Personalised Omnichannel Healthcare Professional Experience

The recent trends in digital marketing strategies, within the global pharmaceutical landscape, have transformed the way life sciences organisations engage with healthcare professionals (HCPs).

In 2023, the POC global diagnostics market was valued at approximately US$30.87bn. To meet the increasing demand for swift and precise diagnostics, the expansion of point of care messaging offers substantial opportunities for marketers to efficiently target HCPs,  says Kamya Elawadhi, Chief Client Officer at Doceree. This can empower brands to ensure that their marketing strategies are well in alignment with their overall business objectives. 

“With 12% of brands planning to boost their point-of-care budgets by 20% to offer personalised experiences to HCPs during critical points of care, adapting POC messaging as an indispensable element of brand’s engagement strategies,” Kamya explains. “It is crucial in fostering higher returns on investment and enhanced brand trust, especially when HCPs are spending over 5.5 hours daily on POC platforms.”

The greatest advantage of POC messaging is in its ability for optimal contextual setting, as the messages delivered via EHR systems, telehealth and eRx platforms carry far more relevance and impact, due to their clinical setting. 

“Given the targeted audience, HCPs are focused on treating patients, actively diagnosing, ordering tests and writing prescriptions,” she continues. “POC platforms are uniquely positioned to deliver the right message to HCPs, precisely when actual decision-making happens - the bottom of the marketing funnel.”

To dive deeper into the significance of this ‘all-encompassing medium’ facilitating relevant and real-time connections with HCPs, Kamya shares seven ways marketers can maximise the effectiveness point of care marketing and boost business outcomes. 

The rise of Point-of-Care marketing in pharma's digital strategy

Treat POC messaging as a strategy for long-term impact

The life sciences organisations must not consider POC messaging as a ‘media-buy platform’, considering its primary function is to facilitate direct, relevant interactions with healthcare professionals at critical decision-making moments. 

“Unlike traditional media buys, POC messaging permits real-time engagement and personalised messaging over broad, transactional advertising placements,” says Kamya. 

A case study by Doceree highlighted that 40% more engagement on message shown to HCPs during their practice workflows was observed, in comparison to general ad placements. 

“This is primarily due to its capacity to empower HCPs render improved healthcare delivery, presenting marketers with an opportunity to cultivate stronger relationships with HCPs and establishing brand’s credibility and trustworthiness.”

This positions POC messaging as a strategic approach focused on long-term impact over seizing short-term opportunities. 

Choose hyper targeting for personalised HCPs experience  

With over 1.1m physicians active in the USA, a significant portion are utilising POC platforms for real-time information and decision-making support. To facilitate this support, POC systems analyse HCPs medical specialties and prescribing patterns to enable hyper-targeted messaging, ensuring that the right message reaches the right HCP at the optimal time of care. 

“By analysing HCPs' specialties and prescribing behaviours, brands can tailor their communications to address specific needs and preferences,” says Kamya. “This enhances engagement and relevance, making marketing efforts more effective and aligned with HCPs real-time decision-making processes.”

Enhance campaign performance with real-time clinical data

The POC platforms specialise in real-time clinical data capture and reporting, enabling real-time alterations of ongoing campaigns accordingly. 

“The access to real-time data about HCPs activities, preferences and patient interactions boosts engagement and improves the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, ensuring that messages resonate more strongly and are received at the most impactful moments in the decision-making process,” Kamya adds.

Moreover, real-time insights into script lift outcomes serve as a valuable indicator of overall campaign effectiveness, enabling more informed planning for future campaigns.

Promote affordability and efficient clinical trial recruitment 

With only 15% co-pay utilisation rate observed among commercial brand prescription fills and 42% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) expressing limited awareness of appropriate support programmes, POC messaging can be utilised to configure personalised financial assistance programmes, using real-time patient-led data. Kamya says that this can provide healthcare professionals with targeted, timely updates regarding these programmes for their patients. 

“This ensures improved treatment adherence leading to an enriched HCP-patient interaction,” she explains. “Additionally, the HIPAA-compliant patient-led data can also significantly support HCPs to make well-informed decisions about clinical trial recruitment, thereby reducing additional cost and time investment.”

Trim the costs per conversion

While the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on POC platforms may be higher, POC platforms excel in delivering targeted messaging throughout all stages of the marketing funnel, especially at the critical conversion stage. This targeted approach leads to more efficient conversion rates and ultimately lowers the cost per conversion. 

“For instance, despite a higher CPM, POC platforms can achieve a 17% lower cost per conversion compared to other platforms,” Kamya adds. “This is due to their ability to engage healthcare professionals with highly relevant and timely information, driving better long-term outcomes and more efficient use of marketing resources.”

Impact decision-making for improved script lift outcomes

The delivery of hyper-targeted and contextually relevant messages enhance the relevance and impact of the campaign, amplifying the possibility of enhanced script lift outcomes for better return on investment. 

In a recent study by Doceree, trigger-based POC messaging is known to drive 32% higher script lift outcomes compared to other engagement mediums, reinforcing the idea that delivering timely and contextually relevant information is crucial for supporting healthcare professionals in their clinical decisions. 

“By strategically aligning campaign’s messaging with HCPs’ needs and decision-making moments, POC platforms can substantially enhance the return on investment, driving more measurable outcomes,” continues Kamya.

Facilitate clinical assistance at critical moments for higher credibility

To speak of HCPs, hyper-targeted messaging proves to be equally valuable for appropriate healthcare delivery. 

“With HCPs spending 55% of their work hours daily on POC platforms, physicians often struggle to stay updated on the latest drugs, treatments and patient medical history with limited time in hand. 

“In such scenarios, hyper-targeted messages delivered through POC platforms can bridge this gap by providing timely and relevant information directly to HCPs when needed,” says Kamya. “This not only enhances the credibility of the campaign messaging, but also supports HCPs in making informed clinical decisions, ultimately improving overall healthcare delivery.”

Leveraging Point of Contact in healthcare

Integrating POC messaging as a long-term strategy can enhance brand’s credibility and trust, support HCPs in delivering effective clinical care and improve their overall treatment experience. To fully realise these benefits, partnering with the 'right expert' is crucial. 

“While many agencies claim ‘broad HCP reach’, true success can be determined by the ‘quality of HCP interactions’ they provide,” Kamya shares. “Although integrating POC messaging with other channels may seem efficient at first, it risks diluting the budget and distorting reach metrics.” 

If choosing a vendor with multiple channels, ensuring a clear understanding of budget allocation and avoiding ambiguous bundling would be the most ideal step. “To conclude, it’s vital to select a marketing partner with specialised POC messaging capabilities and premium POC inventory to achieve the best business outcomes and health results.”

******

Make sure you check out the latest industry news and insights at Healthcare Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024

******
Healthcare Digital is a BizClik brand.