The results are in: HCP communications need to evolve

Time is a precious commodity in healthcare. In an era characterised by rapid innovation, complex treatment options, and increasingly challenging workloads, it’s easy for healthcare professionals (HCPs) to become overloaded with information. For pharma communications, the time constraints faced by HCPs present a unique challenge: in order to cut through the noise of today’s engagement landscape, hitting the right note first time is no longer optional, it is a necessity.

But how can marketing teams ensure that their approach to engagement aligns with the needs of their intended audience? New research by M3, based on a survey conducted in September 2023 with 900 doctors from the EU5 (Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and the UK), elucidates the contours of the answer. Here, M3’s SVP of business intelligence and research, Dr Maxim Polyakov, discusses its key findings.

HCPs are under pressure

While the struggles facing healthcare systems have dominated headlines in recent years, M3’s research spotlights that, over the past 12 months, swollen treatment backlogs, staffing issues, and time constraints have put immense strain on doctors at an individual level.

In a concerning, but sadly unsurprising, outcome from the survey, more than 75% of the surveyed EU5 doctors categorised their workload as unsustainable, with only about a quarter of respondents reporting a fully sustainable workload.

“That lack of sustainability has knock-on effects,” explains Polyakov. “It means high levels of exhaustion and burnout. It means low morale. It means attrition.”

• Read the full article in pharmaphorum's Deep Dive digital magazine