Healthcare Public Relations in the Age of Healthcare Reform
Posted on Tue, Jun 02, 2009 @ 08:30 AM
Whether you like it or not, healthcare reform has arrived in the United States.
The widespread opposition that characterized attempts to get the Clinton healthcare plan off the ground in 1993 will not be repeated in 2009 as the Obama 
administration tackles healthcare reform. In fact, industry representatives have pledged their support for healthcare reform, as seen by the recent meeting of industry leaders with President Obama where they by outlined $2 trillion in spending reductions to help cover the cost of universal healthcare.
The debate over what form universal healthcare in the US will take, and the new business environment that will be created by implementing those changes, creates opportunities for public relations to do the things that it does best. Communicating complex, nuanced messages, rallying disparate interest groups to achieve a common goal, fostering debate and dialogue over challenging issues, and leveraging advocacy groups to influence critical decisions—these are all areas where public relations excels compared to other marketing disciplines.
How will our industry fare as reform begins to happen? Rather than doom mongering, let's look at some positives. Major changes in healthcare infrastructure and delivery will force industry leaders to innovate and adapt. I have great confidence in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies’ ability to innovate in order to respond to the changes that are coming. Increases in funding for basic research and finding new treatments that address unmet medical needs will remain important national priorities. Stem cell research is a relatively new area of biotechnology and is likely to become one of the fastest growing R&D sectors moving forward. This is all good news for industry in the long run.
I spent eight very rewarding years of my career living and working in the United Kingdom, so I have first hand experience of nationalized healthcare, its benefits and shortcomings. I also know from personal experience how important public relations is to companies competing to communicate comparative effectiveness, fighting for a share of limited healthcare resources, and trying to motivate patient groups and the media to push for rational funding decisions. Politicians, patient advocacy groups, industry and the media all have a very strong interest in these issues. Skilled healthcare public relations professionals can play an essential role in making sure that these different interest groups are heard, and that they engage on these issues with articulate, clear and effective messages.
Some companies operating in the UK have shown great initiative and creativity in dealing with the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) regarding funding decisions for their treatments. For example, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to refund the cost of treatment with Velcade(R) in multiple myeloma patients who don’t respond. Celgene has received a positive appraisal from NICE for its multiple myeloma treatment Revlimid(R), including Celgene’s proposal that the National Health Service (NHS) pay for the drug for 26 treatment cycles in those patients with previously-treated disease. Celgene would fund the drug (used in combination with dexamethasone) in patients benefiting from it thereafter.
These two examples, I think, show our industry at its finest. These companies are not afraid to be creative in how they approach difficult business challenges. They are also sending a very clear message that they believe in the value of their products.
If comparative effectiveness becomes a component of healthcare reform in the US, I wouldn’t be surprised to see industry leaders using similar approaches in the US to cooperate with government health authorities and to demonstrate the same belief in the value of their products.
--David Avitabile