Earn Media Credibility with Expert-driven Accuracy
The criteria for successful healthcare PR are analogous to the practice of good medicine. Effective healthcare PR is evidence-based, expert-driven, micro-focused, issue-
oriented, patient-empowering and noncommercial.
Providing healthcare information to the media must be considered a sacred act. The more credible, factual and balanced the information, the greater the likelihood that the
reporter will listen to PR practitioners.
Given the media's ever-increasing appetite for healthcare information, PR professionals are relied on now more than ever. To this end, I've updated the following insights
offered at an industry meeting a few years ago that still apply today.
Evidence-based PR
Decision-making has become diffuse. Media, who verify their evidence with the experts, have their work cut out for them. In today's healthcare reform climate, everyone is an
expert, from the therapeutic decision-makers (medical doctors, registered nurses) and administrators, legislators, regulators, purchasing agents to managed care organizations and
hospitals.
PR agencies must ensure that the experts and the people living with the disease drive their communication approach.
By dealing directly with specialists and advocacy groups, an agency can adopt objective perceptions of clinical strategy, reimbursement, administration, access issues, and
policy making, in addition to gaining important patient insights.
Big-Picture Perspective
Reporters are not persuaded by a product sell. They want to hear about socioeconomic, political and long-term clinical issues. A particular medication is only a small part of
the whole story. In turn, healthcare PR cannot be single-minded in its promotion of any one drug. Instead, it needs to play a meaningful role in helping the nation wrestle with
the challenges of managing entire diseases.
Take a Holistic Look
Accept patients as partners. This means that PR professionals must be aware of the information needs of patients, their families and their friends. Within the context of FDA
guidelines, PR professionals can fill the information void these empowered patients face.
They can help their clients understand the distinct ways that information is shared and the best ways in which to utilize it.
For example, the AIDS epidemic has taught healthcare professionals many things. Foremost among them is that patients have learned what is needed to make treatment decisions and
that they are not afraid to demand access to the drug therapies they want.
Because of AIDS patients' success in being more involved with their own treatment, women with breast cancer, the families of people with Alzheimer's disease and people facing
fertility problems are now using similar outreach initiatives to advance their own agendas. Healthcare inspires more community activism as a result.
Patients are now turning to allied healthcare professionals, pharmacists, fellow patients and advocates as partners. Armed with information, they re-enter the healthcare system
more invested in health than ever before.
Fact-check from A to Z
In order to prepare information for media distribution, a thorough agency fact-checks its material with its external experts, presents it to the agency's medical director for
review and gets final approval from specialists on staff. Finally, all material should go through the client's system of internal legal/medical/regulatory review.
That does not keep agency employees from fretting about information getting misquoted or misinterpreted. (And that is often what op-ed pieces, letters to editors and
corrections are all about).
One well-respected newspaper reporter admitted that journalists go into a story with a point of view. He went on to say most reporters consider pharmaceutical companies and
their PR consultants to be the bad guys.
But whether or not reporters inadvertently misunderstand, misinterpret or sensationalize a story, PR practitioners must continue to operate as a credible resource and aid the
media in delivering important information to those who need it.
Everyone stands to benefit when PR agencies position themselves as reliable sources of information and ideas:
- the reader who receives accurate, up-to-date information; and
- the client whose reputation and sales can increase.
Ilyssa Levins is chairman and chief creative officer of GCI Healthcare in New York, an international full-service healthcare agency.
She is responsible for global new business development, new ventures/acquisitions and worldwide marketing.
She can be reached at 212/886-3500