Why do you do what you do? Specifically, why have we all, to some degree, chosen to work in healthcare communications? You may say, among other reasons, you believe that communication has the power to change behaviour, benefit people, educate and correctly inform.

At Page & Page, we agree with all of the above. However, we also believe that there is a higher purpose for those of us working in healthcare communications; a purpose that should drive every campaign we touch, but one we have, perhaps, lost sight of. In fact, we would go so far as to say that healthcare communication is failing to fulfil its purpose – to help close the gap in healthcare around the globe.

What is the ‘gap’? Put simply, the healthcare gap is the distance between a person’s current health and their healthiest possible self. No one can consistently live in perfect health, but everyone has a potential ‘healthiest self’: the best physical and mental condition that a person’s genetics would allow them to experience if the best of today’s medical knowledge, expertise and technology were utilised.

Good health is only possible in the presence of good communication – communication that positively influences behaviour, with the right degree of personal choice. As communicators, this is our art and our responsibility.

Are we really doing all we can to truly understand our audiences and the challenges they face, to encourage more effective health decisions?

At Page & Page, we have explored these challenges and opportunities in our recent white paper.

Here are the key takeaways:

More than 50% of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and about 50% of patients do not take medicines correctly.

From irrational use of medicines, clinical inertia and resistance to change, to variation in clinical practice and slow adoption to innovation, we have to play our part in helping healthcare professionals (HCPs) achieve optimal decision-making through our communication.

We also have a role in helping people make healthier decisions, by altering behaviours without restricting choice or changing their economic incentives – an act known by behavioural scientists as ‘nudging’. From helping people set regular sleep patterns to improving adherence to medications, we have a part to play in affecting long-term improvements in overall health to close the gap.

Education shapes lives. A lack of education in societies is linked to poverty and socio-economic and political inequalities. It is also intrinsically linked to health. In the digital age, where information is at so many fingertips, why do some people apply the information they have access to better than others? Informing people is not enough. We have to go deeper to understand the disparities in health literacy.

The concept of an ‘infodemic’ has been reinforced by the US Office of the Surgeon General, declaring this era of health misinformation a significant public health challenge. While the internet has increased access to medical information, the spread of inaccurate information, particularly across social media, outweighs the spread of its accurate counterpart.

We work within strict approval processes and while it is critical to work within the set regulatory parameters, nowhere do they say that communication cannot be compelling and influential. Accountability to optimise healthcare decision-making through better communication sits with the healthcare industry. There is a collective duty to influence effective changes in behaviour so that more people (HCPs, patients and society) can dramatically benefit from developments in medical research.

Here at Page & Page, we’ve explored how to help our clients address the healthcare gap for their audience and patient populations through more compelling communication, while still focusing on and achieving, and exceeding, commercial goals:

Discover more with big data
Define yourself as the most relevant
Develop an instant emotional connection
Deliver and influence with efficiency

We are on a mission to disrupt the landscape of healthcare communication. We are challenging the status quo by connecting data, attentional economics, persuasion theory, storytelling and emotion to positively influence decision-making and help people live their healthiest possible lives.

We want to close the gap between current and potential health for every individual. Will you join us?

Download our white paper to find out more about the healthcare gap, how industry can help and how, together, we can develop measurably more impactful campaigns.

Talk to us about your next campaign – rachel.harris@pageandpage.uk.com