Healthcare providers’ (HCPs) daily workflows have changed dramatically in the past several years, as HCPs are forced to manage increasing workloads, unprecedented regulatory challenges, staff shortages and burnout. As the market evolves to support these challenges, the marketing mix needs to evolve as well.

As an endemic channel designed to integrate into the HCPs daily clinical workflow, point-of-care (POC) is becoming a more attractive component of the overall marketing mix. A recent survey shows that today’s physicians spend an average of six hours on their EHRs out of an average 11-hour workday. As a result, the EHR has emerged as an invaluable resource for communicating with providers.

In this article, we share the key advantages of POC channels for communicating with HCPs along with POC messaging best practices.

The importance of understanding HCPs’ evolving workflows

To use POC channels most effectively, it is critical to understand how HCPs’ workflows are evolving. For instance, by evaluating HCPs’ workflows, we know that peak times for reaching HCPs via POC messaging are between 9 and 11 a.m. and 6 and 7 p.m., and that providers spend the greatest amount of time at the stages of medication review and e-prescribing.

Understanding an HCP’s workflow enables marketers to communicate with relevant messaging at the precise points in provider’s daily routine when messaging would be most welcome.

Advantage of POC channels

The primary advantage of the POC channel is that brand messaging can be delivered to HCPs at the bottom of the marketing funnel. This positioning is most impactful because the HCPs are better positioned to view and then use the information provided.

Although the CPM (cost per one-thousand impressions) is sometimes higher with POC messaging than other forms of online marketing, the cost per conversion is 17% lower with POC channels. It costs less for an impression to convert because messaging reaches HCPs when they are more likely to use the information.

Despite this advantage, it appears most marketers — 87% of those surveyed — are unaware of the power of POC messaging.

Most effective types of POC messaging

Trigger-based messaging

In this report, trigger based POC messaging was most effective, with a 32% higher impact than other types of POC messaging. This is because HCPs engage differently with patients at different points in the POC clinical workflow. By learning more about the HCP’s POC journey, you can gain the ability to share personalized messaging with your target audience, messages that pertain specifically to their POC stage. For instance, messaging can be targeted based on the HCP’s prescribing behavior; the patient’s demographic profile; coverage profile; or clinical indicators.

This type of targeting helps HCPs communicate more effectively with their patients, making them more receptive to your messaging. Ultimately, it can also help to improve therapy outcomes.

Providing relevant information: Specialty medications

Specialty medications can offer life-changing outcomes for patients. However, their benefits depend both on providers choosing the appropriate treatment and patients’ ability to pay for and initiate treatment. For this reason, marketers are trying to simplify the prescribing process for specialty medications. One way they do this is by meeting HCPs within their workflows to facilitate patients’ access to these life-changing medications — for instance, by assisting with Patient Affordability Messaging and Pharmacy Redirect Messaging.

Patient Affordability Messaging

In a recent survey, U.S. physicians reported that information about patient affordability programs offered by biopharmaceutical companies has been especially helpful.

High pricing puts prescription medications out of reach for many Americans. Nearly 30% of new prescriptions are never filled at the pharmacy; therapy abandonment rate is over 69%. Many life science brands try to help patients by offering financial assistance programs, such as co-pay cards and discount coupons; however, most of the time, patients don’t take advantage of these programs. A recent survey found that only 20% of patients were even aware that such assistance existed.

Patient affordability programs are primarily sourced through HCPs, but many HCPs are unaware of these patient support programs. Sharing information with HCPs about patient aid programs can significantly reduce medication abandonment and improve medication adherence.

Pharmacy Redirect Messaging

Pharmacy Redirect Messaging can also be a valuable tool to help HCPs better serve their patients.

Non-specialty medications are often directed to a specialty pharmacy, or specialty medications directed to a retail pharmacy unable to fill the prescription. Either scenario can cause patients and providers unnecessary challenges. Pharmacy Redirect Messaging helps ensure that a prescription is sent to the correct pharmacy by HCPs with pharmacy information at the point of patient care.

Research shows that using health-system specialty pharmacies can help improve specialty medication access, adherence, affordability, and patient outcomes when prescribing specialty medications.

Veradigm Digital Health Media

Veradigm Digital Health Media reaches one of the largest EHR HCP audiences in the U.S. Veradigm Digital Health Media uses de-identified, HIPAA-compliant, real-world data to deliver highly targeted messaging directly at the POC. It reaches physicians through a channel they use every day: their EHRs. Because Veradigm is the data source, Digital Health Media can leverage de-identified, near real-time EHR data to ensure that your approved messaging is seen by HCPs relevant to your brand or therapeutic area, all in a compliant manner compliant with HIPAA and all applicable laws.

Veradigm Digital Health Media delivers highly targeted messaging, so it is seen specifically by providers of interest, providing greatest benefit to providers and their patients. It can also help you to reach providers of interest throughout the patient encounter across a broad range of clinical workflow elements critical to the provider/patient consultation. This allows messaging to be delivered when it will be most beneficial. ¹

Veradigm Digital Health Media is the first EHR marketing solution to be a Point of Care Marketing Association (POCMA) member.

Reach out today to learn how Veradigm Digital Health Media can help you transform your POC messaging to reach the right HCPs at the right time, with the right messaging.

¹ No biopharma or device advertisements appear during the prescribing workflow consistent with applicable law.