helped develop the curriculum, Dr. Sulkes is using his rich experience to teach in the program. He is intent on providing the most up-to-date and applicable skills to students so they are prepared for the workforce: “We help simplify the complexities of the highly regulated U.S. healthcare system and demonstrate how disruptive marketing approaches can help brands deliver breakthrough experiences and enhance patient outcomes,” Dr. Sulkes states.
“The newly launched Healthcare Marketing and Communications certificate takes a real-world, skills-based approach to educating professionals and helping them tap into a high-growth industry from day one,” Michael Diamond, Academic Director of the Department of Integrated Marketing and Communications, said in a statement. “For those who seek to up-skill their marketing and PR capabilities, or transition into healthcare marketing and communications, having the opportunity to learn from accomplished industry leaders and directly connect with them is invaluable in preparing our students for success.”
Partnership Enhances Voice-Enabled Home Healthcare
Carisk Partners, a care coordination company that focuses on technology solutions for catastrophically injured or home-bound patients, partnered with HandsFree Health, makers of WellBe. Together they’ve made WellBe into a HIPAA-compliant, voice-enabled home healthcare assistant.
“Keeping patients motivated and fully engaged in their recovery process can be one of the most important aspects of an integrated treatment approach,” says Alana Letourneau, MD, MBA, Chief Clinical Strategy Officer, Carisk Partners. “The WellBe voice-activated digital assistant fosters independence and empowerment in patients with severe mobility impairments from the comfort of their homes.”
The goal of WellBe is to help any patient access their medical resources in the easiest way possible—by simply asking. As a leader in healthcare voice technology, the company designed the device to allow patients to contact their care team or access emergency services in a hands-free environment. WellBe offers medication and appointment reminders, and access to a health database ensuring patients, families, and caregivers get answers to their medical questions from reliable, evidence-based sources. It also integrates with smartphones to allow Carisk clinicians to connect patients with resources and support tailored to their needs. The system also features a wearable watch that is also voice-enabled as well as connection to other smart-home appliances.
“Driving the utilization of assistive technologies that make the delivery of personal care services cost-effective and efficient is core to our strategy,” says Joseph Berardo, Jr., CEO, Carisk Partners. The partners are especially excited to announce the technology’s ability to remind patients about their COVID-19 vaccine appointments, which is particularly important for the two-dose vaccine.
Medisafe Earns Digital Healthcare Awards
Medisafe, a leading medication management solutions provider, was recognized with a Best Medication Reminder App award by OnlineDoctor.com and as a Platinum Award Winner for AVA Digital Awards “App for Medical” category. Medisafe’s app was examined for its ability to deliver optimal platform accessibility, service availability, and communication methods by OnllineDoctor.com, a trusted source for content and information about online medical and healthcare services. Meanwhile, the AVA Awards, judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), gave Medisafe’s app the highest honor in its category. The app was recognized out of 200,000 entrants for its creative concepts, direction, design, and production that supports digital communication channels. The Medisafe platform was selected for its ability to digitally support patients throughout their medication journey with medication-specific, branded educational content, videos, measurement reporting, and even patient outreaches.
“It is a great honor to receive recognition for our engaging and interactive patient experience, becoming a trusted resource for patients managing a medical condition and medications to support their overall health,” Medisafe Chief Medical Officer Daniel Sands, MD, MPH, said in a statement. “We know our platform provides a solution for the global health crisis of medication mismanagement, and it is always rewarding to see others recognizing the strides we have made to support patients for better outcomes throughout their entire journey.”
The Medisafe digital therapeutic platform boasts seven million users who use the system to manage their medications and engage with other users to create a virtual support system in living healthier lives, while managing acute and chronic conditions.
Healio Launches New Advertising Platform
Healio Strategic Solutions has launched Healiolytics, a programmatic advertising platform offering HCP targeting and reporting. It provides exclusive marketing access to Healio’s network of specialty HCPs. Healiolytics also provides enhanced programmatic offerings, including monthly, weekly, and daily physician level data (PLD) available for all managed media and data campaigns.
“The Healiolytics platform is purpose-built for the unique needs of medical marketers,” said Zach Gursky, Senior Vice President, Digital and Innovation, Healio Strategic Solutions. “Beyond reach to an expansive audience of verified HCPs, our number one goal was to make the whole process easy—from targeting, to planning, to reporting.” The powerful program allows analytics teams to manually or dynamically update target lists and receive PLD, revolutionizing targeting lists from the Healio network.
CMI Rebrands to CMI Media Group
In response to the company’s accelerated growth and expanding market offerings, CMI Media, a WPP company, has rebranded itself as CMI Media Group while expanding its media/NPP suite of B2C and B2B offerings and expertise. The changes also include a new tagline: “realizing healthcare’s possibilities.”
Digital transformations in healthcare have been vastly accelerated due to the pandemic, completely reshaping the way patients and providers interact with one another and with healthcare manufacturers as well as the importance of access to information, how and where decisions are made about treatment plans and health outcomes. CMI Media Group will invest in furthering the possibilities of healthcare, using them to drive truly impactful change. The company is re-committing itself to the people, innovation, technology, and data resources necessary to propel business results and transformational growth initiatives for the healthcare/life sciences industry and clients.
“CMI Media Group has been the driving force in enabling health information access and client business growth with disruptive innovation since its inception over 30 years ago. Our mission and goals are bold, audacious, and future forward,” President Susan Dorfman said in a statement. “We were using big data, agile development, and precision marketing when they were foreign concepts to the media industry. We continue to push the envelope and align our goals to delivering exponential and transformative growth to the brands and clients we serve, while serving patients and other healthcare stakeholders by enabling access to critical health information and support. CMI Media Group is a reflection of that continued evolution, as the agency continues to push boundaries in healthcare, with newly added innovation, expertise, and solutions powered by our ongoing commitment to operational excellence, transparency, and client growth.”
The agency had an impressive year, growing staff by over 37% in 2020, with more than 20% YOY growth. The agency was also named to Adweek’s first global list of 100 fastest-growing agencies in 2019.
“The catalyst for our growth has been in our unrelenting need to never stop improving. Entrepreneurship lives and breathes within our people and walls,” stated Chief Growth and Innovation Officer Justin Freid. “The new brand is a representation of the growth that has led us to be the leaders in healthcare marketing and sets us up for continued growth through expansion into sales force led omnichannel marketing, SaaS technologies, and expansion into multicultural creative and content partnerships.”
