- What is health communication and why is it so important
- Effective communication in pharmaceutical digital marketing
- Health advertising, drugs and pharmacovigilance: the legislation in force in Italy
- Choosing the right marketing and communication agency for Pharma
Never before has health communication played such an essential role as in these years, when the need has arisen for reliable professionals, aware of the regulations that govern the dissemination of information related to the world of health in Italy.
What is health communication and why it so important
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the US body for the control of public health, and the National Center Institute define health communication as “the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that enhance health“. All those activities that companies and entities operating in this sector put in place to communicate with the public and convey useful information for people fall under the umbrella of this definition. The latter obviously include healthcare marketing activities, which apply marketing techniques already established in the most diverse areas to a “particular” industry such as that of healthcare and the pharmaceutical world. Indeed, the goal of healthcare marketing is not “to sell”, but rather to provide information, promote services and tools for HCPs and patients, raise awareness about specific illnesses and health well-being, spread and build up the reputation of a company or an organization.
Effective communication in pharmaceutical digital marketing
The term “infodemic” has become widely known, especially after the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the excessive amount of information – often unreliable and unverified – already worried those who work to make good communication before 2020.
Pharma companies are always looking for communication experts to promote the topic of health and fight related fake news.
Patients and healthcare professionals now use technology on a daily basis. From websites to social networks, from apps to professional platforms, channels and touchpoints with their audiences have multiplied. If on the one hand an unregulated use of online assets and tools has helped to fuel the spread of false news, on the other it is worthwhile remembering that the digital world is also the best ally for building effective communication, which however must meet specific criteria.
Accessibility, quality and reliability are keywords in digital healthcare marketing.
- Accessibility: information and contents must be accessible to everyone in the best possible manner, on the most diverse channels for the various target audiences and built to provide practical answers to their needs;
- Quality: an adequate health communication must create value, with relevant contents based on scientific evidence and therefore perceived as useful by doctors and health professionals;
- Reliability: the overall guarantee is the credibility of the communication source; also, authority is vital for the reputation of pharmaceutical companies.
Digital marketing tools allow to make the best use of the network to convey adequate messages that comply with the ethical rules of an effective and authoritative health communication.
For more information you can also read: Patient centricity in digital healthcare marketing
Health advertising, drugs and pharmacovigilance: the legislation in force in Italy
Health communication in Italy is an extremely regulated field.
Since the 2019 Budget Law was enforced, «informational communications» containing «any promotion or suggestion» are prohibited to «private health facilities», «to respect the free and conscious determination of the patient, to protect public health, the dignity of the person and their right to an adequate health information».
Various constraints also exist regarding marketing for the pharmaceutical industry, and operators in this sector need to be acquainted with the extensive legislation in order to structure functional and valuable strategies for customers in the Healthcare and Pharma world.
In Italy it is almost impossible to advertise drugs and products that can only be bought with a prescription. On the other hand, advertising to the public is permitted for over the counter (OTC) medicines and, after a ruling by the Council of State, also for SOP medicines (though with some specifications, regarding for instance the content of the advertising message), following an authorization from the Health Ministry for all promotional materials. The promotion of supplements and nutraceutical products enjoys greater freedom, though always tracking ethical and responsible health communication. In case of infringement of the rules, the Health Ministry can immediately stop the advertising and/or order the publication of a corrective statement, paid by the offender. Administrative penalties can also be applied.
The use of digital marketing tools in health communication is also closely connected with pharmacovigilance.
The Guidelines on Good Pharmacovigilance Practices (GVP) drawn up by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provide that AIC (i.e. the authorization to market the medicine, issued by AIFA or by the European Commission) holders should regularly check digital channels and social media managed by them or under their responsibility, to find possible reports of suspected adverse reactions related to the use of drugs. This is because, as specified by EMA, “a digital medium is considered to be company sponsored if it is owned, paid for and/or controlled by the marketing authorisation holder“. Digital pharma marketing strategies must take into account health advertising regulations and recent guidelines drawn up by the Health Ministry for the dissemination of authorized drugs, for example on the manufacturer’s institutional websites and other sites that are not owned by the company, as well as by means of emails, mobile texts or mms and of course on social networks (in particular on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube).
Choosing the right marketing and communication agency for Pharma
The objectives of a good marketing strategy in the pharmaceutical field are modeled on those of the traditional sectors: establishing brand awareness, generating leads, intercepting target needs by disseminating the right information and being present on the web and social networks, managing the company’s reputation.
So why is it better to rely on a marketing and communication agency specializing in this sector?
Healthcare marketing and pharmaceutical digital marketing require specific skills, especially regarding the relevant legislation and its most recent updates, together with the awareness of a different vision: at the center of it all is the need to provide correct health care and information. and this results in a different relationship with the consumer (patients and HCPs).
Content marketing activities, creating websites with SEO positioning, advertising campaigns on search engines and social networks, email marketing: every element of the digital marketing strategy proposed to the pharmaceutical company is inextricably linked to the regulatory context, whether the aim is to promote the image of the company in general or to advertise a specific product. Polk&Union Health is the division dedicated to Healthcare and Pharma within the Polk&Union marketing and communication agency. It is made up of communication professionals who have gained experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing sectors and own in-depth knowledge of the rules of pharmacovigilance. For more than 10 years Polk&Union has been offering specific digital marketing services for healthcare companies, combining creativity, analysis and digital marketing skills for a new approach to healthcare communication.