The point-of-care channel has evolved from dry and static content to more engaging and interactive experiences, offering marketers the opportunity to engage with patients at a time when messaging is likely to have a profound impact. Patients consider point-of-care messaging more reliable than messaging from other channels, with a high return on investment for medical marketers. Non-advertising content has proven effective, particularly in the oncology realm. Marketers are better calibrating their messaging and strategy, focusing on a broad range of providers, and the future will see point-of-care content take on an even greater level of personalization and sophistication.
Recent years have seen a substantial change in the point-of-care channel, which has transitioned away from static and dry material towards a more engaging and dynamic experience. Now that patients are exposed to classy handouts and high-definition displays playing television-quality films, marketers have the opportunity to interact with consumers at the exact time when messaging is likely to have a significant impact. The channel has reached a completely new degree of sophistication and personalization as a result of the trend toward shared decision-making and more powerful patients. The result is entertainment that expertly combines classic analog media with pillars of the digital era, making it more informative and telling richer, more varied stories.
With budgets adjusted to reflect the value of the point of care as a marketing channel, this new way of thinking has increased the return on investment for medical marketers. Patients are receptive to both printed and screen content, as point-of-care marketers have upped their narrative efforts. There are countless options, and “non-advertising” information has proven particularly successful in the field of oncology. Despite their desire for knowledge, patients are reluctant to speak up in front of their doctor because they want to get it in a more private situation. Yet, research demonstrates that it boosts comfort levels in those dialogues when patients are offered tools at the point of care.
Point-of-care players must now quantify the channel’s impact. Patients consider point-of-care messaging more reliable than messaging from other channels, with 20% saying they trust it, beating print at 14%, social media at 10%, the Internet at 9%, and TV at 8%. Similarly, when Veeva Crossix recently analyzed direct-to-consumer ads, the point-of-care channel emerged as the most cost-efficient, representing just 2% of overall media spend but driving 17% of new-to-brand prescriptions.
Marketers are better calibrating their messaging and strategy, focusing not only on physicians but on the broadest range of providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants. As marketers continue to grow their presence at the point of care, they will look for ways to better engage patients and provide a curated patient experience. The appetite for healthcare information has never been higher, and COVID has heightened the need for true healthcare journalism in the US. The future will see point-of-care content take on an even greater level of personalization and sophistication, offering patients an even better experience while providing brands with an opportunity to engage with them at the precise moment when messaging is most likely to have a profound impact.
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