June 2011

Raising Awareness with Unbranded Campaigns

You may have seen the posters on busses around town, “I survived disco. I can fight hepatitis C” with a gray-haired rocker holding a guitar. 

What you won’t find on the poster unless you look extra hard is the name of the sponsor of the ad - Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The biotech company recently won FDA approval for the drug Incivek and instead of drumming up consumer demand directly for the drug, the company has implemented an unbranded consumer awareness campaign focused on hepatitis C.  Consumers are directed to an unbranded website and free helpline where they can speak with nurses According to an article in the Boston Globe, pharmaceutical company giant Merck has also implemented an unbranded campaign aimed at educating people about the potentially deadly liver disease.

While a relatively new tactic with pharmaceutical companies, Schwartz has implemented successful unbranded awareness campaigns for many of our medical device clients. For LifeCell Corporation, Schwartz was charged with raising awareness among women about their options when speaking with surgeons about breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. The awareness campaign focused on relaying the importance of breast reconstruction options, while also highlighting the benefits of our client’s tissue regeneration technology in targeted media outreach. At all turns, the team focused on leveraging and positioning LifeCell’s unbranded, consumer awareness website with the media and the public as the go-to source to learn more about breast reconstruction options. Over a 15 month period, the team secured a steady stream of coverage in national women’s books, top tier business press and priority local media, reaching an estimated audience of more than 9.2 million with our key messages.

Schwartz also launched the world’s first educational web site devoted solely to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which served as the educational landscape for an issue-awareness campaign, entitled, “Sleep Well, Be Healthy.” Schwartz drove visibility for the unbranded website as an educational resource to the more than 18 million potential sufferers, their families and friends, caregivers as well as sleep industry professionals. We encouraged the media to turn to an advisory council of expert physicians for insight into the condition and its health effects. Since launching the website, media coverage has resulted in more than 230 million impressions, including key messages around the prevalence of sleep apnea and the seriousness of its health consequences. Traffic to the unbranded website averaged nearly 7,500 visits and 15,000 page views per month. 

It will be interesting to monitor the results of the hepatitis C campaign as well as to see if more pharma companies go the route of Vertex and Merck with unbranded campaigns.

Posted by Lauren Arnold on June 30, 2011 at 1:31 PM
| TrackBack (0)

Congrats Medical Device CEOs - You Made It !

At Schwartz, we are particularly proud of our medical device and diagnostic PR practice. In the past 20 years, we have represented some incredibly innovative and life changing brands. From established market leaders to emerging growth companies we view ourselves as passionate ambassadors and advocates for our clients.

So, when MassDevice.com recently published their MassDevice CEO Class of 2011 we were thrilled to see five of our clients were honored as well as many other friends of the Agency.

The online business journal selected 28 of the most innovative CEOs in the medical device/medical technology sector to honor in this first “graduating” class. MassDevice.com boasts that these CEOs represent cutting-edge leadership and innovative thinking and we couldn’t agree more.

The ultimate winners will be announced on July 11 and we are looking forward to the special event taking place around the corner from our Schwartz Waltham office.

Good luck Jeffrey Burbank (NxStage Medical), Kenneth Ferry (iCad), Joanne B. Bauer (Kimberly-Clark Health Care), Daniel Moore (Cyberonics), and Euan Thomson (Accuray). The Schwartz Healthcare PR team will be rooting you on!

Posted by Risa Goldman Burgess on June 23, 2011 at 3:55 PM
| TrackBack (0)

What's the Buzz for AHIP Institute 2011?

By Brenna Hagy

AHIP 2011 Institute is only a couple of days away, and the Schwartz Healthcare IT Practice Group is buzzing with anticipation about the upcoming show. Last week, we discussed some of the key topics that are on the docket, but we also wanted to hear what other people are looking forward to, so we chatted with a reporter and a few of our clients who will be exhibiting and speaking at the show.

Chris Anderson, editor of Healthcare Payer News, has taken the payer space by storm this past year and is looking forward to attending the AHIP Institute for the very first time.

In a one-on-one chat with SchwartzPRx’s Brenna Hagy, Anderson gave insight into what he is looking forward to at the show, “One of the things I am really looking forward to is the day-long program that focuses on state health insurance state exchanges. There are a lot of different reasons these are complicated for health insurance companies. Health plans are trying to figure out what format these exchanges are going to be in and how or if they are going to participate. This is combined with the complexity of offering health plans in multiple states, where one state’s exchange could be vastly different from another.”

As the only editor from his publication attending the show, Anderson has a full plate. It will be difficult for him to fit in speaking sessions. However, when asked what session is the #1 most interesting to him, Anderson is most looking forward to “the Deloitte session about operational challenges and potential solutions to be able to participate in the state exchanges.”

Anderson noted we can expect broader issues to continue to be addressed, “Of course there will be continuing conversations around broader issues, as there have been for the past year, about ACOs, patient-centered medical homes and creating new forms of how we pay for healthcare to no longer reward volume, but instead reward quality. But this is an ongoing dialogue that people have been having for some time now. My perspective going in could be certainly very different coming out.”

Stay tuned for a post-AHIP Q&A with Anderson to see how or if his perspective changed.

Alicia Allen, director of Corporate Marketing at NaviNet (booth 125), told SchwartzPRx that “NaviNet is looking forward to showcasing its mobile care management solutions for health plans, specifically NaviNet Mobile Connect, which comes with mobile e-prescribing and mobile care alerts.”

Loren Finkelstein, director of Public Relations at The TriZetto Group (booth 601), shared his forward-looking thoughts about the upcoming show, “Healthcare reform and other new challenges demand new responses. Payer organizations need more than business as usual to meet these challenges; they’ll need innovative solutions and proven partners. During scheduled workshops, on the exhibit floor and in impromptu hallway conversations, listen for probing, provocative dialogue about the following:
 

• New solutions that can improve payer-provider connectivity and collaboration and reduce the inefficiency, waste, paperwork and phone traffic inherent in today’s fragmented system.
• New solutions for population health management that can improve the cost and quality of care. Specifically, watch for unique combinations of analytics, value-based insurance design and value-based reimbursement.
• New solutions that include consulting services that can help health plans meet key business objectives more quickly, with higher quality and less risk.
• New solutions that include advanced enterprise applications providing next-generation functionality, technology and performance to help payers prosper in today’s healthcare industry.”

Schwartz client Kate Lewis, senior manager of Marketing and Communications at Benefitfocus (booth 241) said, “We are very excited to catch up with many of our insurance carrier clients and partners. We expect healthcare reform and state exchanges to be a major discussion point again this year, and we are looking forward to hearing firsthand the expectations and strategies of the carriers.” Benefitfocus has been closely following healthcare reform and its impact on carriers, employers and consumers. For more information, visit the company’s Healthcare Reform Journal blog.

If you will be attending AHIP. we hope you enjoy the show. Let us know what you are looking forward to, or how the show did/didn't meet expectations when you return. Feel free to sound off in the comment section below or tweet us @SchwartzPRx.

Posted by Davida Dinerman on June 13, 2011 at 11:19 AM
| TrackBack (0)

Health Insurance Plans Take The Spotlight At AHIP Institute 2011

by Brenna Hagy

On June 15 – 17, the nation’s healthcare industry leaders will gather at the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) 2011 Institute in San Francisco to discuss important issues that organizations must consider as the health care law implementation continues toward 2014, including healthcare reform, compliance, consumer-directed health plans, wellness, the payer/provider relationship, ACO, population health management and MLR,  as well as new healthcare IT (HCIT) products.

Wondering what you can expect to learn about at AHIP Institute this year?

The General Session topics have a star-studded line-up and include such rich and varied topics as:
•    The Economy, World Events and the Implications for the 2012 Elections
•    The Social Network and Health Care
•    The Unfinished Agenda: Building a Sustainable Health Care System
•    What the Future Holds for the Economy, Health Care, and Budget Policy
•    Ensuring the Role of States in Reforming Health Care

“The Social Network and Health Care” session sounds particularly interesting as it will address why and how powerhouse social networking platforms intersect with healthcare. Also, it will be fascinating to see if Senators Tom Daschle and Judd Gregg try to define how the U.S. can achieve a sustainable healthcare system during the “Unfinished Agenda” session.

In addition to the general sessions, the real meat of the speaking program at the show is the concurrent sessions, where topics include:
•    “Four Imperatives for Post Reform Healthcare” will examine strategies for achieving compliance and how health plans can quickly address new regulations and costs being introduced into your businesses.
•    “Insurers’ Efforts to Prevent Health Care Fraud” will discuss how public-private cooperation is also vital in the success of health care anti-fraud efforts.
•    “Remaining Relevant in Today’s Health Care Marketplace: From the Senior Market to Health and Wellness Initiatives” which will identify products and services that are in demand among today’s new retirees, and approaches for establishing relationships with this consumer market.
•    “Patients & Physicians: Shared Decisions, Shared Success” will discuss the critical importance of Shared Decision Making (SDM) in patient-centered care and the great potential for improving quality of care and reducing costs.
•    “Leveraging Health IT: Maximizing Your Capabilities to Create Efficiencies” will examine the critical intersection of health IT with innovative strategies and policies changing the care delivery system.

The Schwartz Healthcare IT Practice is pleased to have three clients attending this year’s show: NaviNet (booth #125), TriZetto (booth #601) and Benefitfocus (booth #241)- please feel free to stop by their booths and say hello.

Still need a flight to San Fran or to book a hotel? The AHIP Institute web site gives the information you might need. Also, Shuttlefare is offering Institute attendees $4 off Airport Shuttle Transportation from either the Oakland or San Francisco Airport to your hotel.

In our next post, you’ll read what some of our clients and other industry experts are saying about AHIP Institute.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s AHIP Institute? Let us know in the comment section below or tweet us @SchwartzPRx.

Posted by Davida Dinerman on June 7, 2011 at 10:12 PM
| TrackBack (0)

And the Bells Rang Loudly!

Schwartz’s work on behalf of our healthcare clients shined last night at the Publicity Club of New England’s annual Bell Ringer Awards Ceremony that recognize excellence in communications and public relations. Always a fun and festive evening, it was great to catch up with industry colleagues and it’s even better when we take home honors for great PR campaigns! From healthcare IT to medical device to pharma, campaigns were honored in the following categories:

•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “Epocrates: Saving Lives and Reaching Physicians”
•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “Restoring Vision to the Blind: Retina Implant's Microchip Helps Patent Suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa”
•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “"Against the Odds: NxStage Medical Security Validation for Daily Home Hemodialysis”
•    Television News Placement: National entry, “The Art of Storytelling: Transforming Standard Corporate News into National Visibility for Accuray”
•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “Epocrates: Saving Lives and Reaching Physicians”
•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “Restoring Vision to the Blind: Retina Implant's Microchip Helps Patent Suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa”
•    Product/Service Publicity: Healthcare Campaign entry, “"Against the Odds: NxStage Medical Security Validation for Daily Home Hemodialysis”
•    Product/Service Launch: Health Care Campaign entry, “WellDoc: Like Having a Doctor in Your Cell Phone”
•    Special Event: Series Campaign entry, “Eurand Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life: Engaging a Patient Community through

Stay turned in the coming weeks for highlights from some of our great client campaigns.

Congrats to all!

Posted by Lauren Arnold on at 2:20 PM
| TrackBack (0)