Telemedicine Marketing: Reaching HCPs Who Deliver Virtual Care

Physicians and healthcare professionals are increasing their virtual patient support through the use of telemedicine in response to the 2020 pandemic. This is a stark change in today’s healthcare environment. Until the last few years, adoption of telemedicine rose very slowly since its inception back in the 60s. Now, COVID-19 has accelerated that adoption.

Rise of Telemedicine

A national study of insurance claims filed for alternative settings of care found telehealth rocketed up 53% from 2016 to 2017. That growth greatly outpaced other delivery locations studied, such as 14% at urgent care centers, 7% at retail clinics, and 6% at ambulatory surgical centers.

In fact, Ipsos conducted a survey of 300+ professionals in several practice areas and it found that 80% of HCPs are now taking patient visits via telemedicine. Certainly, doctors, nurses, and medical professionals are gaining a level of comfort with virtual healthcare.

According to the American Medical Association, 87% of physicians see at least some advantage in digital health tools. As such, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has accepted five new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to accommodate the rise in telemedicine-delivered treatments.

One of the early goals of telemedicine was to enhance the healthcare delivery to geographically underserved populations, providing access to remote patients while decreasing treatment delivery costs. As COVID-19 has altered the medical landscape, telemedicine is now provided to even nearby patients.

Importance of Telemedicine

It’s hard not to stress the value of telemedicine for doctors and patients alike. Reasons to adopt and improve telemedicine delivery include:

• Telemedicine has overcome distance barriers for remote or immobile patients, making healthcare available to a wider population. It allows physicians to treat patients they would not otherwise have access to.
• Issues such as mental health or conditions such as AIDS and STDs are still often stigmatized, so ‘visiting’ a provider in the privacy of a home may be key to providing treatment at all.
• Medical devices can work remotely to give caregivers a way to treat and monitor patients with mobile medical equipment, and collect data on measurements such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and so on.

As physicians are getting more comfortable with virtual meetings and digital channels, healthcare product brands have an opportunity to leverage that comfort by hosting virtual e-detailing sessions, sending digital documentation, and providing as much brand exposure through web and mobile interactions.

So, how does your brand reach HCPs who have shifted their learning behaviors and medical practices to be more virtual?

Best Practices for Marketing to HCPs Focused on Telemedicine

Healthcare brand managers have several options at their disposal when it comes to marketing to healthcare professionals who have increased their telemedicine practices.

Use a paid ad strategy to accelerate message exposure. Advertise through media such as Elsevier publication websites, search engine marketing, and targeted social media ads. While some marketing experts also recommend focusing on organic search marketing as well, a paid strategy will deliver results faster.

Use self-service portals to accommodate schedules. HCPs have been shifting their daily workloads in response to COVID-19, so make your content available through a portal where they can access your product information when and where they want. By hosting a self-serve portal on your site, you’ll be able to capture important metrics that can be used to improve content.

Host webinars for an interactive experience. Schedule frequent learning sessions so physicians and other busy HCPs can engage with a sales rep in a real-time format. Interactive webinars are an excellent setting to gather audience questions and respond to concerns immediately.

Elsevier has been at the leading edge of digital healthcare marketing. Our multimedia opportunities give brand managers flexibility and incredible exposure to thousands of HCPs across all specialties. Explore what you can do with one of our global advertising specialists today!

Article Written by: Alex Brown