Evolving Communication with Healthcare Professionals in the Pharmaceutical Space: Current Trends and Future Perspectives.

The pharmaceutical industry is subject to complex regulations relating to the safety and efficacy of medicinal products, as well as pricing and reimbursement, added value, communication, and advertising. In addition, multiple stakeholders have evolved and now not only include physicians, but also payers, regulatory authorities, patients, and patient advocacy groups in the move toward an added value-based healthcare system. The advent of digitalization has also had a significant influence on how healthcare professionals and decision makers are identified and the most effective and preferred methods of communicating with them. This review will investigate how communication between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals as well as other stakeholders is changing. It will then examine how pharmaceutical companies can employ the latest technologies to identify, target, and inform relevant parties about the medicinal product and its value at the time of launch and post-approval activities. This has been achieved by a review of the available literature and supported by a survey of industry representatives. The results indicate that an optimal communication strategy is likely to involve a combination of face-to-face interactions and an increased use of digital platforms with an emphasis on clinical data and scientific information.