Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

According to a new study, pharmacists at a retail store are the most influential health care “voice” in getting patients to take medicine as prescribed. Face-to-face discussions between pharmacists and patients in a store were twice as effective boosting adherence rates as programs where pharmacists talk with patients on the telephone, the researchers found. According to Troyen A. Brennan, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Caremark, and an author of the review, “pharmacists and nurses are among the most trusted health care professionals” and the study shows “that trust translates into effective patient communications.” Improving adherence is important as it is a cost-effective way to avoid unnecessary doctors’ visits or hospitalizations. Non-adherence to medications costs the health care system up to $290 billion a year because many of the hospitalizations can be avoided if people take prescriptions as doctors direct.

In the good old days, consumers went to their physicians to learn about medical conditions and prescription medications that might be available for treatment. About 15 years ago, pharmaceutical companies started advertising pills and potions directly to consumers (DTC) and changed the nature of healthcare marketing. Today, pharma companies split their marketing budgets between the DTC and the medical professional channels. The results of a new study on advertising in this industry indicates this model will continue along with the evolving ‘collaborative care’ platform.

Seniors are a natural target for pharmaceutical and healthcare marketers but so far have formed a relatively small part of the online audience for health information. However, with aging boomers, online health info seeking among seniors should rise rapidly. Thus, now is the time for marketers to sow their seeds online. To that end, advertising to seniors should focus on providing helpful information about drug side affects and safety, be visually appealing, be trustworthy, and provide information about diseases and how to cope with them.

By most accounts, pharmaceutical companies have been slow to engage consumers through new media formats like social networking and online communities. To date, the largest share of marketing in this industry has been directed to physicians who prescribe medications and to consumers via TV ads. Accenture has been reviewing this topic and analysts believe that pharma companies are missing an opportunity.

As recently as 2002, nearly 70% of U.S medical practices were owned by doctors. But now, over half of medical practices are owned by hospitals and the trend toward big medicine is expected to continue. The statistics come from the Medical Group Management Association data and suggest that big changes are in store for how health care is marketed and delivered.

Pharmaceutical marketers expect sales to increase going into 2011. While the largest increases will occur in emerging markets like China, consumers in the U.S. will be buying more medications, too. Overall, according to IMS Health, pharmaceutical companies will bring in an amount equivalent to US$880 billion in 2011, globally, which represents a growth rate of between 5-7%. All of this growth will likely be spurred by new ad campaigns.