KarenNewmark

A revised set of guidelines designed to codify standards about screens in doctors’ offices, delivery of media for ad campaigns and other vendor claims has been released by the Point of Care Communications Council (PoC3).

The group said it hopes to collect feedback on the draft standards from the media-buying community, including both pharmaceutical marketers and their agencies. Comments are being accepted until June 24, after which PoC3 said it will publish a summary of input along with a formal response. A final version is due this summer.

The PoC3’s executive director, Karen Newmark, told MM&M this year that the guidelines would be meant to instill trust among media buyers that POC vendors are adhering to a unified set of standards.

Advocating for guidelines in the POC advertising space “is an industry priority and an opportunity to advance the point-of-care marketing channel as it continues to grow at an accelerated pace,” stated Mike Collette, PoC3 co-chair, in a statement posted to the group’s website on Monday.

The 17-page rules include a pathway for POC media companies to become “PoC3 Certified,” which “will enable the buying community to see consistency in guidelines followed across POC companies,” added co-chair Eric Jensen, also as part of the statement.

That certification, overseen by Newmark, requires use of an independent third-party company, according to the draft standards, and companies must pick from a list of approved vendors. In addition, media buyers and their clients “should be offered the opportunity to receive results directly from the third-party company and have the opportunity for direct contact with that company,” according to the guidelines.

The standards are designed to accommodate digital and non-digital media in exam rooms and waiting rooms, like monitors and digital wall-boards, as well as to allow for newer formats, such as mobile and beacon.

The group added media buying companies to its ranks this year for the first time, such as IPG’s HealixGlobal, joining others like auditing organization BPA Worldwide and consultancy ZS Associates.

After fraud allegations were leveled against network Outcome Health in late 2017 for forging the number of screens it had installed in doctors’ offices, pharma advertisers and their agencies pulled out of POC and the channel has been working to restore trust.

According to PoC3, the new rules are designed to “engender trust among those who transact at the point of care.”