Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Adult Day Care Centers. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• There are an estimated 40,000 caregivers across the country, of which 75% work outside the home. As Baby Boomers’ parents age, the number of caregivers is expected to grow rapidly, creating even more demand for these services.
• A quarter of caregivers, a target market for adult day care centers, report using the Internet and print media as sources of caregiving information. Of those that do, they most commonly seek information regarding care services for the recipient (53%) and information about care facilities (40%).
• Reliance on public funding is a major challenge for these businesses, as budget shortfalls are forcing many states to cut back on support services for the elderly and disabled.

The Industry Marketing Insights report for Adult Day Care Centers is available on Ad-ology.com (Research Store) for $195 USD with local market data for any U.S. market.

[Source: Ad-ology Research. July 1, 2010]

Last month, I highlighted how retail health clinics can increase patient loads by promoting both excellence of care and lower costs. The most recent Survey of Health from Deloitte indicates that retail health clinics are gaining acceptance by consumers – especially when they are seeking primary care services.  About 15% of all consumers have visited a retail health clinic this year which is about 2% higher than the findings showed last  year.

However, visit rates to these clinics vary by age group and other demographic factors.  When it comes to age groups, younger consumers appear more willing than others to visit retail health clinics. Here’s how the core users of these services break out by age group:

• Generation Y: 19%
• Generation X: 17%
• Baby Boomers: 13%
• Seniors: 10%

Study results indicate that while Boomers dropped their visit rate slightly in the past year, all other groups upped their visit rates.

Convenience continues to be a key reason that many consumers visit a retail clinic. When faced with the choice of waiting 1 week to see their primary care physician, nearly 3 out of 10 consumers (29%) say they’d go to a retail clinic instead. Younger consumers generally say they are far less likely to want to wait to see their primary care physician.

Insurance coverage also makes a difference. The key reasons uninsured consumers visit retail health clinics are:

• Saves time: 34%
• Saves money: 45%

Retail clinics may play an increasingly important role in delivering lower-cost services as the entire health care industry continues to evolve. To build traffic and awareness, they may also be marketing to specific demographic groups.

[Source: 2010 Survey of Health Care Consumers. Deloitte.com. May 2010. Web 4 Jun. 2010]

The pending health care changes require costs savings to be realized throughout the system. One key player in the health care delivery channel is the retail health clinic. This sector has long promoted cost savings. While many medical professionals were concerned about the quality of care that would be delivered by these clinics, studies indicates that  retail health centers are saving consumers and health insurance companies money and they are delivering a high level of care.

A recently published study by HealthCore encourages consumers to visit retail clinics for the following conditions when they cannot see their primary care physician:

• Minor allergic reactions
• Mild asthma
• Coughs, sore throat
• Bumps, minor cuts, scrapes
• Rashes, minor burns
• Sprains, strains
• Minor fevers, colds
• Minor headaches
• Ear or sinus pain

The HealthCore study, which reviewed consumer visits to health care facilities for urgent health care situations in 14 states found that in nearly 20% of cases, consumers could have avoided costly emergency room visits. The average cost for an ER visit during the study was $441. In comparison, the total cost to an urgent care center was $98 per visit and for retail care was $52 per visit.

As cost pressures reverberate through the health care system, more retail clinics will be promoting both their high quality of care and their low-cost delivery model.

[Source: Allergy Sufferers Can Save Money by Skipping the ER. Blue Cross Blue Shield of GA. 19 May 2010. Web. 26 May 2010.]

I’ve written before about the legal concerns facing big pharmaceutical companies as they market directly to consumers. These concerns multiply when marketing shifts to new online formats such as social networking. But more companies in this sector are exploring the best way to move online.

A recent report in Medical Marketing & Media indicates that DTC promotion increased in the online banner ad and sponsorship formats. Spending on search, however, did not increase as rapidly. In total, Kantar Health statistics show that the DTC Internet marketing component of pharma company budgets stands at 6.6% of the ad budget. And that spending equated to $315 million in 2009 which was more than double the 2008 spending level.

Pharmaceutical firms are spending even more online to reach the professional, primarily physicians, market. In 2009, the online spending level crossed the half-billion dollar mark and totaled $523 million. According to SDI, the ePromotion category for physicians accounts for 2.5% of total online pharma marketing to professionals.

This increased spending, especially to physicians, comes at the expense of traditional media, primarily medical journals but the industry has also cut spending in DTC magazines.

Overall, analysts are uncertain about exactly how much increased online spending is hurting traditional print. Fred Foard, EVP, strategic insights, at media planning firm CMI cautions against coming up with a quick one-to-one measurement of how online might be replacing print in the industry. He says, “it has more to do with what’s going on with the brand than the media mix. Some brands may be increasing or decreasing spend. It has to do with what they’re trying to accomplish within their lifecycle.”

But it’s clear that pharma companies see advantages in funding both  DTC and physician campaigns when it comes to the digital universe.

[Source: Iskowitz, Marc. “Quantifying pharma’s online promotional shift.” Medical Marketing & Media. 11 May 2010. Web. 25 May 2010]