QUICK READ: Healthcare is going to change but it won’t be a radical all at once change. Here are my predictions.

1ne: Getting patients into their doctor to ask for a new Rx or change medications is going to be a huge challenge.

Even with states loosening COVID restrictions polls show the public is still skeptical and afraid of getting sick. The challenge for pharma is going to be to get patients into physicians to ask for brands it will, therefore, be essential to clearly communicate product benefits.

2wo: The path from awareness to action will become even more complicated for new prescription drugs.

Digital is going to play a bigger part in action and pharma has to be prepared to use multi-touch digital marketing that includes social media and third party health sites.

3hree: Pharma companies are going to question the need for a salesforce and cuts will be coming.

Right now most salespeople are sitting at home because physicians are not allowing vendors in their offices or are working at home. This is going to force HCP marketers to look at alternatives for reaching physicians and those that succeed through trial and error will do very well.

4our: Pharma’s reputation will stay take hits as the media covers people who can’t afford medications while pharma company profits continue to be the highest of most industries.

People have always held pharma in high regard when it comes to developing drugs but they still have a major problem when it comes to the prices that pharma charges for those drugs.

5ive: The calls for Medicare for all will grow louder and although that probably won’t happen I expect the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare.

Get ready for the Democrats to take control of Congress and with it will be louder voices to negotiate drug prices for Medicare despite lobbying dollars.

6ix: Although there is no science behind most supplement sales will continue to climb especially antioxidants and fish oil.

Consumers believe in supplements and there are too many conflicting studies around their effectiveness.

7even: A COVID, safe, vaccine is still over a year away.

A vaccine would be the ultimate weapon against the coronavirus and the best route back to normal life. A vaccine probably won’t arrive any time soon. Clinical trials almost never succeed. We’ve never released a coronavirus vaccine for humans before. Our record for developing an entirely new vaccine is at least four years — more time than the public or the economy can tolerate social-distancing orders.

8ight: Telehealth, while popular right now, will demonstrate some success but the shortfalls of Telehealth will come via the media.

According to Kaiser Health 51% of people are still not using Telehealth. Patients will see Telehealth as a quick way to get an Rx but it’s only a matter of time before a HCP gets sued for a misdiagnosis because of Telehealth.

9ine: Pharma MSL’s are going to be playing a more important role in launching dugs. They will utilize both online tools and in-person visits to help launch new drugs.

Most HCP’s see real value in working with MSL’s who can answer medical questions are not restricted to “canned” pitches. Pharma companies need to think about platforms that MSL’s can use to reach HCP’s.

10en: As soon as the pandemic subsides we’ll see more worthless conferences for DTC and eMarketing.

Pharma conferences are mostly worthless. Do you think someone is going to share their success to others so they can copy it?