Article: DHC MEMBER ROUND-UP: Responses to COVID-19 - March 2020
By DHC Staff
SECTION ONE: COVID-19 RESPONSE RESOURCES
Intouch Provides POV on COVID-19’s Effect on Pharma Marketing
Due to COVID-19 and its impact on people and health systems, pharmaceutical marketers will be seeking new ways to engage with their customers. This POV, from the experts at Intouch, addresses those challenges and also elaborates on the opportunities pharma marketers have to help their healthcare customers. The piece also considers the best ways for building relationships with key audiences in the future, once this health crisis has passed. Access the POV here →
Wendy Blackburn (EVP) summarized “The world is watching pharma’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Is it an opportunity to heal the industry’s reputation? It could be. While people seem to have a dash of hope that the pharmaceutical industry could have a cure for the crisis in the form of a vaccine or treatment, most are still in wait-and-see mode. And rightfully so, since it could be a year before we see the results of pharma’s labors. Looking back, we can’t forget that years of bad behavior, the opioid crisis, drug pricing criticism—and wide media coverage of those issues—have enabled a deeply embedded, jaded viewpoint of pharma. So now, the risk for a misstep is high. If trials take too long or fail, if vaccines or treatments are approved but are overpriced—the ‘watch and see’ sentiment will easily and swiftly turn to fierce condemnation again.”
Healthline Shares Consumer Insights and Practical Advice
How are you? As the number one health property in the U.S., Healthline Media is asking this question every day to our consumers, our partners and our employees. At Healthline, we gain strength from the idea that we are in this together: marketers, team builders, passionate health professionals, health consumers, humans.
For consumers, we’re letting them know they can count on us to bring them the latest about COVID-19, but also their other health experiences in the context of this new reality. Healthline.com and MedicalNewsToday.com both created coronavirus content landing pages as a comprehensive place for the latest updates, tips, and resources. Healthline launched a COVID-19 update newsletter with the latest stories from our news team. To understand the impact of COVID-19 on people living with health conditions, we’ve connected with people and whole communities through social, apps, surveys and live discussions with Healthline Senior Director, Medical Affairs, Dr. E Hanh Le.
For employers and partners, Healthline.com launched a free Daily Coronavirus Update for companies to educate and empower their workforces with up-to-date information. In addition, our Healthline Insider newsletter continues to inform the pharma and health industry on media trends and shed light on how COVID-19 is further impacting people living with chronic conditions.
“It is more important than ever for consumers to be in the know. People feel isolated. People need support for themselves and family members. They want information that helps them deal with direct and indirect issues caused by COVID-19. Health publishers must deliver information that is trustworthy, evidence-based, reassuring and actionable.” —Ingrid Eberly, VP Corporate Marketing, Healthline Media.
Klick Health Releases Rapid-Response COVID-19 Playbook
Klick Health has deployed COVID-19 Rapid Response training, developed for clients and partners to help them transition to working remotely as effectively and efficiently as possible. Through this process, a priority has been placed on the recommendations from the scientific community. The goal has been very clear: minimize the potential for COVID-19 exposure. In fact, given the Klick Health culture, they agreed early-on that regardless of the impact on short-term performance, there was a need to analyze credible science for cues on how to ensure the health and wellbeing of their team. This playbook was also informed by studying what was happening in South Korea and Italy, and pulled in an advisory group of experts to help shape the response to the varied inputs. Klick Health designed this resource to encourage and help partners and other businesses to balance the parallel needs of providing safety protocols for their employees, while also making the necessary preparation for business continuity in a universal remote work scenario. This framework should not replace seeking professional infectious disease experts in building plans. Access the Rapid Response Playbook here →
Secondly, Klick Health has created https://covid19.klick.com/ where they are encouraging submissions from thought starters who have ideas on how to managed or contain COVID-19. They have offered Klick Health lab’s rapid prototyping capability to bring some of these ideas to life. Selected digital health solutions will have access to the full suite of in-house expertise including data science, behavioral science, software and hardware engineering and design. All support from Klick Health will be provided at no cost to thought starters and will make successful solutions free for the public to access once developed.
SECTION TWO: MEMBERS PROVIDING PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES
PatientPoint Educates Patients and Provides Safe Touchless Platforms
As the nation and world navigate the unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19, patient education and support have never been more important. As the trusted leader of engagement solutions at the point of care, it’s our responsibility to deliver timely, relevant information to doctors and patients in a safe, meaningful way. Our senior leadership has taken swift, bold actions to address and protect the interests of each of our stakeholders including healthcare professionals, patients and, importantly, our client sponsors. First, we did what we do best: focused on education. As soon as the pandemic broke in the US, our 50-strong Content & Creative team produced a library of COVID-19 educational content—continuously updated based on the most up-to-date CDC and WHO information—to run across PatientPoint programs. Being true to our mission, we’ve also made that COVID-19 content available to all healthcare providers nationwide—regardless if they have PatientPoint platforms in their office. View the Video Library Here →
Given the highly contagious nature of the virus and the resulting fear of touch, we have innovated our Interactive Exam Room Devices and print products into “touchless” platforms to provide the educational support patients need most via a safe, non-touch experience. Providers, patients and staff can now scan QR codes to safely access information and education on their smartphones. During this rapidly changing situation, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. The fact is that physician offices remain a core destination for patients. Today, tomorrow and just as we’ve done for more than 30 years, PatientPoint will continue to innovate and add value for brands by delivering the education and treatment adherence, support and savings messaging to the patients who need it most.
Crossix Helps Ad Council, CDC and others with targeted PSAs to High-Risk Populations
Crossix is supporting the efforts of state governments and public health systems in getting urgent COVID-19 messaging out to at-risk populations. Crossix has made its audience segments available on a pro bono basis to organizations like the Ad Council and the CDC to deliver targeted Public Service Announcements to specific, high-risk audiences. NBC is one organization using Crossix segments to educate consumers. Their celebrity-driven “The More You Know” PSA campaign was highlighted on the Today Show. Read the Article Here →
PulsePoint Makes Media Pledge
As news and updates around Covid-19 continue, we know that everyone has received emails from every company you have ever shared their email with. PulsePoint has reached out with a different type of message: what we can do together, while apart. They have launched a multi-million dollar media pledge to immediately help health marketers deliver vital health messaging and recruit for clinical trials. The media pledge is available to immediately support health marketers in their efforts to reach digital audiences and:
- Broadcast Covid-19 related public service announcements (PSAs)
- Recruit patients for Covid-19 related clinical trials
- Help recruit patients for current clinical trials which been impacted by Covid-19
Sloan Gaon, PulsePoint’s CEO, explained “Our core value has always been and will always be “delighting the customer” in sync with our mission of “achieving better health outcomes through data and technology.” There has never been a time where this mission statement has rung more true than in this exact moment. We are all in this together and we see this as an opportunity to rise to the occasion, and come out stronger than we were when all of this started. Although it’s only been a few days of a new reality check, every day is certainly a fresh start and a welcoming opportunity to do great things in the world of health marketing. If there’s anything else PulsePoint can do to help, please reach out. “
If your organization or anyone you know of can benefit from the media pledge, please email [email protected] to join the effort.
Truveris Helps Ensure Patients Have Medication Access
“If a pharma brand is going to communicate with a customer around COVID-19, they need to make sure they provide immediate and timely value. We think some of the easiest ways for pharma to accomplish that is by helping patients where they are feeling the squeeze right now – their pocketbooks. Helping keep a patient on therapy now by helping them afford it, may be the best way for a brand to maintain that patient and ensure all the work acquiring patients in the prior years doesn’t go to waste”, Nanette Oddo – Senior Vice President of Life Sciences and General Manager of Innovation
Over the last few weeks we’ve observed a wave of patients obtaining larger pack sizes for their medications. With the right program design in place, this could mean supporting patients through these difficult times without losing gains for your brand. For example, in a recent analysis, we have measured the impact of shifting from 30- to 90-day supply and has equated to a 45% ROI. With the wrong program design in place this could mean higher copays, poor patient experience and higher abandonment rates. At Truveris we leverage our prescription drug benefits and patient access expertise to conduct copay program assessments for brand teams across multiple therapeutic areas. While we are still in the early days of feeling the effects, having a hand on the pulse of your program is more critical than ever.
Key Business Considerations:
- With COVID-19’s impact on the economy, your patients may be more likely to walk-away from the pharmacy increasing abandonment rates.
- Pharmacists may be more inclined to push a non-covered offer to handle increased volume.
- Mail-order pharmacy claims may increase as patients practice social distancing. At the same time, the ability of some patients to get to a post-office or mailbox may be limited.
Truveris is helping brands drive access through transparency, affordability, and engagement. Making sure patients get the medication they need requires a strategy that takes into account every stakeholder across the pharmaceutical ecosystem, including employers, PBMs, providers, and pharmacies. Visit Truveris Here →
OptimizeRx Provides HCPS with CDC-Sourced Alerts and Offers Public Free Interactive Text Alerts for COVID-19
OptimizeRx Corporation is leveraging its technology platform to offer timely and authoritative information sourced directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, to help physicians and the public stay up-to date about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and provide guidance on what to do if affected.
OptimizeRx has integrated the CDC COVID-19 alerts into its digital health network of leading electronic health record (EHR) providers nationwide to provide healthcare professionals (HCPs) with timely information within their workflow. Getting these CDC-sourced alerts during evaluation, helps HCPs better monitor the spread of the virus and facilitate timely treatment at the point of care. It also highlights the critical importance of digital connectivity for the benefit of patients and our communities. Please see release.
OptimizeRx has also launched a free interactive text message alert program available to the general public that delivers coronavirus (COVID-19) information issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directly to any SMS-enabled mobile device. All you have to do is text VIRUS to 55150 to subscribe to the service. Full release here. These new alerts and timely information both at the point of care and at patients’ homes will help better monitor the spread of the virus and facilitate timely treatment. OptimizeRx has also launched a free interactive text message alert program available to the general public delivering COVID-19 information sourced from the CDC directly to any SMS-enabled mobile device. All you have to do is text VIRUS to 55150 to subscribe to the service. Full release here.
These new alerts both at the point of care and via SMS texts, will help medical professionals better monitor the pandemic and facilitate timely treatment, as well as help the American public stay safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus.
“Timely CDC messages within the OptimizeRx digital health platform both at the point-of-care and on a patient’s mobile device raise awareness at a critical time when important health decisions are being made both at health facilities and in the home,” said William Febbo, OptimizeRx’s CEO. “We have the ability to help the communication flow and we will use this technology to help reach the most people with important healthcare messages. As we move forward during this crisis, the healthcare industry needs to work together and accelerate adoption of best practices and focus on how we bring adherence and affordability into the life of the patient, using technology to enable it.”