Doctor.com survey reveals that 88% of consumers want pharmaceutical and medical device brand websites to feature a doctor directory

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey of over 1,300 US. adults, commissioned by Doctor.com, reveals that consumers are increasingly favoring digital resources to research prescriptions and medical devices over traditional word of mouth or specialist referrals. Most consumers (73%) have used the internet to research a medication or medical device in the past year.

In fact, more than half of consumers (52%) cite pharmaceutical and medical device brand websites as one of the most important resources in their research of a prescription or medical device. However, many fail to ultimately connect with a doctor to successfully procure medication or treatment.

Doctor.com's "Digital Patient Trends in Pharma 2019" offers key insights into how pharmaceutical and medical device brands can meet patient expectations and play a more active role in the overall care-seeking journey:

• The path to prescription often begins online, not in the doctor's office: Consumers rely on brand websites (52.2%) almost as much as they rely on their primary care providers (54.8%) to research prescription information or medical devices.
• Failure to convert: Patients cite "finding the right doctor" as the #1 barrier to accessing a treatment or prescription.
• Patients demand a good customer experience on brand websites: Nearly 80% of respondents over 60 and ~90% of all patients would find it helpful to have a doctor directory on the brand website. Roughly a third would prefer to schedule an appointment right on the site as well.
• Brands can build loyalty by bridging the last mile of the patient journey: 87% would like to see provider ratings available in a brand's doctor directory. For the majority of consumers (55.7%), appointment scheduling options on a brand's website would increase their loyalty to the brand.

"Our study confirms that 'digital' has transformed every aspect of the healthcare journey, including how patients prefer to research and access prescription medications. Yet even best-in-class brands are underutilizing digital channels and missing opportunities to connect with patients and caregivers at critical touchpoints leading up to the point of care," said Doctor.com CEO Andrei Zimiles. "Our hope is that this report provides valuable recommendations for the life sciences industry that will lead to further innovation in this area. By bridging the critical last mile to finding care, brands have an incredible opportunity to transform the patient journey, win consumer loyalty, and make a major impact on visitation and adherence metrics."

"As the market leader powering provider directories for hundreds of hospitals and health systems, we are eager to offer our platform and expertise to leading pharmaceutical brands that wish to act on the findings presented in this report," said Josh Kramon, VP of Life Sciences Solutions. "Doctor.com has direct relationships with tens of thousands of physicians in specialty areas like dermatology, rheumatology, and behavioral health, allowing us to directly engage physicians via online scheduling experiences as part of our next-generation provider directory platform. We are already in market with multiple DTC and HCP applications for some of the top global life sciences companies, and we look forward to expanding our partnerships with innovative and patient-centric brands."

Please visit doctor.com/pharma2019 for a copy of the full report.

Methodology
Doctor.com conducted an online survey of over 1,300 patients representing the US adult census demographic of regions, incomes, and genders from age 18 to 60+ in August and September of 2019.

About Doctor.com
Doctor.com empowers healthcare organizations to deliver a better customer experience at every step of the patient journey. Doctor.com's single platform offers best-in-class provider data, powers direct physician-to-patient engagement, and features integrations with the most prominent healthcare directories, search engines, social media platforms, and EHR/PM systems. As a result, thousands of clients, including leading brands in the life sciences industry, 200+ leading hospitals and health systems, and 30,000+ private practices, have been empowered by the platform to enhance their digital presence and credibility, increase patient trust, and grow their business.

If you'd like to explore partnership opportunities with Doctor.com's life sciences division, please contact Josh Kramon at: [email protected].

Press Contact
Erin Kitchen
[email protected]

SOURCE Doctor.com

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