Direct-to-patient marketing programs via pharmacy chains represent targeted but untapped opportunities for hospital and HMO marketers to reduce patient noncompliance.
These programs, most aggressively pursued by pharmaceutical companies, boost brand awareness and are excellent vehicles for educating patients about disease therapies and preventive/alternative health programs.
Patient noncompliance costs the healthcare industry $100 billion annually, according to the National Pharmaceutical Council, but direct-to-patient marketing programs are having a positive impact on patient behavior.
Recently, two marketing vehicles were launched to reach patients as they fill prescriptions at retail drug stores nationwide - Health Resource Publishing Company's Health Resource Newsletter and Co-Options' Diabetes CarePaks.
These programs provide cosponsoring opportunities with pharmaceutical companies or category-exclusive programs that promote the hospital's or HMO's patient education initiatives in a targeted health area. These also are ideal vehicles for expanding your messages on the retail level.
Pharmacy-Generated Newsletters
The Health Resource Newsletter, which is distributed in more than 2,700 chain drug stores nationwide, is given to patients by the pharmacist as they are filling a prescription.
It reaches more than two million consumers every week, according to Michael McClorey, president of the St. Louis, Mo.-based publishing company, Health Resource Publishing.
The advertising cost can range from $.60 per ad (based on volume of 200,000) to $1 million for category-exclusivity.
Currently, no hospitals or HMOs are taking advantage of the opportunity, but McClorey is interested in working with marketers in these categories on a customized pilot program.
The marketing opportunities could involve:
- Installing a newsletter printer in a hospital pharmacy and developing customized editorial and advertising for its patients.
- Working with pharmaceutical companies on a co-op effort to develop customized editorial to promote specific therapy programs and advertise new medical centers. This could be ideal for large hospital systems with a significant regional presence.
- Submitting targeted editorial about formulary prescription drugs that are in a managed care organization's health plan.
The editorial content of the newsletter is written on a fourth to sixth grade reading level and is customized based on prescription code, patient age and gender, provider/payee information and first-time-purchase versus refill status.
Health Resource Publishing works with more than 25 manufacturers like Eli Lilly, SmithKline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome and targets health categories ranging from allergy and asthma to diabetes and cholesterol.
Diabetes Marketing Opportunities
To target consumers with diabetes-specific information, Co-Options, a promotions agency in Darien, Conn., launched a coupon sampling program in conjunction with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDF) that will reach more than 3.2 million consumers.
The packets will be distributed during "National Diabetes Month" in November 1999 through more than 5,200 pharmacies like CVS, Revco and Osco. Pharmacists will give the packets to consumers who fill a diabetes-related prescription or make a related purchase (monitors, testing equipment).
This is an ideal branding opportunity for provider-based marketers - especially of large regional systems - and managed care marketers to provide consumers with diabetes education brochures and pamphlets that would be included in the CarePaks.
In addition, the stores will also support the promotion with in-store signage.
And those with diabetes (more than 10 million Americans) tend to spend $2,500 per person annually on the disease, according to JDF.
"Our customers who have diabetes are always looking for products and services targeted to their special needs," says Dave Cardello, director of pharmacy marketing for American Drug Stores.
The sponsorship cost ranges from $.10 to $.15 per sample or brochure. Co-Options also offers opportunities for category exclusivity in the paks.
Although marketers can't select specific markets, they can choose the pharmacy chains that distribute the information, says Brian Sockin, Co-Options' president.
(Health Resource, Mike McClorey, 312/421-3262; Co-Options, Brian Sockin, 203/655-3118; American Drug Stores, Dave Cardello, 888/443-5701)