There are many questions that the pharmaceutical industry has to answer, but what’s clear is that the way this sector relates to HCPs (Healthcare Professionals) is changing. A common industry practice is that the company’s sales team is in charge of visiting the doctor to convey the latest product news. Now, the Digital Revolution is changing the rules of HCP Engagement

Physicians use of digital content for discussion, research and collaboration continues to grow: nine out of ten physicians believe their time spent on digital for professional purposes will grow in the next year. Today, physicians globally spend at least 1.5 hours online per day conducting research, with at least half of that on social media. We found that 72 percent of doctors believe that social media channels improve the quality of patient care and more than 30 percent use them for professional purposes, often preferring open forums to physician-only online communities.
To truly educate doctors, it is vital to provide them with rich content while they are researching new drugs and learning from influential opinion leaders. This is the point at which they are ready to engage with your brand. What’s needed is a comprehensive messaging framework across a cohesive ecosystem of traditional marketing tactics and innovative NPP.
This new generation of time-constrained HCPs have less time to gather and digest the copious amounts of information available to them. In fact, our Health casts member physicians tell us that they generally engage with our content in the evening (from 6 to 9 p.m.) when they are able to dedicate time to learning about emerging research and treatments.
As pharmaceutical marketers begin to innovate more often with content creation—offering multiple formats, from short and long form video, to interactive self-learning experiences—it will
become increasingly important to provide access via the multiple devices physicians use, in the environments they find most convenient.
Rules of HCP Engagement, You must engage physicians on a deeper level, using your content to drive them through the funnel faster and more effectively. As an online medium, video is extremely effective for how casing detailed data, mechanism of action (MOA) illustrations, key opinion leader (KOL) interviews, and other educational content to help physicians understand new treatment approaches, drug interactions, and long-term effects on patient care. Our most recent research on HCP education demonstrates that for learning about a new drug, HCPs were twice as likely to watch an online video today than they were 5 years ago.

Quantitative surveys can substantiate learnings gleaned from qualitative results by providing deep insights into longer-term marketplace trends, as well as to test hypotheses or to demonstrate changes in HCP behavior. Campaign based research using quantitative surveys can validate the relevance of key messages and benefit statements that drive your content creation plan. Quantitative survey research can also be a strong predictor of ROI – the ultimate demonstration of success.

Detail aids and other sales force materials can be made more visually compelling and interactive with voice-over capability, as can patient profiles, which can incorporate digital “quiz” elements to bolster their educational impact. Additionally, an approved KOL slide deck can be leveraged as the “script” for a deeply engaging educational video, a series of videos or an engaging self-learning module. The possibilities extend to tele-sales scripts, whereby you can digitally reproduce the phone “algorithm” with approved messaging.

Whether you’re working with KOLs or collaborating with media partners to maintain your physician relationships, you need to look for platforms that have a sound reputation for clinical accuracy, utility, and unbiased content. That is the key to building trust