As our business is user experience research, it is our job to ensure we fully understand end consumer wants and needs. Over the past few years, we have obtained insights from hundreds of consumers in the healthcare and pharma industries – from specialized healthcare providers (e.g. doctors, nurses) to patients with life-threatening illnesses and/or their caregivers. What we have learned is that the informational needs and expectations of these two audiences are vastly different. To ensure your site meets the varying criteria, it’s important to have your finger on the pulse of key audiences that visit your site.
What we have learned
Most healthcare providers are focused on finding a cure or the appropriate treatment option for their patients. This means their informational needs tend to be detailed and case-specific. As healthcare providers (HCPs) are busy and juggling a variety of tasks and patients, they also need to locate their information very quickly. To keep your healthcare audience engaged, it is critical to follow the following guidelines:
- Site language should offer an unbiased, scientific tone. HCPs appreciate a site that is written in their ‘speak’ and appreciate the effort put into understanding their medical specialty. An unbiased presentation of site information can also offer more credibility.
- Constantly update site content. HCPs are interested in the latest and greatest information relating to a complex disease, a new treatment option, or news (e.g. peer reviews, journals). If your site offers this information, ensure it’s the most up-to-date and relevant.
- Offer the ability to easily locate detailed, specific content. Most of the content HCPs are seeking is specifically related to their individual patient needs. In fact, oftentimes they are seeking answers on-the-fly with their patients in the same room. This means time is critical. As such, ensure that the content on the site is organized in an easy-to-understand manner for this audience (e.g. offer a robust search and sort options for easy ability to drill down to specific details).
In contrast, patients/caregivers are often struggling with another set of concerns. Not only do patients/caregivers want to learn about their ailment/condition, many are also seeking information about office locations, medications available and/or reimbursement options. To keep your patient/caregiver audience engaged, be sure your site offers the following items:
- Site language should be very simple and encouraging. Patients/Caregivers most appreciate a site that is not too inundated with complex medical terminology. Many patients/caregivers seeking information on medical conditions are not just dealing with medical issues – oftentimes they have emotional, social (i.e. family-related) and economical pressures as well. Keep this in mind when presenting information on your website, and create an encouraging and simplistic tone.
- Include simplistic graphics to illustrate complex conditions or treatment options. Offer overly simplistic insights into how a disease works, or how the treatment would work. Detailed graphics often help patients/caregivers to easily comprehend complex medical ideas or jargon.
- If appropriate for your site, ensure there is easy access to financial assistance and/or reimbursement options. It is not a secret – good health care is not cheap. Patients who are seriously or terminally ill do not have the strength or time to hunt and peck for this type of information. If it’s available, ensure it stands out and easy to locate.
In summary, given the differing needs (and mindsets) of these two key audiences, it’s critical for healthcare and pharma sites to allow their visitors to readily identify themselves as a Healthcare professional or a Patient/Caregiver as they enter a site, or at least be able to easily locate the audience-specific content they are seeking.
Tags: pharma