McCann Complete Medical outlines why multichannel communications – anchored in strong clinical data from journal publications – must not only be transparent, they must also provide a clear clinical context for local HCPs.
The drive for greater transparency in medical publications is changing the dynamic of healthcare communications. Flagship policy in both Europe and the US is mandating the full disclosure of clinical trial data, while international regulations now dictate data sharing, including anonymised individual-patient data, across all interventional clinical trials. The implications for pharma have been significant.
Emphasis is increasingly shifting towards getting full datasets into the public domain, as well as focusing on the publication of curated information to support clinical decision-making. Consequently, the evidence-base is ballooning. In an already data-rich environment, the volume and depth of accessible information has massively grown, further clouding the decision-making process for HCPs.
The transparency agenda has spawned an ever-increasing expansion of the ʻgrey literatureʼ. This literature includes (but isnʼt limited to) clinical trial registries, regulatory agency archives, technical documents from government agencies, study results, protocols and abstracts of paper/poster presentations from meetings and congresses. Itʼs easily accessible. And itʼs growing.
Itʼs therefore no surprise that healthcare professionals, like consumers, are getting fat on information. As busy clinicians become further burdened by the burgeoning amount of information at their disposal, it is ever more important for pharma companies to ensure their data communications tell clear, robust clinical stories that enable physicians to rapidly assimilate the clinical context for their patients.
Publications are a natural starting point for this crucial information. As the backbone of communications for the pharmaceutical industry, journal articles have long been the central pillar of scientifi c exchange with HCPs. But, far from being an endpoint, theyʼre only the beginning of what is now a multichannel communications journey. As the combination of digital innovation and data transparency transforms stakeholder engagement, companies are increasingly seeking new ways to cut through the noise to help physicians contextualise clinical data at the local level.
Read: The Heart of the Matter: Context is key produced in association with McCann Complete Medical
