Exploring EHR Advertising for Your Pharma Brand? Read this First.

Point-of-care advertising – notably through electronic health record (EHR) systems – delivers unparalleled script lift impact compared to other HCP marketing channels. EHR advertising not only places brand information directly in HCPs’ clinical workflow for high visibility, it also benefits from the robust patient data available to increased targeting accuracy and message relevance. The result is enhanced brand awareness, better HCP engagement, and measurable script lift.  

Understanding the EHR Landscape: A Guide for Marketers 

More than 90% of hospitals and 80% of office-based physicians use EHR systems, driven by federal mandates and incentives like the HITECH Act. It’s common to talk about EHR advertising as if it is a single channel, but the reality is far more complex. Despite a few major players, the landscape is highly fragmented, with hundreds of companies offering EHR software in the US alone. And it’s also common for both institutions and even individual doctors to use multiple EHR platforms within. 

For marketers, that means it’s not always practical to focus on accessing specific platforms as a way to reach their target audiences. Instead, consider focusing on these three key factors: NPI list match rate, workflow placement locations, and how targeting parameters impact reach. 

• NPI List Match Rate – Quantifying the percentage of your NPI target list available in vendor’s NPI EHR network, ensures that your resources are concentrated on the right audience, and reduces wasted impressions on providers outside your target group. 

• Workflow Placement Locations – EHR workflows are complex, encompassing multiple touchpoints like medication prescribing screens, clinical decision support tools, patient chart review areas, and more. Because HCPs interact with different parts of the EHR for distinct purposes, messaging on a prescribing screen can inform treatment decisions, while ads displayed in patient chart views may be better suited for education about diagnostic tools.  

• Targeting Parameters and Reach Impact – EHR platforms operate within a closed environment, so the audience is limited to the active user base of that system or network. Narrowing your audience too much could mean missing key engagement opportunities, while broad targeting may dilute your brands message's relevance. Understanding how your targeting choices-such as filtering by specialty, geography, or patient population-affect campaign reach is critical for balancing precision with scale. 

Choosing an EHR Advertising Partner 

For brands looking to engage HCPs at the point-of-care, there’s a multitude of third-party companies offering access. Yet these varied vendors have different relationships with EHR systems, which impacts where, how, and when brand advertising is displayed. While the landscape continues to evolve, here’s a simple way to think about your current options: 

• Option One: Private EHR Aggregators – These companies partner with multiple EHR platforms to create proprietary networks that provide unified, native advertising solutions. They offer pharma companies broader reach and script lift impact by spanning multiple systems to deliver increased HCP reach, centralized reporting, and multiple workflow placement options.  

• Option Two: Direct-to-EHR Engagements – Other companies form one-to-one relationships with specific EHR platforms to sell placement inventory. These solutions also provide native access, although they may be more limited in reach depending on the audience in question. 

• Option Three: Programmatic Placements – More recently, some EHR platforms are offering access through programmatic media buys. While these can be lower cost ads, they may not offer the most relevant placement locations or the value of competitive ad-exclusivity offered by native solutions. 

Explore EHR Advertising for Your Brand 

Ultimately, finding the right EHR advertising solution for your brand comes to down to specifics of your audience, budget, and targeting parameters. At OptimizeRx, we’ve worked with countless brands to help them understand how to reach HCPs and their patients at the point-of-care. Connect with our team today for a personalized look at your options – and the potential impact on script lift.