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Addressing adherence at the point of care and beyond

By Phreesia Network Solutions

From tailored support to personalized messaging, explore how Phreesia can help patients, providers and brands improve medication adherence—together.

Any number of barriers can preclude patients from filling their prescriptions and taking them as directed, preventing them from successfully starting—and staying on—treatment. In fact, between 20% and 30% of patients don’t fill their prescriptions, but it’s not always easy to understand why.

“Those barriers can vary, depending on which medication we’re talking about and where a patient is in their treatment journey,” explains Monica Garcia, Associate Director of Strategy at Phreesia. “For some patients, the cost of the medication alone can stop them in their tracks. Other patients face logistical issues, such as a lack of transportation to get to a pharmacy, or concerns around the treatment itself, including potential side effects or fear of needles.”

The impact of these barriers cannot be overstated. Poor medication adherence is widespread: 50% of prescriptions for chronic conditions are not taken as directed,¹ and 1 in 3 patients never even fills their prescription.² Straying from a prescribed course of treatment can land patients in the hospital, with nonadherence causing up to 69% of medication-related hospitalizations.³

Becoming better partners

Launched in October 2023, Phreesia’s post-script engagement solution helps healthcare stakeholders start supporting patients the moment a prescription is written for them, whether it’s for a new medication or a refill. Following the conversation the provider and patient have in the office, it reinforces the importance of filling and taking a prescription as directed by addressing patients’ barriers directly.

While patients are the biggest beneficiaries of improved medication adherence, they don’t exist in a vacuum. Healthcare providers and pharmaceutical brands can both leverage the post-script engagement to better partner with patients on their treatment journey.

Phreesia research shows that 25% of patients do not have a very good understanding of the next steps around their prescription medications, and 29% aren’t sure how to manage their medical condition immediately following a healthcare visit. Those percentages are even higher—32% and 43%, respectively—among patients who have not filled a prescription in the past.

Through an intent-to-fill survey, the post-script engagement measures how likely patients are to fill their prescriptions, garnering insights that enable healthcare providers to tailor their interactions with, and support for, patients. Proactively notifying providers about barriers at the time of prescription can also help address them weeks or months earlier than waiting for the patient to return in a follow-up visit or relying on claims-based data.

“A doctor can see if someone is not filling a prescription, let’s say for cost reasons, or because of side effects, and use that knowledge to inform future conversations with that patient,” Garcia says. “The provider can tailor those conversations to help patients discuss the questions or medication barriers they may have previously been too afraid to bring up.”

Brands also can use these insights to tailor their patient communications. Over time, the post-script engagement won’t just offer insights on the individual patient level but also on an aggregate level, allowing brands to understand the common barriers affecting patients taking specific medications and connect them with resources to address these challenges.

Supporting patients with personalized content

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to address medication adherence, which is why personalization is so important, Garcia says.

The post-script engagement can connect patients with resources tailored to their specific needs, including information about patient-support programs (PSPs) that provide education and financial assistance to patients when they’re prescribed a new treatment.

“PSPs are typically customized to each medication and have robust libraries of resources for patients. For example, they can help patients understand what to expect from a medication or show them how to take that medication,” Garcia says.

Unfortunately, there is little awareness about these programs. Phreesia research shows that more than half of patients have little to no knowledge of PSPs, and only 8% of patients recall ever using them.

In addition to providing support based on a patient’s condition and their medication, PSPs also can connect patients with each other, helping them form better support systems to aid in their adherence journeys. Such programs can be particularly helpful to patients with rare diseases who may struggle to find others with the same condition or who have gone through similar experiences.

By engaging patients just after they’ve received a prescription, the post-script engagement has the potential to make a difference across the healthcare ecosystem. From directly supporting patients in their treatment journey and helping providers tailor their interactions to address nonadherence to providing brands with a critical touchpoint for delivering ongoing support tools and personalized resources, post-script engagement can better help patients start—and stay on—treatment.

Phreesia is committed to making care easier every day. Learn how we can help you reach patients with personalized adherence support and empower them to be active participants in their care.

References:

¹ Viswanathan M, Golin CE, Jones CD, Ashok M, Blalock SJ et al. Interventions to Improve Adherence to Self-administered Medications for Chronic Diseases in the United States. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2012;157:785-795. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-11-201212040-00538

² 2022 National Institutes of Health Meta-Analysis

³ Benjamin RM. Medication Adherence: Helping Patients Take Their Medicines As Directed. Public Health Reports. 2012;127(1):2-3. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335491212700102

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3 ways to help patients with rare diseases overcome early challenges

By Jackie Drees

Even after getting diagnosed, challenges for patients living with a rare disease often continue throughout their care journey. Hear from industry experts on how to provide support and address barriers early on.

An estimated 30 million Americans live with a rare disease.¹And while an early diagnosis is essential for connecting them to the specialized care, treatment and support they need, patients with rare conditions typically experience significant delays in securing a diagnosis. In fact, 46% of patients with a rare disease search at least a year for a definitive diagnosis, and 1 in 5 search for more than five years.²

Even after getting diagnosed, challenges for patients living with a rare disease often continue throughout their care journey—such as finding an appropriate specialist for their condition or navigating financial burdens associated with diagnostic tests and treatments, explains Jennifer Roan, Vice President and General Manager–U.S., at PTC Therapeutics. “Addressing these barriers requires a comprehensive approach that involves advocacy, education and collaboration among stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem,” she says.

Here are three ways the industry can help patients with rare conditions address those challenges early in their care journey.

1. Create empathetic, patient-centric content to proactively drive diagnoses

Messaging and creative that improves patients’ understanding of rare-disease signs and symptoms delivers the types of information those with rare conditions value most. Often, many patients and caregivers in the rare disease community struggle with feeling misunderstood, having typically spent years living with ongoing symptoms that have been misdiagnosed.

“By reaching these patients at the beginning of their care research, we can provide them with accurate information, support and resources that can potentially expedite the diagnostic process,” Roan says. “Early intervention not only alleviates suffering but can also affect the progression of the disease and improve the overall prognosis for patients.”

Applying a sensitive, patient-centric approach to messaging is particularly effective in the rare disease community, says Kat Smith, Content Strategy Director at Phreesia. “Content that conveys understanding and empathy throughout the patient’s health journey helps these patients feel seen and supported when they are experiencing uncertainty around their health and have a lot of unanswered questions,” she explains.

In addition, messaging that suggests a patient’s symptoms might be related, or that encourages them to bring up the possibility of a rare disease with their doctor can empower them to have more in-depth exam-room discussions. From there, doctors may then pursue testing options that could bring the patient closer to a diagnosis.

2. Help patients with rare diseases find the right specialists

Once a patient with a rare condition finally obtains a diagnosis, their next challenge is initiating treatment with the right specialist. However, finding a clinician who has experience with their specific condition can be a lengthy and difficult process, which can negatively affect their time to treatment—and ultimately, their health outcomes.

Identifying the right disease expert is critical for ensuring that patients living with rare conditions receive their best possible treatment plan. Specialists who are familiar with the latest research and developments related to a patient’s rare disease can help get that patient on a treatment plan that will give them their best chance for successful outcomes. However, the rarer the disease, the more niche its physician and research communities tend to be, which can make the search for a specialist even more difficult, says Alicia Cowley, MD, Clinical Content Director at Phreesia.

“It’s really important for brands and providers to help patients understand that rare diseases are different than most common conditions, and to then guide them toward appropriate subspecialists for tailored treatment plans, as opposed to a care plan that a more generalist-type of specialist may be able to provide,” she explains.

Digital tools can play an expediting role in linking patients with providers who have expertise in their rare condition. By accelerating their connection to the right care from the right specialist, digital tools can help patients living with rare diseases get the right perspective on treatment more quickly and avoid inefficiencies or unintentional missteps that might result from working with providers who have little experience with their condition.

Roan adds, “By proactively engaging with patients during this critical phase, we can bridge gaps in care and facilitate timely access to appropriate treatments, ultimately improving outcomes.”

3. Deliver tailored support and resources

Living with a rare disease is not only isolating, it also can be confusing and expensive. With the high cost and complex administration regimens of many rare disease treatments, it’s important to meet patients with tailored financial assistance, educational materials and community support resources to help them overcome adherence barriers.

Direct medical costs for patients with rare diseases are three to five times higher than costs for patients with non-rare diseases.³ While many patients may experience relief once they’ve been diagnosed, the financial burden of rare disease treatment options—especially if their insurance doesn’t cover them—can quickly become overwhelming, Cowley explains.

“On the one hand, the patient is relieved to know that there are treatment options available, but then the heartbreak sets in, realizing that insurance might not cover it,” she says. These are the moments when providing patient support programs (PSPs), co-pay assistance or access to compassionate use programs for investigational therapies are paramount for helping patients with rare diseases continue their treatment journey.

Industry stakeholders can also provide support by partnering with patient advocacy organizations and healthcare providers to establish new PSPs, facilitate peer-to-peer connections and advocate for policy changes to improve access to rare disease treatments, says Roan.

“By combining innovative and transformative therapies with patient-centered support initiatives, biotech/pharma can contribute to a more holistic and inclusive approach to rare disease care from the earliest stages of the patient journey,” she says.

Find out how Phreesia can help you make care easier every day for patients with a rare disease by empowering them to be active participants at every stage of their healthcare journey.

References:

¹ Kaufmann P, Pariser AR, Austin C. From scientific discovery to treatments for rare diseases—the view from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences—Office of Rare Diseases Research. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. 2018;(13):196. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-018-0936-x

² The search for a specialist. https://networksolutions.phreesia.com/infographics/the-search-for-a-specialist/

³ Tisdale A, Cutillo CM, Nathan R, Russo P, Laraway B et al. The IDeaS initiative: pilot study to assess the impact of rare diseases on patients and healthcare systems. Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. 2021;(16):429. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-021-02061-3

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Women don’t feel adequately represented in healthcare media. Here’s how to help change that

By Jackie Drees

Womanhood is multi-faceted, yet in healthcare media, the representation of women and those who identify as women has remained static—and many feel underrepresented, according to a study conducted by WPP and SeeHer. How can the industry help change that?

Womanhood is dynamic and multi-faceted, yet in healthcare media, the representation of women and those who identify as women has remained static—and many feel underrepresented, according to a study conducted by WPP and SeeHer.

Nearly half (47%) of the women and nonbinary individuals who participated in the study said they believe that media shies away from talking about women’s health issues.¹ That finding indicates not only a severe gap in addressing women’s healthcare needs, but also missed opportunities to engage with and help improve the long-term health outcomes of female-identifying patient populations.

The study’s results suggest that communications about women’s health can—and should—better represent their needs across areas ranging from weight and mental health to reproductive care. Indeed, there are several distinct opportunities for the industry to begin making improvements, notes Jordan Osborne, Lead Client Experience Manager at Phreesia. 

“Women have many kinds of shared experiences, but we are far from a homogenous group,” Osborne says. “Brands must approach women as individuals with their own unique beliefs, thoughts and experiences if they want their campaigns to connect with and empower women across the board.”

Here are four ways to improve the representation of women in healthcare media and reach them with authentic messaging that speaks to their unique needs and experiences.

1. Understand research disparities in women’s health

Until the 1990s, women in the U.S. were not typically included in clinical research.² While their participation in clinical trials has since increased, women’s health conditions still represent only 1% of healthcare research outside of oncology.³That disparity is particularly marked in cardiology studies, Osborne says. Early cardiovascular-disease research focused primarily on men’s physiological symptoms, leaving the different symptoms that often present in women off the radar. As a result, women are 50% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack and more likely than men to die from one.⁴

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and yet we are still basing care and treatment decisions on outdated studies that excluded more than half of the population,” Osborne says. “Life sciences companies have an opportunity to evolve not only how they are conducting their research, but also the way they communicate new learnings, outcomes and information to both healthcare providers and their key patient populations.”

2. Rethink segmentation

Most brands currently segment messaging to women based on their demographics, but WPP’s study revealed that the physical aspects of womanhood are less important to women than their self-perception and personal beliefs. Study participants said the most significant parts of their identities relate to their personality traits (34%), beliefs and values/culture (19%), roles and titles (13%), sexual orientation and relationship status (11%), followed by physical traits (9%) and interests (5%).

“Women are often portrayed based on their relation to other people—as mothers, daughters, friends, caregivers—however, it’s very important not to flatten their experiences into those roles,” Osborne says. “Of course, brands can lean on those shared experiences to help build a connection, but it’s equally important to include the unique and specific stories that make them who they are into representation.”

3. Leverage an omnichannel messaging approach

It’s crucial to embrace an omnichannel approach that delivers relevant messaging to women at the right moments in their healthcare journey, since their needs vary widely based on their day-to-day roles. For example, brands may tailor their point-of-care messaging for the “substantial proportion” of women who lean on their obstetrician/gynecologist for primary care and do not visit a traditional primary-care provider regularly.⁵ Additionally, a significant number of women face greater time constraints because they work two jobs: one in the labor market and the other managing their home and family responsibilities.

“We have to think about the different aspects of a healthcare journey and the fact that no two journeys are identical,” Osborne says. “It’s important to have an omnichannel strategy that delivers the right message at the right place, while also intercepting women during the right time—whether they are actively thinking about their healthcare, or to inspire action when they are deprioritizing it.”

4. Develop authentic content

Brands also have an opportunity to break taboos around women’s health and to deliver the authentic content that women prefer, the report found. Among women’s health concerns, the women in the WPP study said that reproductive health is the least likely topic to be addressed in media and advertising. More than half (52%) of surveyed women reported that miscarriage is not depicted in content, and 45% reported that periods are not accurately portrayed.

To feel authentic, content should also be inclusive and represent women from all backgrounds. “Brands can drive connection by involving women from diverse and underserved communities in creative development from conception through execution,” Osborne says. That means taking the time to interview women about their different experiences and validating messaging with real people to make sure it resonates, she adds. It also means leading with a diverse approach to media planning rather than including D&I as an afterthought.

“These steps can go a long way toward ensuring our messaging reflects our audience’s unique needs and resonates with their individual beliefs and shared experiences,” Osborne says.

Find out how Phreesia can help you better connect with patients and deliver relevant health content that meets their needs.

References:

¹ “Health On Her Terms,” WPP and SeeHer, November 2022.

²Zucker I, Prendergast BJ. Sex differences in pharmacokinetics predict adverse drug reactions in women. Biol Sex Diff. 2020;11(32). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-020-00308-5

^{3, 4}“Unlocking opportunities in women’s healthcare,” McKinsey & Company, Feb. 14, 2022.

⁵Mazzoni S et al. Patient Perspectives of Obstetrician-Gynecologists as Primary Care Providers. J Reprod Med. 2017;62(1-2):3-8.

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3 strategies for meeting cancer patients with the right content in the right moment

By Phreesia Network Solutions

Despite a wealth of available disease information online, many cancer patients still have critical gaps in their knowledge of their condition. Hear from industry experts on how to reach patients with the tools they need to navigate their cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Cancer patients face a modern problem. The internet is awash with disease information, yet many oncology patients have critical gaps in their knowledge of their condition. Exposed to a torrent of information of varying quality from pre-diagnosis onward, patients can struggle to identify and retain what they need to know to take an active role in their care and decision-making. So how can the industry help?

On a recent webinar, Phreesia and Fierce Pharma convened experts to discuss ways to connect cancer patients to education and support. Jenny Kite, Director, Patient Partnerships, Astellas, summed up the knowledge problem patients face. “All this information is out there, but it’s like a junk drawer. It’s in there, but good luck finding it,” Kite said.

Kite and her fellow panelists are working to help cancer patients find the content and resources they need to navigate their condition. Here, we look at three techniques they have successfully deployed.

1. Engage, then act

Engaging with patients is critical to understanding the type of education and support they need to manage their disease, and the panelists provided concrete examples of how they capture and act on patient feedback.

Laurie Meyers, Executive Director of Engagement and Experience Design, Genentech, said that while it sounds easy, really listening to patients and their care partners is something that takes time. Meyers shared examples of the key questions Genentech asks when it surveys patients about its support programs.

“The two questions that we dig into are, ‘How easy is it for you to be able to navigate these programs?’ and ‘How satisfied are you?’ I think those two questions are super important,” Meyers said. The answers show whether programs are actually working for patients.

Kite added that Astellas has patients, advocacy groups and caregivers work alongside its internal teams to co-create content and understand the needs of the community. The external stakeholders are sometimes even part of regular team meetings, giving them a platform that has led to changes at Astellas. “I’ve seen just a ton of innovation in the last couple years, in some cases really flipping programs on their head and saying, ‘Hey, you’re doing this totally wrong. Let’s do this other way,’” Kite said.

2. Consider where patients are in their journey

As cancer treatments get more precise and personalized, general content that isn’t tailored to patients and where they are on their cancer journey holds less value. For each cancer type, and at each juncture, patients occupy distinct headspaces and have particular support and education needs. Understanding those needs—and delivering content tailored to them—can help overcome overload and give patients what will help them most at that time.

Alexandra Beneville, VP, Content Strategy, Phreesia, said companies should avoid throwing everything at patients at the same time. Instead, “match the moment to the content and to the need,” Beneville said. A patient who is waiting to meet their physician will value different content than a patient who is researching advocacy groups at home.

Nick Lucente, Executive Director of Oncology Patient Marketing, Bayer, discussed how his team is putting that thinking into practice.

“Part of that is working with different teams, like our nurse education team, for example, and making sure they’re working to match content in that moment depending on where patients are in their own journey,” Lucente said.

3. Partner with the advocate community

But, as Meyers put it, “as a pharma organization, we cannot move the needle on these things alone.” The solution the panelists proposed is to work with patient advocacy groups. Meyers cited Genentech’s work on liver cancer as an example of the power of collaboration.

“This is an area where our advocacy teams have been able to partner with advocacy groups that we know are able to reach patients. The way that they’re able to help with education is moving that needle in a way that the partnership helps. We can’t do that alone,” Meyers said.

Kite discussed how alliances with advocacy groups succeed at Astellas. “They have proven that they’re really good at connecting at the right time with the right patient in a way that the patient can understand,” she said. Now, she’s working to connect patients and caregivers to the advocacy community sooner in their diagnosis and empower nurses and nurse navigators to deliver relevant information in a meaningful way.

All participants are paid employees of their organization. Statements of fact, positions taken and opinions expressed are those of the participants individually and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the their employer.

Find out how Phreesia can help you reach clinically relevant patients to help drive awareness of their condition, treatment and support offerings.

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Meet MediFind: Q&A with Founder Patrick Howie

By Jackie Drees

We spoke with Patrick Howie, Founder of MediFind and Vice President, Product Management at Phreesia, about how MediFind builds on our legacy of engaging with patients while they’re in a healthcare state of mind and activating them at critical moments along the patient journey.

Now available through Phreesia, MediFind uses cutting-edge technology to connect high-intent patients with the right doctors and treatments based on the patient’s condition.

Patrick Howie, Founder of MediFind and Vice President, Product Management at Phreesia, spoke with us about how MediFind builds on Phreesia’s legacy of engaging with patients while they’re in a healthcare state of mind and activating them at critical moments along the patient journey.

See below for a lightly edited summary of our discussion.

Phreesia: Why is MediFind a great fit with Phreesia’s portfolio? How does it advance Phreesia’s mission to activate patients in order to improve their healthcare outcomes?

Patrick Howie: MediFind’s mission has always been to reduce time in the treatment journey for patients. One of our core focuses is helping patients find the right doctor or specialist for their condition. However, we haven’t always had direct relationships with those doctors, so we couldn’t help patients easily connect with them to make appointments.

“Now that MediFind is part of Phreesia, we have access to Phreesia’s provider network and can help close the loop: Patients can look for a doctor, book their appointment and check-in for their visit in a streamlined, user-friendly way.”

Now that MediFind is part of Phreesia, we have access to Phreesia’s provider network and can help close the loop: Patients can look for a doctor, book their appointment and check-in for their visit in a streamlined, user-friendly way. MediFind is also helping to enhance Phreesia’s mission of patient activation and driving better health outcomes by expanding Phreesia’s ability to connect with patients beyond those who have already chosen their doctor, as well as helping more doctors get new patients who may not have found them when searching for care on their own.

Phreesia: What makes MediFind different from other consumer websites that help you find healthcare providers?

Patrick Howie: The biggest difference by far is the way we’ve thought about patients, particularly those who are looking for a doctor. There are clearly other websites offering to help patients find a doctor, but they almost always exclusively prioritize patients who are searching for a specialist, without regard to the patient’s specific condition. If you have a challenging condition or a rare disease, and you already know or suspect what your problem is, MediFind believes the next step is to bring in an expert to address your issue. However, not every doctor is an expert in every condition or disease. Our rankings are based on a variety of data sources such as the number of articles a doctor has published in medical journals, prescribing and referral patterns, as well as the number of patients a doctor sees for a given condition. Our database is not based on user reviews, and doctors do not pay to be included.

Our Doctor Finder starts with all the specific conditions and diseases that a patient might have and shares the best doctors in the world so the patient can see what care is available to them. Generally, if you talk with patients who have an issue finding the right specialist, it could take days, weeks, months or maybe even years for them to get connected with experts, which can have a negative impact on their health. MediFind’s ability to cut that time short is by far our biggest distinction and why we’ve been able to grow so rapidly compared with these incumbent sites that have been around for 20 years.

Phreesia: How has MediFind joining Phreesia expanded the number of patients we can reach?

Patrick Howie: Phreesia’s patient base comprises patients whose providers use Phreesia’s technology, whereas MediFind’s patient pool is broader. Now, as part of Phreesia, MediFind opens the aperture to any patient who is not satisfied with their current provider or who needs to find another doctor, which may be necessary for various reasons, such as receiving a new diagnosis or because their doctor has retired. Phreesia is perfectly positioned right at the point of care, and MediFind is a great extension for engagement as our patient base is individuals seeking to get to the point of care.

Phreesia: Why is it so important to connect with patients across every stage of their care journey?

Patrick Howie: MediFind is designed to match the patient journey, which realistically is very episodic. Finding a doctor is the number one most important action, but the reality of the patient journey is that you frequently find multiple doctors, whether you want to get a second opinion or have side effects that require another specialist to help manage.

Patients typically don’t think about their health until they have to, so when they come to MediFind, they’re looking for a solution to solve their problem. They’re constantly going through the journey of considering what their condition could be, so we built a symptom checker for patients to assess factors such as which type of doctor they should see, and we have a clinical trial finder to help patients who may be much further along in their journey find a novel treatment. Now, with the ability to integrate with Phreesia, we can engage these individuals who are actively seeking out critical health information and effectively guide them to action.

Phreesia: How can MediFind help life sciences companies connect with patients during critical moments of their healthcare journey?

Patrick Howie: MediFind is the only digital platform that empowers brands to engage with patients when they’re actively searching for the best doctors and treatments. Our platform reaches more patients in the moment they are actively searching for care than any other website, which is why we’re the No. 1 organic Google search result for patients seeking the best doctors across the thousands of health conditions that we cover. This closely aligns MediFind with Phreesia’s reach, as both platforms are rooted in interacting with patients when they are in a healthcare state of mind.

With MediFind, brands can reach high-intent patients who are much more likely to listen to messaging at the moment in their healthcare journey when it feels personal to them and the care they are searching for, versus seeing brand messaging on TV, social media or a different consumer website during a more general time in their life.

Learn how MediFind and Phreesia can connect you with highly engaged patients and help them find better care, faster.

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4 ways to stay nimble amid digital disruption

By Phreesia Network Solutions

The digital landscape is rapidly transforming. Hear from industry experts about how to pivot quickly to stay best positioned for success.

The digital landscape is rapidly transforming. Tactics and platforms that have long been cornerstones of digital patient engagement are being shaken by major changes, forcing teams to rethink their strategies monthly. Amid this upheaval, brands that deploy a range of tactics—and can switch quickly between those tactics based on results and the evolution of the digital world—are best-positioned to succeed.

At Digital Pharma East 2023, Phreesia’s Director of Analytics, Amy Patel, spoke to leaders from Alkermes, IPG Health, Blueprint Medicines and UCB about how the industry is responding to the tumult. Patel set the scene. “We’ve seen so many digital disruptions lately, including chaos at Twitter/X, changes and challenges around privacy and tracking concerns on major social media platforms, new channels, new things to do within those channels,” she said.

These shifts have required a response from the industry. Here, we look at four essential tips for staying nimble amid digital disruption.

1. Stay up to date

Lisa Frankina, Director of Digital Marketing for VIVITROL® at Alkermes, shared how she and her team are adapting to the fact that “social media platforms are just a moving target,” explaining that they keep up with platform updates, compliance and more by checking for changes at least once a month. At UCB, Grace Rodriguez, Head of DTC Portfolio Marketing, iPVU, said her company forges close ties with agencies to keep up to date on all things digital.

“In pharma, very politely, we’re almost always a half step behind, because it just takes us that little bit longer to get things through or get them approved or get an understanding of how it impacts us,” Rodriguez explained.

In addition to paying close attention to what she sees in the media, as a member of a smaller company, Natalie Wills, Associate Director of Marketing with Blueprint Medicines, said she also watches what other players in the industry are doing.

2. Monitor what works

Brands that switch to a more flexible approach can best support their efforts by sharpening their focus on measurable outcomes and return on investment. Jack Vance, Managing Director of Data and Activation at SOLVE(D), An IPG Health Company, explained why campaign-measurement data is essential for effective decision-making in today’s environment.

“Defining success early allows us to be more nimble,” Vance said. “If you can get aligned with your clients on how you are going to evaluate every one of these platforms, it takes away some of the subjectivity around what’s working and what’s not. We’re all in agreement that we need to reach the right patients or the right HCPs. If a platform is not doing that anymore, we’re going to pull it off the media plan.”

The panelists agreed on the importance of constantly evaluating what is working and being ready to act, either by optimizing an initiative or dropping it altogether. “We’ve built more flexibility into our media plans this year than in any year I ever have worked in this space,” Vance affirmed.

At UCB, Rodriguez often allocates more of her budget to the first few months of the year, enabling the team to gather data to inform program optimization later in the year. That analysis can result in ending projects in some cases, so being aware of a program’s cancellation terms is key, she cautioned.

3. Educate leaders on new tactics

Shifting to a more flexible approach requires buy-in from other staff, particularly senior leaders. There can be resistance to spending money outside of traditional channels, but the pace of change demands adaptability and going where the patients are. Rodriguez’s agency experience informs how she works to bring her UCB colleagues on board.

“I literally prep for every leadership meeting and every [medical, legal and regulatory] meeting as if I’m back on the agency side going to present to my client,” she said. ‘How do I bring them along on this journey? Why is it important for them to understand?’ It’s really setting up that story and bringing them along to ensure they understand exactly why we have to be there, and what happens if we’re not.”

Educating fellow stakeholders early on about new and emerging platforms and tactics also ensures that reviews can proceed in a timely manner, allowing brand teams to pivot quickly if necessary. Frankina explained that she’s part of a digital steering committee at Alkermes that creates corporate guidelines for every social-media platform the company currently uses or is considering—and how those guidelines simplify the approvals process.

“You’re much more collaborative, you’re having more productive discussions,” Frankina said. “It’s not about going in and understanding what that functionality is and how that really works, so it’s a much smoother process when it comes to approvals if you’ve got those things prepared, and everybody understands what they’re dealing with.”

4. Build trust with patients

With privacy concerns bringing the era of the third-party cookie to a close, brands are paying more attention to how they can safely and consensually collect information themselves. “If you want to be able to talk to the right people, collecting your own data and understanding who the people are who are consuming your content or using your product is a really great way to hedge that,” Vance recommended.

That growing focus on first-party data also is changing how brands engage with patients. “We’re going to where patients are searching for information, and then trying to get them to our website so they can learn more,” Wills explained. “We’re building a meaningful relationship with them, so that as they go from consideration to treatment to adherence, we now own that relationship, and I’m not relying on trying to find them again.”

Critically, the pathway sketched out by Wills only works if patients see value in sharing their data and provide their consent. Frankina detailed how Alkermes works to build trust with patients, explaining the roles that video and patient testimonials play in forging interpersonal connections.

“You build that trust through your ad units, your storytelling, your patient testimonials, along with providing something of value, and then, at that point, they’re willing to engage,” Frankina said. “From there, you’re able to provide that personalized experience, which then hopefully leads to higher conversion.”

Learn more about how Phreesia can help you connect with key patients amid the changing digital landscape.

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How to optimize content for patient health literacy

By Phreesia Network Solutions

Brands are increasingly paying attention to whether their intended audiences can understand and act on the content they deliver.

The factors that inform campaign copy and design choices are changing. Increasingly, brands are paying more attention to a core question: Can my intended audience easily understand and act on this information? The shift reflects recognition of the importance of health literacy in achieving health equity.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines health literacy as the degree to which individuals can find, understand and use information and content to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. That makes health literacy a social determinant of health; the ability or inability to find, understand and use health information can impact patients’ health outcomes.

A key concept to remember is that “health literacy is a state, not a trait,” explain Holly Ricci and Lindsey Lilly, Senior Copywriters at Phreesia who recently completed the Health Literacy Certificate Program at the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA). This means that health literacy levels can fluctuate depending on patients’ circumstances, independent of their education or reading level. “No matter what you put in front of a patient who just got a cancer diagnosis, it will blur in front of their eyes,” Ricci says.

It’s particularly important to consider the situational nature of health literacy when communicating at the point of care, where patients may be nervous, unwell or in a hurry. “It’s helpful to be as mindful as possible about their mindset, their stress level and their familiarity with the disease,” Lilly said.

Focusing on the most important information, arranging it logically and ensuring it is easy to read will result in content that is digestible, accessible and actionable for all patient audiences. Here’s how.

Use simple copy to increase understanding

Using plain language is critical for maximizing health literacy, especially since health conditions and treatments are complicated subjects that are often discussed using technical language and jargon that can be a barrier to understanding. Copy should be simple, and calls to action should be clear and succinct.

“It’s about speaking conversationally. You can start a sentence with a conjunction or a preposition, and you can end a sentence with a preposition. This is not academic writing—it’s talking to people. Use simple verbs and use the present tense, and speak to people directly,” Ricci says.

And what you don’t say can be as important as what you do say. Everyone has a finite capacity to retain messages, and that limit can be low in stressful healthcare settings. Lilly recommends being very strategic with messaging to focus on a key takeaway that may interest a patient rather than bombarding them with more information than they can process.

Design content to help patients retain key messages

Design elements can also help make messaging easier to understand, either by enhancing the copy or mitigating the shortcomings of text that’s been set in stone after medical, legal and regulatory affairs review. Patients are unlikely to read every word, but effective design choices overcome that problem by setting the text out in a way that allows readers to absorb the core message even if they only scan the material.

“You want to be sure that you’re using a clear, legible typeface. You don’t want anything that looks too tight, or too far apart, for that matter. Use a variety of upper and lowercase letters. You don’t want to have everything in all caps,” Lilly says.

Lilly and Ricci recommend breaking the copy up into smaller paragraphs, a practice known as chunking, and structuring the text so the material guides the eye to the key message. Bullet points are an effective way to clearly communicate critical points, with key information immediately visible. If patients have to scroll to read a message, many will never see it.

Other best practices include leaving as much white space as possible and including subheadings, which can help patients get the gist even if they only run their eyes over the material. Adding images and graphics breaks up the content, enhances the messaging and gives brands a chance to use their own iconography.

Tailor content to the intended audience

Health literacy is shaped by cultural perspectives and, as such, decisions about the copy and design must be informed by knowledge of the intended audience. Effective campaigns consider patients’ perspectives and tailor messages to them, resulting in content that the audience can understand and act on.

“It’s speaking to people the way that they want to be spoken to. Taking that diversity into account is a big part of health literacy,” Lilly says. “Speaking to people in a way that’s respectful and mindful of their culture is the best way to improve communication.”

The ability to tailor messages relies on a clear understanding of the intended audience, which for some campaigns may be broad and diverse. In these instances, using illustrations that are culturally generic, rather than photographs of actual people, can help more patients see themselves in an image and reduces the risk that the specificity of an image will prevent people from engaging with the content.

Learn how Phreesia can help you reach the right patients with tailored, digestible and actionable content.

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The future of omnichannel messaging: 3 considerations

By Jackie Drees

The industry continues to evolve in response to changing consumer expectations and technology innovations, with major implications for media planning—including opportunities to take omnichannel campaigns to the next level.

With consumers’ growing demand for convenient and personalized healthcare experiences, brands and media planners have ramped up their adoption of digital tools and strategies that put patients at the center of messaging efforts, such as an omnichannel media approach that integrates messaging across multiple channels. Now, thanks to automation and data advances, the future of omnichannel will become “more dynamic with messaging in the moment,” explains José Ferreira, EVP, Product Strategy and Transformation, CMI Media Group.

Although omnichannel messaging opens the door for reaching patients across channels ranging from television to digital communication at the point of care, Ferreira’s vision of an “omnidynamic strategy” takes the concept one step further to reach patients with the healthcare content they need at specific moments.

“Omnidynamic marries the concept of dynamic creative optimization with the patient journey,” Ferreira says. “It’s automation that supports a better patient experience, or serves the patient more efficiently based off of their needs.”

Using this idea of an omnidynamic approach, brands can tailor content for patients based on where they are in their individual therapeutic journey. Omnidynamic messaging can help equip patients with relevant educational resources that empower them to discuss therapy options with their healthcare provider, choose the right medications and understand the importance of adhering to them—resulting in better health outcomes.

At CMI Media Group’s 2023 Omnidynamic Agility in Media + Creative event, industry leaders discussed up-and-coming healthcare media innovations and important areas for brands to focus on within an omnidynamic strategy. Here are three key takeaways from the conference.

1. Evaluate messaging channels

It’s easy to fall into the routine of leveraging the same channels, tactics and partners to execute messaging each year. But brands now have new opportunities to gather data-driven insights that can help them better understand the channels with which patients will likely engage. Applying a forward-thinking mindset to patient engagement prompts brands to explore more innovative messaging strategies, including an omnidynamic approach. Technology can deepen brands’ understanding of how patients are experiencing messaging and what their exposure to content looks like—vital insights that brands can employ to ensure they deliver the right messages to the right patients at the right time.

2. Meet content demands

The need to produce more content is ever-present in media, especially personalized content that empowers patients to initiate discussions with their doctor and take an active role in their healthcare decisions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one method to help support content creation. However, it’s important to stay vigilant about the potential issues that can arise from AI-produced content, including an increase in misinformation. Teaching patients and consumers to think critically about AI content and recognize the misinformation it may provide on a digital platform can encourage them to think twice about the resources they find online—which can be especially helpful in combatting false information about concerns such as vaccine hesitancy.

3. Incorporate the patient voice

To resonate with diverse audiences, it’s vital to incorporate experiences and feedback from patients of various backgrounds and demographics. Brands have an opportunity to connect with patients on many different levels, rather than just showing them a single message broadcast to every patient. Leveraging communication platforms that can solicit patient feedback while weaving their own stories and insights into messaging will resonate with all types of patients, thereby creating a stronger relationship with the brand.

Find out how Phreesia can connect you to the patients you need to reach—wherever and however they seek care.

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4 tips for reaching and activating patients in historically marginalized communities

By Phreesia Network Solutions

Growing recognition of the barriers to care that historically marginalized patient populations face is motivating industry stakeholders to find ways to deliver tailored content that resonates with these groups and facilitates health education.

Historically marginalized patient populations face a range of barriers to care. Whether cultural or linguistic, economic or geographic, the effects are the same: Inequity in accessing the resources and support they need to play an active role in managing their health. Growing recognition of these barriers and their negative impact is motivating healthcare stakeholders to find ways to deliver tailored content that resonates with these populations and facilitates health education.

Recently, Thea Briggs, Director of Strategy for Phreesia, and Egbavwe Pela, SVP of Media Strategy at CMI Media Group, joined the MM+M Podcast to discuss strategies for reaching and activating patients in historically marginalized groups to improve health equity. Here, we look at four takeaways from that conversation.

1. Listen to patient communities

Briggs said two common mistakes exist among healthcare communicators, even with the best intentions: They assume they know what communities need; and they describe health problems differently than the communities the communications are intended to reach. Projects that start from a point of ignorance of the community’s perspective, even if well-researched from an academic or clinical perspective, can cause researchers and communicators to fail to ask key questions of their intended audience which, in turn, make the communications less effective. Those difficulties can be avoided by consulting and listening to those who are part of the community you’re trying to reach early and often.

“A lot of these communities, whether it’s a low-resource community or a community that has faced a stigma or a host of other things, have been working around problems and may have assets that we aren’t thinking about,” Briggs said.

Taking time to understand the lives of people with a particular health condition also can reveal important details—such as the comorbidities that concern those individuals the most, or symptoms and practical challenges that have the largest negative impact on their quality of life—and ensure that campaigns are authentic and easier for audiences to believe and incorporate into their decision-making, she explained.

Pela further emphasized the need to be a year-round part of the communities you’re trying to understand and support, as well as the risk of performative community engagement. “Really join the conversation, be in the conversation—and not just once a year, or one week out of the year,” he advised. “It becomes offensive [if you only show up during an awareness month], and there’s no way to bring trust if you’re not really there living life with them and being part of that community.”

2. Incorporate the voice of the intended audience

Having the right people in the room—including members of a communication’s intended audience—when decisions are made helps avoid approaching a particular group as a monolith, Pela explained. Those community co-creators will flag missteps and ensure that teams are “truly creating imagery and messaging that resonates,” he said.

Qualitative research can also help illuminate how different communities talk about and understand their conditions, medications and needs. That level of personal insight can bring a lot of color to a campaign, Briggs said, but there are limits to what it can reveal. Teams achieve the best results by combining qualitative and quantitative research.

“There’s a lot of variation within a population,” Briggs said. “Making sure that you’re at least not excluding or offending people who you intend to be recipients of a message is a good place to start, and research can be very valuable for that.”

3. Find the right medium for the message

But the content of a message is only one piece of the patient-activation puzzle; how it’s delivered is also critical. Messages must be communicated through the right medium, depending on the intended audience and project goals.

Briggs explained that various media, such as video, audio and print, have different processing methods, some of which are more accessible than others to populations like those with hearing loss, those who are neurodivergent, or those who speak a different language. In order to be complete and accurate, some campaigns need to describe medical topics that are hard for many patients to understand. But sometimes it’s impossible to simplify that type of language and retain its meaning.

Switching to a different medium can help address that challenge. “Communicating [information] in a different way, like having it in a video where you can overlay text and audio and imagery at the same time, can help reach more folks because people learn differently,” Briggs explained.

4. Communicate messages via trusted channels

Healthcare communications also can fail to have the desired impact if they’re not delivered in the right context.

Pela pointed to access issues and waste as key problems created by selecting the wrong channels for a given message. “A broad programmatic buy [will] overwhelmingly be reaching the majority audience,” he said. “Those broad buys under-index in every minority group. Making sure that we’re using partners and publishers that over-index in the group that we’re looking for is going to be key to making sure that the content that we’ve worked so hard to create is actually reaching the group that it’s intended to reach.”

Working with diverse suppliers and partners is key to this strategy. Although these partners can reach a broad audience, generally speaking, they also have a unique ability to ensure they’re reaching diverse audiences in a unique way.

Another misstep is placing content in a context that the intended population may see but does not trust. “One thing that’s really important to consider is thinking about that halo effect of where you are placing materials for these communities,” Briggs said. “You sometimes have to think a little bit outside the box. Sometimes it’s faith leaders who are giving health guidance, sometimes it’s in barber shops, sometimes it’s at school, and sometimes digital channels are the best way to do it.”

For each community, there are a range of potential spaces and channels that may be effective. Making thoughtful choices and putting materials in trusted contexts is critical to success. “Even the best creative placed in a context they don’t trust—there’s going to be some tension there,” Briggs said.

Learn how Phreesia can help you reach and activate diverse patient groups by delivering tailored health content that addresses their unique needs.

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3 unique strategies to maximize point-of-care campaigns

By Jackie Drees

From promoting health equity to helping improve medication adherence and more, explore some of the ways that Phreesia can help brands maximize their point-of-care campaigns and activate key patients in the moments that matter.

Digital innovations have greatly expanded the possibilities for engaging with patients at the point of care, solidifying the channel as a key outlet for doing much more than driving brand awareness and sending patient reminders.

Point-of-care outreach can make an even greater impact with Phreesia’s PatientConnect platform, which helps brands reach high-quality audiences at every stage of their healthcare journey, including before and after appointments. From promoting health equity to improving medication adherence, explore some of the ways that Phreesia helps brands maximize their campaigns and activate key patients in the moments that matter. Here are three of our data and content-segmentation capabilities to explore.

1. Promote culturally competent campaigns

Our digital point-of-care platform, PatientConnect, leverages information collected with consent on Phreesia’s intake platform during appointment check-in to deliver personalized health content to clinically qualified patients. With the ability to reach specific patient groups, brands can diversify their messaging to those patients’ individual needs and experiences, focusing on their medical or medication history, language preferences, insurance coverage type and other meaningful data.

Indeed, crafting culturally relevant messaging is imperative for effectively connecting with diverse patient audiences—and approximately 1 in 5 people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home.¹ Identifying language and other patient barriers to care gives brands the opportunity to personalize doctor discussion guides and offer resources relevant to patients’ racial or ethnic background. For example, after serving a culturally relevant health message on our platform to patients from a specific racial or ethnic group, results showed a 25% increase in those patients’ plans to discuss that health topic with their provider, compared to a nontailored message.

2. Drive earlier diagnosis and testing

In addition to delivering content tailored by demographic, Phreesia can also provide symptomatic and high-risk patients with disease education to drive earlier diagnosis and testing. Point-of-care messaging, particularly when it’s personalized, can help patients recognize whether their symptoms align with a specific disease or condition—and raise that possibility with their doctor during their appointment. From there, doctors can discuss symptoms and explore testing options that can lead to a faster diagnosis. That was the case for Chemikia White, a Phreesia patient.

“Phreesia saved my life. After viewing health content on its platform during check-in, I decided to ask my doctor about a potential treatment for some issues I was experiencing,” White says. “My doctor ran some tests that showed I had a severe medical condition, and I ended up having an operation that pretty much saved my life. The content Phreesia presented helped me ask the right questions to get the care I needed.”

When patients don’t get necessary preventive care, their risks for avoidable illnesses and premature mortality goes up—as does the cost of their care. And with missed preventive care opportunities amounting to an estimated $55 billion per year in the U.S.,² providing patients with the right tools and information just before their medical appointments is a strong way to help improve health outcomes and drive down costs. For example, in one campaign on the Phreesia platform, patients who were served unbranded educational messaging about a condition were four times more likely after screening to receive a diagnosis than the general population.

3. Boost retention and prescription fills

Poor medication adherence is a huge problem across the U.S., with the National Institutes of Health estimating that 1 in 3 patients never fill their prescriptions across categories.³ To address that problem, Phreesia helps brands understand the various real-world barriers that keep patients from adhering to their prescribed medication, says Alicia Cowley, MD, Director of Clinical Content, Phreesia.

“Barriers to adherence don’t just stem from patients not knowing enough about or feeling apprehensive about taking a medication,” Cowley explains. “There are countless logistical and financial challenges that keep patients from taking prescriptions, so it’s crucial to find out what those are and address them on an individual level.”

Patients also are often unaware that condition-specific patient-support programs (PSPs), treatment-reminder programs and copay assistance even exist: Phreesia survey data shows that 3 in 5 patients have little to no knowledge of PSPs, and just 3% of eligible patients currently use them. Leveraging the point of care to connect patients with educational content and support resources that are personalized to their unique needs can help ensure successful patient starts and meet medication-adherence challenges head-on.

Learn more about how Phreesia can help you take your campaigns to the next level and activate the right patients in the moments that matter.

References:

1 “American Community Survey: Selected Social Characteristics in the United States,” U.S. Census Bureau, 2021.

2 Batarseh F, Ghassib I, Chong D, Su PH. Preventive healthcare policies in the US: solutions for disease management using Big Data Analytics. Journal of Big Data. 2020;7(1):38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-020-00315-8

3 2022 National Institutes of Health Meta-Analysis

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