The COVID-19 virus pandemic has drawn more public attention than ever to healthcare workers, institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, strategic communication in health, a well-developed area that is either mostly unknown to the general public or comes to the fore only when such situations occur, is key to creating communication in the field of public health, health services, and the pharmaceutical industry .
McCann Health Nordic, which operates within the I&F Grupa, has published a WeCann Point of View report on the importance of communication in healthcare, as well as strengthening cooperation between the private and public sectors. McCann Health Director for the Nordic Region Murat Zubčević explains what is changing and what is currently affecting the pharmaceutical industry the most, and the challenges posed by the Covid-19 virus pandemic to healthcare communications agencies: „The usual way of communication has changed overnight – all of us, as professionals and as consumers, are interested in what the pharmaceutical industry has to say about the problem we are in now. Covid-19 has put an absolute focus on this industry, and now for the first time, we have an atmosphere where people want to listen to it. ”
As part of I&F Grupa, McCann Health Nordic brings together healthcare professionals focused on health issues, and works both with the public sector and pharmaceutical, medical, and biotechnology companies. In the agency teams, the scientific and medical staff is of key importance, which forms an extremely strong global network of information and knowledge.
The challenges McCann Health faces in its global work vary drastically depending on geography. Similarities can also be noticed, from which Zubčević points out saying “that in some countries there has been a great acceleration in the cooperation between the public and private sectors”.
“So, private companies represent pharmaceutical companies on the one hand, and state companies on the other, which in some countries play a very important role in solving health problems. As an agency that primarily cooperates with the commercial sector, we also need to know how to help the public health sector, “explains Zubčević.
Like everyone, McCann Health has also faced the challenges of the Covid-19 virus pandemic. In addition to transforming the work environment by moving to work from home, the surprises in the activities of this agency were actually positive – there are more and more clients, and they are more willing than ever to listen and break myths about digitalization as something optional: “At one point, a false truth was adopted that digitalization does not relate to health. This myth has been brought to the brink by the pandemic – now you have digitalized consultations with doctors, “Digital Health” and “Tele-Health” term long known from the Far East to the US private sector, and it’s something that absolutely changes the way we go to the doctor’s and communicate with him/her. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies and all those involved in health have realized the extent to which digital communications provide them with an inexhaustible source of information and essentially facilitate communication and business,” Zubčević concludes.
The new WeCann Point of View report Pharma Communication in a COVID-19 World can be found HERE.
