Nov20

Infographics as a Pharmaceutical Marketing Tool

Posted by Michael Price from OCH Medical Marketing - Parsippany, North America

By Michael Price from OCH Medical Marketing - Parsippany, North America | Published: November 20, 2012

Infographics—they are everywhere. In the last two years alone, the search volume for infographics has increased by an astounding 800%. Through 2011-2012, that equated to approximately 301,000 Google searches a month. Infographics aren’t really a new trend, but rather a trend that has been reinvigorated through the continued upswing in social media channels.

For those unfamiliar with the term, infographics are broadly defined as any graphic that displays a story or critical information. That information can be data, prose or a combination of both. Whatever information is presented, an infographic must do it quickly and clearly.

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other social media outlets, infographics are quickly becoming the medium of choice—a force—for those who want a data-rich visualization that educates and informs an audience in a quick and effective manner.

So why are infographics so important to us as pharmaceutical marketers? One of the most challenging things we are tasked with is to bring to life the data behind our brands. Better put, we are asked to communicate complex stories in a way that is facile and succinct. With infographics, we may now have a weapon in our arsenal that can do just that and assist in building brand awareness at half the cost of many other marketing tools.

With data at the center of everything we do, we are constantly challenged to find innovative delivery methods that provide the best ROI without sacrificing the strength of our story. Considering the constant fight for share of mind and time, wouldn’t it be better to have a tool that an HCP doesn’t have to cull through to understand?

With what we know about the ability of the human mind to sort through visual information faster than written text, is it any wonder that Customer Magnetism contends that infographics are 30 times more likely to be read (and understood) than a text article?

Add these benefits to the whole social and viral nature of infographics, and you have a profound opportunity to capture the audience and keep them engaged and on your page. In view of the ease with which infographics communicate a story, imagine being able to articulate compelling clinical data, disease-state information, treatment algorithms, or a host of other complex information in a format that is often creatively surprising and yet makes perfect sense.

I recently spoke with a former mentor and someone considered an expert on social marketing in the pharmaceutical space. When the subject turned to infographics, he said that “the time has come for pharmaceutical companies to start considering infographic strategies” as part of their annual communications plan. With content as king and data the king of all content, strategies built specifically around this type of delivery are already in play as we plan out digital tactics with our clients.

Infographics should be an integral part of our offerings. They offer instant recognition of the data and communication points we struggle to demonstrate, in a painless and creative manner.

For a look at some effective infographics, take a look here at my Pinterest selection of diabetes-related and health 2.0-related infographics:

http://pinterest.com/mpradamacue/diabetes/

http://pinterest.com/mpradamacue/health-2-0/

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:
Questions? Comments? You can contact the author directly at blog@ochww.com.
Please allow 24 hours for response.

Also posted in advertising, Branding, Data, Digital, Healthcare Communications, Marketing, Patient Communications, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Aug29

Communicating Value in Our Changing Healthcare System

Posted by Emily Kidder from Ogilvy CommonHealth Specialty Marketing - NJ, North America

By Emily Kidder from Ogilvy CommonHealth Specialty Marketing - NJ, North America | Published: August 29, 2012

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 ruling essentially upholding the entirety of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many Americans, including the millions working in the healthcare industry, have questions about what the SCOTUS decision means. As many of the provisions of the law come on-line in 2014, the full long-term impact is not yet clear. What is certain however is the healthcare sector is changing, fast. The shift toward more patient-centered care and measurable quality-based healthcare outcomes started prior to the 2010 law, and this movement will continue regardless of the ultimate outcome of health reform.

Moving from volume to value

In the healthcare delivery system of the past, providers were paid to treat problems, not prevent them; financial incentives were based on volume versus outcomes and multiple providers with little coordination delivered care. All of which contributed to healthcare costs rising at an unsustainable pace. Now, however, a paradigm shift is upon us.

In the idealized healthcare delivery system of tomorrow, providers are incentivized to increase quality and improve outcomes across their respective populations, infrastructure and processes are used to reduce variations and better coordinate care, and healthcare spending becomes a purposeful investment in value. Indeed, almost three-quarters (73%) of C-suite healthcare executives in a recent survey by Forbes Insights and Allscripts agreed that providers need to begin shifting their focus from “volume to value” immediately.1

The changing definition of “value”

But what does “value” mean in our brave new healthcare world? Value is one of those buzzwords flying around that has been absorbed and redefined by different stakeholders.  For patients, value means improved access to healthcare, high-quality patient-centric care, and improved patient engagement including better patient-provider communication.  For providers, value means ensuring patients receive high-quality accountable care based on best practices, including improved coordination across provider types and sites of care. Additionally, value for providers can mean receiving fair compensation—something that novel delivery systems and payment methods, including patient-centered medical homes and bundled payment schemes seek to address. For administrators, value means ensuring a sustainable healthcare system by placing particular emphasis on reducing waste, errors and redundancy.  The meaning of value in pharmaceuticals is changing as well. Now, not only are safety and efficacy evaluated, but effectiveness and appropriateness of treatment are also considered, while quality of reimbursement is downplayed. Wired health tools, such as electronic health records, are used to support treatment decisions, improve collaboration and measure behavior and outcomes.

How to communicate value now

With greater alignment across audiences, tomorrow’s healthcare delivery system demands more integrated value messages. New ways of communicating with patients and establishing value for the healthcare provider may become even more important. For example, development of safer drugs requiring less counseling, less paperwork, and drugs that have easier access to brand information could become important criteria of differentiation. Information and messages could be tailored to various HCPs and distributed in a less vertically structured environment. Outcomes research may help inform patient-centered value perspective in messages. Also, in the increasingly collaborative provider environment, the patient, her advocates, caregivers, and multidisciplinary HCP teams (social workers, MDs, RNs, NPs) may become even more important audiences to consider. This is especially true for serious diseases where care typically crosses into different disciplines and healthcare settings.

The US healthcare system is changing at a rapid pace. Still, however, the innovative delivery systems that seek to balance quality, cost and access are still in their early phases of implementation. Staying on top of these developments to identify strategic opportunity and translating insights into value-driven communication is more important now than ever before. Proactivity and adaptability will be the defining characteristics of winners on the changing healthcare landscape.

1   http://images.forbes.com/forbesinsights/StudyPDFs/AllscriptsVolumetoValue.pdf

Also posted in Access, behavior change, Efficacy, Healthcare Communications, Patient Communications, Reimbursement, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Aug14

Mobile Health—Three Technology Challenges

Posted by Buddy Scalera from Ogilvy CommonHealth Interactive Marketing - NJ, North America

By Buddy Scalera from Ogilvy CommonHealth Interactive Marketing - NJ, North America | Published: August 14, 2012

Do you have an iPhone? Great, me too. Now, on the count of three, we’ll both drop our iPhones into a pail of water.

Ready? One, two… Wait, what’s the hesitation? I don’t see you taking the plunge with me.

And this underscores one of the big problems with our inevitable future with electronic health records (EHRs): our mobile devices just aren’t up to the task. In fact, if you stop and think about it, we’re really expecting an awful lot from these little technological marvels.

In addition to this shortcoming with hardware, there are potential problems with the EHR networks and the challenges of sharing secure data. Even if this is all addressed with regularly updated software, we still have to think about our creaky, inconsistent energy infrastructure.

I’m actually quite excited about EHRs, since they represent a leap forward in the way patients are diagnosed and treated. That’s why I hope there are serious efforts to address a few key challenges associated with the rapid uptake of EHRs.

Tough Mobile Devices

 The dare to drop your iPhone into water seems silly, but it highlights the inherent weakness of the device. Despite having a (relatively) tough exterior, the iPhone and most Android devices are not exactly waterproof.

We, as humans, are fairly water-resistant. It’s a nice design perk that allows us to swim, dash through the rain, and spill coffee on ourselves. (None of this is recommended with your iPhone.)

In many cases, we’re pretty tough on our bodies. From sports to everyday life, our bodies are pretty resilient. We get banged up, patched up, and do it all over again. Through much of this full-contact life, we’re carrying delicate computers, often wrapped in some kind of third-party case. It’s like Bubble Wrap around a china doll: bulky, unattractive, and definitely not part of the original design.

Our smartphones will become more powerful and more integrated into our health lives. From heart monitors to blood glucose tests, smartphones are becoming essential health devices.

Manufacturers will need to consider ways of making more durable devices, not just pretty things that run great in the lab. Someone’s life may literally depend on it.

Few manufacturers make tough smartphones, but hopefully more are on the way. We already have tough wristwatches, tough cameras, and some very tough cars. If we’re going to tote our health information on these devices, we’re going to need a device that actually works if you get injured around water.

That leads to the next issue to consider:

Proprietary EHR Format

Does anyone know what EHR my local hospital uses? If so, let me know—I’d like to install the right app on my smartphone.

Actually there are two regional hospitals. I sure hope that they use the exact same system, although I doubt it. Does that mean I need to download two apps and enter vital health information twice?

If you are injured and need access to your health records, you can quickly scroll through your apps and find what you need. But in a different scenario, you may be unable to work your password-protected device. What happens? How do medical professionals get to essential health information?

In an emergency, EMTs might check for a medical alert bracelet or necklace, but beyond that they’re going to be looking for your wallet. Yes, that low-tech leather thing in your pocket, which contains your driver’s license and health insurance card.

To my knowledge, there’s no universal health dock for emergency rooms and EMTs. They can’t just take your iPhone and access your personal health apps. Your mobile EHR is only useful if it is accessible.

Right now, we’re in a fragmented marketplace where there are lots of major solutions vying for the dominant position. Until we have an accepted standard that everyone adopts, we’re going to be living in a world where your wallet contains the most high-tech information about your health.

Which leads us to the third issue to consider…

Fragile Computing Cloud

People love to read scary fiction. Zombies and vampires stories are more popular than ever.

Know what’s really scary? Try reading the book One Second After by William R. Forstchen. It’s a book that paints a terrifyingly realistic world after an electromagnetic pulse.

In the book, the US is hit by a terrorist attack that leaves us without electricity. We are more reliant on electricity than we realize, and the story details our decline into chaos and anarchy.

In the past, doctors could work with handwritten patient records if the electricity failed. But as we all know, many of those records are moving into the cloud.

While many experts debate the security of the cloud, few are talking about the very basic challenge of electricity. With no power, there’s no way to download patient records. And with no physical backup, doctors may find themselves with precious little information about the patients they need to treat. Even if a hospital has generators as backup, that still doesn’t solve the problem of Internet access if the rest of the grid is incapacitated.

Doctors and pharmacists use electronic devices for dosing, contraindications, and diagnosis. Knocking out the power grid or disabling one of these clouds could have a devastating effect on the way a doctor treats a patient.

The Good News

There is good news in all of this. Smart entrepreneurs undoubtedly see these opportunities as well.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen a massive growth in tough cameras. If these cameras continue to be popular, manufacturers may see a market for more durable smartphones. They are missing some profit opportunities, which are being addressed by aftermarket cases.

And with EHRs becoming part of modern medicine, we’ll begin to see some synergy between professional and patient apps. As an industry, we’ve done a pretty good job with application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow for secure connections. It would make sense to bridge the gap between personal health records on a smartphone and hospital computer systems. Information about your health conditions, allergies, and current treatments could help save your life.

The big challenge may be something that happens at a government level. The average citizen has no influence over the security and backup of our electricity grid. We also have no real input about how much of our information will be migrated digitally to the cloud. These are questions that are answered by government and utility companies. This can be good or bad news, depending on how you frame the challenge.

Looking forward, there are good reasons to be excited about mobile health. Our devices are becoming more powerful, the software is smarter, and the EHRs are poised to make a positive impact on healthcare.

Just don’t drop your smartphone in water and everything will be fine.

Also posted in adherence, Apps, Branding, Great Ideas, Health & Wellness, Healthcare Communications, Marketing, Multi Channel Marketing, Patient Communications, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Aug7

Have You Geo-Fenced Your Healthcare Provider Today?

Posted by Denise Rivera from OCH Medical Media - NJ, North America

By Denise Rivera from OCH Medical Media - NJ, North America | Published: August 7, 2012

What is a geo-fence?

A geo-fence is a dynamically generated, predefined set of boundaries—as in a radius around a store or other location—similar to school attendance zones or neighborhood boundaries.

Why use it in physician-targeted marketing plans?

The latest data (source: Kantar Media) shows that 68% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) surveyed use smartphones for professional purposes on a daily basis.



Over the past year, HCPs have increased their usage by 77%, and usage continues to grow rapidly.


Geo-fencing allows marketers to message physicians by specialty and location, using a combination of GPS and wireless technology (mobile or Wi-Fi). Strategically selecting a geographical point of interest creates a virtual zone (aka, a geo-fence) to deliver a brand message or initiate an action.

A fantastic application of this medium would be at medical conferences. The technology also allows for creating a zone around hospitals or medical centers such as the Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic. Multiple geo-circles can be created and varying messaging served depending on campaign goals. Once a physician/allied healthcare professional enter the geo-fence, relevant ads (eg, brand awareness, clinical information, or a coupon/voucher) are delivered to that individual based on his or her preferences and other targeting attributes. Think of it as virtual geo-targeting—creating a more targeted communication to a specific subset of HCPs within a very specific demographic location.

Not receiving the results you want?  Then expand the radius of your parameters.


IAB mobile banner ad sizes can be utilized to target based on location of their users. This will enable higher conversions assisting with better brand ROI.

It is known that the mobile market still remains highly fragmented.



One vendor offering a solution is Tomorrow Networks (TN). TN has partnered with Physicians Interactive and Remedy Systems to connect brands with their HCPs and consumers via online/mobile applications solutions. Their network consists of HCPs in all specialties, and they have the ability to geo-fence, which can be an added feature to an existing campaign.


Mobile is the fastest growing segment in the advertising industry—don’t miss the boat.

Whether you are optimizing your campaign by state, mobile device, apps, specialty, uniques, or even impressions—do it in real time. Consider geo-fencing for your next mobile campaign.

Please contact your Ogilvy CommonHealth Medical Media account manager for more information.

Also posted in Access, advertising, Branding, Clients, geo-fencing, Great Ideas, Healthcare Communications, Marketing, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Jul17

HCPs Who Access Data: Just Like the Rest of Us!

Posted by Mary Anderson from Ogilvy CommonHealth Med Ed and SCI Scientific Communications & Information-NJ, North America

By Mary Anderson from Ogilvy CommonHealth Med Ed and SCI Scientific Communications & Information-NJ, North America | Published: July 17, 2012

Guess what! Scientists, clinicians and other healthcare professionals own and use smartphones, iPads and an array of desktop and personal computers. These same people are fundamentally interested in the clinical studies and scientific evidence that result from research studies. They read specialty and  peer-reviewed journals and are asking, “When will I be able to read more via my personal devices?” As lay consumers, they can access everything from instructions on how to build a nuclear bomb to the recipe for Uzbeki-style lamb via their digital devices, yet the journal articles that satisfy their professional needs and passions are not yet uniformly available. Go figure!

SCI Scientific Communications & Information recently utilized a three-wave electronic survey to understand just how eager clinicians, journal authors and industry stakeholders are to receive data in a digital format. The results are in line with society at large. They want more!

Data collected from 50 internal medicine and primary care practitioners showed 86% accessed peer-reviewed literature from 2010 to 2011, and the overall proportion of information accessed with these modalities increased from 52.2% to 64.6%. Mobile tablets showed the highest percentage increases.  Preliminary results from 15 authors who published more than four articles over the last three years show that they decreased their print-only submissions to 15.3%, from 25% of the submissions two years ago.

While computers and laptops remain the primary devices for accessing online peer-reviewed content, HCPs say they will want and expect that journal articles become available for e-readers and smartphone applications. These devices are likely to outpace PCs/laptops based on portability and convenience.  Industry stakeholders anticipate a rise in open access and non-print options. They aim to please as long as regulatory and compliance agents within their organizations get on board and clarify the rules around more novel dissemination approaches, such as podcasts. In the meantime, they support open access publications and utilize QR coding at congresses to disseminate posters and presentations.

Like all other consumers, HCP readers perceive that technology will make their access to information more timely, cost-effective and convenient. They want to see e-mail notifications of new articles, smartphone applications that work for middle-aged sets of eyes and tablet applications.

Summary excerpted:

Hudson C,  Cecere E, Yalamanchili R, Anderson M, Pucci M, Aloia D, Scheckner B. Utilization and attitudes on technological advances in medical publications. Podium presentation, ISMPP, 2012.  

 

 

 

 

Also posted in Education, Great Ideas, Healthcare Communications, medical affairs, Medical Education, Research, Statistics, Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
Jul10

The Rise of Transaction Medicine

Posted by Brad Davidson from OCH Behavioral Insights - NJ, North America

By Brad Davidson from OCH Behavioral Insights - NJ, North America | Published: July 10, 2012

Today someone sent me a video link about new technologies that will change the way medicine is practiced, today, tomorrow, forever. All of these gadgets utilized smart mobile technology to monitor some aspect of physical health, including the “do it yourself ECG” app and the “monitor patients in the ICU” app. This link came on the heels of a number of similar videos I’ve been sent that look deep into the near future, where Bones McCoy’s tricorder is a reality and parents diagnose their children by pointing a tiny box at them. The wow factor is undeniable, the value and precision unprecedented; and yet, I find myself wondering, where’s the doctor? In over 15 years of studying medical interactions, I have seen a dramatic shift in the nature of the patient-provider relationship (it was already well under way in 1996, when I started my first hospital-based fieldwork), and the shift is unidirectional: doctors and patients know less about each other, and have a harder time connecting with each other, with each passing year.

As part of the field research division of a company that specializes in positive behavior change in the healthcare arena (for providers and patients alike), I have the privilege of a bird’s-eye view on various aspects of healthcare, from lots of points of view. The great thing about fieldwork is that it is the ultimate backstage pass. With this perspective, there are a number of things that appear to be driving the change from relational to transactional medicine, including the changing nature of the healthcare system, the growing number of therapeutic options and diagnostic markers that need to be discussed in an ever-shorter patient visit, and the rise of the purely slam-bam-vaccine-you-ma’am-walk-in-clinic, but one big, undeniable driver is the rise and ubiquity of medical technology.

The influx of medical technology is itself part of the larger trend of smart machines filling in everywhere for arguably less smart humans in jobs that apparently didn’t need people: ATMs have replaced bank tellers, surveillance equipment has replaced security guards, and there is now a whole generation of people who not only don’t understand what a telephone operator was, they can’t conceive of why we’d need one in the first place (“You see, there used to be these wires connecting the telephones, and someone would have to plug the wires in to the right… yes, wires, connecting telephones… wires… you’d tell someone who you were calling… I saw it in movies… Lilly Tomlin did this “ringy dingy” thing, it was funny… no, you couldn’t download Angry Birds…”). With all the focus on technology, on tracking and monitoring and testing and recording, it’s getting harder and harder to find people just talking (and if you’ve ever had a doctor speak with you while simultaneously filling in an EMR, you’ll know that technology is definitely becoming a barrier to human interaction). This absence of connectivity, or at least, the environmental pressures that are working against human connection, are detrimental—to medicine and to medical care, to patients, and to providers themselves, who can find themselves profoundly alienated from the people they treat.

I’m not in any way opposed to technological progress, and lord knows we need systems in place to track prescriptions, help patients engage, empower, self-monitor and stay compliant, and to aid general diagnostic precision. I do believe, however, that nothing will ever replace the doctor-patient relationship. We may not have one now, but we miss it. When all was said and done, the great thing about Bones’ tricorder is that it didn’t prevent him from talking to people, it freed him up to talk more. I just hope, in the next 15 years, we let the technology do the tracking, and the sensing, and the cross-referencing, but we let the people do the talking.

Also posted in Analytics, Healthcare Communications, Patient Communications, Strategy, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Jul5

Will Health Plans Of The Future Take Care Of Widows And Orphans?

Posted by Stephen Lubiak from OCH Payer Marketing- NJ, North America

By Stephen Lubiak from OCH Payer Marketing- NJ, North America | Published: July 5, 2012

“Widows and orphans” is a long-established phrase that connotes one of the neediest segments of societies. Throughout time, communities have been asked (or commanded, as in the Bible) to support them in some way. One modern-day version of this support takes the form of estate planning. In the 20th century, stocks that provided a relatively high degree of safety (from declines in price) and steady dividends were nicknamed “widows and orphans” because they were good to have in the portfolio and provided relatively steady income. Prevalent among this type of stock were utilities. Utilities offered consistent returns because state or federal governments had established these companies as monopolies. In return for their monopoly status, governments regulated (or seen another way, guaranteed) a specific level of profits after fixed and variable costs were covered.

In 2012, a new group of companies that may fulfill the role of utilities is health plans. The Affordable Care Act fixes the medical loss ratio (MLR) of health plans at 80%, or 85% for large health plans. Here, the medical loss ratio is a metric that means 85% of health plan revenues must be spent on patient care. You don’t need to be a mathematician to figure out that 15% of revenues is left for overhead expenses and profits. So, the level of profits is regulated, just like those of utilities.

The business leaders of health plans are not settling for lower profits, which are estimated to fall from the 7-8% range to 3-5%. Health plans are already diversifying and are either acquiring or developing higher margin businesses. Here are a few examples:

Information technology (IT) or information management (IM) is a popular area. The thought here is: instead of assuming the financial risk of insuring patients, acquire the financial and actuarial know-how to do so, and sell that expertise to others who will assume the risks (and the lower profit levels). The Wall Street Journal says that managed care plans have made about 20% of their merger-and-acquisition deals with IT firms since 2010, up from about 7% in 2007. They’ve reduced their M&A of other insurers from 39% to 27% in the same period.

  • Aetna purchased Medicity in 2011, a company that sells software that transmits health care data across the different systems in different provider offices
  • Aetna also purchased Prodigy Health Holdings, which will allow midsize companies the financial and information knowledge to offer self-insurance options

Other insurers are purchasing physician practices. Humana purchased Concentra, which runs urgent- and occupational-care clinics. The thinking here is to exert more control over physicians and other providers, optimize their approach to patient care, and lower costs (and fatten profits).

Some insurers are expanding internationally, where legal and regulatory (and profit) constraints may be less onerous. Cigna has entered India in the form of a joint venture with TTK.

And recently, WellPoint acquired a contact lens company. Simply, the margins in vision companies are higher, and this is also an opportunity for health plans to cement relationships with consumers without the “middle men” of physicians or external opticians.

What does this mean for marketing communications?

Payer marketers traditionally target 3 audience levels: the payer level, the provider level, and the patient level. While these audiences will remain in the evolving health care landscape, they may need to be approached differently:

  • At the payer level: analytics groups may possess powerful data that show differences in cost or performance for specific drug therapies. Can marketers acquire and leverage these data to reinforce the value of our drugs or other therapies? Conversely, if sophisticated IT systems detect physician deviations from practice protocols sooner, traditional formulary controls such as prior authorizations or step edits may be enhanced and present bigger obstacles to prescriptions
  • At the physician level: if physicians work directly for health plans, their flexibility to practice or prescribe will be constrained more than if they worked on their own. Will drug marketing messages that only contain safety, efficacy, and effectiveness be enough, or will additional message components be needed? How will sales force pull-through campaigns need to be engineered if a greater degree of control binds both formularies and prescribers?
  • At the patient level: cost pressures may make insurance plans a bit more rigid. Out-of-network (or non-formulary) options may be sparse and much more expensive. What value proposition will convince the member/patient to pay for the appropriate therapy?

No one knows what the future will bring. Even if health plans do transform themselves in the 21st century and “take care” of widows and orphans in a hypothetical role as “utilities,” we can probably guess that many payer audiences will still be eager for high-quality information that demonstrates value for each health care intervention. Most likely, health care marketing communications will have challenges and goals that are similar to those of today, yet slightly more difficult.

Readers, will heath plans’ transformations affect drug and device marketing significantly?

 

 

Sources:

  1. King James Bible (James 1:27).
  2. Do “widow and orphan” stocks still exist? Investopedia.com. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/analyst/121802.asp#axzz1x7O6I4Dw. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  3. Reforms prod insurers to diversify. The Wall Street Journal. May 12, 2011. http://professional.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703643104576291022457851278.html. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  4. To find new revenue streams, insurers are branching out into nontraditional areas. From Health Plan Week. http://www.henryloubet.com/news030512.htm. Accessed June 5, 2012.
  5. WellPoint to buy 1-800-contacts. The Wall Street Journal. June 4, 2012. http://professional.wsj.com/article/TPBWR0000020120604e8640002u.html. Accessed June 4, 2012.

 

Also posted in Access, Analytics, Clients, Customer Relationship Marketing, Global Marketing, Health & Wellness, Healthcare Communications, Managed Care, Marketing, Patient Communications, Research, Statistics, Strategy, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Jun19

Time To Get Serious About Gaming

Posted by James Robertson from Ogilvy Healthworld - London, EMEA

By James Robertson from Ogilvy Healthworld - London, EMEA | Published: June 19, 2012

It’s game time

We live in a world that has incredible medicines, highly trained medical staff and easy access to masses of medical information. In addition, pharmaceutical companies and other organizations strive relentlessly to increase disease and product awareness. Yet people are still ignorant about their health, and the healthcare industry struggles to drive significant behavior change in those most in need. When you combine this with the fact that Joe Public is bombarded with more than 5,000 ads a day, it is clear that new approaches to healthcare marketing are needed.

Some think that gaming might be the healthcare industry’s knight in shining armor.  Games are no longer made purely for entertainment purposes. We are witnessing the rise of “serious games” — games that are designed to educate and inform.

Gaming provides a powerful and effective way to engage, educate and motivate people. They can:

  • Improve adherence, expedite the acquisition of disease knowledge and increase self-efficacy, as demonstrated by Re-Mission
  • Incentivize glucose monitoring in diabetic kids, as with Bayer’s Didget
  • Raise awareness of little-known medical conditions through award-winning campaigns like Back in Play
  • Increase cerebral performance as witnessed when my parents play brain-training games on their smartphones

These are just a few examples of what can be achieved. If you need further convincing of gaming’s influence in healthcare, just consider the recent launch of the Games for Health journal and the fact that the similarly named Games for Health conference is in its eighth year.

Gamification vs. gaming

All aspects of life are becoming increasingly influenced by gamification—something you might have heard a lot about recently. Gamification is the application of gaming mechanics to routine, everyday activities. Adding rewards and incentives to dull and monotonous tasks, such as HR training and timesheets, makes them more enjoyable and makes people more motivated to undertake them.

Most people are unaware that they already engage in gamification. You know that progress bar on your LinkedIn page? That’s gamification. The levels and rewards you receive from your favorite coffee shop’s reward card? That’s gamification. Your frequent flyer program? You get the idea.

We see these mechanics more and more with the proliferation of health and wellness apps, but if we could truly integrate them into patients’ (and HCPs’) everyday lives, then we could see considerable improvements in health outcomes and really drive behavior change.

Only fools rush in…

Gaming can be powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. It is our responsibility to think about the why and the how of any games that we develop.  Research is required to understand what you want to achieve, what game style will resonate with your audience, where they operate in the digital landscape, what will be considered a success, and so on.

Importantly, a multidisciplinary team should lead any development. Depending on what the purpose of the game is, that team might include gamers, scientists, marketers, psychologists, doctors and/or patients. With decent insights, thorough thinking and plenty of testing, you could reach the top of the healthcare leaderboard.

So if you think gaming or gamification can bolster your communications efforts, it’s time to get your game face on and have some fun!

 

Also posted in advertising, Creativity, Direct-to-Consumer, Education, Health & Wellness, Healthcare Communications, Marketing, Patient Communications, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
May29

Skipta™ Anyone?

Posted by Kristen Vayda from OCH Medical Media - NJ, North America

By Kristen Vayda from OCH Medical Media - NJ, North America | Published: May 29, 2012

According to Manhattan Research, 71% of physicians use social networks. So it should come as no surprise that colleagues are the top source of medical information for practicing physicians, trusted above all other online and offline sources. Understanding the influence of colleagues, one must conclude that online social media platforms will quickly rise as one of the prominent go-to sources for all things professional. Stated simply, online social networking expands a physician’s circle of peers.

Just like consumers, each physician is unique and will select a social portal based on individual preferences and needs. There are a number of factors that physicians will consider when seeking to join a community. Obvious factors include closed-loop verification (members are validated professionals), potential risk (liability concerns over offering clinical advice and protection of patient privacy) and usefulness (content is relevant, learning improves patient outcomes, enhances career development).

  • 38% of physicians use online peer-to-peer networking for professional purposes
  • On average, users of professional social media sites indicated 230 uses per year
  • Physicians who do not see sales reps are less likely to use a physician social networking site for professional purposes (21%) than their counterparts who do see sales reps (39%)
  • Doctors in the 45-65 age group noted more annual uses than both their younger and older counterparts (source: Kantar Media)

With professional use of peer-to-peer networking on the rise, several Ning-like hosting companies catering to the healthcare space are emerging. Skipta™ is one to watch. Skipta™ helps organizations interested in engaging with medical professionals underwrite and launch structured communities.

Skipta™ caters to specialty demands and launched their first professional healthcare community in December 2010 with the Pharmacist Society. The portal boasts over 46,000 verified members, including registered pharmacists, students, and pharmacy school faculty members.

Several additional communities are on the docket for 2012 targeting urologists, primary care physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and registered nurses. All members are validated as medical professionals and students and qualified for relevance to the particular group. With Skipta™, the features of each community are based on research and completely tailored to the unique needs of the specific medical group. The company has also formed a partnership with WebMD that allows in-frame access to Medscape content right from the Skipta™ environment.

Skipta™ Features

  • Virtual whiteboards
  • Real-time chat (including groups)
  • RSS news aggregation
  • Social search engine
  • Video conferencing
  • File sharing (Dropbox)
  • Cloud-storage and sharing capabilities
  • Peer survey and polling
  • Job and employment listings
  •  Integrated calendar functions (national, regional and local conferences and events specific to the field)
  • Cross-platform accessibility (desktop, smartphone, tablet)
  • Cross-connection based on interest and sub-specialty (i.e., Diabetes Network)

Working with Skipta™, financial support from industry ensures the appropriate features are in place and physician concerns ranging from privacy to liability are addressed. Engagement opportunities for the sponsor include:

  • All community members automatically linked to sponsor group page
  • Survey and polling tools
  • Direct advertising and promotion
  • Digital library to house patient handouts, product information, company and product postings, co-pay cards, coupons, etc.
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • eDetails
  • Calendar integration to auto-populate company initiatives, product launches and attended conferences
  • Self-administered messages and alerts
  • Disease state-specific sponsorships

Supporting a robust and structured community should be of great importance to our clients. Proprietary data proves the power of syndication. Interaction rates with brand and company assets are significantly higher when hosted outside the brand site. Establishing a point of access to a validated group of professionals with a greater share-of-voice compared to traditional medical portals is invaluable in today’s cluttered media landscape. Insights gained from peer-to-peer dialogue drives real-world competitive advantage.

What value do you see?

To find out more about Skipta™ or structured communities, contact your Ogilvy CommonHealth Medical Media representative today.

Also posted in Networking, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Mar27

Pinterest and the Patient

Posted by Carrie Baczewski from OCH Interactive Marketing - NJ, North America

By Carrie Baczewski from OCH Interactive Marketing - NJ, North America | Published: March 27, 2012

Is there room for another social network in your life? You may want to make some for Pinterest.

The invite-only network has over 19 million users and counting. At first glance, the site may seem overwhelmingly fashion-focused. But delve deeper, and you’ll see that professionals from marketers to healthcare providers, consumers, and patients of all backgrounds are “pinning.”

What is it?

Pinterest users create a personal account which they use to build virtual pin boards. These boards are collages of “pinned” images that fall under a number of categories, from Food & Drink to Architecture. There’s no predefined category for Health, yet, but you can be sure it’s coming.

Each pin is sourced from another website or blog, uploaded by the user, or “repinned” from another user. And pins aren’t just standalone images; they usually link to the original source of the image, be it a news article, blog post, recipe, or other website.

Patients on Pinterest

We can see that patients are flocking to the new network to express peer support and advocacy for many disease states. They pin inspirational messages, ribbons, and images associated with information about treatment, diagnosis, and support.  And this is a key thing to note about the burgeoning network: it’s about hope and empowerment.

Whether users pin images of their favorite piece of art, a pair of designer shoes, or a pink ribbon, the overwhelming theme at Pinterest is “inspiration.” Pins are aspirational in nature—some represent goals and ambitions, some represent everyday plans, and some represent pipe dreams. Being respectful of this vibe is a key part of authenticity in consumer social media engagement.

Authentic engagement

Going in with the right mindset, there are many ways to engage with patients on the platform in meaningful and impactful ways to enhance your story. There are a number of granular ways healthcare companies should consider engaging with Pinterest and the patient: sharing advocacy messages, or simply offering a route to a patient support iPhone app via an appealing screen shot and link to the download location.

Further, as an active social media channel for patients grappling with a number of chronic or new conditions, Pinterest represents a new network to be monitored analytically for patient insights, opinions, and needs. Gaining this knowledge helps us to respond dynamically to the needs and opinions of the people we all want to help.

 

Also posted in Advocacy, Great Ideas, Health & Wellness, Marketing, Patient Communications, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Responses