The value of Medscape Extend – redefining omnichannel engagement with physicians in Europe

In today’s digitally driven environment, understanding where, when and how to reach physicians has become a critical priority for pharmaceutical marketers. With European physicians spending an average of six hours per day online, and approximately ten hours per week on professional medical sites, the opportunity to connect with them extends far beyond traditional clinical channels. Yet until recently, one area remained elusive: the vast amount of time physicians spend online outside professional medical platforms.

That gap is precisely where Medscape Extend delivers extraordinary value; a unique approach brought to the market by Medscape in partnership with PulsePoint. Extend is an identity-based solution that allows life sciences brands to reach Medscape-verified healthcare professionals (HCPs) wherever they are on the web¹, not just on Medscape, but across thousands of other online environments. It uses Medscape’s trusted first-party data to precisely target physicians across both endemic and non-endemic platforms, offering true omnichannel reach and it’s available in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

To better put this into context: studies show that Europeans spend an average of six hours per day online, with physicians spending 10² hours per week on professional websites.  With 1.3 million Medscape registered physicians across Europe, that equates to 177.7 million hours per month where European physicians are online, but historically out of reach for pharmaceutical communications. This is the white space Extend now occupies: a previously untapped channel for engaging physicians in a contextually relevant, brand-safe and compliant way.

This is the true innovation of Medscape Extend; the ability to reach physicians during their off-hours, the moments when they are more relaxed, reflective and mentally available.  These ‘blue jeans moments’ , those quieter times outside the clinic, present a unique cognitive state where reinforcement of key messages can be highly effective. Whether a physician is reading professional news in the evening, catching up on clinical developments over coffee, or simply browsing content aligned with their broader interests, Medscape Extend ensures that critical brand messaging appears in the background, but still relevant, non-intrusive and timely.

These opportunities in non-endemic environments don’t compete with the urgency of clinical decisions or the noise of a crowded inbox. Instead, they align with the natural rhythms of the physician’s digital life, allowing for a deeper form of engagement. When a message is encountered during a relaxed state, supported by earlier touchpoints through endemic content, it becomes part of a reinforcing cycle that leads to better message retention and trust.

Crucially, Medscape Extend doesn’t work in isolation. It complements existing medical education, field force activity and digital tactics by creating crossover moments. When a physician sees a brand message while reading a clinical article on Medscape, and later sees a reinforcing ad or content block while browsing elsewhere, that cross-channel repetition feels both natural and persuasive. It’s not just about frequency; it’s about coherence. Medscape Extend provides that continuity, bridging gaps between traditionally siloed engagement tactics.

This bridging effect has enabled us to redefine what omnichannel communication means in Europe. While omnichannel strategies have long promised seamless engagement across platforms, they often focus on volume rather than resonance. Medscape Extend flips that model by offering a quality of touchpoint that’s tailored and behaviorally aligned with physicians’ real-world habits. In doing so, it brings authenticity and subtlety back into physician engagement, and adds a vital new layer to the traditional omnichannel stack.

Importantly, Medscape Extend is built on a foundation of verified first-party HCP data, ensuring that only qualified HCPs receive targeted messaging. This accuracy, combined with data privacy compliance and brand-safe inventory, makes the platform particularly well-suited to Europe’s complex and sensitive regulatory environment. It delivers reach with responsibility, precision with privacy.

For marketers and medical affairs teams alike, this shift represents more than an incremental improvement. It is a strategic breakthrough. By finally unlocking the non-endemic online presence of physicians – those 177 million hours per week that were once unreachable, are now available. Medscape Extend introduces a new, scalable channel that allows for deeper integration of brand messaging into the full context of the physician’s professional and digital life.

In conclusion, Medscape Extend isn’t just an advertising product, but rather it’s a paradigm shift. It integrates seamlessly with existing content strategies. As European physicians continue to spend a growing share of their time online, Medscape Extend is helping life sciences organisations meet them where they are, and make every digital moment count.

For more information, please visit: www.medscapeglobal.com/programmatic/

References
1. https://www.statista.com/topics/3853/internet-usage-in-europe/
2. M3 study