The Point Group specializes in healthcare marketing. Our team works with healthcare industry leaders to stay ahead of consumer trends and marketplace demands. Recently, we’ve noticed some healthcare trends that may help you stay ahead in 2024.
Digital Health
Investors are increasingly eager to leverage digital health within telehealth, patient portals, health apps, concierge services, virtual reality, and new AI-powered platforms empowering clinical operations. After a few years of attrition in these categories, it is not enough to talk about the value of digital health services, in 2024 it is mandatory companies demonstrate these platforms are helping to positively affect outcomes.
MARKETING’S ROLE
CMOs of digital companies trying to stay on top of the healthcare industry are looking for content developers who truly understand offerings and clearly communicate the transparency of services while educating providers and consumers as to why these digital applications can make a significant difference in quality of care.
EXPERIENCE
One great example is our client MyndVR, a pioneer in the emerging market of Virtual Reality technology for senior living communities and home health care agencies. We help MyndVR leverage results from their commissioned research study with Stanford University and major partnerships with AT&T and HTC to secure speaking roles at SXSW. The information presented confirmed VR can be an essential tool for improving brain health – especially in those with depression and the early signs of dementia and memory loss.
Retail Health
Competition is heating up for traditional healthcare providers. Retailers, pharmacy chains, technology companies continue to make big moves into healthcare delivery.
Costco, Walgreens, CVS have some advantages over provider organizations. They are able to provide an omnichannel experience where they can conduct the visit, fill the prescription, sell the medical device, perform screenings or give vaccinations within their brand and network.
MARKETING’S ROLE
For retailers forging into healthcare, it is important to communicate easier access to care, medical devices, or medication. More affordable options and a one-stop shop for low acuity treatment is meaningful to patients. Most retailers already have an app people are using, so communicating across that channel is part of accessing the retailer in an immediate environment.
For large health system providers, it is even more important to communicate the strength of a comprehensive acute care model that may also have lower acuity care options such as primary care or urgent care facilities within the system. Trust in a well-respected brand for all healthcare needs across the entire family should continue to be a key message for 2024.
EXPERIENCE
Lucid Hearing, a longstanding player in the hearing aid market, recently entered the newly approved OTC category due to the FDA ruling that Americans with mild to moderate hearing loss will not require a medical exam, a prescription or an audiogram.
With key retailer support from Sam’s Club and Best Buy, we developed education-based editorials to populate organic social, paid social, paid influencer program as well as strategic paid advertising opportunities. Programmatic digital got the message in front of in-market consumers.
We also set up interviews with Lucid’s CEO, CTO discussing more severe hearing loss to promote Lucid Hearing’s prescription hearing aids, through educational blogs, and video testimonials. The strategic execution of both campaigns landed Lucid on the front cover of nationally renowned publications such as Consumer Reports, and Forbes Health and sales turned up significantly.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is on the lips of everyone. Healthcare is no exception but while patients feel it is inevitable, they do have concerns about where the information is coming from and whether they can trust it is coming from a source of reliable information.
They want to know their healthcare provider is using an AI tool from a very reputable vendor or source, and they don’t want their provider using AI behind their backs. They want to know when it’s being used, and they do have a few concerns about data privacy. Making sure that these concerns are being addressed can help provide for a good consumer experience and prove that AI can ultimately improve the delivery of healthcare.
MARKETING’S ROLE
Transparency and the need to communicate why and how AI can be beneficial versus just another platform affecting privacy issues is key. Building trust is critical in messages sent to patients and their families. Using facts and testimonials can help build confidence.
EXPERIENCE
At Enterhealth, Addiction and Mental Health Treatment, physicians are introducing Functional Medicine that investigates, evaluates, and incorporates all functions of the body to better treat mental health disorders. As marketers, we are carefully communicating the incorporation of AI into this method that is helping physician decision making and capturing medical history and more accurate, comprehensive note taking for HIPAA compliant documentation. Revealing the AI “short cut” to better treatment is how we are crafting these important messages.
