Why pharma marketers should target nurse practitioners and physician assistants

To pharma marketers, the physician decision maker is a key persona. In the examination room, the doctor has the ability and responsibility to prescribe medications that will bring the most value to the patient. It's the pharma marketer's job to convince the doctor that their product will produce the best outcome for the patient. But what happens when there's no doctor to speak to?

According to a 2018 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the U.S. could face a drastic physician shortage by the year 2030. AAMC projected that between 42,600 and 121,300 physician positions will remain unfilled if action is not taken now. In the meantime, positions such as nurse practitioner and physician assistant will become more important to pharma marketers.

The demand for nurse practitioners and physician assistants grows

A recent Merritt Hawkins report found the biggest 12-month growth in demand for NPs and PAs ever recorded. The report observed recruiting assignments between April 2017 and March 2018, finding that demand for these positions is only surpassed by demand for family medicine physicians and psychiatrists. For many organizations, hiring these alternate prescribers are much more common than in previous years.

The healthcare industry is in constant flux, as new regulations arise, technology improves and patient needs change. One of the biggest current disrupters is the shift toward value-based care. In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rolled out a new reimbursement strategy to qualified providers. This year, many payers have developed their own value-based agreements with providers, according to HealthPayer Intelligence.

As more patients visit alternative providers, such as the minute-clinics found in pharmacies, the demand for NPs will continue to rise. Minute-clinics are staffed by PAs and NPs and often provide care at a more affordable rate than traditional providers or urgent care centers. These site-of-care alternatives represent a growing market for pharma. Addressing this new audience of NPs and PAs should be a part of any pharma company's strategic plan to promote growth and establish a strong market presence.

Psychiatrists represent another growing prescriber audience

Physicians, NPs and PAs aren't the only prescribers pharma marketers need to address. Psychiatrists represent a large - and growing - audience for pharma content. In fact, Merritt Hawkins reported that psychiatrists were the second-most requested recruiting assignment for three years running. For context, psychiatry requests were ranked 13th in 2001. Merritt Hawkins also reported that June 2016 was the first time that the largest share of U.S. healthcare spending went to the treatment of mental health disorders - followed by heart disease, trauma and cancer.

Ignoring this fast-growing group of prescribers would be a big mistake. Pharma marketers should take steps to address this market in their content when relevant. By maximizing effort across all channels, marketers can ensure their message is heard by all types of providers.

Developing content for multiple audiences

Though physicians, psychiatrists, NPs and PAs each represent distinct audiences, they don't all require completely new content. In fact, it's often a better use of time to develop content for the most important target audience, and then repurpose it later for the other audiences. Rice Media recommended taking printed content and turning it into blogs, downloadable guides or social media posts. This is an effective way to utilize all channels without overwhelming the marketing budget.

Reaching your primary audiences can be a challenge, but there is help. To learn more about how to take a multi-channel approach to medical advertising, visit our resource center today.