Empathy: Listening and Delivering What Patients Deserve

I am not a pharmaceutical seller or a healthcare advertising buyer. I am a writer which means I observe things, I think about them, and then I put those thoughts into words. For the last 2+ years, I’ve been putting thoughts into words for Outcome Health, the leader in innovation at the point of care. I know our customers, their needs, and how to communicate with them in a way that’s honest and transparent.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend DTC National, an annual gathering of leaders in direct-to-consumer healthcare marketing. This year’s conference was dominated by point-of-care marketing companies. PatientPoint led a breakout session, CheckedUp had two exhibit spaces, and our “Outcome Lounge” was complete with a loveseat, an ottoman, and several of our devices displaying a loop of content played in provider offices across the country.

The presence of many POC companies validated our space and what we’re all tirelessly working to achieve.

Throughout the 3-day conference, the recurring theme was very clear: Patients want more from their healthcare experiences.

Patients want to hear from other patients.

Brands that are tapping into patient networks and highlighting real patient stories are proving to be the most successful. Healthline’s Brendan McHenry hosted a session about the power of health influencers. Influencers have played a role in health and wellness for several years now, but pharma has lagged to jump onboard. In a study conducted by Healthline, they found that 82% of people with conditions are likely to talk with their doctor about a treatment or product that they saw an influencer post about. This is huge. Brands should feel excited by the opportunity to reach patients in a way that is more natural, authentic and targeted and to potentially reach new patient populations they may have missed through traditional channels.

Deb D’Amico of Sanofi Genzyme and Sandy Sexton of Regeneron shared a great example of how brands can be more authentic. In a recent commercial for a new biologic treatment, they relied on people living with eczema to influence visual elements of the ad. Animations of vines growing on the actress’ legs (who happened to have eczema herself) and prickly threads popping out of a sweater elicited feedback that this ad perfectly captured what having eczema feels like. The patients who watched the ad felt seen and that they weren’t alone in their experience.

During the “Advice from the Agencies” session, this hot tip was shared: Build a strategy around where your stakeholders intersect. For us at Outcome Health, this is best demonstrated with our exam room wallboard. This device is equally intended for patients and their HCP in both the functionality of the product and the content displayed. Because it sits in the exam room, the content is direct and informative and prompts discussions that patients and HCPs should be having together.

All of this brings us to the notion of empathy. Empathy is what everyone needs, desires and craves — especially during their most emotional moments at the point of care. Because Outcome Health exists at critical touchpoints of one’s healthcare journey, we have a responsibility to deliver content that is not only relevant and informative, but empathetic. On the second day of the conference, Heidi Anderson, Outcome’s Chief Growth Officer, unveiled our new content strategy and its anchor on empathy.

We spent months auditing our content library and conducting interviews and surveys of our stakeholders so that we could understand what patients and HCPs expect at the point of care. But “empathy” must be more than simply listening; “empathy” is delivering what people need. The findings from our audit, interviews and surveys now influence the framework for our new content ecosystem. All of our content moving forward will fall under one or more of these categories:

In waiting, exam and infusion rooms across the country, we understand that patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals find themselves navigating life-changing moments every day. Our new approach to content ensures that we are creating an experience at the moment of care between patients and physicians with empathetic content they won’t find anywhere else. Content that is powerful, educational and relevant during a time when they need it most.

This year’s DTC National conference proved that patients expect more during their healthcare journey, and the point of care can offer the experience they deserve. At the end of the day, we all have connections to this journey whether as patients ourselves or supporting a loved one. We all deserve to feel heard and understood. We want Outcome Health and empathy to be synonymous, and we’re just getting started. Check out this reel for a sneak peek of what’s to come.