Category Archives: Focus on patients

The conversion path to an Rx is rarely a straight line

Posted on December 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

With less people going to see their doctor and with non-compliance and adherence at record high levels the path to conversion for Rx drugs has become a journey from one point to another.  Pharma marketers have to ensure that their marketing mix is optimized for each channel so that DTC marketing can have maximum impact and ROI. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Prescription drug DTC marketing

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DTC marketing: Part II on why TV is king of spending

Posted on December 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

There were a lot of great comments around yesterdays post on how pharma continues to waste money on TV.  Thank you all for you comments and eMails.   I really believe that the continued investment in TV is indicative of core problem within pharma marketing and that is that marketers continue to believe that push marketing works for Rx drugs.  Today that just isn’t true. Continue reading →

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2012: The year of DIY health ?

Posted on December 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

Technology meets healthcare.  Is 2012 going to be year for DIY health ?   There are number of apps and medical devices headed to the market which is going to allow people to monitor their health at home and send results to a HCP.  With less people going to see their doctor and a lot of people going online for health information one has to wonder where DIY healthcare is headed ? Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Mobile Healthcare Marketing

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Alzheimer’s Disease and Boomers fears

Posted on December 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

Americans are equally afraid of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease as they are of getting Alzheimer’s disease themselves.  Approximately one in two American adults (49%) are as afraid of taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease as they are of getting the disease themselves.  Boomers biggest fear when growing old?  Loosing their ability to think, reason and remember.   Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

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Physician visits by privately insured patients decline 17%:Recommendations for DTC Marketers

Posted on November 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Physician office visits by privately insured patients younger than 65 have fallen 17% in two years, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis released Nov. 15.    The quarterly number of office visits by privately insured patients had reached 160 million by 2005 then was at a plateau until the recession hit, according to an analysis prepared for Kaiser at Stanford University using data collected by IMS Health. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Prescription drug DTC marketing

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Healthcare is changing but DTC marketing still stuck in the past

Posted on November 15, 2011 | 1 Comment

Healthcare in America is changing. Hospitals are scrambling to buy hospitals. Doctors are leaving small private practices. Large insurance companies are becoming more dominant as smaller ones disappear because they cannot stay competitive. States are simplifying decades of Medicaid rules and planning new ways for poor and rich alike to buy policies more easily and less patients are going to see their doctor, spending more time online researching health and getting more involved in wellness.  Where are most DTC marketers ?  On the sideline watching it all happen. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Prescription drug DTC marketing

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Brand marketing in pharma-Who Cares ?

Posted on November 8, 2011 | 6 Comments

According to recent research consumers would not care of 70% of brands disappeared.  In consumer packaged goods more and more consumers are trading down brands and the number one reason people follow a brand on social media is still to get discounts.  So the question becomes just how important is brand marketing in pharma ? Continue reading →

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Why doesn’t pharma use the Internet more ?

Posted on November 7, 2011 | 4 Comments

A study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that one in five Americans uses the Internet to find people with similar health concerns. For people with chronic illnesses, it’s one in four.  Yet what we find more often than not are pharma product websites that are stuck in time in Web 1.0.  Sure some of them use video on their websites but for the most part pharma product websites are a combination of a sell sheet and product label. Continue reading →

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25% of people 55+ not taking their Rx medications like they should

Posted on October 19, 2011 | 3 Comments

Troubling is how one group put it but more than that it’s going to lead to increased healthcare costs and will most likely impact patient outcomes.  According to AARP many people 50+ are putting off medical treatments and and they have stopped taking their medications.  This is an alarming trend and clearly shows that we have a problem that nobody seems to be acknowledging.  More importantly this could have a devastating effect on healthcare costs in the coming decade. Continue reading →

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The changing patient physician relationship

Posted on October 17, 2011 | 2 Comments

The relationships between doctors, nurses, or any other medical professionals and the patients they care for are now cast primarily in terms of a commercial transaction. The consumer or customer is the buyer and the provider is the vendor or seller. To be sure, there is a financial aspect to clinical care. But that is only a small part of a much larger whole, and to people who are sick, it’s the least important part. This article is from the NEJM and is part of the changing landscape of healthcare. Continue reading →

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Is this medicine or confusion ?

Posted on October 10, 2011 | 1 Comment

If you ever wondered why so many people are going online for health information look no further than a couple of stories last week in the news.  The first story revolves around the current argument around prostate cancer screening and PSA tests the second involves a physician who is using his own spinal medical device on patients and charging a hefty fee.   Both stories are confusing patients but more importantly they send a message that maybe they have to rely more on themselves for health decisions and that could lead to trouble. Continue reading →

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Posted in Focus on patients, Health information

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