Healthcare communications is lacking, says survey of journalists
A survey, from digital communications platform ISEBOX, has revealed a massive gap in the information provided by drug companies and what journalists require for content creation, with 85% unhappy and viewing healthcare communications as ‘out of shape’ or ‘on life support’.
More than 150 health journalists across the UK and US were questioned in the survey to assess what information provided by pharma and healthcare companies was of most value. Half of the respondents admitted that they never visit drug company newsrooms with 22% specifying these resources as ‘unsatisfactory’ and 64% saying there is ‘room for improvement’.
Only 15% of those questioned considered that the communications received from drug and healthcare companies as ‘fit and healthy’.
Trust proved to be one of the issues with only 2% of journalists rating the information and press releases sent by pharma and healthcare companies as ‘trustworthy’ whereas 16% stated they did not trust the information at all.
Regulatory body restrictions (such as FDA/EMA) on communications were for the most part found to be in the best interest of the consumer — 36% stating restrictions are in the best interest and 44% saying sometimes in the best interest.
“This research shows that there is still a long way to go when it comes to breathing new life into healthcare communications,” said Jo Willey, director of Jo Willey Media. “Regulations are welcome and necessary. However, care must be taken that these regulations — or the fear of breaching them — do not prevent pharmaceutical companies from effectively communicating accurate, creative content.
“Journalists still need newsworthy, simple, clear content relevant to their outlet whether that is traditional print media, web, radio, TV or social media. Over-complication or irrelevant content opens up the possibility of miscommunication, something which could be far more damaging.”
When looking at video content, the survey revealed that most journalists (48%) find independent medical expert testimonials useful, with 14% finding patient testimonials useful. Only 22% said that pharma and healthcare news and launches provided sufficient relevant visual content.
Chief executive officer of ISEBOX, Marc de Leuw, stated: “Healthcare communications is clearly a balancing act between the governance placed on drug companies and a press eager for transparency and meaningful content. It’s in the interest of both parties to enter a more open dialogue to raise the bar on effective information exchange.”