Blog September 27, 2023
Misinformation thrives on social media platforms. Many users of TikTok are taking medical advice from influencers and faux doctors.
Blog September 13, 2023
In the United States, millions of individuals are forced to navigate the complex healthcare systems with minimal guidance or support. Medical debt and the unpaid bills that result present serious challenges to the healthcare system.
Blog August 30, 2023
The Informa Connect Health Systems & Pharma Partnering 2023 Summit wrapped up last week after three days of insights from key stakeholders across the industry.
Blog August 21, 2023
Back in mid-May, we provided our POV around the FDA ad comm's narrow positive vote in favor of Sarepta’s gene therapy candidate for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). On June 22, the FDA approved Sarepta's Elevidys for DMD.
Blog August 18, 2023
Reducing health disparities among people with disabilities requires collective, consistent effort across the healthcare industry – from drug developers to physicians to C-suite decision makers.
Blog August 16, 2023
Peterson Center on Healthcare launched its new Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI) and has announced a partnership with Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER).
Blog July 26, 2023
It is important to recognize that AI in healthcare is not meant to replace healthcare professionals but to augment their capabilities. By embracing AI as an ally, HCPs can leverage its analytical prowess to enhance their own empathetic practices.
Blog July 18, 2023
Poor air quality is top of mind for many in the US due to Canadian wildfire smoke. Healthcare companies can talk about this new reality—sharing how they're addressing employees’ health and safety and company efforts to protect their colleagues, patients and the planet.
Blog July 18, 2023
Industry-wide gender gaps are complicated and deeply rooted. While we, as healthcare communicators, can’t solve these issues on our own, we have a responsibility to do what we can to drive equality.
Blog July 17, 2023
Syneos Health Communications recently unveiled an in-house creative and content studio offering, BoldSky, powered by Syneos Health.
Blog July 7, 2023
Meta launched its Twitter competitor, Threads, with much fanfare and millions of users signing up in its first day.
Blog May 31, 2023
In America, just 5.7% of physicians are Black. This extreme lack of Black representation in the healthcare industry has implications across the board – from medical school matriculation to patient outcomes in Black communities, to health equity overall.
Blog May 22, 2023
Healthcare customers are expecting a transformation of omnichannel engagement and an understanding of their customer’s business needs. With these changing expectations, what does the biopharma industry need to do to be successful when engaging IDNs?
Blog May 19, 2023
On April 26th, the EU Commission released the draft of its general pharmaceutical legislation reform. In its most sweeping overhaul of regulations in 20 years, EU’s DG SANTE is looking to reform everything from access to medicines to shortages and supply chain security.
Blog May 17, 2023
In case you missed it, the FDA ad comm for Sarepta’s SRP-9001 Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug candidate was held on Friday, May 12.
Blog May 12, 2023
The top trends at the annual access to pharmacy conference that are shaping the market access industry.
Blog April 24, 2023
Last week, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published its draft evidence report for sickle cell disease. The report assesses initial cost-effectiveness thresholds for two potential gene therapies against existing standard of care.
Blog April 4, 2023
TikTok has recently come under greater scrutiny from U.S. government officials who are questioning the platform's security and content.
Blog March 24, 2023
SXSW 2023 is officially over, closing its doors after 10 days of dynamic learnings and innovative storytelling. What do healthcare communicators need to know after this annual Austin, Texas conference?
Blog March 17, 2023
Post-IRA Sense of Urgency: New CMMI Payment Models Accelerate Readiness Planning Across the Life Sciences Industry
Blog March 14, 2023
In February, Congressional Republicans announced the creation of an ESG Working Group that would coordinate efforts to challenge ESG, including a focus on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) upcoming final guidance on climate change related disclosures.
Blog March 10, 2023
Last week, Lilly announced a 70% price reduction for its most prescribed insulins and implemented caps to patient out-of-pocket (OOP) costs at $35 or less per month.
Blog March 1, 2023
Pharma companies have pulled back from advertising on Twitter following its acquisition by Elon Musk. We then examined pharma companies' continued use of Twitter from an organic perspective.
Blog February 28, 2023
Current and former policymakers have recently spoken about the potential for Medicare to pay a lower price for medicines approved via the Accelerated Approval pathway until they successfully complete post-approval confirmatory trial requirements.
Blog February 20, 2023
What J.P. Morgan's healthcare conference tells us about the year ahead.
Blog February 17, 2023
Why did the top 2023 Super Bowl Commercials work? Growth Strategist Skylar Moore dives in.
Blog January 18, 2023
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Alzheimer’s disease (AD) drug lecanemab through its accelerated approval program.
Blog January 10, 2023
Syneos DEI Advisory Council members share strategies for promoting inclusive workforce behaviors that will position business leaders to sustain their organizations through emerging industry challenges, trends, and regulations.
Blog January 10, 2023
This POV uses Mindset Engine data to explore how tenure connects to burnout for HCPs, and how pharma communicators can use these insights to be more compassionate marketers.
Blog January 6, 2023
In 2022, the FDA took a large step toward helping nearly 30 million Americans with mild-to-moderate hearing loss engage in healthy aging by allowing easier access to hearing aids. Read how this decision relates to the science behind motivation from Kathleen Starr, Ph.D.
Blog January 6, 2023
Tap into insights from the Mindset Engine, a proprietary intelligence platform powered by Syneos Health, to understand how time (or lack thereof) interferes with HPC's abilities to provide breast cancer care, and how healthcare communicators can help.
Blog January 6, 2023
As anticipated, the drug pricing watchdog group, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), published its fourth annual Unsupported Price Increase (UPI) Report on prescription drugs in the United States.
Blog January 5, 2023
In November 2022, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Biosimilar Elimination Red Tape Act that would prohibit the FDA from requiring that biosimilars undergo switching studies.
Blog December 9, 2022
The World Orphan Drug Congress Europe (WODC) looked back on the remarkable achievements of the last 20 years of the General Pharmaceutical Legislation (GPL) in Europe.
Blog November 22, 2022
At the 2022 BIO International Convention in San Diego, a panel explored how gaps in VC funding of Black- and women-led start-ups impact the development of scientific breakthroughs, new inventions, and business creation.
Blog November 3, 2022
Brand centricity, a very much one-sided approach, is no longer relevant in our industry. Today, we emphasize the importance of a mutual relationship between a brand and its audience. We call this the WE principle.
Blog October 6, 2022
Yesterday, there was widespread celebration across stakeholders following the FDA approval of Amylyx's treatment for ALS, Relyvrio. Now, cheers are turning to criticism, after the price of the drug was announced by the company this morning on their investor call.
Blog August 9, 2022
Applying a behavioral science perspective to consider new ways to engage HCPs and patients.
Blog August 8, 2022
In July, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published its final evidence report for bluebird bio’s Zynteglo (betibeglogene autotemcel or “beti-cel”) for the treatment of beta thalassemia, a rare, debilitating blood disorder.
Blog August 1, 2022
Read on to find out what our behavioral science experts think of Apple’s latest report, and the opportunity to amplify the role of HCPs.
Blog July 20, 2022
Drug pricing legislation continues to forge ahead with a significant healthcare proposal back in play.
Blog July 20, 2022
On July 1st, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, through its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), announced its newest voluntary oncology payment model, Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM).
Blog July 7, 2022
Patients with learning disabilities, low literacy levels, poor health literacy, and nonnative language skills are often excluded from the routine health monitoring that patient reported outcomes (PROs) can provide. Learn why, and what we can do to shift this trajectory.
Blog July 7, 2022
While significant strides have been made to improve PRO inclusion in clinical trials and routine clinical practice, strategies to include underserved groups are in short supply.
Blog July 7, 2022
Real world evidence: what it is, what it is important, and what it means for healthcare communicators.
Blog June 23, 2022
Suzanne Goss, Executive Vice President of Brand Strategy at Syneos Health Communications, shares her takeaways from the 2022 ASCO convention, and sheds light on the questions we need to ask ourselves as we move toward more equitable care.
Blog June 23, 2022
It’s estimated that 37% of the world’s population are digitally excluded. Learn more about the digital divide, how it relates to patient-reported outcomes, and how we're addressing these issues at Syneos Health Communications.
Blog June 15, 2022
Hear from a few members from our Syneos Health DEI Advisory Council on how DE&I can play a role in the mental health and wellbeing of your employees.
Blog June 15, 2022
CMS has recently finalized a rule that aims to save beneficiaries and pharmaceutical manufactures money. The rule will require that pharmacy concessions be passed through to Medicare beneficiaries at the point of sale and will go into effect in 2024.
Blog June 14, 2022
While federal drug pricing reform in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) is stalled at the Senate, states are taking the issue into their own hands.
Blog June 2, 2022
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Association (EFPIA) Waiting to Access Innovative Therapies (W.A.I.T.) Indicator Survey has been released. The survey examines access to 160 innovative medicines over a 5-year period (2017-2021).
Blog May 25, 2022
As psychedelics gain more attention as treatments for certain mental health disorders, here are a few notes on what the pharmaceutical industry can expect.
Blog May 25, 2022
Syneos Health Communications' in-house wellness expert Leslie Archer tells us how corporate wellness initiatives are integral to a healthy employee, and a healthy company overall.
Blog May 23, 2022
There’s no hard-and-fast formula for how to react (or not react) on social media when a crisis or issue arises. This article shares a few considerations to help guide your decision-making process.
Blog May 12, 2022
While pharmaceutical manufacturers need to continue engaging with the broader healthcare system to help address healthcare disparities in the long term, there is action they can take now.
Blog May 10, 2022
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) recently published the white paper “The Next Generation of Rare Disease Drug Policy: Ensuring Both Innovation and Affordability.” Read on to learn what it means for science manufacturers.
Blog April 28, 2022
Awards matter - to clients, to talent, and to the success of the healthcare communications industry. Hear why from PR expert Elizabeth Stelzer.
Blog April 28, 2022
What the CMS National Coverage Decision Means for the Life Science Industry
Blog April 28, 2022
For many patients, receiving care right away is of vital importance. This post discusses how prior authorization for certain therapies can slow that process down, placing burden on patients and providers, and ultimately, slowing down the treatment process.
Blog April 11, 2022
A strategic marketing communications program that doesn’t include a DE&I lens isn’t strategic. Syneos Health Communications is raising the bar internally and for clients by convening the Syneos DEI Advisory Council to provide insights, consultation, and expertise.
Blog March 29, 2022
COVID-19 has changed the way we think, live, and work. Now, it's important to pause and consider how we continue to evolve, what we retain from the first years of the pandemic, and how we rectify the issues that it helped bring to light.
Blog March 24, 2022
Financial toxicity decreases cancer patients’ quality of life – but early identification and strategic planning can mitigate the impact overall.
Blog March 18, 2022
Patients and healthcare providers are faced with an overwhelming landscape of over-complication, tension, and red tape. We should approach creative brand expression with this in mind, prioritizing clarity in order to remove unnecessary friction around behavior change.
Blog March 9, 2022
We kicked off our series about behavior-changing creative with a few thoughts on authenticity. Next, we’re focusing on bravery. We asked Syneos Health Communications creative leads about the role of bravery in creative expression.
Blog March 3, 2022
For this series, we are focusing on what it takes for creative work to inspire behavior change, which is even more critical when trying to get someone to do something for their benefit.
Blog February 25, 2022
There’s incredible power of a program that is shaped–from beginning to end–by voices from within a community. SPACES showed the world how a small, determined and passionate group of people could work together to change societal views of disability.
Blog February 24, 2022
Collaboration between advocacy groups and the healthcare industry can lead to better treatments, more engaged relationships and better quality of care.
Blog February 21, 2022
Oncologists want to see themselves as enabling both patient and drug success. Whether it is through advertising, or public relations, or medical education – it may be imperative to keep them in the picture in order to earn their interest and engagement with your treatment.
Blog February 10, 2022
With lives dependent upon their decisions, oncologists are left to make treatment decisions for the betterment of their patients all while navigating a growingly crowded and complex landscape. But they shouldn’t have to do it alone.
Blog February 3, 2022
While burnout among HCPs isn’t new, its rapid acceleration is forcing us to address it with a new level of urgency and empathy.
Blog January 27, 2022
To maintain momentum, marketers need to work both sides of the satisfaction equation by reducing perceived cost and frustration and enhancing the emotional benefit.
Blog January 27, 2022
With a global pandemic, rising inflation, and continued political pressures, drug pricing will undoubtedly remain a big focus in 2022.
Blog January 20, 2022
Behavioral science tells us that even the strongest beliefs about the value of change don’t necessarily lead to action. To amplify motivation and cross the threshold from intention to action, we can leverage the fact that we are driven to meet our emotional and social needs.
Blog January 20, 2022
By now, you’ve likely seen the buzz around the Elizabeth Holmes verdict. On January 4, the former CEO and founder of Theranos was found guilty on four of 11 charges of fraud and conspiracy. What can we stand to learn from one of Silicon Valley’s most fascinating frauds?
Blog January 13, 2022
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was back in near-full force this year. With healthcare and digital wellness prominent fixtures in this year's event, our trends team has simplified all the signals, innovations, and tech into five need-to-watch themes for 2022.
Blog January 13, 2022
Behavioral science tells us that most decisions are made on an emotional level. As a result, marketers need ways to amplify the perceived emotional benefit of change which often starts with the science of persuasion.
Blog January 7, 2022
Our emotions are powerful drivers in our decision-making. Thanks to behavioral science, it pinpoints more subtle ways that emotions can impact their preference, decisions, and actions and ultimately highlight the steps we need to take to make the most of it.
Blog December 20, 2021
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) recently published its first Assessment of Barriers to Fair Access report examining coverage policies of 15 major commercial insurers
Blog December 9, 2021
The world around us is constantly evolving, which means consumer expectations are too. To stay ahead of what’s to come, we examined several trends reports to curate a selection of the consumer trends that will be most impactful to healthcare brands and audiences.
Blog December 2, 2021
With the seismic shift we’re witnessing with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) developments, we know stakeholders are expecting more—encouraging ambitious commitments and exploring the ways to leverage resources, even green financing.
Blog December 2, 2021
Everyone feels differently about weight, weight gain, and health—some welcome interventions while others bristle at them. It’s our job to meet people where they are with what matters most to them.
Blog November 19, 2021
Over the last 18 months, an evolution in diabetes management has accelerated, and for good reason. There are three potential solutions for pharma, device, or DTx marketers to consider based on trends we’ll see in the year ahead.
Blog November 19, 2021
There’s a bigger problem than diabetes—prediabetes, affecting 34.5% of the US adult population (as compared to 10.5% with diabetes), and there’s a likely and significant opportunity for tech to tackle this, with benefits to people and to society.
Blog November 12, 2021
This month policies aimed at lowering drug prices are back on the table. It’s noticeably less ambitious than earlier Democratic proposals, but still represents a historic shift in how drug pricing is approached in the United States.
Blog November 12, 2021
Diabetes is an epidemic with a devastating physical, emotional and financial toll on those it impacts. And with a now greater need and use for new tech, we explore two key trends shaping a new diabetes landscape that places digital therapeutics at its core.
Blog November 3, 2021
Many HCPs—neurologists included—need mechanisms to bridge the gap from emotional alignment with their patients to action by delivering on patient unmet needs. Aligning pharma understanding with HCP intention is a critical first step.
Blog November 2, 2021
With more than 10,000 health and wellness apps available today, we explored the ways in which digital innovation has transformed the expectations consumers have for how brands solve for mental health challenges.
Blog October 8, 2021
Looking at what the conventionally siloed functions of Brand and Innovation stand to gain from collaborating.
Blog September 30, 2021
A look at two key health literacy best practices, from a behavioral science perspective.
Blog September 16, 2021
An update on the latest developments in Washington critical to Pharma leaders.
Blog September 16, 2021
An exploration of how different sub-sectors of Pharma ought to be approaching innovation in consumer health.
Blog September 9, 2021
Our health systems and treatment options have, over the years, exponentially increased the levels of complexity in navigating health decisions.
Blog September 2, 2021
Why Pharma Companies Should Focus their Innovation Efforts on Health Categories Beyond Medication
Blog August 26, 2021
The Biden administration cited health equity as one of its top 5 health priorities in a Health Affairs blog.
Blog August 26, 2021
With the devastating rise of the Delta variant, we’re now seeing news reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic: Hospitals are reaching capacity, with 1 in 5 ICUs having at least 95% of their beds filled.
Blog August 19, 2021
In its most basic definition, Customer Experience (CX) strategy shapes and defines the way a brand interacts with its customers throughout their purchasing journey.
Blog August 12, 2021
The COVID-19 guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in May, proclaiming that vaccinated people no longer needed to wear masks indoors, spurred widespread joy, seeming to herald the beginning of the end of times unprecedented.
Blog August 12, 2021
This month, we’ve seen a flurry of activity that confirms Washington will be focused on drug pricing this summer, and it’s coming from all directions: Congress, the Biden Administration, and Courts.
Blog August 12, 2021
Science is at the foundation of everything we do. Published peer-reviewed data gives us the citeable sources we need for future projects. But what is the value of the best data if it is not communicated well or if no one “hears” it?
Blog August 5, 2021
Within a few days of the Aduhelm approval, the conversation quickly shifted from the first treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to the exorbitant cost ($56,000 annually) and whether the budgetary impact on society of the drug’s broad label is worth the therapeutic outcomes.
Blog August 5, 2021
More than 20 years ago, Gleevec ushered in a therapeutic revolution in oncology based on a relatively simple premise: If cancer cells are “addicted” to oncogenic mutations, targeting the troublesome protein might provide long-lasting disease control.
Blog July 29, 2021
There’s a lot to be said about how our world has changed over the years. But recently, what’s arguably changed the most is the speed at which companies from across all sectors are adopting and incorporating new digital approaches to their businesses.
Blog July 29, 2021
We’ve been delving into each of the four core human truths that shape our behavioral approach to brand strategy, in this month’s four-part series on the Motivational Edge (ME).
Blog July 23, 2021
Cannes Lions 2021: The Behavioral Science Behind Choice Winners
Blog July 23, 2021
Our proprietary framework for building winning brands, the Motivational Edge (ME), works because it connects with people in both their internal and external worlds.
Blog July 15, 2021
Brand Planning with the Motivational Edge, Part II: Validation
Blog July 14, 2021
The Case for a Strong Corporate or Master Brand: the Next Step in the Evolution of the Pharma Industry
Blog July 9, 2021
It’s natural to think of healthcare as a uniquely objective realm of marketing, with a product’s value always rooted in its efficacy and safety. Needless to say, scientific story is an essential part of any product’s positioning.
Blog July 9, 2021
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when our clients, and thus, our teams embark on the odyssey that is Brand Planning. That’s right, it’s an odyssey, but often not the kind that evokes a thrill or feelings of joy.
Blog July 9, 2021
Last month, in what was instantly hailed as one of the most controversial drug approvals in decades, the FDA granted accelerated approval to Biogen’s Aduhelm, the first new Alzheimer’s treatment to receive approval in nearly 20 years.
Blog June 30, 2021
When your customers are physicians, bombarded round the clock with all manner of data and promotion, one fundamental line of thinking can be groundbreaking. What is the motivational style of your target provider type?
Blog June 24, 2021
The much-anticipated 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting has come and gone, and we have experienced a lot: over 5000 abstracts, almost 300 booths and exhibits, and 17 industry expert theaters.
Blog June 17, 2021
It’s been shown over and over that women utilize healthcare services way more than men, being 33% more likely overall to visit a doctor. According to a recent Cleveland Clinic survey, more than 40% of men see a doctor only when they fear they have a serious illness.
Blog June 10, 2021
In a highly anticipated decision, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week cleared Alzheimer’s disease drug aducanumab on an accelerated, conditional approval program.
Blog June 3, 2021
Any diagnosis that contains the word “cancer” can be a heartstopper. Even less aggressive cancers carry a unique weight. However the word attained that gravity, it makes it one of the scariest diagnoses a human being can get.
Blog June 2, 2021
Regardless of whether we’d like to admit it, many of us gained unwanted pounds during the pandemic. Nicknamed the “Quarantine 19,” memes and viral videos took over the Internet, making light of weight gain during the past year.
Blog May 27, 2021
As we’ve inched past the year mark of the pandemic, amidst the heartache of what has transpired and the fear of what is yet to come, there is an ironic undercurrent of collective chest-puffing—and rightly so.
Blog May 26, 2021
As Amazon and Walmart’s endeavors in the healthcare space continue to advance, the choices the two giants make are aligned to their respective company cultures.
Blog May 20, 2021
Take a cursory look at the agenda for next month’s ASCO, and you’ll see oncology’s newest innovations—and promise—come with ever-increasing complexity of choices.
Blog May 18, 2021
As you may have read, the Biden administration announced last week that it will support a proposal to temporarily waive certain intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies.
Blog May 14, 2021
All too often, even the most carefully designed—and historically successful—brand strategies may falter as they meet with new audiences. These new audiences can be critical targets, but they’re beyond the sphere for which the brand was initially positioned.
Blog May 7, 2021
While many people, especially healthcare insiders, understand the manifold benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s gotten a bad rep over the years.
Blog April 30, 2021
At Adexchanger’s recent Identity Day, part of a virtual series about trends in data-driven marketing, one hot topic was the announcement of the end of third-party cookies from Google.
Blog April 19, 2021
This VR-based tool is changing the way major companies like eBay, Amazon and Google are approaching diversity training. It could also spotlight a new opportunity for healthcare organizations looking to become a true catalyst for change.
Blog April 16, 2021
Democrats have revealed that the next major legislative package—colloquially known as the infrastructure package—will likely include provisions to lower prescription drug prices. It will be used in part to pay for the infrastructure bill.
Blog April 9, 2021
With about 700 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered across the globe, the return to (relative) normalcy, in many parts of the world, is starting to feel closer and closer.
Blog April 2, 2021
Maybe you’ve spent some of your career working on initiatives that empower patients to make sound health decisions, such as by developing quality content that’s easy for them to find.
Blog March 25, 2021
The pandemic has forced many brands and businesses to re-strategize, postpone important initiatives or pivot offerings.
Blog March 17, 2021
The J&J COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the FDA after showing a significant protective effect against severe disease after one dose.
Blog March 15, 2021
While we have come to see tech as a major opportunity to reduce the frictions we experience in our everyday lives, the increasing adoption of it is likely to create new challenges and amplify existing ones in our world following the pandemic.
Blog March 9, 2021
As a social media millennial at Syneos Health™, connecting the world of TikTok—one of the hottest social media channels today—and healthcare was a challenge I couldn’t pass up.
Blog March 5, 2021
The new, third wave of the Syneos Health™ study “Telemedicine Use and Field Force Engagement in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond,” available to download now, reveals important physician attitudes and dynamics with respect to telemedicine use at this stage of the pandemic.
Blog March 1, 2021
Given the totally upending effects of the COVID-19 crisis, it may be easy to forget that it started during another public health crisis, the opioid epidemic—but now we’re starting to see the devastating impact of the confluence of the two.
Blog February 15, 2021
Americans may be the least aware of any population worldwide of the health effects of global warming, according to a study in Current Environmental Health Reports.
Blog February 4, 2021
This month, Syneos Health led a precision-targeting webinar with MM&M, delving into how COVID-19 continues to challenge conventional healthcare marketing and how brands can quickly adapt.
Blog November 19, 2020
The promotion of CBD products raises complex issues. Many of the options available for marijuana advertisers are currently restricted. And mainstream advertising is a complex prospect, even in states where many forms of cannabis are legal.
Blog November 10, 2020
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Veklury (remdesivir) for use in adult and adolescent patients 12 years of age and older for the treatment of COVID-19 in instances that require hospitalization.
Blog October 15, 2020
A new unbranded disease campaign Find the Right Fit launched by Jazz Pharmaceuticals seeks to support rare disease patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) as they move throughout their diagnosis and treatment journey.
Blog October 8, 2020
Though once overwhelmed by the pandemic, many healthcare systems have already restructured themselves after learning critical lessons from COVID-19. They’ve taken advantage of the reset opportunity to cater to patients more effectively and productively.
Blog September 17, 2020
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has selected the Fors Marsh Group to handle the new $250 million coronavirus campaign. The contract will last for one year, with much of the work set to be completed by January.
Blog September 11, 2020
In 2020 Health Trends, we called one of the major emerging developments in healthcare “Acting on Equity,” and it was about all the ways in which healthcare’s stark inequalities were getting new attention from leaders in life sciences.
Blog August 31, 2020
As the pandemic surged, New York City’s Mt. Sinai Hospital, one of the oldest in the country, knew it needed large-scale innovation to accommodate and care for the influx of patients with COVID-19.
Blog August 27, 2020
Tech startup Movano developing next-gen smartwatch to effortlessly track glucose levels.
Blog August 18, 2020
Ten years after acquiring its competitor Duane Reade, Walgreens has set its sights on a whole different type of growth, announcing its plan to establish doctor’s offices in hundreds of its familiar brick-and-mortar stores.
Blog August 13, 2020
Pfizer releases a new one of a kind radio service to share exclusive content about metastatic breast cancer through their new unbranded campaign “Find your MBC voice”.
Blog August 7, 2020
One of the more adaptive features of how humans are wired is that we don’t have to think about each and every thing we do. But this can also be a real bottleneck if you are trying to learn a new behavior or make complex decisions.
Blog August 4, 2020
COVID-19 treatment regimens are underscoring the threat of antimicrobial resistance, which threatens to kill as many as 20 million people per year by 2050. At the start of a long, uphill battle, big pharma is helping bring some novel antibiotics to market.
Blog July 31, 2020
What impact could the 4 healthcare-related executive orders that President Trump signed last Friday (July 24) have on the pharma industry. As a healthcare company focused on delivering communications, here’s our take on the recent action.
Blog July 31, 2020
Findings uncovered through a survey administered in July 2020 by the Insights and Innovation team suggest the relationship between HCPs and reps can be supported through digital communication.
Blog July 27, 2020
Novo Nordisk’s new diabetes drug seemed all set for launch in early 2020, a time nobody could plan for. So, amid the pandemic, Novo Nordisk adjusted their launch to provide support customized for the time of COVID.
Blog July 23, 2020
Four simple shifts from the Cannes LIONS Live virtual stage to survive and thrive through seasons of significant uncertainty.
Blog July 16, 2020
You might want to think twice about ignoring that call from a random number. As testing ramps up, contact tracers are working hard to alert citizens of their risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Blog July 2, 2020
The way we think about and celebrate summer has dramatically changed since this time last year.
Blog July 2, 2020
At a virtual conference hosted last month by the Milken Institute, which aims to create economic solutions to contemporary healthcare challenges, experts explored some post-COVID realities starting to materialize.
Blog July 1, 2020
Just because the live festival has been postponed doesn’t mean you should miss a beat of 2020 Cannes LIONS Live.
Blog June 22, 2020
As some people near the end of their third month of lockdown, many COVID-19-related trends are starting to look quite different than they did toward the beginning of the pandemic. One major development is the drop in number of social-media conversations about coronavirus.
Blog June 16, 2020
Patients are often at risk when presented with mixed messages. Kathleen Starr explains, first, why we’re hardwired to trust false information, and then how healthcare marketers can work through that to promote patient education and empowerment.
Blog June 11, 2020
Understanding the impact that telemedicine has had on HCP behaviors including prescribing in the changing COVID-19 landscape. Findings uncovered through a survey administered in May 2020 by the Insights and Innovation team.
Blog June 5, 2020
With the dramatic impact that COVID 19 has had on work, school, social engagements, and overall life as we know it, one would think that people would be anxious to be vaccinated.
Blog June 3, 2020
Best practices for avoiding the novel corona virus are fairly well publicized, but for people who have contracted COVID-19 guidance can be harder to come by.
Blog May 29, 2020
COVID-19 has accelerated the rate at which we’re seeing change happening around us. From how you work to how you shop, here’s an inside look into what we can expect to see in a post-pandemic world.
Blog May 28, 2020
Deciding when, where, and what mask to wear has been a large topic of discussion as we re-enter into the “New Normal.” So, what are some things to consider if you are in the market for your protective face covering?
Blog May 15, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is steadily increasing our risk for a mental health crisis around the world. Luckily, various digital solutions are available to help tackle it.
Blog May 6, 2020
At a time when most clinicians are overwhelmed and overworked, Microsoft and GE Healthcare are partnering together to help ease the burden of patient monitoring with a new cloud-based tool.
Blog May 5, 2020
Achieving success in the current global context now hinges on “the virtual meeting” – the most important method for teams to stay connected, troubleshoot, and drive results. Here are 4 key principles to drive better virtual collaboration.
Blog April 27, 2020
eyeforpharma Barcelona 2020 panel – Create a Digitally Enabled Field Force to Meet Customer Expectation – convened leaders from GSK, Roche, and Sanofi to discuss the ever-evolving role of the sales rep.
Blog April 15, 2020
With earbuds dangling, leaders dialed in from all over the globe to share their expertise with one another and listeners on Zoom. One panel, “Conduct Your Evidence Symphony,” convened medical affairs experts from a spread of pharma organizations.
Blog April 15, 2020
This year’s eyeforpharma Barcelona continued notwithstanding COVID-19 constraints, featuring virtual panels of experts across a range of industry fixations.
Blog April 10, 2020
An inside look into where tech innovation is bringing real value to healthcare and how pharma brands are keeping up with the pace.
Blog April 10, 2020
In this session of efp Barcelona 2020, two of the biggest names in pharma, MSD and Roche, shared their own unique digital experiences in hopes of teaching and inspiring others.
Blog April 10, 2020
Interested in how life science companies are approaching patient-centricity at eyeforpharma Barcelona 2020? We’ve got you covered with a dozen soundbites from the session.
Blog April 8, 2020
The FDA approved Biohaven Pharmaceuticals’ migraine therapy, Nurtec, last month, just before the COVID-19 pandemic sent people the world over into lockdown.
Blog March 31, 2020
How COVID-19 and 3 other barriers will transform healthcare over the next few years.
Blog March 31, 2020
For four years, scientists at MIGAL, the Galilee Research Institute, had been working on a COVID-19 vaccine without knowing it. They were developing a vaccine technology that could be modified to inoculate against a variety of viruses in poultry.
Blog March 17, 2020
With an increasing number of coronavirus cases popping up around the world, countries are taking action by leveraging innovative health tech to protect the safety of the public without compromising the care they need.
Blog March 10, 2020
The advent of federal regulatory guidelines for developing gene therapies—which transplant new genes into people’s cells in order to correct disorders—is a crucial moment in the narrative of the still-novel treatment type.
Blog March 2, 2020
Following just a few years after its 2016 digital health research report, the American Medical Association’s most recent study of the use and adoption of digital clinical tools is proving that more and more physicians are becoming increasingly open to emerging technology.
Blog February 25, 2020
The Cost of Mental Health, Turnover, and Bullying in the Workplace
Blog February 24, 2020
Four promising innovations make the British Heart Foundation’s Big Beat Challenge shortlist.
Blog February 21, 2020
As voice-based commerce is on the rise – thanks to popular digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa - brands can now leverage a new synthetic voice feature that adds an extra touch of personalization to the experience.
Blog February 12, 2020
Debuting at CES 2020, the AR-based smart mirror leverages immersive technology that connects with personal care devices, apps and professionals to help consumers make smart choices about their health – all from the convenience of their home.
Blog February 10, 2020
At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), AstraZeneca announced a powerful new initiative comprised of a five-year plan and a ten-year plan.
Blog January 30, 2020
From augmented to virtual reality, brands are leveraging video-game-like tech to evolve the training experience for doctors around the world.
Blog January 27, 2020
Pharmaceutical companies across the globe are finding the channels through which they can get desperately needed treatments to patients in need at humane prices.
Blog January 17, 2020
Marked demographic shifts among American doctors are forecasting a new future for the profession. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, women applicants to medical schools in the U.S. outnumbered men last year, 51-49%.
Blog January 10, 2020
Welcome to 2020. It’s a new year and a new decade. With that we have another year of critical shifts across the health landscape. These trends are critical to understand as we move forward into our next decade of innovation, opportunity and influence.
Blog January 9, 2020
When it comes to a cancer diagnosis, accuracy is a key element in receiving timely and effective care. With Google Health’s new algorithm for analyzing x-rays, AI can provide a helping hand to radiologists to prevent missed or false diagnoses.
Blog January 2, 2020
We’ve broken down some of the biggest healthcare stories of 2019. There’s something for everyone complete with a few predictions for 2020.
Blog December 23, 2019
A French health tech company is working on the commercial launch of a smart t-shirt, named Nexkin, designed to track six key physiological indicators in order to help with risk reduction and prevention programs.
Blog December 23, 2019
Funding for federal gun violence research and an early holiday present for biosimilars manufacturers -- We break down the new federal budget as well as news from the ACA’s legal saga in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog December 20, 2019
Speaking at Sanofi’s U.S. headquarters, Dr. Gaurang Daftary, senior director of medical affairs at Ferring Pharmaceuticals, stressed how much women’s health has suffered due to the fact that, historically, clinical trials have recruited mostly men.
Blog December 18, 2019
You’ve heard of a hotline, but what about a “warmline”? For about 30 states around the U.S., warmlines are emerging as the new intermediary step people can use before reaching a mental health crisis.
Blog December 17, 2019
Did you hear that the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, a sweeping bill designed to lower drug prices? We detail the bill and what it could mean for life sciences companies in this week's edition of The Week That Was.
Blog December 13, 2019
A new study suggests we may be consuming more BPA than previously thought. Using a direct method to analyze metabolites paints a much clearer picture of BPA levels in our diets.
Blog December 12, 2019
When Amazon first bought the online pharmacy PillPack, in 2018, many began wondering about the precise nature of Amazon’s health care ambitions. At last, some customers are now experiencing Amazonian health care firsthand.
Blog December 9, 2019
Uber recently released a safety report and announced steps it plans to take to address sexual assault in ride shares and provide support for victims. We dig into their reputation repair campaign and how it’s impacting the competition in this week’s The Week That Was.
Blog December 4, 2019
In early November, thousands of people from around the world gathered together in Dubai to get first-hand access to a class of innovators designing solutions for a better world.
Blog November 27, 2019
The revolutionary look and feel of many modern clinical trials are exemplified by three new studies from a very powerful sponsor: Apple.
Blog November 25, 2019
A consortium of 300 powerful organizations have filed resolutions demanding research into the feasibility of tying drug pricing to senior executive incentive pay. Read about this and much more in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog November 22, 2019
Here’s one initiative that might inspire models of other mental health care: in Orleans, Indiana, one school is finding ways to get their students the care they need.
Blog November 21, 2019
The effects of space on the human body are still being researched, and in recent years we’ve discovered more about the effects. Loss of muscle mass, brittle bones, and behavioral issues due to isolation are just a few of the challenges astronauts face.
Blog November 18, 2019
How will the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) reconcile the tug-of-war between the promise and uncertainty in valuing gene therapies? We dig into this and more in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog November 15, 2019
Recent headlines amplify anxiety among parents, but behavioral science provides tools to short-circuit these traps.
Blog November 11, 2019
It’s been a little over a year since the first crash of a Boeing 737 Max in Indonesia. We dig into how Boeing leaders are working to rebuild their reputation and more in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog November 8, 2019
Facebook is launching Preventive Health, a program designed to make its feed-scrollers the world over more health-conscious, especially when it comes to cancer, heart disease, and the flu.
Blog November 5, 2019
On Wednesday, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held a hearing on safeguarding pharmaceutical supply chains in a global economy, and the discussion included something for everyone. Read about the hearing in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog October 31, 2019
You may know Bose for their cutting-edge speakers and audio tools, but soon they’ll be known for something else. Adding itself to the list of out-of-industry companies breaking into healthcare, Bose makes a big leap with FDA approval for its direct-to-consumer hearing aid.
Blog October 30, 2019
We often forget the importance that language plays with regards to our own and others’ mental health. The words that we choose to use, even if they are synonyms of others, may reflect a bias, negativity or something else: To ourselves and to each other.
Blog October 29, 2019
In an effort to fight atrial fibrillation (AFib), Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb are banding together with, well, a band: Fitbit, the brand behind the popular activity-tracking wristwear that has helped fashion an entire generation of avid sleep-trackers and step-counters.
Blog October 28, 2019
Are U.S. sheriffs PhRMA’s new spokespeople? Learn why not all PR is good PR in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog October 25, 2019
In a 2017 survey conducted by Ann McKee, a neuropathologist, of 202 former football players’ brains that were donated to science, all but one suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Blog October 24, 2019
A global alliance of 17 organizations, headed up by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), published a report advising doctors to prescribe exercise to cancer patients.
Blog October 21, 2019
From potential drug pricing policies to investor interest in life science companies, there’s a lot of talk around money and medicines right now. In this week’s edition of The Week That Was we discuss the current situation and what may be coming for the healthcare industry.
Blog October 18, 2019
EASD—Europe’s largest Diabetes Congress—just wrapped up. Check out 3 things you might have missed.
Blog October 14, 2019
Missed the most recent analysis conducted by ICER? The report details the “drugs whose price increases would have contributed to the largest net increase in drug spending in the US” and more. We have summed up the main takeaways and what they may mean for you.
Blog October 8, 2019
The FDA is expecting to receive more than 200 investigational new drug applications per year for gene therapies, starting in 2020. What does this mean for life science companies? Check out this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog October 4, 2019
Recognizing that the impact of multiple sclerosis (MS) goes beyond the conventionally recognized symptoms, Sanofi has announced a new app to support people with the disease—specifically, their mental health.
Blog October 3, 2019
23andMe, the spit-kit DNA test company that announced a partnership with GSK last year, is embarking on a new health care foray. In partnership with the startup TrialSpark, 23andMe is going to play its part in revolutionizing clinical trials.
Blog September 30, 2019
How could the recent impeachment inquiry effect drug pricing legislation on the Hill? In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, we analyze the possible implications a presidential impeachment would have on drug pricing policy.
Blog September 26, 2019
With mental health drawing an increasing amount of attention, big brands like Starbucks are stepping up to craft a more inclusive workplace with new benefits and policies that put the health of their employees first.
Blog September 25, 2019
Over many years, studies have highlighted how mental health and behaviors affect physical health. Intertwined with this concept we’ve seen new frontiers with behavioral economics, including motivational behavior, navigating biases and irrational behavior.
Blog September 23, 2019
From Sen. Nancy Pelosi’s highly anticipated drug pricing plan to risk-adverse investors, our team shares the latest on the healthcare environment in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog September 18, 2019
Data is everywhere these days, but what does it look like? The business of data visualization is a vital part of your team’s narrative, and it’s time to give it the attention it deserves.
Blog September 17, 2019
The producers of As Much As I Can, which just finished its run at NoHo’s Joe’s Pub, are the folks at ViiV Healthcare, a group venture formed by Pfizer, GSK and Shionogi, and they hope their play will help ameliorate the plight of people with HIV.
Blog September 16, 2019
Congress is back from summer recess and healthcare is top of mind. Check out our take on which policies could move in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog September 12, 2019
Global warming is changing the landscape of the world as we know it. With a growing risk for natural disasters, mental health implications as a result of adverse weather events are coming to the forefront of discussions about disaster preparedness.
Blog September 11, 2019
Helping modernize the clinical trials process by leaps and bounds, Janssen is undertaking new initiatives to empower research volunteers.
Blog September 9, 2019
A recent survey found 70% of investors decreased interest in buying IPOs compared to last spring. What does this mean for healthcare companies? Our team digs into the life sciences IPO market and what to watch in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog September 6, 2019
While general diabetes incidence is declining in the US, several populations aren’t seeing the same progress.
Blog September 5, 2019
In the age of wearables and smartphones, more and more consumers are tracking health-related data on their smart devices. From tracking steps to monitoring your list of medications, Apple’s Health app has been one of the most well-known health trackers on the market.
Blog August 29, 2019
Facebook is hoping that free coffee and privacy check-ins will convince users that it’s prioritizing their data, once again.
Blog August 29, 2019
Pharmaceutical leaders are meeting customers in their AirPods, according to iHeartMedia President Conal Byrne, because audio is a newly critical space for American content consumption.
Blog August 28, 2019
Researchers in California have designed new wearable technology that can detect subtle physiological signals through a sticker that adheres to the skin like a Band Aid. The new tech is slated to create new opportunities for health monitoring and clinical trial use.
Blog August 28, 2019
Though pioneering a brand-new health-monitoring technology, scientists at the Technical University of Munich are doing it through an ancient art: tattoos. Their goal is to ink people with customizable body art that will change color based on properties of their blood.
Blog August 26, 2019
This week’s edition of The Week That Was details how the Business Roundtable’s “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” shifts businesses’ focus from solely shareholders to all stakeholders. Our team breaks down what this could mean for healthcare companies in the future.
Blog August 19, 2019
It’s seems like it’s being marketed as a treatment for everything from pain to anxiety, but is it legal? And, are there any quality controls? We’re talking CBD in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog August 14, 2019
Missed medical appointments cost the healthcare industry billions of dollars each year. Uber Health’s new deal with Medpod hopes to ease the burden with the delivery of remote care technology to the homes of patients.
Blog August 13, 2019
For decades, an Alzheimers cure has eluded scientists, who can only recognize the disease once it’s too late. As rates of dementia increase, a new biotech uses artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to detect it earlier than ever.
Blog August 12, 2019
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule for covering CAR-T therapies and not everyone is jumping for joy. In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, we discuss the rule, the reactions and what it means for patients, providers and pharma.
Blog August 7, 2019
Only in recent years have insurance companies been mandated to provide equal benefits for mental health as they do for general medical care. But here’s the challenge: Mental health care coverage is limited.
Blog August 6, 2019
Physicians in the UK are piloting multi-patient appointments in hopes of combating healthcare costs and HCP shortages.
Blog August 5, 2019
80% of voters support importing drugs from Canada and politicians on both sides of the aisle agree. In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, we dig into the Administration’s plan, the debate over the policy and what’s next.
Blog July 31, 2019
What can we do to fight the influx of measles outbreaks? The answer lies in epidemiological data and the power of education.
Blog July 30, 2019
The elimination of CMOs at Johnson & Johnson, Uber and McDonalds highlights how marketing technologies are changing marketing at its core.
Blog July 29, 2019
Headlines about the Senate Finance Committee’s bill are everywhere. Wondering how this legislation could affect drug manufacturers? In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, the team digs into the bill and its implications.
Blog July 25, 2019
It’s no surprise that one encounters many veteran journalists in the marketing world: clear and compelling storytelling is invaluable to a brand. But storytelling isn’t the only journalistic skill that augments a marketer’s toolkit.
Blog July 23, 2019
“Timing is everything - particularly when lives are at stake.” In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, we analyze recent public apologies.
Blog July 19, 2019
Dr. Tatiana Prowell of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center joined forces with Dr. Don Dizon of Brown University medical school on a Medscape News panel that challenged many of the ways doctors talk about patients.
Blog July 18, 2019
While most Americans can reach a Level I or Level II trauma center within an hour, only 24% of Americans residing in rural areas can do so within that same timeframe.
Blog July 15, 2019
As digital health continues to grow in prevalence, so do patient information databases. The collection, storage and usage of that patient data comes with a lot of risk, including reputational challenges.
Blog July 9, 2019
Mood tracking is not a new concept. In fact, it has been a central aspect of such things like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), helping people to recognize and monitor the fluctuation of how they feel throughout the day.
Blog July 3, 2019
Value is increasingly measured by hard numbers as data becomes bigger and more accessible than ever. Pairing these numbers with softer measures can reveal a fuller picture of success and opportunity.
Blog July 2, 2019
As the number of people in the U.S. experiencing a mental illness continues to rise, the state of California is stepping in with a smartphone app that can provide access to care right at your fingertips.
Blog July 1, 2019
This week's edition of The Week That Was details how health and medical groups are taking action to address the “greatest public health challenge of the 21st century” and what you need to know from a busy week in healthcare policy.
Blog June 26, 2019
For top competitors like Jeopardy! star, James Holzhauer, and Chess Grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen, being good isn’t enough. So how did they separate themselves from the pack to become the best of the best?
Blog June 26, 2019
For the average American, more than half of their food consumption is comprised of ultra-processed foods. According to a new study published in the BMJ, researchers found that the consequences of a poor diet go far beyond just weight gain.
Blog June 25, 2019
Some of the largest pharma companies are looking to Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) to recruit patients for clinical trials and help sort through the masses of health data available.
Blog June 24, 2019
A New York Times op-ed highlights the problems in American healthcare that are making doctors depressed.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: This year, we learned one thing for sure: health is everyone’s business. Award winners included retailers, technology manufacturers, consumer packaged goods brands, advocates, and, of course, healthcare leaders.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: It wasn’t just the super-exclusive Spotify party rocking at Cannes Lions. The healthcare awards had plenty of their own beats, including a self-exam inside a pop video, a big musical tribute to the vulva, and an actual audio treatment.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Every year, at shows like this one, there are a few campaigns that just surprise and delight. Like Head & Shoulders in the Holy Land, great works of literature on toilet paper, and dog treats on phones. Come on, you want to read about that!
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: The history of healthcare communications is full of directives about what we should do or even have to do. This year’s short listers and award winners focused more on what would be easy to do – small steps with big impacts.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: One of the major themes in life-changing creativity at Cannes Lions this year is campaigns and programs invested in everyday support. Read for three examples that demonstrate the new commitment.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Discussions about health usually happen in carefully controlled environments, full of hushed tones and antiseptic smells. Not at Cannes Lions. Many winners were ones who took personal and difficult discussions into incredibly public spaces.
Blog June 19, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: A peek into the very top award winners, including the first Pharma Grand Prix in three years, an incredible accessibility move by IKEA, and a creative idea for puppy health that will be sure to make you smile.
Blog June 18, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: That headline was one of the first comments in a panel on the world’s second largest healthcare market. It means: if something is wrong, they treat you; but you have to know something’s wrong.
Blog June 18, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Atilla Cansun, the CMO at Merck Consumer Health (now part of P&G Health), was back at Cannes this year to talk about how to create brands people love. His mission: humanize the relationships between healthcare professionals and companies.
Blog June 18, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Frank Mazzola, Chief Creative Officer at 21GRAMS, and Suha Patel, Marketing Principal at Genentech, take us into a campaign created for people living with hemophilia.
Blog June 17, 2019
AI is to 2019 what blockchain was to 2018. Beyond the buzz, what could AI actually mean for the healthcare industry?
Blog June 17, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: P&G and Thrive Global launched a new initiative: they’ll be working across six of their well-known brands to bring habit-stacking to consumers, helping to move their products from part of everyday mindless routines to something more meaningful.
Blog June 17, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Andrea Bell, Director of Insight and Executive Editor at WGSN, shared her perspective on the top five trends changing healthcare. Check out the highlights.
Blog June 17, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: Andrew Barraclough, Vice President of Global Design and Innovation at GlaxoSmithKline, is committed to making design a powerful partner for change in every aspect of customer experience.
Blog June 17, 2019
Live from Cannes Lions Health: The first day of Cannes Lions kicked off with a quote from the famous Bill Bernbach: “All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto...
Blog June 12, 2019
We’ve seen telehealth services offer virtual doctor’s appointments right from a smartphone. But now, online Rx startups are offering even more convenience – ditching an appointment with a doctor altogether to provide generic prescription drugs straight to your doorstep.
Blog June 11, 2019
At the BrightInsight Ecosystem Event, which explores use cases and best practices in digital health, Harvard Business School Professor Gary Loveman shared some lessons for health care professionals gleaned from his unconventional career path.
Blog June 10, 2019
Missed BIO 2019? Among the conversations about new innovations, pricing and access, public policy was the topic on everyone’s minds. We’ve got a recap for you in this week’s edition of The Week That Was.
Blog June 5, 2019
Social determinants of health (SDoH) are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.” These non-biologic factors are driven by uneven distribution of money, power and resources.
Blog June 4, 2019
Recently, the World Health Organization classified “video game addiction” as a mental health disorder.
Blog June 3, 2019
As the industry awaits a potential executive order on transparency around healthcare costs, we took a look at some transparency tools, and where they’re falling short.
Blog May 29, 2019
In 2018, lung cancer accounted for approximately 25 percent of all cancer deaths – making it the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women in the U.S.
Blog May 28, 2019
A $60 million federal program is aiming to bring the benefits of precision medicine to a diverse spread of Wisconsin communities.
Blog May 23, 2019
The World Health Organization released a new set of guidelines detailing 12 modifiable risk factors associated with the development of dementia and how to best combat it as people age.
Blog May 21, 2019
About 46.6. million adults in the U.S. experience mental illness in a given year. With mental health at the forefront of most conversations today, companies and organizations have been working together to provide solutions for those suffering from a variety of conditions.
Blog May 20, 2019
As drug pricing continues to be under the microscope, it’s a tough environment for drug makers. In this week’s edition of The Week That Was, we explain one way they can communicate value.
Blog May 15, 2019
Health care was a central part of the discussion at this year’s Facebook F8. A new tool called “Health Support” will enable all Facebook users to obtain community support for their specific health care needs.
Blog May 13, 2019
There’s a lot to be learned from Boeing’s reputational challenges – and their early efforts to start rebuilding trust among pilots, flight attendants and customers. We’ve analyzed their progress in this week’s issue of The Week That Was.
Blog May 9, 2019
With plans to enroll as many as 150,000 American senior citizens, Johnson & Johnson is collaborating with Apple on HEARTLINE, a revolutionary new study to detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), a potentially lethal condition that can lead to heart palpitations and stroke.
Blog May 9, 2019
The retail apocalypse. It’s the looming reality that many of our favorite brick and mortar stores are closing their doors as online giants like Amazon swoop in and drive consumers toward digital alternatives.
Blog May 9, 2019
Last week, many Amazon Prime members received more than their usual flow of order confirmations and shipping notifications, with the retail leviathan inviting some users to “Meet PillPack, a new member of the Amazon family.”
Blog May 6, 2019
What do vacationers on a cruise ship in St. Lucia, Avengers fans in California and some Brooklyn residents have in common? Check out the Week That Was for the answer.
Blog April 30, 2019
Based on data from the Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, one of the largest-ever clinical trials for depression, a startup called Taliaz is helping physicians pick the right antidepressant therapy off the bat.
Blog April 30, 2019
Recently, many news headlines have been focused on mental health-related situations. We’ve seen everything from suicides of survivors of gun violence and Olympic athletes to class action lawsuits against health insurance companies for negligence of mental health care.
Blog April 30, 2019
We all know millennials as the face of the health and wellness movement – at least according to their Instagram feeds – but, a recent survey shows that they may not be as healthy as we think they are.
Blog April 29, 2019
You may have seen a lot of recent reporting on “loss of coverage” for Americans. But what are some of the reasons why more and more Americans are going without health insurance – and what does that mean to the industry?
Blog April 25, 2019
Nobody wants their doctor to say, “you’re losing your hearing,” but for the 48 million Americans suffering from hearing loss, most dread the idea of the clunky, uncomfortable hearing aids of yester-year.
Blog April 24, 2019
Gone are the days of waiting in a doctor’s office when your kid is sick with the sniffles. With telemedicine, parents have the freedom of accessing virtual appointments from their smartphone or computer.
Blog April 19, 2019
If for some reason you thought there wasn’t anything else Amazon could tap into, you’d be wrong.
Blog April 19, 2019
Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) are therapies that are not considered the standard of care for a medical condition, and they represent $30 billion per year in consumer spending.
Blog April 18, 2019
As it prepares to go public, Uber, which expects to sell an eye-popping $10 billion of stock during its initial public offering, is simultaneously mapping out its continued expansion into health care.
Blog April 17, 2019
Live from eyeforpharma Philadelphia 2019— Brandi Greenberg, Managing Director of Life Sciences Research Advisory Board, hosted a panel of experts from across the life sciences space.
Blog April 16, 2019
Live from eyeforpharma Philadelphia 2019— A dozen fresh soundbites from a panel of pharma executives exploring the gap between strategy and execution.
Blog April 16, 2019
Live from eyeforpharma Philadelphia 2019— why pharma needs to defy conventions in problem solving in order to drive change and impact.
Blog April 16, 2019
Live from eyeforpharma Philadelphia 2019— a look at "Field Force Effectiveness in a “Many-to-Many” World".
Blog April 16, 2019
Live from eyeforpharma Philadelphia 2019— eyeforpharma Chairperson Paul Simms kicked off today’s conference with 5 bold predictions for our industry.
Blog April 15, 2019
Winter is coming… in May. In this week’s edition of TWTW, we’re not previewing the season of Game of Thrones. Instead, we’ve got a look at some of the drug pricing bills that could make it to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote in just a few weeks.
Blog April 10, 2019
Two pharma leaders, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, have begun disclosing product list prices in their TV commercials, taking the plunge that many brands are still approaching nervously.
Blog April 9, 2019
Did you know that only 25% to 50% of patients worldwide take their medicine correctly? Researchers across the world are turning to smart pills as the next gen solution for reinforcing better behavior when it comes to taking prescribed medication.
Blog April 8, 2019
Prescription delivery services – like Hims, Roman and Kick – are popping up all over the place, prompting concerns about regulation. But their popularity is a good reminder to the industry about what some patients want – easy access, convenience and lighthearted content.
Blog April 3, 2019
Deploying ambassadors to speak at the marketing conference DigiPharma Connect, Snapchat is vying to position itself as the best social media outlet for pharma marketing.
Blog April 1, 2019
You think you’re busy? We’ve recapped Scott Gottlieb’s eventful penultimate week at the FDA in this week’s edition of The Week That Was. Plus, a Pulse on Pricing with a first-in-the-nation policy passed in the states.
Blog March 28, 2019
In his recent book, Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again, Eric Topol takes a new perspective on the emergence of AI in healthcare and how the advancement of tech may actually be for our benefit.
Blog March 28, 2019
Ernest Quintana knew he had long suffered from a deadly lung disease when he was rushed to the hospital, but the news of his imminent death still profoundly shocked him and his family—not because of its grimness but who delivered it: a robot.
Blog March 27, 2019
Toronto-based innovation shop Trend Hunter has cranked out over 10,000 custom trends profiles in the past decade, and they compressed their annual 3-day innovation experience into an 8-hour intensive course.
Blog March 25, 2019
Employers wield enormous influence in deciding the care their employees receive – yet they aren’t always considered a core “stakeholder” in the healthcare debate. But that may be changing, as companies like Walmart look to reshape how they provide care to their employees.
Blog March 22, 2019
Where will digital therapeutics or DTx be in five years?
Blog March 21, 2019
The Innovation Authority, the arm of the Israeli government responsible for advancing industrial R&D throughout the country, has given a multi-million-dollar grant to Zebra Medical Vision, a digital health startup.
Blog March 20, 2019
Understanding a consumer need for easier access to healthcare, researchers from the University of California in San Francisco are using data from a recent study to explore a new smartphone app that can provide a diagnosis without a trip to the doctor.
Blog March 18, 2019
Toronto-based innovation shop Trend Hunter has cranked out over 10,000 custom trends profiles in the past decade, and today they’ve compressed their annual 3-day innovation experience and taken their show on the road with an 8-hour intensive course.
Blog March 18, 2019
Dr. Ned Sharpless was just appointed Acting FDA Commissioner. How are investors reacting and what does it mean for industry? This week’s edition of The Week That Was takes a look and provides insights from a new ICER report.
Blog March 15, 2019
Investment in technology is imperative for providers who want to keep up with the changing healthcare reimbursement landscape.
Blog March 14, 2019
Responding to rampant criticism of rising drug prices, pharma giant Eli Lilly will begin selling an authorized generic of its preeminent insulin therapy, Humalog, at half-price.
Blog March 13, 2019
Imagine a world where our medicine, food and health conditions are made from or treated by a 3D printer.
Blog March 11, 2019
Do you love that LaLa feeling? This week’s edition of The Week That Was looks at how not to spin a poor earnings report.
Blog March 11, 2019
Is the market prepared for DTx? The answer, it seems, is neither yes nor no, and the panelists at 2019 Digital Medicine and MedTech showcase weighed in from a number of different perspectives.
Blog March 8, 2019
It’s become more and more apparent that the need for comprehensive mental healthcare has exploded.
Blog March 7, 2019
In some rooms at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, patients won’t spend a moment alone—sort of—now that the leading Beverly Hills medical center has partnered with Aiva Health to make select rooms smart.
Blog March 6, 2019
With there being so many different stakeholders, including patients, providers and payers, panelists at the 2019 Digital Medicine & MedTech Showcase pointed to a number of different adoption roadblocks—and successes.
Blog March 6, 2019
Sooner than later your electric toothbrush may be introducing an alternative option for improving your current dental routine – all without having to take a trip to the dentist’s office.
Blog March 4, 2019
Policymakers continue their focus on drug pricing and may also have eyes for changes to the Orphan Drug Act.
Blog February 28, 2019
In a new Harvard Business Review article, brand positioning expert Denise Lee Yohn distills some of the most useful marketing points gleaned from her 25 years of marketing leadership.
Blog February 27, 2019
Brick and mortar stores are quickly disappearing. In 2018, over 3,800 stores closed their doors. Popular retailers such as Toys R’ Us and Gap have found themselves on the list, falling victim to a new trend in favor of online shopping and virtual services.
Blog February 27, 2019
This edition of Medical-Science Moments includes: FDA’s recent crackdown on dietary supplements, J&J leadership on drug pricing disclosure and human microbiome research.
Blog February 26, 2019
The past few days have seen a lot of news regarding the Oakland-based health care company Kaiser Permanente. They’ve recently announced that they will be opening a School of Medicine in 2020 described as “forward-thinking education for tomorrow’s doctors.”
Blog February 25, 2019
The anti-vaccination movement is causing challenges not just in healthcare, but now in tech. Read more on how Scott Gottlieb, Adam Schiff and Mark Zuckerberg are all wrestling with the issue.
Blog February 20, 2019
While telehealth has been on the rise, recent technological developments are shaping the industry and changing the way patients receive treatment.
Blog February 19, 2019
An expert panel that advises U.S. federal regulatory authorities has recommended approval of Esketamine, Johnson & Johnson’s brand-new treatment for depression.
Blog February 18, 2019
Our favorite #healthpolicyvalentines, new FDA guidance regarding complex generics and what you need to know now regarding data security from pharma and patient perspectives. It’s all in the latest edition of The Week that Was.
Blog February 13, 2019
According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, nearly 1 million Californians travel to Mexico every year to buy prescription drugs, and as many as 320,000 other Americans travel abroad every year for health care treatment.
Blog February 13, 2019
Digital therapeutics, or DTx, are distinct from digital health products, and are driven by software programs that can be prescribed to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease, as stated by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance.
Blog February 12, 2019
As our medical devices evolve to be more connected with each other in the digital age, healthcare providers continue to be the most susceptible to cyber-attacks.
Blog February 11, 2019
Drug makers aren’t the only ones under pressure for high costs. Hospitals are also facing new policies and an ongoing push for transparency.
Blog February 11, 2019
At this year’s Digital Medicine & MedTech Showcase (part of Biotech Showcase), a panel of digital therapeutics (DTx) experts illuminated the status and future of their work, moderated by Syneos Health Commercial Solutions Chief Strategy Officer, Baba Shetty.
Blog February 7, 2019
Today, doctors are feeling more pressured than ever to keep up with the growing demands of their career, and it’s taking a toll on their mental health.
Blog February 6, 2019
Digital health company Peerwell created an app to prepare patients for surgery and, in turn, reduce the amount of time they spend in the hospital.
Blog February 5, 2019
Representatives from small and big pharma, and those fighting both rare diseases and more prevalent ones, came together in San Diego recently for WIB-Southern California: The Growing Importance of Patient Advocacy in BioPharma.
Blog February 4, 2019
Everyone seems to be talking about digital health, but what does that really look like in action? To better understand the trend, we explore one of the biggest players in digital health – Apple.
Blog January 31, 2019
As the use of artificial intelligence in R&D continues to rise, Novartis takes it even further, equipping its reps with AI that suggests the perfect things to talk about with HCPs.
Blog January 30, 2019
Digital assistants are increasingly finding their way into most homes and as a result, voice searches are changing the way brands think of SEO.
Blog January 29, 2019
The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has gained industry-wide notoriety for their cost effectiveness analyses, which typically investigate the value of available treatments within a specific disease state.
Blog January 28, 2019
Climate change is named a top 10 health threat and we’ve broken down the conundrum for pharma companies regarding activating on the issue. Plus, some new healthcare policy updates impacting insurance coverage.
Blog January 23, 2019
Not your typical geotag for pharmaceutical innovation, Jackson Hole and its most prominent biologist, Paul Cox, may turn decades’ and billions of dollars’ worth of Alzheimer’s research on its head.
Blog January 21, 2019
SCOTUS is weighing its options on a number of healthcare cases; using social activism to tip the scales for your brand reputation; and crowdfunding for what? Check out the latest edition of The Week That Was.
Blog January 18, 2019
In healthcare alone virtual reality and augmented reality is expected to be a $5.1 Billion industry by 2025 with a CAGR of +53% over the next five years.
Blog January 16, 2019
On January 14, the House Oversight Committee announced an investigation into 18 branded drugs, produced by 12 biopharmaceutical companies.
Blog January 15, 2019
This edition of Medical-Science Moments begins with a wrap up of the top 10 science stories of 2018, as designated by Science News.
Blog January 15, 2019
While the term “micro-influencer” may still sound to you like some flippant, gen-Z farce, the side hustle cum way of life just scored serious validation.
Blog January 14, 2019
What do CBD, digital health and “femtech” all have in common? They’re some of the fastest growing categories for healthcare investing in 2019. Take a look at the latest insights in this week’s issue of The Week That Was.
Blog January 10, 2019
In recent years, countless life science leaders have been exploring ways to harness the power of behavioral science to combat the looming threat of healthcare’s biggest challenges.
Blog January 8, 2019
In the first half of this new year, the United States FDA will incentivize many pharmaceutical brands to make their biggest prescription drugs available over the counter.
Blog January 7, 2019
In case you haven’t heard, it’s the New Year. And over at TWTW-headquarters we spent the last days of December working on a little project: TWTW 2.0, a new, improved version of the newsletter you know and love.
Blog December 24, 2018
Tilray, a medical-cannabis producer, has established a new partnership with pharmaceutical giant Novartis, affording the former sales and distribution channels in tens of new countries.
Blog December 19, 2018
GlaxoSmithKline announced that it will acquire Waltham, Massachusetts-based drug company Tesaro, which develops novel cancer treatments, for $5.1 billion cash.
Blog December 18, 2018
One year’s innovative and groundbreaking idea becomes the next year’s benchmark standard. As the best ones become more accessible and affordable, new trends develop in their place.
Blog December 11, 2018
In October, I attended the 2018 Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Washington, DC. The event gathered more than 10,000 nutrition experts to discuss important trends, research and insights in food and health.
Blog December 10, 2018
The recent shift towards subscription offerings in the consumer marketplace is a trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. Your food, movies, and even your pet’s treats are delivered right to your door.
Blog December 10, 2018
How is it mid-December already? Hanukkah just ended, Christmas is in two weeks—and there are only 22 days left in 2018…Feeling sufficiently overwhelmed? We feel you. Luckily, we’ve got a holiday-themed TWTW that will help you Shake It Off (Chanukah-pella style?)
Blog December 6, 2018
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled new machine-learning tools reflecting—and beginning to tackle—some of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine.
Blog December 3, 2018
Well, readers, it is - - amazingly - - the last month of 2018. It’s been a year jam-packed with medical breakthroughs, political changes, and a heavy dose of controversy at every step.
Blog November 29, 2018
Our team worked with more than 200 of our Syneos Health partners from Los Angeles to Munich to Osaka to identify changes in behavior, technology and the landscape.
Blog November 28, 2018
Forecasting next year’s biggest shifts within the healthcare landscape, Syneos Health has released 2019 Health Trend Ten, available for download now, which explicates ten of the trends that will redefine healthcare globally.
Blog November 27, 2018
In recent years, many have questioned social media’s impact on mental health, but a recent study conducted by psychologists at UPenn stands as the first to establish a causal relationship between social media usage and decreased well-being.
Blog November 19, 2018
In a telling new study, pre- and post-surgical efforts by pharmacists yielded staggering effects on patient opioid use. Led by Kaiser Permanente, the healthcare giant with a suite of managed-care services, the study followed almost 600 patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.
Blog November 19, 2018
It's not even Thanksgiving, and we've already broken out the snow boots and shovels. While the New York area was nearly gridlocked from last week's snowstorm, our team was not. In fact, we’re pretty darn busy with a flurry of healthcare news.
Blog November 19, 2018
After taking some major leaps into healthcare, Google has begun solidifying its foothold in the space by appointing Dr. David Feinberg, CEO of Geisinger, to head up the tech giant’s motley array of digital health endeavors.
Blog November 14, 2018
As our team prepares for the release of our 2019 Trend Reports in the coming weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on several of the highlights from our 2018 Reports that garnered extra attention and sparked the most ideas with our clients.
Blog November 12, 2018
Good morning, readers! Clearly you—and 113 million people—were as pumped about the elections as we were. This year’s midterms had the highest voter turnout in 50 years. While election coverage—and the ongoing ballot counting in Georgia, Florida, and Arizona
Blog November 9, 2018
Pfizer and Novartis have been independently developing therapies for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and they’re now set to join forces to yield a combination therapy for the fatty liver disease linked closely with metabolic disorders.
Blog November 9, 2018
The Digital & Social Strategy Team recently traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Digital Pharma East conference – the largest event focused exclusively on digital marketing for the life sciences.
Blog November 9, 2018
What comes to mind when you think of a successful unbranded disease awareness campaign?
Blog November 9, 2018
As pharma becomes more and more ingrained in social media, it’s critical to know how and where to listen to the community that you are engaging with and to understand that this is an ongoing, individualized process.
Blog November 9, 2018
What can digital technologies help us solve? When you think about one of the largest problems within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, medication adherence should come to mind.
Blog November 9, 2018
On Friday, the Digital Pharma Innovation Day, Joel Sangerman, Chief Commercial Officer for Click Therapeutics, spoke on the topic of “Digital Therapeutics: Software As Treatments.”
Blog November 9, 2018
By now you’ve probably heard of GDPR, the strict data privacy standards that went into effect in Europe this year. But did you know that similar standards are coming to the US?
Blog November 9, 2018
If you’ve been following our recaps from Digital Pharma East, you know that the Syneos Health Digital & Social Strategy team presented original research on recruiting patients for clinical trials at a plenary session. Here’s a peek behind the scenes at how this research pro
Blog November 9, 2018
Patient “opinion leaders” or “thought leaders” are often leveraged as an amplifier of messages around a specific indication on behalf of pharma companies.
Blog November 9, 2018
The overlooked heroes in healthcare are often clinical trial participants. These patients represent the foundation of getting new and better treatments FDA-approved and in the hands of the patients that need them.
Blog November 7, 2018
In recent weeks, Amazon and Arcadia Group announced the launch of a series of consumer-grade medical devices under their new brand Choice.
Blog November 5, 2018
While we eat the leftover Halloween candy (that’s why we get the Reese’s), the team at TWTW is getting amped up for our next big event of the season: the midterm elections.
Blog October 31, 2018
Last month, the nation’s largest physician-owned malpractice insurer published results from a major survey focused on the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of doctors today—and the results were sobering.
Blog October 31, 2018
A recent proposal by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services calls for pharmaceutical companies to display drugs’ list prices in their TV commercials.
Blog October 30, 2018
Pharmaceutical giant Roche’s new app for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) revolutionizes how doctors care for patients with the disease.
Blog October 29, 2018
Welcome to Hallo-week! As the Reputation and Risk Management Practice coordinates our costumes, we’re also keeping our third eye on the news – scanning for the spookiest updates in healthcare.
Blog October 24, 2018
The industry and the Department of Health and Human Services presented different visions of what greater pricing transparency looks like in the future, complete with separate proposals of how and what information should be shared with consumers.
Blog October 22, 2018
Ever feel like you need a little superhero strength to get through your Monday? We’ve got you covered! Actually Marvel does, with a video short that calculates the healthcare costs Daredevil has incurred from his injuries as compared to everyone else he’s brawled with.
Blog October 18, 2018
Some of topics covered today included The Golden Age of Data Analytics, Enriching Healthcare Through Virtual Reality, and Leveraging Patient Influencers to Improve Disease Management.
Blog October 18, 2018
In recent weeks, a group of researchers, behavioral scientists and typographic design specialists from down under have given the world an unforgettable new tool: a new font called Sans Forgetica.
Blog October 17, 2018
The Digital & Social Strategy team is back at Digital Pharma East for Day 2. After a large cup of coffee and a bunch of yummy doughnuts, the team was ready for a full day of digital insights.
Blog October 17, 2018
Advantia Health, a leading-edge medical company committed to empowering women with integrated health care services, announced a new partnership with Elligo Health Research, which will offer Advantia’s clients access to a whole new realm of resources, through clinical trials.
Blog October 16, 2018
This week, the Digital & Social Strategy Team traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Digital Pharma East conference – the largest event focused exclusively on digital marketing for the life sciences.
Blog October 16, 2018
The growing appeal of orphan drugs to manufacturers isn’t a groundbreaking story, but a new report identifies some head-spinning facts behind the focal shift from blockbuster to rare-disease drugs.
Blog October 15, 2018
You’re a pharma brand sitting in between your two biggest competitors. Look to your left. Now look to your right. If one of their websites is compliant when shared socially, then yours is not.
Blog October 15, 2018
It’s Monday. It’s fall. And everything is far from certain in healthcare. But as Enzo Ferrari said, “The future is always in the hands of those who know how to preempt it.”
Blog October 8, 2018
After a particularly intense week in the media, a three-day weekend seems like a much needed respite. However, not everyone is celebrating Columbus Day. For those of you in the office this Monday, we offer a TWTW edition focused on transparency
Blog October 3, 2018
With funding from Google, Stanford, and venture capital giants Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz, seven-year-old Zipline has already revolutionized health care in Rwanda.
Blog October 3, 2018
For those of us squarely in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere, fall is upon us, and that means more than PSLs to our Innovation team—trendspotting season is well underway.
Blog October 1, 2018
Get ready, it is mid-term season! And healthcare is HUUUUGE this cycle. According to voters, healthcare (and its costs) is one of the most important issues cited as we head into elections.
Blog September 26, 2018
To retail behemoths, the health care realm is growing irresistible.
Blog September 25, 2018
Last Friday, Apple released its redesigned Watch, and there’s a lot more to catch the eye of our industry than just a 30% larger display.
Blog September 24, 2018
Fall is officially here, marking week three of the NFL season (we’ve got some Browns fans in the house), the rapid approach of the midterm elections, and the kickoff of the socially acceptable window for ordering pumpkin spice lattes.
Blog September 20, 2018
This edition of Medical Science Moments features research and other news on: CRISPR gene editing to treat human diseases; New approvals for CAR-T cell therapies; Stem cell therapy for heart failure
Blog September 17, 2018
As tempests raged along our coasts and in the nation’s capital last week, we are all left asking for a metaphoric and literal dose of sunshine and transparen-C. Last week, we witnessed biotech billionaires get charged with fraud for misleading investors and watched Memorial
Blog September 17, 2018
Nestlé, the brand you might associate first with such decadent confections as Crunch bars, Laffy Taffy, and Toll House cookies, has made a decided turn toward the healthful.
Blog September 12, 2018
One trend Allidura Consumer, a Syneos Health(TM) company, has been watching closely is how people are embracing simplicity—in ways big and small.
Blog September 11, 2018
All trends come and go. In this vast (and fast) technology-centered world we live in today, they seem to pass through a bit more quickly. But certain trends are here to stay, at least for a little while longer.
Blog September 10, 2018
If you’ve walked down a grocery store aisle lately, it’s not hard to notice more “good-for-you” options, like smaller portion sizes and plant-based products. It’s indicative of a cultural shift.
Blog September 10, 2018
Despite dramatic news coming out of Washington in recent days—from the leaked Kavanaugh documents to the “Deep State Deep Throat” anonymous op-ed in the New York Times, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that American voters are still focused on healthcare:
Blog September 5, 2018
Holistic healthcare brand Otsuka Pharmaceutical has announced a promising partnership with Science 37, the trailblazing startup out of MIT that’s transforming clinical trials for everyone.
Blog August 29, 2018
A new Deloitte report explores the near-future of blockchain: how seriously the world’s top executives, including many in healthcare, regard the emerging technology and how soon they might invest in it.
Blog August 27, 2018
WOOOOW!!! So, a lot happened in Washington this week… which we won’t be commenting on! However, in case you missed it…plenty was happening in healthcare. Here are a few news nuggets of interest:
Blog August 27, 2018
Nonprofit hospital system Partners HealthCare has unveiled a joint venture with Circulation, an on-demand rideshare service, through which Medicare patients receive free rides to their doctor’s offices in non-emergencies.
Blog August 22, 2018
In many ways, our innovation practice is grounded in the concept of constant change. Customers’ expectations are incessantly being rewired and reset.
Blog August 21, 2018
When we think about child care, we think about development in the traditional sense of the word: Learning, reading, writing, making friends. But often times overall mental health throughout a child’s journey to teenager to adult is overlooked.
Blog August 20, 2018
Summer is coming to a close, but actions around drug pricing and access just keep heating up. PBMs are dropping drugs from formulary… while the state of Ohio dropped PBMs. Read on for more—and, check out our very own senior advisor Peter Pitts' Health Affairs piece on creati
Blog August 14, 2018
A landmark approval by the FDA will put the first marijuana-derived prescription drug behind pharmacy counters this fall.
Blog August 13, 2018
Good morning TWTW readers. With another soggy, news-filled week under our belts, TWTW is starting to think we’re ready for fall. Pumpkin spice lattes, anyone?
Blog August 8, 2018
Beginning with its acquisition of PillPack, Amazon’s grand entrance into healthcare continues with its partnership with J.P. Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway, through which the gargantuan trifecta plans to revolutionize healthcare delivery.
Blog August 7, 2018
Recently, GSK and 23andMe announced a four-year collaboration aimed at identifying new drug targets, better supporting specific subpopulations and accelerating clinical progress.
Blog August 6, 2018
Happy Monday, readers! Remember when August was a slow, plodding month? Neither does anyone else. This was another week for big deals and tackling the industry’s biggest questions. Dive into the dog days with us in this edition of The Week That Was…
Blog July 31, 2018
The State Supreme Court just resolved a 10-year battle between the Cleveland Clinic and a former patient, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel David Antoon, who alleged that the distinguished hospital botched his prostate surgery.
Blog July 30, 2018
Mental health has often been at the center of controversy. Therapy and psychiatry costs tend to be high and many insurance plans cover only a small portion of those services.
Blog July 30, 2018
FDA had another busy week: recalling Ritz crackers & goldfish, committing to create a modernized definition of what is a “dairy product,” approving new magnetic systems to prevent breast cancer patients from being exposed to excessive radioactive materials during biopsies.
Blog July 24, 2018
Complications from drug interactions can present patients with whole new afflictions. The concern is widespread, with 39% of America’s senior citizens taking five or more prescription drugs simultaneously.
Blog July 23, 2018
Over at TWTW headquarters, we’ve got Elastigirl-envy because the constant barrage of breaking health stories had us stretched thin. With all of the approvals, price tweets, guidances and policy talk, we started thinking we needed super-human powers to keep up with the incred
Blog July 17, 2018
For the victims of generational healthcare inequalities, Gotham’s next great hero may not wear a cape, but still has some nifty tricks in her utility belt.
Blog July 16, 2018
We took the holiday to rest, play with fireworks (the legal kind, mostly) and now we’re back in action for this week’s dose of health care headlines. This week we take inspiration from the eponymous popcorn king, Orville Redenbacher. Born on July 16, nearly 110 years ago, Or
Blog July 10, 2018
In a move to once again place their stake a bit deeper into the healthcare landscape, Amazon recently announced the purchase of the successful online pharmacy, PillPack.
Blog July 3, 2018
While the challenge of non-adherence is far from news in our industry, CVS Health has nonetheless focused multiple work streams on quantifying, qualifying and reversing its impact on healthcare costs.
Blog July 2, 2018
Summer hit the country hard this week, with temps on both coasts and most of the Midwest reaching near-triple digits. Last week’s headlines were nearly as extreme. From one biopharma’s Right-to-Try misstep to political shade thrown at BIO and PhRMA for the infamous PABNAB ra
Blog June 27, 2018
If your travels include select Marriott properties in the future, you could walk into your hotel room and notice a new device sitting on the nightstand. Greg Sterling, Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, recently reported on Amazon & Marriott’s new venture.
Blog June 26, 2018
Recently, the FDA issued Collecting Comprehensive and Representative Input, the first of four patient-focused drug development (PFDD) guidance documents.
Blog June 25, 2018
Summertime…and the livin' is easy. Well, sort of. It was another intense week in healthcare headlines. The FDA may get a new name; Facebook is redirecting users searching for opioids and the WHO has us wondering if our Candy Crush obsession is unhealthy.
Blog June 21, 2018
The human brain responds to sound quicker than any other sense. In most cases, sound can influence your other senses initial reaction and response according to Joel Beckerman, composer and founder of strategic music and sound studio, Man Made Music.
Blog June 21, 2018
At this point, if you utilize any of the popular social media platforms, you are fully aware of the ‘tweet heard around the world’, the response from the maker of Ambien, Sanofi, and the public’s response.
Blog June 20, 2018
We collected all our favorite short-listed creative, big ideas, and highlights from individual talks in 14 posts. Here’s the full list. But definitely start with this one.
Blog June 20, 2018
Indian medical device manufacturer DyAnsys recently announced the U.S. FDA approval of its first-in-class non-drug treatment for opioid withdrawal.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: Can you joke about death? The Indian Association of Palliative Care says you have to.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: A complex treatment requires incredibly simple support.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: What could make being sick better? Toys, treats and comics that let you still feel like a kid.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: Health brands are rethinking how they connect with people – and pets – through new approaches to content.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: Rebuilding trust takes time and transformation. Johnson & Johnson Baby invested in both.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: A diabetes brand won gold for a simple radio spot that brilliantly blended pop culture and life with diabetes.
Blog June 19, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: Four brands that are showing people exactly how they can help tackle big health challenges – one person at a time.
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: 9 people living with cancer + 6 months in their homes and lives = a story that shows it is possible to find a new normal
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: What better place to talk about life-change creativity than in the pharma short list showcase at Cannes?
Blog June 18, 2018
Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!!!! Sorry folks, we've been feeling inspired by the World Cup kicking off and needed to get that out of systems since 2014. While the rest of the globe is focused on soccer (or football), we haven't missed last week's penalty k
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: The Cannes short list is filled with new ways healthcare leaders are giving patients a voice – sometimes quite literally – with tech, language and tools.
Blog June 18, 2018
Live at Cannes Lions: It all started right here at Cannes. Two companies came together to create a new media platform about healthcare and they’re back to talk about the launch.
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: The biggest drivers of health outcomes are social determinants. New studies and new ways are creating opportunities to use that understanding to save lives.
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: Merck wants to make healthcare brands irresistible by creating experiences that consumers stop, watch and engage, even in low-interest categories.
Blog June 18, 2018
Live from Cannes Lions: They call it a thrill ride. Transformation has an incredibly human effect just like a carnival ride. From fear to terror to utter fatigue from the stress of the turns and curves. At GSK, transformation is fueled by teaching trust.
Blog June 14, 2018
As health companies merge healthcare into the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, it is interesting to see how new platforms and tools learn from their predecessors and continually make monumental steps in the right direction.
Blog June 13, 2018
As anticipated, on June 6, 2018, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced the Patient Advocacy Transparency Act.
Blog June 12, 2018
This edition of Medical Science Moments features highlights from the recent ASCO conference.
Blog June 11, 2018
From the Warriors and the Capitals to Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, and Justify doing the near-impossible at the Belmont, June started off with some seriously big wins. We’ve also seen a lot of action on the healthcare front this week
Blog June 7, 2018
Lately, Facebook has been working on multiple fronts to increase the level of users’ engagement on the platform, since the reach and engagement has been dropping as a result of another alteration to their algorithm.
Blog June 6, 2018
eMarketer’s latest numbers on Pharma’s digital ad spend are in, and the word of the day is growth. Mobile is outpacing TV, desktop is holding steady, and print is in a pinch.
Blog June 5, 2018
A recent article from Medical Marketing and Media (MM&M) analyzes what has been on all of our minds in the last 6-9 months: What will pharma’s response be to so many consumer brands crossing over into healthcare? And as MM&M summarizes, it is only a trending positively.
Blog June 4, 2018
Happy Monday readers! We’ve got a busy week behind us and another underway so let’s get to it. The FDA was all business this week, Arkansas became the first state to test a work requirement for non-disabled Medicaid beneficiaries and PhRMA is checking ICER - here is TWTW!
Blog May 31, 2018
In today’s day and age, health insurance has become even more challenging to navigate. In many instances, patients are not able to access information about their financial commitment around treatment options.
Blog May 29, 2018
Each day, it is estimated more than 115 people in the US die from an opioid overdose. The CDC estimates the cost is $78.5 billion a year in lost productivity, healthcare and addiction treatments.
Blog May 23, 2018
Researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis recently announced a new tool available for Alzheimer’s patients’ caregivers – a ‘friend-sourcing’ app to help make more meaningful connections and open a new door for communicating and supporting one another.
Blog May 21, 2018
We are gobsmacked at the amount of pharma pricing activity following the release of President Trump’s “Blueprint” to lower drug prices. Read our take on this and other healthcare news.
Blog May 17, 2018
This Sunday, take a moment to honor two guys who sat in a boat and bravely ate some oranges a little more than 270 years ago.
Blog May 16, 2018
Dating back to 1788, wearables have been around helping individuals, even at their most basic, track our steps to help us better keep track of exercise.
Blog May 15, 2018
The annual Food and Drug Law Institute conference is the premier regulatory geek prom of the year. I’ve just returned from this gathering and would like to share some of what I said and learned.
Blog May 14, 2018
President Trump and HHS Secretary Azar gave a slightly delayed, much anticipated speech on the Administration’s Blueprint to lower drug prices.
Blog May 9, 2018
Value and outcomes-based care is making headlines recently. With so much pressure on pharmaceutical companies to defend their pricing methodologies as well as become more transparent, many are innovating with new contracts.
Blog May 8, 2018
A few weeks back, five colleagues and I attended the 16th annual eyeforpharma conference in Philadelphia. We joined over 700 attendees, learned from more than 60 speakers from across the industry and attended dozens of sessions.
Blog May 7, 2018
Good morning folks. It’s Monday, we’re caffeinated and its one week away from Mother’s Day (you’re welcome). There were so many healthcare issues last week that we’re suffering a bit of whiplash. Hold on to your seats, for these healthcare headlines:
Blog May 3, 2018
Enter stage left. Headaches. They come in all shapes and sizes and can, in most cases, be pinpointed to how they started. Dehydration – head injury – over indulgence: whatever the reason, we can point back, solve the mystery and easily treat with a myriad of over the counter
Blog May 2, 2018
Today, consumers are empowered to consider all of the information and varieties surrounding brands and their products. At times, there is so much information in flux, like articles about fads, diets, etc., that is has become hard for consumers to know how to filter through
Blog May 1, 2018
I had a bit of an epiphany recently when I realized that digital communications, like many of the people who work in our field, is a Millennial and, like other Millennials, is now in its adulthood.
Blog May 1, 2018
Recently, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent 2 long days in front of Congress answering questions from a joint hearing of the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary and Commerce Committees. This stemmed from the revelation that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, illegally
Blog April 30, 2018
In the largest multi-state food-borne E. coli outbreak since 2006, at least 84 people across 19 states have been infected with E. coli from romaine lettuce in the past month. The team at TWTW is counting ourselves lucky that we are unusually big fans of kale. In other news..
Blog April 27, 2018
In 2003, there were 15 of us at Biosector 2 (B2), an open floor plan, a few dogs lounging around, daily lunch provided from our favorite -- Chelsea market and great surround sound music.
Blog April 25, 2018
Before this year’s 16th annual eyeforpharma convention even officially began, Amazon was there, empowering pharma leaders by teaching them new ways from their approach to innovation.
Blog April 24, 2018
It is no secret that hypertension is the leading cause of death in America. However research reveals less than half of patients adhere to their treatment regime.
Blog April 24, 2018
You may have heard that Biosector 2 is a 2018 finalist for the Holmes Report Agency of the Year. But what’s all the buzz about, and what makes this agency so special?
Blog April 23, 2018
Happy Monday, readers! While we’re busy celebrating Earth Day by eating local, non-bagged lettuces and reading and recycling newspapers, we also caught up on breaking news in healthcare headlines
Blog April 20, 2018
Payers are continually adjusting their management strategies in an effort to control costs. This year we have seen insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers (eg, UnitedHealthcare and Express Scripts) implement a new program: the co-pay accumulator.
Blog April 18, 2018
CVS Health recently announced a new tool available to pharmacists and patients. The goal? To help instantly compare your insurance plan against available therapies to help lower (potentially) the overall expense associated with your medication.
Blog April 17, 2018
This edition has some good news about exercise, use of social media to monitor drug adverse effects, questions about credibility of early trial results, and some quick bits from CRISPR to obesity. Oh, and I almost forgot: a potential device that can enhance memory!
Blog April 16, 2018
I’d first heard of Biosector 2 as a junior staffer at another, larger agency conglomerate – we kept losing pitches to them and all I could think was: Who are these people? How are they coming up with these super cool programs? Wait, they don’t have titles? That’s so … weird.
Blog April 16, 2018
Whether you spent the weekend jamming at a music festival in the sunny, warm desert, or doing something more mundane like taxes switching between heat and air conditioning in your apartment, you may have missed this week’s healthcare and crisis comms headlines.
Blog April 13, 2018
My secondary school alma mater, Hastings High School, recently asked me to be the keynote speaker at their upcoming commencement ceremony this June.
Blog April 12, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: Among the countless presentations and panels at EFP Philly this year, I had a clear favorite—A. J. Triano’s Democracy Disruption in 2018: The Rise of the Empowered Patient.
Blog April 11, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: “Can’t we all just get along? Please.” This was the ask (well, plea) from self-defined “medical mom” Meredith Hardy during this morning’s eyeforpharma panel focusing on developing effective patient support ecosystems.
Blog April 11, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: The closing session for eyeforpharma ’18 brought the story full circle. Six executives from the likes of Novartis, Lilly and even Kaiser Permanente engaged in a panel discussion focused on what value means in our industry to key stakeholders.
Blog April 11, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: Cheryl MacDiarmid, GSK’s US Respiratory Business Head, shared a glimpse into why and how her organization is so dedicated to the COPD patients they serve.
Blog April 10, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: In his presentation “From ‘Data-as-Assets’ to ‘Insights-as-Assets,’” GSK’s VP of Commercial Insights Peter Barschdorff shared a hit list of wisdom in the space.
Blog April 10, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: This afternoon, a panel of 5 patients, advocates and pharma-patient connectors engaged in a discussion titled, “Where is the trust? Strengthen relationships through partnerships and collaborations.”
Blog April 10, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: Bharat Tewarie, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer at UCB shared his perspective on AI’s evolving role in pharma.
Blog April 10, 2018
Live from EFP ‘18: Today, eyeforpharma Philadelphia opened with one word: trust. Paul Simms—Chairman of eyeforpharma—started with 2 opposing ideas on trust from Big Pharma leaders.
Blog April 9, 2018
TWTW team spent this weekend doing some spring cleaning in the hopes that it would bring us East Coasters some, well, spring…Fingers crossed that a little wishful thinking and the removal of some pretty major dust bunnies will get the warm weather vibes coming our way.
Blog April 6, 2018
An interesting Business Insider article from this past November points out that many important communication and management skills continue to grow throughout our lives, often peaking well beyond age 50.
Blog April 3, 2018
The Internet of Things (IoT) is not a new concept. In fact, it exists in many of the technological devices that we use every day without us even acknowledging its presence.
Blog April 2, 2018
APRIL FOOLS’! No, the CEOs of Pfizer and Regeneron are not shaking hands and working it out following their heightened rhetoric about drug prices two years ago. It may be April 2nd, but we couldn’t let April Fool’s pass without The Week That Was team having a little fun.
Blog March 29, 2018
Everyone has been talking for months about Amazon’s big healthcare partnership, but earlier this month, the company made another bold foray into a new customer segment: Medicaid recipients.
Blog March 27, 2018
In a recent 2017 study about health literacy, 20% of respondents reported they didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘premium’. Furthermore, 66% of respondents reported they were unfamiliar with the word ‘formulary’.
Blog March 26, 2018
The recently announced collaboration between JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, and Amazon has everyone in the healthcare industry talking. This powerful trio is seeking to disrupt and transform the healthcare system by reducing healthcare costs for their collective employees.
Blog March 26, 2018
Happy Monday! The Week That Was team survived the 4th (and hopefully last) nor’easter of the season and is taking in the storm of news that blew in with it.
Blog March 23, 2018
The general perception is that the healthcare industry has lagged behind with innovations using technology and service design. In reality, there are many initiatives in place that don’t come to the surface until you’re ready to notice them.
Blog March 22, 2018
One of the most powerful ideas to emerge in recent years is continuity of care in medicine.
Blog March 21, 2018
The recent announcement that health insurance company Cigna agreed to buy Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, has sparked further discussion & debate around the increasing amount of consolidation taking place in healthcare industry.
Blog March 20, 2018
A few weeks back, the digital healthcare company Optra Health announced the launch of OptraGURU, its newest platform that leverages the AI tech of its iPhronesis offering with Amazon Alexa’s natural language skills. What does that nearly run-on sentence really mean?
Blog March 19, 2018
We know its Monday and the weather on the east coast is still hovering around 30º, but hang in there, fasten your seat belts, put up your tray tables and read on for The Week That Was...
Blog March 13, 2018
Uber and Lyft both recently announced new ventures in the healthcare space. Both are now optimized to let healthcare professionals arrange, pay for and manage transportation for patients.
Blog March 12, 2018
Just when we thought spring might be around the corner, a second nor’easter comes along (no need to be smug West Coast readers, we know you’ve got the sun). While many of you took a well-deserved snow day, The Week That Was team was glued to our computer screens.
Blog March 8, 2018
Many people work in industries that produce everyday conveniences—cars, entertainment devices, home appliances, and the like—but I’m lucky to work in one that routinely produces miracles.
Blog March 6, 2018
The role of the pharmacy and how consumers can fill prescriptions has been in a state of transformation on multiple fronts and in many forms.
Blog March 5, 2018
March made quite the entrance this year. The Week That Was team is relieved to be back online after that wicked nor’easter gusted through town, taking out power, crippling train lines and most certainly mussing our hair. Here are a few healthcare news highlights.
Blog March 2, 2018
MM&M recently shared a series of infographics to visualize their top healthcare trends for 2018. These capture key results from PwC Health Research Institute’s recent survey of more than a thousand adults. Several of the highlights go hand-in-hand with our own 2018 Trends.
Blog March 1, 2018
Recently revealed results from the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, for the first time ever, showcase the media viewed as the least trusted source for information. In the survey, media fell below 50% trust in 22 of the 28 countries surveyed.
Blog February 26, 2018
What a week! As the debate over gun control dominated national media, we kept our eyes on another busy week of healthcare news.
Blog February 19, 2018
Spent last week watching Shaun White win his third gold medal? Finding yourself enthralled by every Curling match on TV? Seriously, we just don’t get that one… Regardless, if you missed last week’s breaking healthcare news, we’ve got you covered.
Blog February 15, 2018
On January 26th, MIT spinoff Empatica received FDA clearance for its epilepsy-tracking Embrace Watch — making it the first smartwatch approved in neurology in the US.
Blog February 15, 2018
As recently as five short years ago, a pharmaceutical manufacturer could develop a good product, do everything right as it pertained to the needs of both patients and healthcare professionals, and launch it successfully into the world without major worry about the product be
Blog February 13, 2018
Google recently announced a new research paper where researchers used 46 billion data points to help predict medical outcomes within a hospital setting.
Blog February 12, 2018
CEO’s were making headlines last week for a host of reasons. Oh, and it’s been reported that next week, the Trump Administration is expected to propose new rules and legislative initiatives to reduce the cost of prescription drugs to Medicare patients. Read on for TWTW...
Blog February 8, 2018
Three U.S. industry mavens are turning their sites toward healthcare. The ultra-cost minded Warren Buffett has labeled healthcare costs as "a hungry tapeworm on the American economy,” and his Berkshire Hathaway is partnering with Amazon and JPMorganChase to create a new comp
Blog February 7, 2018
A post on my Twitter feed tells me that it’s National Storytelling Week in the UK right now, and points me towards an analysis of leading UK companies conducted by content agency Insight Agents.
Blog February 6, 2018
GSW, part of Syneos Health Communications, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare, one of the oldest, largest, and most respected medical providers in the Greater Cincinnati region, unveiled a 60-second commercial this past Sunday after the second quarter of Super Bowl LII.
Blog February 5, 2018
One Super Bowl game, 1.33 billion chicken wings and 12.5 million pizzas later, we know the feeling all too well. So we’ll wrap up this intro, grab our emotional support peacock, and get right to the headlines from last week. Read on for The Week That Was...
Blog February 1, 2018
Amazon announced last week the unveiling of their new cashier-less store, Amazon Go. Opened on the 29th within the ground floor of Amazon’s new headquarters, the ‘7-eleven’ style store will boast convenient items such as things easy to grab-and-go.
Blog January 31, 2018
“Teachable moments,” education experts tell us, are events in which reality stares us in the face and ignorance is no longer an option. Where the rubber meets the road. Hell breaks loose. When things get real. Teachable moments are when we’re most open to new ideas.
Blog January 31, 2018
Over the past several years, we have all grown accustomed to the drug-pricing-war headlines. Capitol Hill hearings, pharma becoming more transparent around pricing practices, and even public figures like Martin Shkreli taking advantage of drug shortages.
Blog January 29, 2018
Well, that was quick! No, we’re not talking about the weekend…we’re talking about the three-day government shutdown. Philadelphia became the first city to plan and support the opening of safe injection sites for drug use under medical supervision. This is The Week That Was..
Blog January 24, 2018
It’s been mighty cold lately, hasn’t it? But not inside Cadent. In the laboratory, growth requires warmth (unless you’re growing crystals). Warm biological cultures grow faster than cold ones. There’s a management lesson in that.
Blog January 22, 2018
$1,870,000,000. That figure represents the total cost to cover the 2,200 (approx.) patients with a rare form of blindness with Spark Therapeutics new one-time gene therapy, Luxturna.
Blog January 22, 2018
Hello Readers, the federal government may be shut down, but The Week That Was team is firing on all cylinders! And it’s a good thing because healthcare is not lacking in the headlines.
Blog January 18, 2018
Las Vegas is a city that seems to exist in a parallel universe - and even celebrates this with the marketing slogan of “What happens here, stays here.”
Blog January 17, 2018
“It’s not life threatening, but I can’t drive…Call an Uber.” An unlikely phrase muttered 10 years ago. However with the boom in ride-sharing services across the globe, patients are finding new (and much less expensive) modes of transportation to the emergency room.
Blog January 16, 2018
On Monday, January 15th tighter rules went into effect regarding transactions between physicians and pharma in New Jersey.
Blog January 16, 2018
In the coming decade, many if not most medical practitioners patients see will be Millennials, people born between the years 1981 and 1998.
Blog January 15, 2018
The first week of January was brimming with activity for life sciences companies. In DC, former Eli Lilly exec Alex Azar appeared before the Senate Finance committee for his second confirmation hearing in his bid for HHS Secretary. Read this and more in this week's TWTW!
Blog January 11, 2018
My name is Wendy Balter and as the President of Cadent Medical Communications, I wanted to create a blog series where I can post ideas, observations, links, and insights for you on a regular basis.
Blog January 10, 2018
Join us in celebrating our best ofs, tops and faves in this list of the top 10 posts of 2017.
Blog January 10, 2018
IBM is the latest company to enhance its parental leave benefits. Last week, Big Blue extended its maternity leave from 14 weeks of paid time off to up to 20 weeks. It also includes eight weeks of short-term disability, having a baby qualifying as a temporary disability.
Blog January 10, 2018
This month, Janssen launched Cancer.com, aiming to create an online destination for all things oncology.
Blog January 10, 2018
In 2014, 76% of patients surveyed stated their interested in pharma companies providing services that complement their products. In 2015, only 19% of patients surveyed stated that they are aware of the services available to them.
Blog January 10, 2018
As with any new pharma launch, much planning goes into messaging, target market, channel optimization, and several additional pieces to the process. So when Eminem, the famous music artist from Detroit Michigan, sat down with his team to develop a campaign to launch his new
Blog January 10, 2018
While it’s common to hear about stores closing these days, Starbucks continues to open them, including their biggest one ever. The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery, which just opened in Shanghai, is the first non-U.S. location of a new prototype that is a ed full-on, highly-c
Blog January 8, 2018
The Week That Was is back in the New Year, with a new look and new company name: Syneos Health. The new brand represents the combined CRO capabilities of your old friends at inVentiv Health and INC Research, which you may recall, merged last May. New year, new company.
Blog December 19, 2017
We’re a few weeks away from publishing our annual Trends Reports. This doesn’t mean we aren’t already thinking about what our findings might mean for our clients & partners. One of the key themes we’re seeing emerge is what we’re calling the shifting front door to healthcare
Blog December 18, 2017
As Amazon positions themselves as (potential) healthcare players, several brick and mortar pharmacies shift with new partnerships and business models.
Blog December 18, 2017
With the year rapidly coming to a close, we’ve decided to take you on a trip down memory lane to recap the biggest stories and trends of 2017. We don’t know about you, but we’ll admit that this year had us in disbelief more than a few times. Settle in for The Year That Was…
Blog December 14, 2017
The FDA approved the first ever watch accessory, an Apple watch band that not only reads your EKG, but will communicate with your physician if results are abnormal.
Blog December 13, 2017
Akili Interactive Labs doesn’t develop medicines or molecules, but it’s still hoping to earn a prescription. The company recently reported that its video game for kids living with ADHD met its primary end point in a late-stage clinical trial.
Blog December 7, 2017
Flying in the face of Sarah Connor and Elon Musk’s worst fears, artificial intelligence is saving lives worldwide. Facebook recently made news by expanding its suicide prevention efforts to include AI-powered intervention.
Blog December 6, 2017
The FDA announced exciting news this month. After previous rejections, they’ve green-lighted a pill with a built-in sensor to track adherence and compliance. The treatment from Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. is called the Abilify MyCite system.
Blog December 5, 2017
Read how one brand captured the hearts of fans with bite-sized digestible content on Twitter over a sensitive topic. All the while increasing donations through honesty & humor.
Blog December 4, 2017
December is here and elves have started hiding on shelves—but there’s no sign that things are slowing down as we head toward the holidays. CVS is moving closer to buying Aetna and the senate passed its version of the GOP tax overhaul. So read on for The Week That Was.
Blog November 20, 2017
Emmanuel Fombu, Medical Director at Novartis was definitely one of the most dynamic presenters at Patient USA. He told stories about trying to change language, build value, and future proof our organizations against his prediction for the next big pharma company: Google.
Blog November 20, 2017
Nearly 70 speakers took the stage over two days to inspire the crowd at the Patient USA conference. Here are a few of our favorite quotes from the big stage and the patient feedback panel.
Blog November 20, 2017
The Week That Was team is making our grocery list and checking Black Friday sales, eager to try a new turkey brine and score some electronics deals. Before we fade into a tryptophan-induced slumber, let’s review some of the big announcements from last week.
Blog November 13, 2017
Temperatures are finally dropping here, but we’re still seeing highs and lows all over the map. From the “science is awesome” files, hospitals feeling the squeeze, and Commissioner Scott Gottlieb touting new guidance for a single DMF for shared system REMS submissions.
Blog November 9, 2017
Martin Mendoza, Director of Extramural Research, Office of Minority Health at the FDA, shared a perspective on inclusion and diversity in clinical trials.
Blog November 8, 2017
Frank Spinelli, Medical Director of Patient Affairs at US ViiV Healthcare started his career in private practice. The transition to industry was a big one.
Blog November 7, 2017
In 2015, Novartis made a bold declaration for what patients should expect from the company in areas ranging from clinical trials to access to medicines. To bring that vision to life, Novartis put people like Cathryn Clary in key leadership areas.
Blog November 6, 2017
Anjali Trasy, the Global Head, of Patient Engagement Strategy at Sanofi asked has patient engagement come of age? She said, patient engagement is a rapidly evolving phenomenon in our industry. It’s shaping the future of healthcare.
Blog October 30, 2017
In the lead up to this Halloween edition of The Week That Was, our headlines are chock full of sour patches, jaw breakers and red hots. Let’s take stock of last week’s sweets, scary stuff, as well as the inevitable sour apple just in case you missed them.
Blog October 23, 2017
This week was all about showing the love—from self-admiration to all-out corporate courting. And let’s not forget the dozens of cities that pulled out all the stops to woo Amazon in the company’s search for a new HQ.
Blog October 9, 2017
The FDA lost its lovin’ feeling this week and we kept busy evaluating Louisiana’s new drug pricing proposal and watching not one, but two, Congressional hearings covering both Right to Try and the national opioid epidemic.
Blog October 5, 2017
In an age of increasingly accountable marketing, there’s a continuing focus on making this spend as effective as possible, and we see two trends in the way that organisations are approaching their meeting investments.
Blog October 4, 2017
Born in mid-2016, Ada is now the #1 medical app in over 130 countries and recently won a Cannes Lions award for innovation and a silver winner at the Clios. Answering a few simple questions will lead Ada to sifting through over 8,000 symptoms within over 12,000 diseases.
Blog October 3, 2017
Equifax’s CEO resigned, politics got personal (well, at least email accounts did) and grassroots efforts began to materialize in support of Puerto Rico following the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. Oh, and there was also some healthcare news.
Blog September 28, 2017
Should pharmaceutical brands think beyond the traditional voice options and add personality and even choices based on each individuals preference?
Blog September 25, 2017
Our favorite fall TV shows are finally starting back up and we’ve DVRed (yes, it’s a verb people) the Sanders-Klobuchar versus Graham-Cassidy Town Hall debate on CNN. Tomorrow night’s match-up is the equivalent of the Kanye vs Taylor showdown for healthcare nerds.
Blog September 18, 2017
We hope you had a restful weekend, because you’re in for a helping heap of The Week That Was. Last week was the equivalent of editorial catnip for our team. It’s too late to go back to bed, so please read on for this Monday edition of The Week That Was.
Blog September 11, 2017
The gig economy isn't just for Uber—doctors are increasingly taking contract roles as providers fill the gap left by retiring HCPs and physician shortages. The surge in temps has us thinking: are there new ways to engage the mobile M.D.?
Blog September 6, 2017
Pfizer brings both fun and learning to the hemophilia community through a Minecraft-based experience
Blog September 5, 2017
71% of snapchat users are 34 and younger and 45% of users are between the ages of 18-24 according to Snap’s IPO filing in February. The fastest growing segment is 35 and older. That recipe has experts to believe Snapchat and Pharma are about to start dating.
Blog September 1, 2017
Looking at the pharmaceutical brand naming process -- that involves a select group of creative experts isolated in a room brainstorming name ideas -- you may wonder, "Could we employ AI (artificial intelligence) to quickly and efficiently create names instead?"
Blog August 31, 2017
Recent Oregon Law Gives Limited Prescribing Authority to Pharmacists
Blog August 30, 2017
In an article last week, MM&M reported a surge in Point Of Care (POC) investments such as Goldman Sachs and Alphabet’s $500 million financing into Outcome Health and PatientPoint receiving $140 million in June. This is signaling a shift in new ad opportunities for POC.
Blog August 28, 2017
Our team kept an eye on a number of stories about opioid “pledges,” top-line data communications and, as always, drug pricing. Also, eclipse watching on Monday incurred a drop in workplace productivity of ~$700 million in “missing outputs.”
Blog August 23, 2017
A family practitioner in Ludington, Michigan thinks recordings of appointments could be a tremendous help to patients.
Blog August 18, 2017
CNBC recently reported on a new Goldman Sach’s 30 page study on Amazon’s potential in the healthcare prescription drug market.
Blog August 18, 2017
New entrants in the wearable market are changing patients' lives for the better
Blog August 16, 2017
A new study by a graduate student with the Harvard University psychology department reports that social media posts can provide clues as to whether or not a user is likely to suffer from depression.
Blog August 15, 2017
Recent research has been able to use Instagram photos to reveal predictive markers of depression. This research gives us a brief snapshot into the future of diagnosis— a future where a ‘physical’ may also include a ‘digital’.
Blog August 9, 2017
This summer, students in California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Bridges to Stem Cell Research and Therapy program at California State University (CSU) San Marcos had new lab partners: families impacted by rare diseases.
Blog August 9, 2017
As robots increasingly roam around healthcare facilities in the next three years, drones will fly into the scene within three to five years.
Blog August 4, 2017
A Japanese campaign promoting organ donation reminds us that what we do helps people.
Blog August 4, 2017
Lately, there is incredible buzz around voice-driven technology and experiences. And, much like with the explosion of apps that happened with the rise of smartphones, everyone is looking to get onboard. But do the old rules of user experience design still apply?
Blog August 2, 2017
Concepts shape the way we see the world. They're constructed from experiences we have. Outdated concepts can block new opportunities and stifle innovation. Learn how concepts are formed and how to embed new ones to drive innovation within your organization.
Blog July 31, 2017
In a recent press release, Cigna and CVS have announced a new partnership that will bring new benefits to all of Cigna’s plan members. This new partnership will bring discounts and open new access to CVS’s minute-clinics among other things.
Blog July 27, 2017
Earlier this year, Wego Health launched a new platform that connects patients with healthcare entities with one goal: connect the patient’s experience with said entity to the patient’s social networks.
Blog July 20, 2017
An encounter with a patient advocate is a good reminder of how important our work is – and how important people like Emily, who are willing to participate in clinical trials, are to healthcare innovation.
Blog July 20, 2017
Will Knight, Senior Editor, AI for MIT Technology Review, wrote an article last week citing the growing concern over how algorithms, while set out to help the average consumer, are increasingly becoming more and more bias…and everyone is turning a blind eye.
Blog July 18, 2017
Mobile healthcare apps are revolutionizing the way people approach their health... but are they the be all end all?
Blog July 18, 2017
Pokémon Go's first birthday marks a chance to reevaluate how Augmented Reality (AR) is evolving today and tomorrow's digital marketing
Blog July 14, 2017
Claire Wineland is 20 years old. She's been on stage since she was 14. She built a foundation, earned a huge audience of followers, and has been featured on CNN, the CW, and Seventeen magazine. Wineland lives with cystic fibrosis and she's on a mission to normalize sickness.
Blog July 11, 2017
Several trends we’re following this year are focused around the patient’s voice and bringing it in early and often. Lilly recently released a new project; The Hero’s Journey Art Project that speaks to those trends and celebrates the hero’s: Clinical Trial Patients.
Blog July 10, 2017
No matter whether you were the lone staffer in your office or relaxing on a beach somewhere this past week, we’ve got the run down on the latest healthcare headlines—the good, the bad and the ugly—to help you get you back up to speed.
Blog July 5, 2017
Three ways companies and brands have tapped into social causes in their communications.
Blog July 3, 2017
See how creativity is reshaping highly regulated environments and changing behaviors. Something the pharmaceutical industry can definitely learn from.
Blog June 30, 2017
Earlier this week, the FDA announced they are proposing a new study to look at whether patients are being bombarded and over-warned within direct to consumer prescription advertisements.
Blog June 29, 2017
The Greek poet Archilochus’ wrote "the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." As pharma marketers seeking innovation to address new challenges, we want to be hedgehogs, but we’re more comfortable as foxes. Here's how predictive analytics can help.
Blog June 28, 2017
From new hires to emerging partnerships, Apple's recent actions reveal increased focus on revolutionizing healthcare
Blog June 27, 2017
What if you were asked, alongside 10,000 other humans, adding up to 4,000 households, to give access to everything you do for 20 years...to (hopefully) improve the lives of millions?
Blog June 22, 2017
Despite an unknown future for the Affordable Care Act, Oscar Health is doubling down with an innovative partnership with Cleveland Clinic and plans for expansion in three new states.
Blog June 19, 2017
Live From Lions Health: This is the fourth year Cannes has hosted a special conference and award show focused on health and life-changing creativity. All our favorite short-listed creative, memorable quotes, can’t-miss data points, and individual talks are right here.
Blog June 19, 2017
Live From Lions Health: A bracelet that changed the way families think about vaccines, a playroom for kids that’s a workout for parents, a nutrition-Rx from a railroad, and AI that’s prompting better in-train-station nutrition for busy commuters.
Blog June 19, 2017
Live From Lions Health: What do you do when someone you know gets breast cancer? The team at Rethink wants everyone to have that answer. Their thoughtfully designed products were created to give just the right support.
Blog June 19, 2017
Live From Lions Health: A remote speaker that can help coma patients recover faster, non-surgical adult circumcision with a ring, and AI glasses that let people with Alzheimer’s know their families again.
Blog June 19, 2017
Live From Lions Health: How do you change someone's mind? Four brands at Lions Health helped overcome the barriers of indifference, certainty, and fear to create educational moments that gave people the room to really explore.
Blog June 18, 2017
Live From Lions Health: AZ, Babylon, and the NHS have the largest deployment of artificial intelligence in the world, supporting 1.5 million people near London. Babylon's CEO gave a demo of just how powerful mobile based AI support can be in diagnosis, delivery and support.
Blog June 18, 2017
Live From Lions Health: The hardest thing to do is to change human behavior. That doesn't stop us from trying. Around Cannes, we saw smart ideas on how to fit into people's lives and build on health behaviors. These three ideas, though, they're all about clever interruption.
Blog June 18, 2017
Live From Lions Health: Walking around the exhibit hall at Lions Health, I was surprised to see a familiar snack on the wall: Tostitos. Not just on the wall, but on the short list for creativity. How did that little chip get here?
Blog June 18, 2017
Live From Lions Health: Facebook announced key new ways its serving the pharma industry, including new services and policy exemptions. Allergan joined Facebook to talk about how they're leveraging that platform to connect with and actively support patients.
Blog June 18, 2017
Live From Lions Health: The awards stage last night was crowded with winners accepting Lions for video work that moved the audience with laughter, tears and surprise. We collected five of our favorites from across the show. Watch ready to feel.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: Ed Harnaga, VP, Corporate Affairs at Pfizer, started out his talk with a reality we've all struggled with: pharma does so much good and yet it elicits so much hate. He gave us an inside look into a campaign designed to earn respect from society.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: In healthcare, we talk a lot about adherence. But, as brands, our role is really helping support change: How do we help people act on the health decisions they’ve made for themselves? inVentiv Health spent 2 years with 30 families to find out.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: In this era of acceleration, everyone wants more ideas faster. There's no time for experts to go away and chef up answers in isolation. Instead we need more integrated and nimble approaches. Langland and MIT share their new rituals at Lions Health.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: Fiona Olivier, Head of Public Affairs in Europe and Canada at Abbvie, shared three specific examples of how Abbvie is identifying challenges in the healthcare system and building partnerships to effect rapid, meaningful change.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: Nearly 2/3s of the world’s developed countries have a ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. "The science has caught up but the policy has not," Kelsey Louie, Gay Men’s Health Crisis said. The Blood Equality campaign is set to change that.
Blog June 17, 2017
Live From Lions Health: What better way to kickoff a conference on creativity in healthcare than hearing from someone who faced big, difficult challenges and used resilience and imagination to overcome them? For this astronaut, being told no was never the end of the journey.
Blog June 16, 2017
Supporting people living with cancer is a top priority for any organization and individual working in the cancer space. The Cancer Support Community (CSC), is the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide. And they're gaining momentum.
Blog June 15, 2017
Coffee-lovers rejoice! There is seemingly an abundance of contradicting information up for grabs about the adverse effects or lack thereof of coffee. However, researchers recently unveiled some information you may find interesting.
Blog June 15, 2017
Orbita, a company that helps people create voice-driven experiences for technology like Amazon Alexa and Google Home, has teamed up with the clinical trial data firm ERT to start to uncover ways in which voice technology can play a role in clinical trials.
Blog June 13, 2017
A brief history of inspiring work from past Lions Health Festivals and a sneak peak at what we’re watching for this year.
Blog June 12, 2017
Lilly & Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare's CEOs shared their thoughts on value-based arrangements between pharma and payers
Blog June 8, 2017
The American Medical Association (AMA) released new numbers from a study that revealed that doctors that had an ownership stake in their practice no longer make up the majority of the nation’s patient care physicians.
Blog June 7, 2017
Mary Meeker's 2017 Internet Trends presentation captured new insights into dozens of digital advancements in healthcare
Blog June 5, 2017
“Only ‘Old Ladies’ fall and break their bones.” According to Radius Health, that is a Fractured Truth and they are armed to raise osteoporosis awareness in women in their 50s and 60s with their new unbranded Facebook campaign.
Blog June 2, 2017
Behavioral economics research is identifying new drivers for how we make healthcare decisions. These drivers go beyond wants and desires – showing how our behavior is influenced by emotions, identity and environment. How might we apply these insights to the patient journey?
Blog May 17, 2017
A recent survey by the Decision Resource Group reveals that only 34% of physicians feel that pharmaceutical websites are trustworthy.
Blog May 16, 2017
Last week a few team members from InVentiv were attendees at the In2Summit Conference held at the Ham Yard Hotel near Piccadilly.
Blog May 15, 2017
In a recent Wired article, Bakul Patel shared a glimpse into the new team he’s building within the FDA—completely focused on new developments in digital.
Blog May 14, 2017
American Express recently conducted a study to reveal how Gen Z (16-22 year olds) expects to interact with companies & brands.
Blog May 13, 2017
For decades, consumers have been showing more and more willingness to pay higher prices for products designed with more sophistication.
Blog May 11, 2017
Cardiogram, an apple watch app that monitors heart rate, has been shown to be able to predict atrial fibrillation (afib) with 97 percent accuracy.
Blog May 10, 2017
Domino’s has a history of leveraging digital technology to make pizza more exciting. Through Domino’s Anywhere, you can place an order by texting a pizza emoji or asking Alexa to order one for you.
Blog May 9, 2017
After a recent unpleasant transcontinental flight due to IBD, a Takeda employee was left with one question, “How can the company I work for help people flying with IBD have a more comfortable flight experience?”
Blog May 8, 2017
Last year we reported on a growing trend—the “caregiver crunch.” There are many many people worldwide who are doing a job they were never trained for: managing the health and wellness of an aging loved one.
Blog May 6, 2017
The smart folks at David Lloyd Clubs know that true wellness requires more than just weights and cardio. The British fitness chain’s newest program is exemplifying our 2017 Consumer Trend Sleep’vangelism.
Blog May 5, 2017
A recent survey conducted by pharmaceutical company, Merck, revealed only 5% of respondents cited medicine as the next greatest invention.
Blog May 4, 2017
One of our top 2017 Healthcare Trends, “Dr Batman and AI Robin” outlined the ways in which artificial intelligence is really starting to change the way diseases are assessed, diagnosed, and treated.
Blog May 2, 2017
CANCERCON is the experience that you never knew you needed because who the hell thinks about cancer when you’re not eighty years old?
Blog May 1, 2017
Apple is using the Apple Watch within a secret group of biomedical engineers at Apple to revolutionize the way we monitor blood glucose levels: without a pin prick.
Blog December 31, 2016
I recently joined five colleagues and hundreds of collaborators for a conference focused on how our industry can be a more trusted partner to patients, advocates and the HCPs involved in their care. All in, there were 45 talks on how to create and drive change.
Blog December 31, 2016
Paul Simms, Chairman of eyeforpharma kicked off his annual conference with a call to arms: We have an innovation gap. We invest in R&D at twice the rate of competing industries. But we haven’t made the progress we want to.
Blog December 31, 2016
David Blair, Head of Health at Google, came to #efpphilly to talk about nothing less than the fusion of our digital and human lives. The smartphone – that single device – is radically changing healthcare.
Blog December 31, 2016
David Lennon, VP & Franchise Head for US Oncology at Novartis, showed the #efpphilly crowd where we’re at as an industry with technology and data and where our opportunities lie for greater collaboration.
Blog December 31, 2016
David Reim, Chief Product Officer at DMD, started his #efpphilly talk with the big question: why are sales reps still the gold standard of physician engagement?
Blog December 31, 2016
Mark Baglin, Vice President of Global Marketing at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, works in ultra ultra rare diseases, like Hereditary ATTR Amyloidosis. It impacts 1:100,000 people – making finding them very much like hunting needles in haystacks.
Blog December 31, 2016
Andy Schmeltz, Senior Vice President of Patient & Health Impact at Pfizer Innovative Health took to the #efpphilly stage to share how his team is doubling down on its commitment to put patients first.
Blog December 31, 2016
I had the pleasure of joining Patrick Richard on the #efpphilly stage today to talk about a new path for innovation in pharmaceutical marketing.
Blog December 31, 2016
Pharmaceutical innovators are getting patients involved in every aspect of drug development, from clinical trial design to commercialization to peer-to-peer support. Here are six of our favorites from the #efpphilly stage.
Blog December 31, 2016
Chemelle Evans, Vice President at Snow Companies asked panelists from Shire, UCB and AstraZeneca how we can use human connections to chart a new path for our industries. Each had a perspective on how it already is – and what could be next.
Blog December 31, 2016
Marc Boutin, CEO of the National Health Council, hosted a panel on how pharma embraces the new customer engagement paradigm. Here are four of our favorite observations and examples.
Blog December 31, 2016
Laura Barry, Senior Director Customer Insights, Analytics and Experiences at Abbvie believes emotional connections can be made in the digital space.
Blog December 31, 2016
10 Cloverfield Lane is one of the movies featured on both Delta and Virgin Atlantic this month – so no surprise that so many Cannes attendees were primed and ready to hear this morning’s McCann Health presentation with Dan Trachtenberg, the film’s director.
Blog December 31, 2016
Alison Jackson, a contemporary artist who explores the cult of celebrity we all live in, kicked off Lions Health. If you don’t know Jackson, she creates convincingly realistic work showing lookalikes of celebrities doing things in private.
Blog December 31, 2016
Who is your gynecologist? When was your last period?Those are questions that no woman would be surprised to hear from her doctor, but they’re also the standard screener for people diagnosed with breast cancer.
Blog December 31, 2016
Pfizer showed people two sets of portraits: the first, smiling people in their 30s; the second, smiling people in their 70s. They asked participants to describe the them. The first group was described as happy. The second was described as old. Just old.
Blog December 31, 2016
Today, Tinder is offering people experiences that go way beyond dating. Users turn to the platform to find friends, meet people and make plans. With a swipe, they start the process of finding internships and jobs, connecting with locals or getting recommendations.
Blog December 31, 2016
Grey’s Jason Kahner brought one of his heroes to the stage to kick off the second day of Lions Health. Hashem Al-Ghaili studied molecular biotechnology but left the lab to create films. He is now one of the most followed scientific film makers in social media.
Blog December 31, 2016
Sharon James, the global head of R&D at RB, laid out a challenge for scientists, marketers, researchers and creatives = R&D innovation hack. Create ideas that foster healthier lives and happier homes. In 24 hours.
Blog December 31, 2016
Every 73 days the amount of patient data doubles. Most of that data (80% of it!) is invisible. That means it’s not easily read by digital systems, including video, images, audio files, clinician notes. All the things that computers are really bad at reading and interpreting.
Blog December 31, 2016
Matt Anthony from Y&R has had an incredible career; one that earned him a spot on the Cannes stage. But that’s not why he was there today. Instead he introduced Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, with a story of his own.
Blog December 31, 2016
Ryan Quigley, Vice President, Immunology, Global Marketing, and Bruce Henderson, Chief Creative Officer at Jack Morton Worldwide, took the stage at Cannes to talk about ways to build brands through brand experience.
Blog December 31, 2016
Healthcare truths are personal and can be really challenging to uncover. Especially sorting out the differences between what people say and what they do. DigitasLBi and AstraZeneca (AZ) got a deeper look at American healthcare truths in Galesburg, Illinois.
Blog December 31, 2016
It’s a ghost! White on yellow backdrop – Snapchat. The main screen at the Lions Health Festival at Cannes showed the newest player in the fast-changing world of social media healthcare communications: social media interactions with measurable KPIs.
Blog December 31, 2016
Daniel Seewald is the Director of Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer. He took the stage early at Digital Pharma West today to talk about the cultural conditions needed to enable breakthrough innovation and share some examples of how Pfizer is doing just that.
Blog December 31, 2016
I wonder how many students in medical school today are really excited about their future careers? Technology, regulation and new expectations have taken some of the romance out of the profession.
Blog December 31, 2016
Doug Weinbrenner, Senior Director of Social Media at inTouch Solutions and Rebeca Bechily, Group Marketing Manager at Baxalta, teamed up to share why they took their hemophilia program to instagram.
Blog December 31, 2016
As wearable technology continues as one of the fastest growing categories on the market, new inventions will likely be developing and introduced in 2016.
Blog December 31, 2016
Gaming is making its presence known in the healthcare industry, particularly in the field of surgical education. Oculus Rift and GoPro are both consumer devices and not intended as a medical device.
Blog December 31, 2016
It’s not every day I see someone I know pop up on the Daily Show; so, it was kind of a thrill to see David Rose, MIT researcher and Ditto Labs CEO, walk up to the interview desk (and a great reason not to fast forward through the interview section for once!)
Blog December 31, 2016
To help people make the best decisions about their health, you have to know a lot about them. That means the big stuff, like motivators, goals, lifestyle. But also the weird little stuff that pops up or stands in their way; the kinds of things they may not even be aware of.
Blog December 31, 2016
Chantal Kolber, Director of Digital Sales and Strategy at Wolters Kluwer, said that pharmaceutical brands are the original content marketers.
Blog December 31, 2016
The cover of this week’s Time magazine reads “Can Google Solve Death? The search giant is launching a venture to extend the human life span.” That’s followed by an all-to-true subhead: “That would be crazy – if it weren’t Google.”
Blog December 31, 2016
In this post, I’m going to tell you how you can make a functioning prosthetic hand with $5 of materials. But, the story you’ll want to tell your friends will probably be the one with the sneaky tennis balls.
Blog December 31, 2016
It’s not every day that we get to see a colleague take the stage at Cannes. But today, Dave Sonderman, Chief Creative Officer at GSW, joined two experts on the art and science of empathy to talk about how that deeper understanding can change the future healthcare.
Blog December 31, 2016
MINI is the long-time leader in repeat purchasing and customer loyalty – in large part because they create an experience for the customer, not just the prospect. Brilliant move in a category with a high acquisition cost, like cars, cruises, or, say, prescription drugs.
Blog December 31, 2016
Monique Levy, Vice President of Research at Decision Resources Group shared a whirlwind of research and ideas about the new tensions and needs in healthcare. She started with one we’ve all been talking a lot about.
Blog December 31, 2016
Last year it looked like pharmaceutical companies might be left behind in the wave of innovation changing healthcare experience. Now, more and more of our industry leaders are getting in the game.
Blog December 31, 2016
Let’s start with the biggest number: 10 minutes. When Verilogue reviewed 70,000 exam room conversations, it found that’s how long the average physician spends with a patient.
Blog December 31, 2016
When I finished reading the report out from our survey of millennial physicians, my first reaction was: We’ve got work to do. And, clear opportunities to do it.
Blog December 31, 2016
This week, two of the world’s biggest digital players started unveiling new ad units and approaches designed for how we use digital tools right now.
Blog December 31, 2016
Here’s a fantastic little case study of our Let’s Play trend in action (see Digital Trend #6). HealthPrize is an adherence app that leverages gaming dynamics to keep users engaged. And it’s working. A recent pilot study showed that they were able to raise adherence by 54%.
Blog December 31, 2016
Ogilvy recently released a report on pharma’s use of social media in 2014: Connecting the Dots. In 2014, across the board, pharma companies upped their game with big leaps in activity across channels when compared with 2013.
Blog December 31, 2016
Ask a room at Lions Health who believes they’ll live to 80 years old? 90? And the hands dart up around the room. Few hands remained held high at the big round benchmark of 100 years but Atilla Cansun from Merck Consumer Health believes we should all go for it.
Blog December 31, 2016
Next month, New York state will begin open enrollment for its health insurance marketplace. Among the most interesting players is Oscar, a new health insurance company that will take advantage of design and data to humanize and simplify the consumer experience with coverage.
Blog December 31, 2016
I’ve spent most of my career specializing in digital and innovation, but one of the most memorable tactics I ever worked on was an envelope.
Blog December 31, 2016
It’s always nice to see standout marketing from the pharmaceutical industry featured in the advertising press. Sure, Coke and Google are in almost every isue of AdWeek.
Blog December 31, 2016
I’ve heard through many marketing expert channels that the email newsletter is dead. But from some recent research that I did in order to prove the statement, I ended up finding just the opposite.
Blog December 31, 2016
Tony Hsieh makes no small plans. When he founded Zappos, he fought back the expected drudgery of call-center work with a quirky, first-of-its-kind corporate culture that earned enthusiastic employees.
Blog December 31, 2016
It takes a lot of bravery to be honest about health and healthcare. Courage to speak frankly about the scariest parts of it – to talk about the fears you wish you didn’t have. Strength to acknowledge the aspects that simply seem unfair.
Blog December 31, 2016
Thanks to our brilliant contributors, we have another collection of healthcare experiences and innovations to share. These great finds include news on how your heartbeat can unlock your car, how to get med school credit for fixing up wikipedia pages, and much more!
Blog December 31, 2016
264 vaccines in the pipeline. $173b saved in cancer-related costs. 883,000 fewer hospitalizations per year. These are just a few of the many stats The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) promotes on their new website, innovationsaves.life.
Blog December 31, 2016
What if a child could learn how to manage her diabetes from her teddy bear? Or an adult could be prescribed a clinically-effective app instead of another pill? What if we made it easier for people dealing with cancer to get the financial help they need?
Blog December 31, 2016
Every year around this time Manhattan Research publishes a list of the top apps preferred by doctors. And, every year Epocrates wins. It’s their go-to for drug reference, drug & disease monographs and diagnostic tools.
Blog December 31, 2016
I borrowed this little gem from the bulletin board in my office. As usual, the Oatmeal says it all: In our rush to make every experience digital, we’ve created a new role for the tangible.
Blog December 31, 2016
This week About.com launched a new standalone media property, Verywell, that brings the company into the consumer health space.
Blog December 31, 2016
We’re big trend spotters at HxP, always looking for clues into what’s changing people’s expectations for experiences and connections. Those clues are often just quick observations about how we live, what we rely on, where we’re spending time.
Blog December 31, 2016
If you’re like us, the bottom of your inbox is usually cluttered with emails you really mean to get back to, including lots of newsletters and alerts full of great research and insight.
Blog December 31, 2016
Last year’s bet on Google’s passive glucose-sensing contact lens was an important one for the appetite for risk and innovation at Novartis.
Blog December 31, 2016
Apple is specifically targeting the healthcare industry with the launch of their new Apple Watch along with their Healthkit framework to track and store your health data.
Blog December 31, 2016
What if changing just one thing would improve communication between doctors and patients, help lawmakers make better decisions, and even improve funding for science? Would we do it?
Blog December 31, 2016
Last week, we got to take part in a workshop inspired by clues from the zeitgeist. Clues are anything that hints at a changing consumer need or a new possibility in experience created by trends or technology.
Blog December 31, 2016
Eleven colleagues and I were among the lucky thousands who flocked to Cannes for the third annual Lions Health. Creative leaders and speakers from around the world celebrated what we’ve accomplished as healthcare marketers and challenged us to do even more.
Blog December 31, 2016
Being a patient – it’s a job no one wants and almost no one is prepared for. The number of people considered to have low health literacy is staggering, and the consequences are even worse.
Blog December 31, 2016
More and more of us are caring for a loved one with a serious health issue. Pew Research recently reported that almost 40% of Americans are acting as caregivers, up from 30% in 2010.
Blog December 31, 2016
Many of us are faced with the daunting task of caring for our loved ones. There are more than 34 million unpaid caregivers providing assistance to someone who is ill or with a disability and approximately 21% of U.S. households are impacted with these responsibilities.
Blog December 31, 2016
Over the last few years, terms like patient-centric marketing and adding value beyond the pill have become immensely popular in the board rooms of pharma innovators.
Blog December 31, 2016
Being alone is an increasingly important dynamic in healthcare. One that – thanks to changes in medical and communications technology, our connections to family, and even the way we work – is becoming increasingly prevalent.
Blog December 31, 2016
When you wander the vast exhibit halls at CES 2015, it feels like you’ve been transported into some future Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, circa 2050. Booth after booth after booth (times a few hundred); some big, some small, sometimes filled with flashing lights and video screens
Blog December 31, 2016
If you’ve ever visited a cancer ward in a big hospital, you probably remember that instant visceral reaction you had to the surroundings. It’s scary in a cold, damp chill kind of way.
Blog December 31, 2016
For years, the goal of investing in better, more desirable pharmacies seemed to be in making them smaller. Automated systems made it easy to call in a refill without talking to anyone.
Blog December 31, 2016
As members of the innovation team at GSW, we do a lot of ideation about patient experience. We work with our brands to get in the shoes of the patient and find ways to connect and make their lives easier or better in some way.
Blog December 31, 2016
Kaizen is the Japanese practice of continuous improvement. It can be translated as “Change for the Best” and generally refers to actively improving yourself and your situation for the better on a daily basis.
Blog December 31, 2016
The prevalence of these life threatening conditions is increasing and medical scientists can’t seem to figure out why. In a regional study of children under 5, Australia reported 1 in 10 children has a diagnosed food allergy. (U.S. is a not-so-distant 6th with 1 in 13.)
Blog December 31, 2016
Earlier this summer, I had a great conversation with Matt Cash, an ambitious innovator who has designed everything from better sales tools to more addictive sports fantasy games. He started the conversation with a big challenge: We have to arm our salesforce better.
Blog December 31, 2016
People ask Google things they wouldn’t ask their doctor, their partner or even their priest. And, when it comes to medical procedures that involve, well, as Dave Barry once put it, “sticking a 17,000 foot tube up my behind,” there are definitely questions worth typing.
Blog November 30, 2016
A recent AdWeek article stresses the importance of considering a woman’s point-of-view when creating healthcare-focused ads, since they’re the key decision makers when it comes to health- related issues (94% of the time, according to GreyHealth Group).
Blog November 30, 2016
For the last few years, patient portals have been driving a sweeping change in the way patients interact with their health records and communicate with their providers.
Blog November 30, 2016
Great news for developers, patients, and healthcare professionals: Apple’s CareKit modules are officially up and ready for use on GitHub, and three apps that utilize the CareKit platform are available for download.
Blog November 30, 2016
Patients are getting asked more and more to take part in the decision-making process concerning their care. Wearables and our cell phones have put personalized health data, albeit limited, at our fingertips more patients feel armed to have conversations with doctors.
Blog November 30, 2016
In an upcoming study, the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work is planning on using virtual reality technology to augment traditional therapy techniques used to help recovering heroin addicts maintain sobriety and resist the urge to use.
Blog November 30, 2016
I’ve been frustrated with the process of buying glasses for some time now. So, when I discovered the company Opternative, I was immediately intrigued, and it looks like I wasn’t the only one.
Blog November 30, 2016
New research from Parks Associates reveals some interesting information about the usage of care-related apps in the caregiver population.
Blog November 30, 2016
A recent survey from the John A. Hartford Foundation found that while most doctors believe its important to have conversations with their elderly patients about end-of-life-care, they are not provided with the support they need from their health systems.
Blog November 30, 2016
In the commercials, weekday mornings look amazing. They’re when you do yoga (in something that looks like your underwear), have pancakes with your family, and try out that perfect new lip gloss. That’s what your morning is like, right?
Blog November 30, 2016
Go into most chain restaurants in the United States and right alongside the prices you’ll see another number—the calorie count.
Blog November 30, 2016
Amazon Echo is making it easy for us. They’ve opened up their API, offered a $100 Million fund to support developers, made a simple backdoor way to create your own commands, and created a spin off device that allows for their AI Alexa to be in more of your rooms.
Blog November 30, 2016
The trend toward Virtual Reality experiences is continuing to rise and has become more than just another techie buzzword. With the various headsets that are coming out and have come out like the Samsung Gear and the HTC Vive, it is having a huge impact in advertising.
Blog November 30, 2016
For a while now activists have been on Pharmaceutical companies to stop gouging prices. These high prices make is near impossible for poorer countries to afford these drugs or make them available at all.
Blog November 30, 2016
There’s been a lot of chatter lately in the trade publications about how to liven up DTC pharma advertising, see this and this. Here’s one campaign that’s doing it right: the campaign for Allergan’s Viberzi, a prescription medication for Irritable Bowel Syndrome–Diarrhea.
Blog November 30, 2016
If you’re at home and run out of Tide detergent, you can order it with the click of Amazon’s Dash button. But what if you need medicine immediately during an emergency, like during a natural disaster?
Blog November 30, 2016
South By Southwest isn’t just a launching pad for new creative content. It’s more than a place to hear original music or experience independent cinema’s best.
Blog November 30, 2016
Recently Adweek interviewed the new Chief Marketing Officer of CVS. In that interview Norman de Greve explained that the move to stop selling cigarettes in all of their stores wasn’t the last step in CVS’s plan to help people live healthier lives.
Blog November 30, 2016
Regenerative medicine is growing fast, and was a hot topic at this year’s SXSW event in Austin, TX. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Regenerative medicine is a game-changing area of medicine with the potential to fully heal damaged tissues and organs.
Blog November 30, 2016
The National Federation for the Blind has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services’ sub-agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is the largest single payor for health care in the United States.
Blog November 30, 2016
Hot off the press. Apple’s Carekit was announced yesterday at their annual “Loop You In” event. The kit, set to launch in April, is yet another way the company is getting more involved in health care.
Blog November 30, 2016
I know this may be TMI, but women have periods. Yep, I said it. Voices in the conversation about periods in the U.S. (and internationally) have gotten louder over the past few years.
Blog November 30, 2016
In service based industries loyalty cards are table stakes nowadays. Companies like Starbucks offer music, apps, free drinks, and special offers to every customer that takes part. And its a company that has many fans.
Blog November 30, 2016
Emojis, GIFs, selfies, and memes—they’re quick, visual, global and they’re everywhere. And while we typically think of these alternative forms of communication as fun and frivolous, there is a growing trend amongst chronically ill patients to leverage these tools.
Blog November 30, 2016
When we’re in a crisis one of the first things we turn to is our cell phone. However, for health related issues we’d be better off searching for help on Google or calling 911 than using our smartphone AI program.
Blog November 30, 2016
Technology influences our behavior throughout the day – whether it’s receiving reminders at work, ordering lunch at a restaurant that allows you to skip the line, or tracking your heart rate as you hurry to your next appointment.
Blog November 30, 2016
You’ve probably heard of dyslexia, and you might even know someone who experiences it, but if you’re a non-dyslexic, can you imagine the way they process the world? Can you really picture it?
Blog November 30, 2016
It’s hard to believe that with all of the breakthrough advances in healthcare over the years, the stethoscope, one of the most essential medical tools, has remained unchanged for 200 years.
Blog November 30, 2016
In a recent article by the executive chairman of Vitals, Mitch Rothschild wrote about what is being done to measure the quality in healthcare, but more specifically how that effects patients. He makes a strong case that outcomes should be the measure of healthcare quality.
Blog November 30, 2016
Right now ad lovers can’t get enough of Under Armour’s Michael Phelps tribute, but we’re looking at a couple of other spots that seem to have learn-worthy gems for healthcare in them – one of them part of the very same campaign.
Blog November 30, 2016
The first line of a new report from Bain & Company really says it all: “For those working on the front line of US healthcare, the pace of change must seem unrelenting.”
Blog November 30, 2016
As we know, physicians are incredibly busy, and a new analysis from Health Affairs has found what one of the key contributing factors of their busyness is: physicians spend on average 15.1 hours per week gathering info that helps insurers keep tabs on quality of care.
Blog November 30, 2016
Nearly 5 million families in the U.S still do not have access to high-speed internet. This digital divide between families with access to broadband and technology and those without, is contributing to inequality across a variety of measures.
Blog November 30, 2016
The New York Times recently published an article on two new online ventures, GoodRx and Blink Health. Their goal is to make prescription drugs more affordable.
Blog November 30, 2016
The first question a patient asks about a new prescription today is more likely to be “how much?” than “how to?”. With more healthcare costs than even being transferred to consumers, doctors are expected to be experts on the medicine and the economics of acquiring it.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last year we identified “ad-blocking” as one of the big communications trends for 2016 (download our report here), and there has been absolutely no shortage of news, perspectives, and soundbites to support this prediction.
Blog November 30, 2016
InTouch recently published a report on digital sales aid usage based on their 12-month tracking study that measured how often sales reps were using them and how valuable the content was to HCPs.
Blog November 30, 2016
Yes, you read that right, Amazon the company that started out as an online bookstore is now building stores. You may have read a little about this in one of our latest consumer trends called “Books Make a Comeback.”
Blog November 30, 2016
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, chances are you’ve heard LOTS of talk about ad-blockers. Chances are, you’re probably an ad-block user yourself.
Blog November 30, 2016
As a designer I tend to spend quite a bit of time on sites like Dribbble and ProductHunt looking for the next trend in design, and often losing track of time going down some rabbit hole on the internet in search of who created what and why.
Blog November 30, 2016
That Dragon, Cancer is a “video game memoir” created by two parents, Ryan and Amy Green, about their terminally ill son, Joel.
Blog November 30, 2016
A recent study published in the journal Health Affairs found that insurance premium-based financial incentives failed to help people lose weight.
Blog November 30, 2016
This report could be subtitled: wow, we can do that?! In 2016, the possibilities for marketers are huge – and, the expectations are even greater.
Blog November 30, 2016
Meg Alexander, who leads the Issues Management practice at inVentiv Health Public Relations, was recently featured in O’Dwyer’s for her work that has identified some unique and emerging trends in this “age of new populism.”
Blog November 30, 2016
Using artificial intelligence to monitor patient adherence?
Blog November 30, 2016
Genentech is a company we’ve covered quite a few times for their innovative experiences and general attitude toward healthcare. This is no different.
Blog November 30, 2016
Looking back over my notes on CES, I realized there was a common thread to some of the talks that weren’t really focused in this particular direction.
Blog November 30, 2016
CES 2016 was chock full of many different types of technology new and newer, but just as interesting to me, was the technologies that presented the technology.
Blog November 30, 2016
If you visited CES this year, you may have noticed that the technologies from last year that seemed light years away are finally ready for the consumer. From drones to turnkey 3D printers, there is something for all of us.
Blog November 30, 2016
The transformation of the neighborhood pharmacy into an increasingly important and potent point of care has been written about extensively over the past few years.
Blog November 30, 2016
The next two sessions of the Digital Health Summit were focused on healthcare related to caregivers. The first panel talked about the need to understand more about Alzheimer’s Disease and the effect it has on the individuals as well as the family.
Blog November 30, 2016
I’ve been to the Consumer Electronics Show a few years in a row now, but this is the first time I’ve been able to attend the Digital Health Summit.
Blog November 30, 2016
I recently came across an article titled “Doctors Dislike Technology because it Delivers a Fast-Food Future of Healthcare” by Dr. Linda Girgis, a New Jersey family physician who has also penned numerous books.
Blog November 30, 2016
It’s been said that we are not only living in the era of the internet of things, but the internet of healthy things. And this era has brought us fitness trackers, remote monitors, and even simplified healthcare plans that someone fresh out of college could easily navigate.
Blog November 30, 2016
What does the largest app for meeting new people and the NHS Blood and Transplant organization have in common? It’s challenging and frustrating waiting for a match.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last month, The Journal of the American Heart Association published the results of a mHealth intervention study. The study was small (48 outpatients), but the results have big implications that will undoubtedly impact future studies.
Blog November 30, 2016
Fabric with color-changing aspects have been tinkered with in the fashion industry for some time now. But researchers from the University of Bath in London are looking to take this idea and apply it to healthcare.
Blog November 30, 2016
Patient engagement has been a common theme in our trend reports. There is an increasing want from consumers to obtain their health records.
Blog November 30, 2016
We started tracking the trend of the growing number of “disillusioned doctors” who are overwhelmed due to new requirements, expectations, and demands of their jobs in our 2015 Health Trends report (shameless plug).
Blog November 30, 2016
We know how much air pressure is in our tires. We are informed well before the gasoline in our car runs out. We can even request products to be automatically shipped to our households with the touch of a button when they start to run low.
Blog November 30, 2016
One trend that we’ve been tracking lately is The Return of Food — how fear of the “Big Food” boogeyman has led to dramatic shifts in eating habits.
Blog November 30, 2016
Ever since I returned from the Rock Health Summit I’ve been looking a little closer at the immense amount of health startups that are attempting to change the face of health care.
Blog November 30, 2016
Today, we’re excited to continue the release of our our fifth annual trends series. Our Health Trends report is fueled by clues, examples, stories and big ideas collected by more than 70 trend watchers from around the world.
Blog November 30, 2016
Did you know that there are only 100 doctors in Kenya that have an eye care specialization ? Even worse, lots of those doctors are not well-equipped with the necessary tools they need to help these underserved populations.
Blog November 30, 2016
As ACO’s become more and more popular innovators in the health care space are looking to find ways to assist medical professionals in a changing environment.
Blog November 30, 2016
The value debate that’s been raging in headlines and exam rooms around the country found center stage at the Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association this week. Doctors there discussed policies aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable.
Blog November 30, 2016
“Even though it’s online you feel very much apart of the community” “Its just second nature for me now” These are quotes you might not expect a 70 year old, much less one who is discussing their digital health intervention, to say.
Blog November 30, 2016
23andMe, started as an innovative, yet simple, take-home DNA sample pack. After making countless headlines and recently receiving some significant FDA approvals, the company is focusing their efforts in a new direction.
Blog November 30, 2016
More and more we’re seeing hospitals champion innovation within their own walls. Chris recently covered learnings from Cleveland Clinic’s Innovation Summit, and this week it was Boston Children’s Hospital’s turn to take the stage as they hosted their annual awards.
Blog November 30, 2016
There’s been no shortage of coverage on the rapidly evolving role of the pharmacist and of the community pharmacy. Pharmacists are the healthcare provider almost everyone has access to – a white coat who doesn’t require an appointment and is within a few miles of home.
Blog November 30, 2016
Nowadays we can crowdsource just about anything. We can fund the latest innovations on Indiegogo, back the coolest watch you’ve ever seen on Kickstarter, and even give the gift of sight to the blind for a short while.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last month the Cleveland Clinic held their annual Medical Innovation Summit. One of the big themes this year at the summit was innovations from healthcare outsiders, something that we have focused on quite a bit since naming it a trend a little over a year ago.
Blog November 30, 2016
I’ve been tracking my daily steps with a Fitbit Charge for about half a year now – Sometimes accidentally leaving it at home when I anticipate a day with little activity.
Blog November 30, 2016
The field of modern medicine has been described as a “medical conveyor belt,” with many moving pieces and parts that help manage the hand off that occurs from patient to patient.
Blog November 30, 2016
Over the past couple months I’ve been lucky enough to give the Apple Watch a trial run. I was especially excited for the Activity and HealthKit applications that have big potential in healthcare.
Blog November 30, 2016
A recent report from Accenture reveals the economic and deep-rooted value of adding digital solutions to healthcare. Specifically, in order to benefit annual visits, ongoing patient management, and patient self-care.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last year, one of the major digital trends that we were tracking was the VR tipping point. We called it “Virtual Reality is Finally Reality”—the fact that after years of hype and talk, it was finally looking like virtual reality was coming of age.
Blog November 30, 2016
We are always on the lookout for interesting clues and ideas that reinforce or expand upon the trends that we track (in case you missed it, our most recent trend report – 2016 Digital Trends – can be found here).
Blog November 30, 2016
As just about everything is handled remotely, start-up organizations continue to make the news by implementing Uber-style experiences and on-demand healthcare services.
Blog November 30, 2016
Technology has not only advanced the amount of information we have at our fingertips, in our pockets and on our wrists. It has shifted how we incorporate that information into our everyday lives and what our expectations are from modern healthcare professionals.
Blog November 30, 2016
Telerehabilitation? Yeah, that’s not something I just made up and added to Wikipedia this morning. In fact, it’s a new way of leveraging technology in order to help patients recovering from impairments and health-related ailments.
Blog November 30, 2016
The amount of time that physicians are able to share with patients is in constant jeopardy. For physicians, the added benefit of using shared appointments is a no-brainer. Shared appointments can be more efficient and allow them to see more patients throughout any given day.
Blog November 30, 2016
With all of the impressive, innovative minds at Rock Health you know there would be some quotable moments that would stick with you. I found a few of these sticking with me even after the conference wrapped up. Here are some of my favorites.
Blog November 30, 2016
I didn’t really know what to expect when I sat down for the last panel of day 1. Chamath Palihapitaya, Founder and Managing Partner of the Social Captital Partnership, was entertaining to say the least.
Blog November 30, 2016
During this year’s Digital Pharma East conference, Stephanie Katzman, a healthcare strategist at LinkedIn, announced that the number of HCPs had grown from 3.5 million last year to over 5 million in the US alone and over 9 million globally in 2015.
Blog November 30, 2016
Every year, the University of Michigan compiles its American Customer Satisfaction Index. Segments like credit unions (85%) and internet retail (80%) have the highest satisfaction. Followed by categories like tobacco (75%) and gas stations (73%). Toward the bottom: Airlines
Blog November 30, 2016
Consumers have access to more healthcare information and resources and more financial responsibility for their health than ever before. Those shifts are big drivers behind the consumerization of healthcare.
Blog November 30, 2016
Libby Wlochowicz, Director of DTC and multi-channel marketing at Amgen, shared some great experiences she had with a usability testing session that was used to evaluate 3 different sites across 3 different disease states simultaneously.
Blog November 30, 2016
It’s not often that a social media strategy idea really goes viral – let alone gets 752 million social impressions, tens of thousands of interactions, international media coverage and a letter from the FDA.
Blog November 30, 2016
At a conference full of next gen digital ideas for smart and tailored solutions, Doug Braun and Atul Goyal from Zoetis Animal Health shared some thoughts on a novel concept – maybe greater personalization for our customers can start with a person, the sales representative.
Blog November 30, 2016
On demand services have been a trend that just continues to pick up steam and the we’ve noticed healthcare being no exception. Lantern, Honor, and Kurbo Health are exploring the thinking beyond the HCP.
Blog November 30, 2016
Once the innovation tours concluded at Rock Health we got into the speaker sessions which started with Leena Rao (Moderator), Senior Writer at Fortune, speaking to Susannah Fox, CTO at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and DJ Patil, Chief Data Scientist.
Blog November 30, 2016
My first Rock Health Summit was well worth the trip. Inspiring companies are everywhere you look and I am constantly reminded of the healthcare shift that is happening. Patients are getting access to more and more information and ways to influence their health and well-being
Blog November 30, 2016
Fabrizio Caranci, Director of Channel Innovation at Merck, started out with this super fact from John Chambers, CEO at Cisco: by 2020 over 30 billion objects will wirelessly be connected to the internet. Even if you count everyone in the world, that’s 4 to 5 devices each.
Blog November 30, 2016
Think of an industry that’s highly regulated. One that’s traditionally very conservative. Not known for its creativity. I know what you’re thinking: Pharma.
Blog November 30, 2016
Over time, UCB developed three silos for answering customer questions: drug safety, customer service and medical information. Each had its own training and script.
Blog November 30, 2016
AstraZeneca has been investing in supporting people via social media for 6 years. Their goal is to educate patients about available resources (including cost, access, affordability) and to address specific product inquiries.
Blog November 30, 2016
Chris Iafolla and I just stepped off the big stage at Digital Pharma East. We had the great opportunity to preview our annual digital trends report with the marketers and technologists there.
Blog November 30, 2016
Sharecare and Trinity Health are creating solutions at an interesting point in the history in health care. One in which the patient is increasingly becoming the buyer and the health system the seller.
Blog November 30, 2016
Dan Seewald, Director of Worldwide Innovation at Pfizer, was one of the first to take the stage at Digital Pharma East this year. He runs the Dare To Try innovation and experimentation program at Pfizer.
Blog November 30, 2016
To sum up our explanation of medical vs. general health apps, we found it beneficial to add one more post to the series. Our previous articles covered the definition of mobile medical apps and three examples of FDA-approved apps.
Blog November 30, 2016
Track this, monitor that. We’ve become a society obsessed with the idea of quantifying our health and wellness. And we have no shortage of tools to do it with.
Blog November 30, 2016
Unique partnerships have become the flagship of any great healthcare success. The latest to strike my attention was that of a partnership between Philips and Dutch Radboud University medical center.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last week, we looked at the definition of medical device appsand gave some tips on how you can identify which ones to trust. Now that we have a better understanding on how medical device apps differ from wellness apps, we wondered – What are other innovative medical apps?
Blog November 30, 2016
We’re quite used to thinking about our smartphone as a tool to track wellness—a parking lot for apps that can keep tabs on exercise, caloric intake, heart rate, sleep, and plenty of other things.
Blog November 30, 2016
It’s not surprising that the diabetes space is fertile ground for innovation. The Journal of the American Medical Association just announced that 50% of adults in the US have diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Blog November 30, 2016
As anyone that has ever given blood knows, the last thing you want is for the medical professional to have a hard time finding a good vein. Some people avoid giving blood altogether because of one bad experience.
Blog November 30, 2016
Are you using a mobile app to track a health condition, get medical advice, or simply to stay in shape?
Blog November 30, 2016
One of the trends the innovation team is tracking is “More Involved Patients” – the increasing expectation of patients to be active participants in their healthcare.
Blog November 30, 2016
Working in a company that puts “speaking people” a priority makes you pay special attention to ways that people and brands are relating to each other. The industry has come along way in just a few years.
Blog November 30, 2016
The CRM giant, Salesforce, has unveiled a cloud-based platform that is tailored specifically for healthcare providers and patient data. Their aim is to help healthcare organizations seamlessly manage patient relationships with the ever-changing patient expectations.
Blog November 30, 2016
The next big shift in healthcare experience may be happening at the pharmacy – but not a pharmacy you’ll ever see in person. IMS recently reported that speciality pharmacies now account for 1/3 of all healthcare spending.
Blog November 30, 2016
I’ve been thinking about genomic testing a lot lately. Apparently my television viewing patterns have put me squarely in the path of DNA Ancestry‘s media buy, and the prospect of learning more about my background and genetic ethnicity is very compelling.
Blog November 30, 2016
The healthcare startup, Grand Rounds, pairs patients with identified healthcare experts that are uniquely qualified to provide them the care they need. And it doesn’t matter whether that person who is best qualified is next door or halfway across the country.
Blog November 30, 2016
If patient-centered teams need to perform like special ops forces, why aren’t they equipped for it?”
Blog November 30, 2016
Predictive analytics. You know it in your daily life as those mostly helpful, sometimes creepy recommendations from NetFlix or Amazon that tell you what you’re likely to watch or buy.
Blog November 30, 2016
As the expectations of our modern patient (both young and old) continue to change, the market is being forced to make adaptations. Between the return of the house-call and telemedicine visits alone, we are looking at the future of an entirely new type of medical experience.
Blog November 30, 2016
The German app company, SmartPatient, who developed the health app MyTherapy for iOS and Android, conducted deep research into pharma mobile application usage and content. What they found was not on par with how we view our always-on digitally connected lives.
Blog November 30, 2016
(Latinos currently make up 17% of the total population, and is expected to increase to almost 30% by 2050. – Pew) In a recent Forbes article, Nicole Fisher highlights 5 Reasons that Latinos Could Be The Most Powerful Transformation Of The U.S. Health System.
Blog November 30, 2016
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug manufactured using 3D printing: Aprecia’s epilepsy-fighting Spritam (available 2016).
Blog November 30, 2016
Last year, Zach wrote about Pager, a service developed by a co-founder of Uber that can deliver a doctor to your door in 2 hours or less. Since then, we’ve seen this trend continue to gain momentum.
Blog November 30, 2016
Feel dizzy or even maybe a bit nauseous every time you put on a virtual reality device? There’s a pill for that. VIRMO is the capsule that promises to alleviate symptoms of nausea and dizziness to help keep users immersed for longer and better VR experiences.
Blog November 30, 2016
Last year, a company called HelpAround really caught our eye. The Israel-based startup’s app, Diabetes Helpers, was an interesting example of how share-economy principles (think peer-to-peer and collaborative like Airbnb or TaskRabbit) could be applied to chronic disease.
Blog November 30, 2016
Balance has always been a key topic of discussion whenever I discuss the millennial generation and their attitudes regarding health and wellness.
Blog November 30, 2016
These days, most of the headlines about “live streaming” will lead you down a path of debates over copyright infringement, piracy, and a slew of Meerkat vs Periscope opinions.
Blog November 30, 2016
An hour with the doctor? Given that the average time a doctor spends with a patient is 10 minutes, an hour seems almost indulgent. But, Vera Whole Health is dedicated to providing as much time as it takes, offering ½ hour and even hour-long appointments.
Blog November 30, 2016
Pfizer and the American Lung Association have teamed up to create a sort of Kickstarter for kicking the habit. Quitter’s Circle is a website and app that teams up smokers with their supporters to maintain the motivation to quit and even crowdsource funds for the effort.
Blog November 30, 2016
Google is making significant changes to their paid advertising that stands to greatly impact pharmaceutical paid search campaigns. These changes come in order to bring about more transparency for users and become more aligned with existing policies.
Blog November 30, 2016
We’ve written before about AppScript, a platform that allows doctors to discover, bundle, and distribute consumer health apps to their patients as part of a holistic treatment plan.
Blog November 30, 2016
Falling blood donations across the globe are forcing companies to reconsider their approach to getting people to donate blood. In Britain, there are 40% fewer donors today than there were ten years ago.
Blog November 30, 2016
In creating any experience, there’s an element of storytelling. In an immersive experience like virtual reality, that story is multi-dimensional and taps into various senses.
Blog November 30, 2016
Ok, maybe Huggable is more than an app. He’s really a social robot prototype. And, a teddy bear. He’s blue. But, he’s designed to make his friends feel less blue with interactions designed to alleviate anxiety, pain and isolation for children in a hospital.
Blog November 30, 2016
Periscope (a Twitter company) allows users to view the world through another person’s eyes. And it is quickly becoming one of the most unique ways to virtually experience an event or transport yourself to a place across the globe.
Blog November 30, 2016
Ok, I admit it. I haven’t put any data into my Apple Health app. Haven’t filled out my Medical ID. Haven’t even filled out my profile. In fact, I put it in my utilities folder, unsure of where to classify it.
Blog November 30, 2016
Are healthcare creativity awards second-class citizens to other creativity awards? This question was a big debate at last year’s inaugural Lions Health awards in Cannes.
Blog November 30, 2016
With the Oculus Rift on the brink of consumer release (Q1 2016), the innovation team was eager to hear more about the latest breakthroughs that had yet to be announced.
Blog November 30, 2016
New York, NY. Authenticity. It’s what our customers want from us. And, turns out, it’s what patient advocacy groups want from pharma, too. Yesterday, inVentiv Health’s Public Relations Group released a report, “The New Partnership Paradigm: What Patient Advocates Seek."
Blog November 30, 2016
MDigitalLife (a division of the W20 Group) recently conducted an examination of specific cancer communities online. They researched the overall mentions of cancer, as well as specific discussions pertaining to prostate, lung, skin, pancreatic, and colon cancer.
Blog November 30, 2016
Our latest report on millennials and health has sparked the interest of some key pharmaceutical columnists. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with FiercePharma to discuss some of our findings.
Blog November 30, 2016
Iodine.com, the crowd-sourced medication review site founded by former Wired editor Thomas Goetz and former Google engineer Matt Mohebbi, is recruiting participants for a study on the effects of antidepressants.
Blog November 30, 2016
Think you have health condition? Ask Google. No, I don’t mean opening your web browser and entering in a few keywords. Instead, consult your wearable device that is scanning your cells, looking for any abnormalities that may be indicative of a medical condition.
Blog November 30, 2016
Eli Lilly plans to open a drug delivery and innovation center in Kendall Square, Massachusetts. The focus of this new innovation center will be on drug delivery device innovation (specific to diabetes), immunology, chronic pain, and neural degeneration.
Blog November 30, 2016
There’s no shortage of news these days about the quantified self movement, tracking, wearables and the recording of personal data. We’ve certainly covered a lot of it here in this blog.
Blog November 30, 2016
We are thrilled to share with you the second part of our two-part series on millennials. In our first report, GSW, Allidura Consumer and Harris Poll teamed up to survey 2,015 adult millennials (18 – 32 year olds).
Blog November 30, 2016
Have a wall nearby? How about a table? Maybe just a blank white markerboard? Now you can turn any and all of those surfaces into an interactive and dynamic touch screen using the new pocket-sized projector called TouchJet.
Blog November 30, 2016
Graphic designer Emily McDowell is a a 15-year survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma. She was 24 when she was diagnosed. “The most difficult thing about my illness was the fact that it was so lonely,” she said.
Blog November 30, 2016
Healthcare facilities are some of the most energy reliant structures in our society today. Many of these facilities have outdated electrical consumption and distribution systems which cost the healthcare systems billions of dollars in utility costs.
Blog November 30, 2016
Disappearing Technology is a trend that, if done well, you won’t even notice. The reason for that is because the trend is based not on technology going away, but rather the opposite.
Blog November 30, 2016
My parents are nearing 70. Although they don’t always nail the lingo, I’d definitely categorize them as tech-proficient. My mom’s on facebook more than I am and my dad’s always quick with a text response.
Blog November 30, 2016
The world we live in is constantly bombarded by extraneous messaging. We are hit with over 5 trillion impressions each year in a fashion that a Microsoft study calls “irrelevant information overload.”
Blog November 30, 2016
Doctors are the decision-makers. They recommend treatment plans that are based on their own expert preferences. Right?
Blog November 30, 2016
By now you’ve undoubtedly heard of the health insurance startup called Oscar Health (especially if you are a NYC subway frequenter). This startup has envisioned the health insurance system of the future.
Blog November 30, 2016
When it comes to food, our stomachs may know very well when they’re full, but the brain has veto power. And, it turns out it’s pretty easily tricked.
Blog November 30, 2016
The word “PATIENT” comes from the Latin word patiens, meaning ‘I am suffering.’ The word “PATIENCE” is the quality of being patient, defined as an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay… say, for instance, in a waiting room.
Blog November 30, 2016
Recently, one of our clients asked the GSW innovation team if there was some way to flip the typical rep ad board meeting and turn it into something more engaging… more productive… more (saw this one coming) innovative.
Blog November 30, 2016
As healthcare continues its uncompromising pursuit to uncover the most effective patient engagement tactics and strategies, our digital world around us continues to drive the future of how we all connect.
Blog November 30, 2016
For many of us, the front door to our business is our website. The web plays an incredibly crucial role in how we do business, and how users actually arrive at your front door can greatly enhance whether or not your message is being delivered.
Blog November 30, 2016
The hype around the Amazon Dash this week has already proclaimed its push-button ordering to be the height of modern convenience and the first big fiasco of the internet of things.
Blog November 30, 2016
Have you ever watched how people interact with touchscreens at a tradeshow booth? It’s actually kind of entertaining. They’ll circle around it. Then move a little closer (not too close).
Blog November 30, 2016
Not long ago we wrote about AppScripts from IMS Health, a platform that allows doctors to discover, bundle, and distribute consumer health apps to their patients as part of a holistic treatment plan.
Blog November 30, 2016
Healthcare is typically full of a lot of finger pointing and blame. You did that; so now you must do this. For healthcare consumers, every interaction can feel like a giant penalty box.
Blog November 30, 2016
It is estimated that last year alone Americans lost $119 billion on gambling. With those astronomical losses in the billions, is there a way that healthcare can capitalize on people’s obsession with betting and gambling?
Blog November 30, 2016
“Tell me what you heard”. It’s a clear way to make sure the message was received. But, in practice, it isn’t as simple as it seems.
Blog November 30, 2016
The rise of digital telehealth is upon us. IHS Technology predicts that the number of users of telehealth will rise to 7 million by 2018, up from 350,000 in 2013.
