Communication is arguably the only strategy used by pharmaceutical companies to market their products. Not surprisingly, medical writing is a $332 million industry in India, projected to grow to $750 million by 2030.
A substantial portion of medical communication materials reaches doctors’ desks, tablets, mobile devices, or laptops daily. This material consists of a variety of content, including sales and marketing communications, invitations to events and conferences, journal and publication information, and patient education materials, among others. However, is it effective?
The challenges
It is a known fact that doctors are overburdened in India as our country has a poor doctor-to-patient ratio. A doctor has to perform like a superhero in hospitals, juggling between departments and patients. How likely a doctor can read the communication material received is a big question, given the time crunch. A doctor often has only 5 to 10 minutes of his time every day for reading. Therefore, he has to get the core text to read, otherwise he perhaps can’t.
Therefore, several communication materials may reach the bin – physical or digital. Therefore, the challenge begins at the entry point. The communication should have a strong opening to get doctors’ attention. Once it gets the initial attention, the rest of the material should aptly communicate the content to achieve the objectives of the communication.
Although good communication is the easiest and best way to get sales, it is sometimes or a lot of times done as a formality or a touch point with the doctor by pharmacy marketers. Instead of using communication materials as touch points, if they are used more effectively to achieve the sales objective, they may become more productive. Measuring the impact of communication can give insights not only into the efficacy of content but also into future changes to communication strategies.
Measuring the impact of communication
Measuring the impact of communication through a survey or an interview with a select set of doctors can immensely help to improve the impact of communication and hence the outcomes of communication. We can get to know the answers to the following questions regarding the medical communication material supplied to the doctor:
- Was providing relevant information?
- Was it meeting the objectives?
- Was it interesting enough to grab readers’ attention?
- What are the mistakes that readers could identify?
- What improvements can be made?
- Is the presentation of the material effective enough?
- Did the material result in increased product sales?
- What other information the doctor would find useful and impactful?
Benefits of measuring the impact of medical communication and correcting the approach
Measuring the impact of medical communication and making corrections can help in the following:
- It can ensure better understanding, enable the promotion of healthy behaviors, increase awareness, and influence attitudes toward health issues.
- Illustrates the role of health campaigns in reducing risks, such as smoking, obesity, and infectious diseases.
- Can contribute to evidence-based medicine.
- Can impact knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes.
- Ensure continuous improvement in communication.
- It promotes accountability and transparency.
- Can address challenges of communication.
- Allows tailoring communication strategies to meet the needs of diverse populations, taking into account cultural, linguistic, and demographic differences.
- Helps in better use of technology for communication
Medical communication is the essence of sales and marketing communication in the pharmaceutical industry. Hence, it would be useful to measure the impact of medical communication as it can immensely contribute to improving communication and its objectives. However, doctors do not have sufficient time to read or consume the information. For such situations a service like core text is beneficial.
References
- India Medical Writing Market Size & Outlook, 2023-2030. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/medical-writing-market/india
- Ministry of Health. Government of India. https://sansad.in/getFile/loksabhaquestions/annex/182/AU1887_XrGu06.pdf?source=pqals#:~:text=(c) if so, the,if not, the reasons therefor?&text=(a) to (c):,to 72,627 as of now.&text=Government/Central Government Medical Colleges to increase MBBS and PG seats.&text=Specialty Blocks” of Pradhan Mantri,which 66 projects are complete.&text=approved.,started in 19 of these.&text=shortage of faculty.&text=of teachers/Dean/Principal/,medical colleges upto 70 years.
- King AJ. The Importance of Documenting the Impacts of Health Communication. Health Commun. 2024 Dec;39(14):3606-3610.